March 2026 Decision Summary Document

March 5-9, 2026 

Council Meeting Decision Summary Documents highlight significant activities and decisions made at Council meetings. Fishery management decisions made by the Council are formally transmitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as recommendations and are not final until NMFS approval.  Results of agenda items that do not reach a level of highlight significance are typically not described in the Decision Summary Document.  For a more detailed account of Council meeting discussions, see the Council meeting record and transcripts.

Salmon Management

Review of 2025 Fisheries and Summary of 2026 Stock Forecasts

The Council received an update on salmon stock status and reviewed changes highlighted in the Review of 2025 Ocean Salmon Fisheries from the Salmon Technical Team (STT). Klamath River fall Chinook now meet the criteria for “not overfished-rebuilding,” while Queets spring/summer Chinook continue to meet this status (no change from 2025). No coho stocks meet the criteria for an overfished designation, and the most recent data indicate that no Chinook or coho stocks are currently experiencing overfishing.

The Council also adopted the stock abundance forecasts, overfishing limits, acceptable biological catches (ABC), and annual catch limits (ACL) presented in the preliminary 2026 Preseason Report I for use in 2026 salmon management. The only exception was Klamath River fall Chinook, for which the Council adopted a corrected 2026 stock abundance forecast, ABC, and ACL based on updated information provided in a supplemental report from the STT. The Council noted that the supplemental report reflects the best scientific information available, using methods previously approved by the Scientific and Statistical Committee and incorporating the most recent data available.

An updated version of the 2026 Preseason Report I, which incorporates the information included in the supplemental STT report, is now available on the Council’s Salmon Management Documents webpage.

Adopt 2026 Management Alternatives for Public Review

The Council adopted for public review three management measure alternatives for the 2026 non-Tribal ocean commercial and recreational salmon fisheries beginning May 16. The Council also adopted three alternatives proposed by the Tribes for 2026 treaty troll Indian ocean salmon fisheries. Details of the alternatives can be found on the PFMC 2026-2027 upcoming season management website. The Council is scheduled to adopt final 2026 ocean salmon regulations at its April 2026 Council meeting.

In 2026, options for the salmon ocean season North of Cape Falcon, Oregon (covering waters primarily off of Washington) are similar to past years. Salmon fisheries South of Cape Falcon (covering waters off Oregon and California) are expected to be more robust than recent years. While several Council advisory bodies advised that caution is still warranted, increased forecasts for both Sacramento and Klamath River fall Chinook compared to recent years has allowed for consideration of broader fishing opportunities relative to recent years. California fisheries will be managed with quotas or harvest guidelines and vessel limits to help assure conservation objectives are met for California salmon stocks. The Council’s March 2026 News Release provides general information on the Alternatives adopted.

Appoint Salmon Hearing Officers

The Council appointed officers and reviewed plans for the 2026 public salmon hearings. The Washington and California hearings are scheduled in-person for Monday, March 23 in Westport, WA and Santa Rosa, CA. The Oregon hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 24 and will be held in person in Newport, OR and via webinar.

Public comment will be accepted in person at each hearing and can also be submitted electronically via the E-portal in advance of the April Council meeting. It was noted that due to travel and other restrictions, Federal employees may not be able to attend or participate in these hearings.

Phase 2 Stock Definitions

For the species off Oregon in Table 1, below, the Council adopted Alternative 2 as the Final Preferred Alternative. These species were identified as not in need of conservation and management in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Oregon and will be removed from the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

Table 1. Species off Oregon identified as not in need of conservation and management in the EEZ off Oregon and adopted under Alternative 2, to be removed from the FMP.

Black rockfish

Blue rockfish

Deacon rockfish

China rockfish

Copper rockfish

Quillback rockfish

For the species off Washington in Table 2, below, the Council adopted Alternative 3 as the Final Preferred Alternative. These species were identified as not in need of conservation and management in the EEZ off Washington and will be designated as ecosystem component (EC) species in the FMP.

