Archive for July, 2011

Shorebased IFQ Program: Limited Time Left to Transfer QP from QS Accounts

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Many who have Quota Share (QS) Accounts have been transferring quota pounds (QP) from those accounts into Vessel Accounts as needed, when landings are made. In an effort to increase the likelihood the QP issued under the Shorebased IFQ Program are made available to the fishery, the Council included a provision to require that all QP be transferred to Vessel Accounts by September 1 of each year. Those who have been transferring quota pounds from their QS accounts on an as needed basis should be aware of this provision and take actions by September 1 to avoid possible loss of access to those QP after that date. QP transferred to a Vessel Account may be transferred to other Vessel Accounts but not back to the original QS accounts. Read the July 27, 2011 “NMFS Public Notice” on this issue.

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Posted in Groundfish

Agenda and Materials Available for Upcoming Cost Recovery Committee Meeting

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

Meeting materials and an agenda have been added to the upcoming Cost Recovery Committee meeting notice.

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Posted in Groundfish

Workshop on National Electronic Fishery Information Systems

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

On September 9, 2011, eFIS will hold a a symposium and follow-up workshop on electronic fishery information systems to be held in conjunction with the September 2011 American Fisheries Society annual meeting in Seattle, Washington. The one-day symposium will be held as part of the AFS conference and will feature more than 25 speakers discussing design and application of electronic logbooks and other electronic information systems in the United States and throughout the world. A follow-up one-day interactive workshop the following day will utilize national and international expertise to address these challenging issues and develop recommendations to improve the design and implementation of these systems.

All interested parties are welcome to participate.

For further information, please visit the eFIS website; or contact:

Gil Sylvia, Chair, eFIS Steering Committee, gil.sylvia@oregonstate.edu
Nancy Steinberg, National eFIS Workshop Coordinator, nsteinberg@charter.net

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Posted in Groundfish

Groundfish Project Team to Meet

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

The groundfish project team responsible for drafting and analyzing the 2013-14 harvest specification and management measures for the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a working meeting, which is open to the public.

The project team meeting will be held Tuesday, August 16, 2011, from 1 p.m. until business for the day is completed.

The primary purpose of the project team meeting is to consider the scope of action for the 2013-14 harvest specifications and management measures based on Council action at the June 2011 meeting (see June 2011 Decision Document). Any products from the meeting will be available for Council consideration at the September meeting in San Mateo, California. No management actions will be decided by the project team.

The project team will meet in Portland, Oregon at the following location on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 at 1 p.m.:

Pacific Fishery Management Council
Large Conference Room
7700 NE Ambassador Place
Portland, OR 97220-1384
Telephone: 503-820-2280
Driving Directions

For more information regarding the project team meeting, please contact Ms. Kelly Ames at 503-820-2280, ext. 426; toll free 1-866-806-7204.

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Posted in Groundfish, Groundfish

Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Review Committee to Hold Work Session

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) ad hoc groundfish Essential Fish Habitat Review Committee (EFHRC) will hold a work session to review progress and interim products for the groundfish EFH periodic 5-year review. Recommendations are tentatively scheduled to be presented to the Council at the April, 2012 Council meeting in Seattle, Washington.

The EFHRC work session is open to the public and will be held on Thursday, October 6, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the following location:

Pacific Fishery Management Council
7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101
Portland, Oregon 97220-1384
503-820-2280
Driving Directions

This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt at 503-820-2280 at least five days prior to the meeting date.

For further information about the EFHRC work session, please contact Mr. Chuck Tracy at 503-820-2280, ext. 415; toll free 1-866-806-7204.

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Posted in Groundfish, Groundfish

Tule Chinook Workgroup To Hold Work Session

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Tule Chinook Workgroup (TCW) will hold a meeting to review work products and develop an abundance-based harvest management approach for Columbia River natural tule Chinook. This meeting of the TCW is open to the public.

TCW work products will be reviewed by the Council, and if approved, would be submitted to National Marine Fisheries Service for possible consideration in the next Lower Columbia River tule biological opinion for ocean salmon seasons in 2012 and beyond, and distributed to State and Federal recovery planning processes. In the event that a usable approach emerges from this process, the Council may consider a fishery management plan (FMP) amendment process beginning after November 2011 to adopt the approach as a formal conservation objective in the Salmon FMP.

The meeting will be held Tuesday, August 9, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the following location:

Pacific Fishery Management Council
7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101
Portland, Oregon 97220-1384
Phone: 503-820-2280
Driving Directions

The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt at 503-820-2280, at least five days prior to the meeting date.

For further information about the TCW work session, please contact Mr. Chuck Tracy at 503-820-2280, ext. 415; toll free 1-866-806-7204.

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Posted in Salmon, Salmon

Draft False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan Available

Monday, July 18th, 2011

NMFS has published a proposed rule that would implement the proposed False Killer Whale Take Reduction Plan (FKWTRP). The proposed FKWTRP addresses current mortality and serious injury of the Hawaii Pelagic stock of false killer whales incidental to the Hawaii-based pelagic longline fisheries. While applicable to the Hawaii fishery, the Plan may be of interest to west coast HMS fishery participants and managers because pelagic longline is a legal gear in the Council’s HMS FMP (although only deep-set pelagic longline is currently permitted). The Federal register notice may viewed in text or PDF.

A copy of the FKWTRP can be downloaded from the Take Reduction Team Web site.

Written comments on the proposed rule must be received no later October 17, 2011.

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Posted in Highly migratory species

Highly Migratory Species FMP as amended available on website

Friday, July 15th, 2011

Amendment 2 to the HMS FMP was approved by NMFS on June 29, 2011. An updated version of the FMP incorporating these changes is available on the Council website. Visit the HMS FMP page.

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Posted in Highly migratory species, Uncategorized

Summer Council Newsletter Now Online

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

The summer issue of the Pacific Council News is now online here.

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Tags: newsletter
Posted in Aquaculture, Coastal Pelagic Species, Ecosystem-based management, Groundfish, Habitat and communities, Highly migratory species, Hot topics, Pacific halibut, Salmon

Notice of Pacific Sardine Directed Fishing Closure

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Based on the most recent Pacific sardine landings data it is estimated that the second allocation’s directed harvest fishing total for Pacific sardine will soon be reached. Read the informational noticed announcement that directed fishing for Pacific sardine will close at 12:01 am Tuesday morning, July 12, 2011. Fishing vessels with Pacific sardine on board taken in the directed harvest fishery must be at shore/dock and in the process of offloading at the time of closure.

After the effective time of the closure until September 15, 2011, Pacific sardine may only be caught/landed (i) as part of the live bait fishery, or (ii) when caught incidental to other species/fisheries, with incidental harvest constrained by a 30-percent by weight of all fish per trip.

This action is necessary because the directed harvest allocation total for the second seasonal period (July 1 – September 14) has been reached.

For any further questions please contact Mr. Josh Lindsay, National Marine Fisheries Service, at 562-980-4034 or by email at joshua.lindsay@noaa.gov.

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Posted in Coastal Pelagic Species

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