April 2026 briefing book

April 2026 Council Meeting

A. Call to Order

B. Open Comment Period

B.1 Situation Summary: Comments on Non Agenda Items
- B.1.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

C. Groundfish Management

C.1 Situation Summary: National Marine Fisheries Service Report
- C.1.d Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)
C.2 Situation Summary: Marine Mammal Take Reduction Team Update
- C.2.c Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)
C.3 Situation Summary: Widow Rockfish Alternative Harvest Control Rule
- C.3 Attachment 1: Analysis of Annual Catch Limit Alternatives for Widow Rockfish as Requested by the PFMC in March 2026
- C.3 Attachment 2: Widow Rockfish Range of Alternatives: Distribution to the Fisheries
- C.3.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)
C.4 Situation Summary: Harvest Specifications for 2027-28 Fisheries
- C.4 Attachment 1: Harvest Specifications Impact Analysis for 2027-28 Biennium
- C.4.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)
C.5 Situation Summary: Workload and New Management Measures Priorities Including Trawl Follow on Priorities
- C.5 Attachment 1: Lists of the Prioritized and the Proposed Groundfish Management Measures Lists
- C.5.a NMFS Report 1: Trawl Rationalization Program Review – Follow on Actions
- C.5.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)
C.6 Situation Summary: Inseason Management – Final Action
- C.6.a GMT Report 1: GMT Informational Report on Inseason Management
- C.6.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)
C.7 Situation Summary: Preliminary Preferred Management Measure Alternatives for 2027-28 Fisheries
- C.7 Attachment 1: DRAFT Action Item Checklist: 2027-28 Harvest Specifications and Management Measures
- C.7 Attachment 2: DRAFT 2027-28 Groundfish Harvest Specifications and Management Measure Analysis
- C.7 Attachment 3: DRAFT Language for Amendment (TBD) to Support Removal of Yelloweye and CA Quillback Rockfishes Rebuilding Plans from the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
- C.7 Attachment 4: Initial Review Draft – SPEX 2027-28 Impact Analysis
- C.7.a WDFW Report 1: Preliminary Analysis of the Proposal for More Flexible Sharing of the Canary Rockfish Annual Catch Limit
- C.7.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

D. Salmon Management

D.1 Situation Summary: National Marine Fisheries Service Report
- D.1.c Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

D.2 Situation Summary: Tentative Adoption of 2026 Management Measures for Analysis
- D.2 Attachment 1: Emergency Changes to the Salmon FMP – Criteria for Requesting Emergency Changes to the Salmon FMP
- D.2 Attachment 2: Federal Register Notice
- D.2.f Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

D.3 Situation Summary: Sacramento River Fall Chinook Revised Spawner Abundance at Maximum Sustainable Yield – Terms of Reference
- D.3 Attachment 1: DRAFT Terms of Reference – Strikethrough Underline
- D.3 Attachment 2: DRAFT Terms of Reference
- D.3.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

D.4 Situation Summary: Clarify Council Direction on 2026 Management Measures
- D.4.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

D.5 Situation Summary: Methodology Review Preliminary Topic Selection
- D.5.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

D.6 Situation Summary: Further Direction on 2026 Management Measures
- D.6.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

D.7 Situation Summary: Further Direction on 2026 Management Measures
- D.7.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

D.8 Situation Summary: 2026 Management Measures – Final Action
- D.8.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

E. Pacific Halibut Management

E.1 Situation Summary: Incidental Catch Limits for 2026 Salmon Troll Fishery – Final Action
- E.1 Attachment 1: Summary of Pacific Halibut Incidental Catch Management
- E.1.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

F. Coastal Pelagic Species Management

F.1 Situation Summary: National Marine Fisheries Service Report
- F.1.a NMFS Report 1: NMFS Report on Coastal Pelagic Species Regulatory Activities
- F.1.d Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

F.2 Situation Summary: Methodology Review: Integrated West Coast Pelagic Survey
- F.2 Attachment 1: Multifunction Trawl (MFT) Net Analysis Memo
- F.2 Attachment 2: Draft Report on Distribution, Biomass, and demographics of Coastal Pelagic Fishes in the California Current Ecosystem During Summer 2025 based on Acoustic-Trawl Sampling
- F.2 Attachment 3: Proposed Terms of Reference
- F.2 Attachment 4: Methodology Review Panel Report
- F.2.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

F.3 Situation Summary: Exempted Fishing Permits for 2026-27 – Final Action
- F.3 Attachment 1: CWPA Request for EFP Renewal
- F.3.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

F.4 Situation Summary: Pacific Sardine Harvest Specifications and Management Measures for 2026-2027 – Final Action
- F.4 Attachment 1: Update Assessment of the Pacific Sardine Resource in 2025 for U.S. Management in 2025-2026
- F.4.a NMFS Report 1: NMFS Report on Sardine Biomass in U.S. Waters from the 2025 Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey
- F.4.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

F.5 Situation Summary: FMP Amendment – Sardine Stock Definition and Fishery Management Unit Revision
- F.5 Attachment 1: Analysis of the PPA Sardine Stock Definition and Review of Next Steps
- F.5.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

G. Habitat Issues

G.1 Situation Summary: Current Habitat Issues
- G.1.c Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

H. Cross Fishery Management Plan

H.1 Situation Summary: Special Project 1: Adaptive Management and Flexibility
- H.1 Attachment 1: PFMC Staff Report on Special Project 1: Adaptive Management and Flexibility – Process and Timeline Overview
- H.1 Attachment 2: PFMC Staff Report on Special Project 1: Adaptive Management and Flexibility – If-Then Statements and Inseason Management Actions
- H.1 Attachment 3: PFMC Staff Report on Special Project 1: Adaptive Management and Flexibility – Exempted Fishing Permit Process Improvements
- H.1 Attachment 4: PFMC Staff Report on Special Project 1: Adaptive Management and Flexibility – Improved Process for Data Streams and Integration of Local and Indigenous Knowledge
- H.1.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

H.2 Situation Summary: Council and NMFS Workload – Capacity Alignment
- H.2.c Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

I. Administrative Matters

I.1 Situation Summary: Membership Appointments and Council Operating Procedures
- I.1.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

I.2 Situation Summary: Future Council Meeting Agenda and Workload Planning
- I.2 Attachment 1: Year-at-a-Glance (YAG)
- I.2 Attachment 2: June 2026 Quick Reference (QR)
- I.2.b Public Comment – (If received, Electronic Only)

Advisory body and committee agendas

Scientific and Statistical Committee Materials

SSC DRAFT Minutes – March 2026

Advisory body and committee memos

Informational reports

Informational Report 1: Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Rationalization Program – 2026 Cost Recovery Annual Report
Informational Report 2: Shorebased Whiting Cooperative – Salmon Mitigation Plan Postseason Report on the 2025 Pacific Whiting Fishery
Informational Report 3: Whiting Mothership Cooperative – An Amendment 20 Mothership Catcher Vessel Cooperative Annual Report on the 2025 Pacific Whiting Fishery
Informational Report 4: Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative Amendment 20 Catcher/Processor Cooperative Annual Report 2025

Table of Contents

April 2026 Council Meeting

A. Call to Order

B. Open Comment Period

C. Groundfish Management

D. Salmon Management

E. Pacific Halibut Management

F. Coastal Pelagic Species Management

G. Habitat Issues

H. Cross Fishery Management Plan

I. Administrative Matters

Advisory body and committee agendas

Scientific and Statistical Committee Materials

Advisory body and committee memos

Informational reports

General Information and Membership Roster

Recent reports