Table 2. Species off Washington identified as not in need of conservation and management in the EEZ off Washington and adopted under Alternative 3, to be designated as EC species in the FMP.

Blue rockfish

Deacon rockfish

Cabezon

China rockfish

Copper rockfish

Kelp greenling

The Council also adopted draft FMP amendment text (Agenda Item D.3, Attachment 2), to be updated by Council staff to reflect the Final Preferred Alternative described above, as needed.

Finally, the Council provided several recommendations for next steps to implement this action including

• Requesting NMFS continue discussing cooperative management of the Washington recreational fishery with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Requesting NMFS work with the state of Oregon to develop Memoranda of Understanding, or something similar, for continued coordination of sampling, data collection, funding, and monitoring prior to the species being removed from the FMP
• Specifying that species off Oregon identified as not in need of conservation and management in the EEZ be removed from the FMP no earlier than January 1, 2030, and only after a full-benchmark assessment for black rockfish in Federal and state waters off Oregon has been conducted and adopted

Widow Rockfish Alternative Harvest Control Rule

The Council adopted a revised problem statement as described in Agenda Item D.4.a, Supplemental GAP Report 1:

The most recent widow rockfish assessment showed a substantial change in stock projections and estimated stock productivity compared with the previous assessment. Establishing harvest specifications under the default harvest policy, generated from the new assessment, could result in significant socio-economic impacts that are disproportionate to the stock’s status, which is expected to remain well above target biomass level. With the goals of conducting a full benchmark assessment for widow rockfish in an upcoming cycle and setting 2027-2028 harvest levels consistently with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and National Standards 1, 2, and 8, the purpose of this item is to develop an alternative harvest control rule policy for setting harvest specifications for widow rockfish for the 2027-2028 biennium. The policy should continue to prevent overfishing and keep the long-term average stock status at or above target biomass (i.e., Bmsy), while moderating socio-economic disruption to the fishing fleet, processing landscape, and coastal communities.

The Council also adopted a range of annual catch limit alternatives described below (note: Alternative numbering may change for April Council meeting).  Alternatives 1 and 2 were recommended by both the GAP and GMT, and were based on the Council’s original November 2025 motion to look at a ramp-down from current expected catch levels to limit impact of the most recent stock assessment on fishing communities.  The GAP specifically recommended that a constant catch ACL rather than a declining ACL from 2027 to 2028 was preferred to provide stability for both operations in developing business plans and maintaining markets (Agenda Item D.4.a, Supplemental GAP Report 1).  The GMT recommended Alternative 3 (Agenda Item D.4.a, Supplemental GMT Report 1) as another option, which would provide more opportunity than the default harvest control rule, but would allow consideration of an intermediate alternative in assessing the trade-offs of short and long-term impacts (i.e., taking less yield out in the near term to have greater yield available in the long term). 

Specification	Default Harvest Control Rule (from Agenda Item D.2, Attachment 1)		Alternative 1 (Modified Council “Request 2” Forecast Catch)		Alternative 2 (Modified 20% Decrease in Forecast Catch from Council “Request 2”)		Alternative 3: Eq. MSY @ SB40%
	2027	2028	2027	2028	2027	2028	2027	2028
OFL	4,916	5,172	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
ABC	4,596	4,810	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
ACL	4,596	4,810	8,400	8,400	6,720	6,720	5,858	5,858

Finally, the Council requested that the Northwest Fisheries Science Center produce the analyses described in Agenda Item D.4.a, Supplemental SSC Report 1 for the adopted range of alternatives.  These analyses will provide information on the risk of overfishing so that the SSC can recommend OFLs and ABCs, as appropriate, at the April 2026 Council meeting.

