Action status
- Implemented
- Undergoing NMFS Review
- Approved by Council
- Under development by the Council
In September 2013, the Council initiated the limited entry fixed gear (LEFG) sablefish permit stacking program review. The review was finalized in June 2014 and at the same time, the Council recommended the use of electronic fish tickets and changes to the own-and-control rules.
A regulatory amendment in 2016 implemented these two recommendations along with six other major actions. The allowance for joint registration (#3) and prohibitions for processing at-sea (#4) were included as a part of this package from the trawl trailing actions that were recommended by the Council in June 2012.
- Required electronic fix tickets for all commercial landings of sablefish delivered to West Coast buyers
- Provided qualified vessel owners an exemption to the ownership imitation of three permits in the LEFG fishery.
- Allows single vessel to being jointly registered to a trawl and LEFG endorsed permit(s).
- Prohibited vessels granted exemptions for processing sablefish at-sea in the 2006 amendment from doing so in the shorebased individual fishing quota fishery
- Clarified that sablefish catch in incidental open access (IOA) fisheries is counted against the OA allocation- not deducted from the commercial harvest guideline.
- Required any vessel with VMS to send in a declaration
- Updated and simplified equipment requirements for e-tix
- Clarified language prohibiting retention of groundfish species taken in the LEFG fishery beyond allowable quota
The proposed rule for these issues was published on June 1, 2016 and the public comment deadline was July 1, 2016. A final environmental assessment was published on November 23, 2016. The final rule was published November 23, 2016 with an effective date of December 23, 2016, except for certain sections related to the electronic reporting of sablefish (for which the effective date was January 1, 2017).