Category: News & events

The Ad Hoc Ecosystem Workgroup (EWG) will brief Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) advisory body members and interested public on the work plan it is developing for the Fishery Ecosystem Plan Initiative on Ecosystem and Climate Information for Species, Fisheries, and Fishery Management Plans. This work plan will be presented to the Council for its consideration at its March 5-10, 2023, meeting. The EWG also may discuss other items related to items on future Council agendas. The briefing and EWG discussion will be held Wednesday, March 1, 2023, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Pacific Time, or until business for the day is completed. 

Meeting materials

Workplan (H.2.a, EWG Report 1)

Presentation Recording

Members of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Team will brief Pacific Fishery Management Council advisory body members and interested public on the contents of the 2022-2023 California Current Ecosystem Status Report. The briefing will be held Wednesday, March 1, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Pacific Time.

Meeting materials

2022-2023 California Current Ecosystem Status Report and Appendices (H.1.a, CCIEA Team Report 1)

Meeting Recording

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Marine Planning Committee (MPC) will hold an online public meeting. The meeting will be held Thursday, February 2, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time or until business for the day has been completed.

Purpose of the meeting

The purpose of this online meeting is for the MPC to consider current offshore wind energy and aquaculture issues and to provide information and advice to the Pacific Council for consideration at its March 2023 meeting. Potential topics may include:

1. Update on suitability modeling being conducted by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to support identification of offshore Wind Energy Areas for two Call Areas off the Oregon Coast;
2. Update on the Draft NOAA Aquaculture Opportunity Areas Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement; and
3. Summarizing the December 2022 lease auction for five offshore Wind Energy Areas off Central and Northern California.

Meeting materials

Agenda

Characterizing Fisheries Footprints for Offshore Wind Energy Planning PPT

VMS Slides

Meeting Recording

The Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Subcommittee of the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council’s) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will hold an online meeting to review revisions to the habitat model for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine and methods for analyzing and using the 2022 CPS survey.  The meeting is open to the public, and will be held Monday, March 20 and Tuesday, March 21, 2023 beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until 1 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time or until business for the day has been completed. This meeting is being conducted remotely with a web broadcast that provides the opportunity for remote public comment. In the event an outage occurs or technical issues arise that impact the experience of remote attendees, we will attempt to resolve them but ultimately we cannot guarantee that they will be resolved satisfactorily.

Purpose of the meeting

The purpose of the SSC CPS Subcommittee’s meeting is to (a) review proposed changes to the habitat model for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine, (b) review how the habitat model is used to assign catches of Pacific sardine to the northern subpopulation, (c) review how the habitat model is used to define the area covered by the CPS survey that pertains to the northern subpopulation, and (d) review methods for analyzing and using the 2022 CPS survey data given disruptions.  Members of the Pacific Council’s CPS advisory bodies are encouraged to attend.   

Meeting Materials

Agenda

DRAFT Summer 2022 ATM Biomass

DRAFT Update model of potential habitat for Northern Stock pacific Sardine

NOAA TM NMFS SWFSC 678

Report from the Pacific Sardine Stock Structure Workshop – November 2022

Presentation – Sardine Stock Structure Report Out

Presentation – Zwolinski & Demer

Presentation- Stierhoff-ATM Biomass Methods

NOAA Fisheries has announced a public comment period, through March 10, 2023, on the Council’s proposed Amendment 6 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS) to authorize deep-set buoy gear (DSBG) as an additional gear type for catching swordfish and other HMS in federal waters off […]

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) and the National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest and Southwest Fisheries Science Centers will convene an online pre-assessment workshop to review proposed data and modeling approaches to inform groundfish stock assessments for copper rockfish, canary rockfish, and black rockfish, scheduled for assessment during 2023.  The workshop is open to the public. The pre-assessment workshop will be held Tuesday, January 31, 2023 from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) or until business for the day has been completed.  The workshop will reconvene on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. or until business for the day has been completed.

Purpose of the meeting

The purpose of the pre-assessment workshop is to review proposed data inputs, modeling approaches, and any other pertinent information to inform 2023 stock assessments for copper, canary, and black rockfish.  The goal of the pre-assessment workshop is to promote dialogue and a common understanding between assessment teams and data providers of the best data and analytical and modeling approaches applicable to these assessments.  Stock assessment teams will solicit advice from data stewards, stakeholders, and fishery managers knowledgeable about these species. 

No management actions will be decided by the workshop participants. The participants’ role will be development of recommendations for consideration by the stock assessment teams assigned to conduct these assessments.  Assessments for these stocks are tentatively scheduled for peer review during Stock Assessment Review (STAR) panels: copper rockfish (June 5-9, 2023), black rockfish (July 10-14, 2023), and canary rockfish (July 24-28, 2023). The Pacific Council and the Pacific Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee are scheduled to consider these draft assessments for use in informing management decisions at their September 2023 meeting in Spokane, Washington.

Meeting Materials

Agenda

Oregon Black Rockfish

Washington Black Rockfish

California Black Rockfish

California Copper Rockfish

Canary Rockfish Workshop Presentation (updated 2/14/23)

Meeting Recordings

The Council is continuing to examine the EM Program to reduce costs to the industry and ensure the overall program is effective and efficient for all participants when the program goes into effect January 1, 2024 In February 2022 the Council began scoping several issues brought forth by the industry via the Council’s Ad Hoc […]

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT) is holding an online meeting, which is open to the public. The online meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time, or until business for the day is completed.

Purpose of the meeting

At this online meeting the HMSMT will discuss further development of analyses for Council action on high priority protected species hard caps for the California drift gillnet fishery, the review of essential fish habitat designations in the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan, and other HMSMT assignments in 2023.

Meeting materials

Agenda

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team (CPSMT) is holding a meeting, which is open to the public located at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Pacific Room, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive in La Jolla, California 92037. The meeting will be held Tuesday, January 24 and Wednesday, January 25, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, or until business for the day has been completed, and Thursday, January 26, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. or until business for the day has been completed. This meeting will be held in a hybrid format, with the CPSMT meeting in person with livestreaming and remote participation options. In the event an outage occurs or technical issues arise that impact the experience of remote attendees, we will attempt to resolve them but ultimately we cannot guarantee that they will be resolved satisfactorily.

Purpose of the meeting

The primary purpose of this meeting is to discuss and develop work products and recommendations for the Pacific Council’s April 2023 meeting.  Topics will include essential fish habitat review and Fishery Management Plan housekeeping.  Other items on the Pacific Council’s April agenda or future Council agendas may be discussed as well.  The CPSMT will also be discussing changes to the CPS stock assessment and fishery evaluation (SAFE) document. The meeting agenda will be available on the Pacific Council’s website in advance of the meeting.

Meeting materials

Draft agenda

The purpose of this public hearing is to receive comments on the proposed management alternatives in preparation for adopting final salmon management recommendations at the April 2023 Council meeting.

To attend the hearing

This public hearing is scheduled to be held at Chateau Westport in the Beach room, 710 S Hancock Avenue, Westport, WA  98595. Please check back as the meeting date approaches to get the most current information, as the venue is subject to change, and the hearings may be held online due to COVID-19 concerns.

Public comment

Public comment will be accepted in person at the hearing, and can also be submitted electronically via e-portal in advance of the April Council meeting.  More information will be available soon.

Additional information

For further information about the hearing, please contact Robin Ehlke at 503-820-2410; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.