Inseason Adjustments – Final Action

The Council adopted the following inseason adjustments for 2026:

• Non-trawl canary rockfish trip limits north and south of 40° 10′ N. latitude
  • 4,000 lbs. per two months for limited entry fixed gear (LEFG)
  • 2,000 lbs. per two months for open access (OA)
• Canary rockfish bag limits
  • Increase sub-bag from 1 fish to 2 fish for the Oregon recreational long-leader fishery
  • Reduce the long-leader fishery bag limit from 12 fish to 10 fish

Initial Harvest Specifications for 2027–28

The Council confirmed the Preliminary Preferred Alternative for five stocks as recommended by the GAP (Table 1 in Agenda Item D.6.a, Supplemental GAP Report 1, March 2026) and GMT (Agenda Item D.6.a, Supplemental GMT Report 1, March 2026), as follows:

Stock	Alt	Harvest Control Rule	ACLs		Recommendation
			2027	2028
Canary Rockfish	Alt 1	Default: ABC>ACL (40-10 rule, P*=0.45)	606	623
	Alt 2	ABC = ACL (P* = 0.45)	643	664	PPA
Chilipepper Rockfish	Alt 1	Default: ABC=ACL (P*=0.45)	3,211	3,086
	Alt 2	ACL=2,114 mt for 2027-28, return to default in 2029	2,114a/	2,114a/	PPA
Petrale Sole	Alt 1	Default: ABC=ACL (P*=0.45)	2,449	2,423
	Alt 2	ABC/ACL=2,489 mt for 2027-28, return to default in 2029	2,489	2,489	PPA
Yelloweye Rockfish	Alt 1	Default: ABC=ACL (P*=0.4)	113	113
	Alt 2	ACL=85 mt for 2027-28, return to default in 2029	85	85	PPA
Yellowtail Rockfish North of 40°10’ N. lat.	Alt 1	Default: ABC=ACL (P*=45)	4,723	4,540
	Alt 2	Ad-hoc phase in	5,050	4,730	PPA

Initial Stock Assessment Plan for 2027 and 2029

The Council requested that the Science Centers work with partners to provide more information at the June 2026 Council meeting on age-reading capacity, data availability, and related issues to consider full benchmark assessments for the following:

For the 2027 cycle,

• Redbanded rockfish
• Lingcod
• Widow rockfish
• Yellowtail rockfish south of 40° 10’ N. lat.

For the 2029 cycle,

• Black rockfish off Oregon and Washington
• Spiny dogfish

The Council will adopt 2027 assessment priorities in June 2026, including species and type of assessments.  This will also include the recommendation for catch-only projections.  Additionally, the Council will consider a proposal from the Science Centers on a long-term stock assessment plan (including assessments for 2029).

2027–28 Stock Assessment Terms of Reference – Scoping

The Council discussed the comments and items for scoping changes to the stock assessment terms of reference (TOR) from the SSC (Agenda Item D.9.a, Supplemental SSC Report 1), GAP (Agenda Item D.9.a, Supplemental GAP Report 1) and GMT (Agenda Item D.9.a, Supplemental GMT Report 1) and gave guidance for Council staff along with Science Center staff to consider those comments in development of materials for the June 2026 meeting. The Council is expected to consider preliminary changes to the TOR and discuss other stock assessment process-related changes in June 2026.  Final action on the TOR is expected at the November 2025 Council meeting.

2027–28 Fisheries – Analytical Update and Limited Actions

The Groundfish Management Team (GMT) gave an update on the overwinter analyses of management measures in support of the 2027-28 harvest specifications and management measures process to the Council.

The GMT informed the Council that several groundfish Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Areas (YRCAs) under consideration for removal from regulation overlapped Pacific halibut YRCAs. This finding indicated if the Council wanted to consider an action to modify YRCAs, it would be important to do so for both the groundfish fishery and the Pacific halibut fishery to ensure consistent regulations, as participants often fish in both fisheries. Pacific halibut regulatory language is typically not modified during the groundfish biennial specifications process and to consider removing YRCAs in both fisheries, the April meeting notice will reflect this matter as both a groundfish and Pacific halibut action. The GMT also informed the Council that in the overwinter process they added an addtional allocation option for blackgill rockfish into the analysis and three recreational annual catch target (ACT) analyses for lingcod, quillback, and vermilion/sunset rockfishes south of 40° 10′ N. lat. for Council consideration.

The Council was also informed that there was a need to develop an Amendment to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan Amendment (FMP) to remove the rebuilding plans for the California stock of quillback rockfish and yelloweye rockfish, as both stocks are rebuilt.  The Council acknowledged the updates and directed staff to revise the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP to reflect the rebuilt status of these stocks.

Ecosystem Management

California Current Ecosystem Annual Status Report

The Council received a presentation from the California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Team (CCIEA) on the 2025-2026 California Current Ecosystem Status Report (ESR) and noted several new and ongoing components of the Report (including some recommended by Council Advisory Bodies in previous years) which continue to make it an accessible, streamlined, and highly informative document. The Council also endorsed the Scientific and Statistical Committee’s (SSC) review of the following science topics at a meeting of the SSC Ecosystem-Based Management Subcommittee this Fall: a) Review of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index and its utility as an ecosystem indicator; b) Revisiting indicators to support management of groundfish stocks; and c) Review of changes to fishery diversification indices. Finally, the Council endorsed recommendations from Advisory Bodies to support the CCIEA team in providing “mini-ESRs” (two-page interim reports generated by the CCIEA team during the course of the year that summarize and present the most recent information available) as informational reports at times that align with appropriate Council agenda items, and to refer to the ESR in future Council agenda items related to the Council’s Special Projects, given that the ESR can serve as a valuable source of information relevant to cross-FMP work.

Special Project 3: Workshop to Develop New Fishing Systems

The Council discussed the focus, objectives, and potential structure of a workshop proposed under Special Project 3, New Fishing Opportunities within Bycatch Allowances, and provided guidance to Council staff on the development of the workshop. Council guidance included support for maintaining a focus on Dynamic Ocean Management and Monitoring (DOM) tools, with an emphasis on how these tools can best be operationalized in the environmental, regulatory, and fisheries context of the California Current Ecosystem in order to improve management.

Specifically, the Council expressed support for a workshop where fishermen, scientists, and managers can co-develop, validate, and further refine DOM tools that allow for more effective targeting of healthy stocks while avoiding bycatch of protected species; consider how these tools can inform management that’s more adaptive and responsive to rapidly changing or real-time ocean conditions; begin with a focus on Highly Migratory Species (HMS) but encourage the participation of representatives from other West Coast fisheries; and identify opportunities for collaboration and cooperative research where appropriate and possible. In terms of timing, the Council recommended that the workshop be scheduled at a time that aligns with the availability of fishermen and that is sequenced with the work of the Ad Hoc HMS Roadmap – Fisheries Innovation Workgroup.

Habitat Issues

Current Habitat Issues

The Council received updates on current habitat issues (F.1.a, Supplemental HC Report 1), including:

• Recent Council comment letters on the Hells Canyon Hydropower License Draft Supplemental EIS and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Outer Continental Shelf National Oil and Gas Leasing Program
• A California State Lands Commission notice on plans for removing oil Platform Holly
• Cancelation of Nordic Aquafarm’s planned development in Humboldt Bay, California
• An updated rocky reefs habitat areas of particular concern spatial dataset
• A Pacific Coast Groundfish spatial data technical assistance document

The Council also discussed a recently published BOEM Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic EIS for the California oil and gas leasing Program Areas, with a comment period closing March 30, 2026. The Council directed the HC and Council staff to develop a succinct comment letter, incorporating input from the Marine Planning Committee, to be circulated via the Council’s quick response procedure.

Highly Migratory Species Management 

National Marine Fisheries Service Report

NMFS provided updates (G.1.a, NMFS Report 1) on deep-set buoy gear limited entry permits and noted that two exempted fishing permit applications endorsed by the Council in November 2025 were recently posted in the Federal Register.

International Management Activities

The Council heard updates on several topics related to international highly migratory species management. Christa Svensson, Council representative to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), provided updates related to WCPFC activities:

• Stakeholder engagement continues to grow, with new observers participating in WCPFC 22 in December 2025
• WCPFC is now recognized as an observer at the International Seabed Authority, established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
• During high seas boardings, WCPFC now allows questions regarding fair labor practices, such as asking workers if they’re being paid and when they were last on land
• Ms. Svensson urged continued engagement in South Pacific Albacore (SPA) fishing and management activities, noting that up to 54 west coast vessels participated in that fishery in the late 1990s and that it is important to maintain relationships and markets

Ms. Svensson also emphasized the importance and the value of supporting participation in international HMS meetings and expressed appreciation of the Council’s support for such involvement, including in the March 11 – 13 Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) – Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Northern Committee Joint Working Group (Joint Working Group) meeting in Newport Beach, California.

Ryan Wulff summarized NMFS Report 1 and Supplemental NMFS Report 2. He noted that with David Hogan’s retirement, the new U.S. State Department representative is Senior Foreign Affairs Officer Elana Mendelson. Ms. Mendelson hosted two stakeholder calls on the potential for negotiating a revised Pacific Albacore Tuna Treaty, including discussions on reciprocal port access and a fishing regime for U.S. and Canadian vessels. There was no agreement in 2025. The Pacific Albacore Tuna Treaty has expired and re-initiating a new treaty is complex. While a new agreement is highly unlikely in 2026, stakeholder discussions are anticipated to continue.

Mr. Wulff noted that a North Pacific albacore stock assessment is underway and likely to be completed this spring, with an executive summary available in May 2026.

The Council voiced support for continued engagement in international HMS management issues, including participation of stakeholders in U.S. delegations to the Joint Working Group, WCPFC, and other meetings. The Council also voiced support for active engagement and continued attention to issues related to Pacific blue fin, North Pacific albacore, and South Pacific albacore. The Council also endorsed the recommendations in Supplemental HMSAS Report 1 and directed staff to transmit those recommendations to NMFS as a basis for upcoming discussions and negotiations.

Exempted Fishing Permits

The Council considered an exempted fishing permit (EFP) application (G.3 Attachment 1) that was first considered by the Council in November 2025. The Council requested the applicant to return in March with additional information regarding the gear configuration and species bycatch in other parts of the world where the gear type has been used. G.3.a, Supplemental HMSMT Report 1 provides bycatch data and other information, and the applicant was present to answer questions from the Council.

The Council recommended that NMFS approve the EFP application and expressed support for testing the use of hookless ring gear in a variety of EFP gear configurations. The Council recommended that NMFS prioritize flexibility in the operative terms and conditions of existing, approved, HMS EFPs, to build on lessons learned, and to support continued participation in fishery innovations (including consideration of more vessels), provided that such flexibilities can be accommodated within effort limits considered in the environmental review processes and analyses underpinning the issuance of EFPs for those configuration types.

Highly Migratory Species Roadmap

The Council considered Fisheries Innovation Workgroup (FIW) updates related to HMS EFP economic and bycatch performance metrics and benchmarks, an updated list of bycatch species and species groups, EFP process and guidance improvements, and potential edits to Council Operating Procedure (COP) 20.

The Council endorsed the following next steps for the HMS Roadmap tasks assigned to the FIW:

1. Endorse the FIW proposed edits to COP 20 (G.4.a, Supplemental FIW Report 2) with the change to the EFP Data Reporting Timeline found in G.4.a, Supplemental HMSMT Report 1 for adoption when next considered on a Council agenda.
2. Endorse the FIW recommendations in Agenda Item G.4.a, FIW Report 1, regarding:
   • The proposed economic metrics and benchmarks pending further recommendations in November;
   • The use of benchmarks rather than acceptable levels of bycatch for evaluating EFP performance;
   • The proposed list of species and species groups; and
   • The recommendations on EFP guidance and materials.
3. Direct the FIW to develop an overall bycatch benchmark and individual species/species group bycatch benchmarks (either counts, catch rates, or catch ratios depending on species or species group) using the proposed species list and the information described in the report.
4. The Highly Migratory Species Roadmap be revised as follows:
   • In the Action Items section, revise 1b as follows: Define acceptable levels of bycatch/ bycatch mortality for protected and non-marketable species Develop benchmarks for bycatch of identified species or species groups released dead to be used in evaluation and management of HMS EFPs. and authorized fisheries. (Also supports EFP Framework Development)
   • Include this language in the Roadmap: Bycatch benchmarks will be used to support Council consideration of whether to recommend that National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) renew HMS EFPs and to support Council evaluation of EFP results and potential recommended regulatory actions and/or FMP amendments, including authorization of new fishing gears or methods. Benchmarks are not regulatory in nature and will not be used as a basis for the Council to recommend that NMFS revoke EFPs.

The Council will consider the proposed modifications to COP 20, including those in G.4.a, Supplemental EC Report 1, discussed at the March meeting in the context of broader COP changes to be considered at the April 2026 meeting under Agenda Item H.1 Special Project 1: Adaptive Management and Flexibility. Final modifications to COPs that guide the Council’s EFP processes may be considered at a future Council meeting, under the Membership Appointments and COPs Administrative agenda item.

The Council agreed that the FIW should continue to develop and refine bycatch benchmarks, EFP guidance, and the list of bycatch species and groups, and bring a complete EFP evaluation framework and supporting materials for final Council action at the November 2026 meeting. The Council endorsed a 2-3 day in-person FIW meeting to finalize the EFP framework and associated tasks. The Council also agreed that the Executive Director should consider securing the services of a meeting facilitator to allow the FIW Co-Chairs to more fully engage in discussions.

Pacific Halibut Management

Incidental Limits

The Council adopted three alternatives for incidental Pacific halibut retention in the 2026 salmon troll fishery after hearing from the Salmon Advisory Subpanel and the public. Each alternative included a landing and possession limit of one Pacific halibut for every two Chinook, plus one additional Pacific halibut beyond this ratio. The possession/landing limit per trip are 35 (status quo/Alternative 1), 30 (Alternative 2), and 25 (Alternative 3). The Council is scheduled to adopt a final alternative at its upcoming April meeting.

The Council’s final recommendation for the 2026 incidental Pacific halibut catch limits in the fixed gear sablefish fishery north of Point Chehalis, starting April 1, is 75 pounds of dressed weight Pacific halibut for every 1,000 pounds of dressed weight sablefish. Additionally, 2 extra Pacific halibut are allowed beyond this ratio. This aligns with the Groundfish Advisory Subpanel’s recommendation.

Administrative Matters 

Membership Appointments and Council Operating Procedures

The Council appointed

• Dr. Claudia Friess to one of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) positions on the Groundfish Management Team
• Mr. Michael Garrity to the WDFW position on the Habitat Committee
• Mr. Mark Newell to fill the Processor position on the Salmon Advisory Subpanel
• Ms. Marlene Bellman to fill the Tribal position on the Salmon Technical Team

The Council will advertise for the following positions for consideration at their June Council meeting

• Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel (CPSAS) – 1 processor position
• Ecosystem Advisory Subpanel (EAS) – 1 Washington At-Large representative
• Habitat Committee (HC) – 1 Northwest or Columbia River tribal position; 1 At-Large position
• SSC -1 At-Large position

The Council provided feedback on the Sacramento River Fall Chinook S_MSY Peer Review panel including the role of the Chair, panel composition, and advisors; timelines; and review process for consideration at the April Council meeting.