Updates – Pacific Fishery Management Council

Public review draft of FEP Chapters 1 & 2

Consistent with Section 1.3 in the FEP in September 2018 the Council initiated a review to consider updates to the document. The Council directed its Ecosystem Work Group (EWG) to revise and update the goals and objectives in the FEP Chapter 2 and develop an outline of FEP revisions to reflect updated science and results of both completed and candidate initiatives.

In March 2019 the Council directed the EWG to submit, for the September 2019 advanced briefing book, alternative descriptions of the FEP Vision (including purpose, goals, and objectives), taking into account public and advisory body comments. Based on EWG recommendations (see Agenda Item E.1.a, EWG Report 1, September 2019), the Council adopted changes to Chapters 1 and 2 for public review. In March 2020 the Council will finalize revisions to FEP chapters 1 and 2, including the vision statement and goals and objectives.

View the public review draft of Chapter 1 and 2 revisions.

Ad Hoc Climate and Communities Core Team to hold a webinar on March 20

This post was generated by and redirects to https://www.pcouncil.org/events/ad-hoc-climate-and-communities-core-team-to-hold-a-webinar-on-march-20/.

Groundfish Management Team to hold webinar March 24, 2020

This post was generated by and redirects to https://www.pcouncil.org/events/groundfish-management-team-to-hold-webinar-march-24-2020/.

Current SaMTAAC alternatives

The SaMTAAC continues to work on development of a range of alternatives for Council consideration (currently scheduled for the June 2020 Council meeting).

The most recent version of the alternatives is dated February 12, 2020.

Materials available from the January 22-23 Climate and Communities Workshop

March 2020 Council meeting internet live stream

The March 2020 Council meeting will be live‐streamed on the internet during the following hours:

Wednesday, March 4, 2020: beginning at approximately 9:00 AM Pacific Time, ending at approximately 6:00 PM PT or when business for the day is complete
Thursday, March 5, 2020 through Monday, March 9, 2020: 8:00 AM Pacific Time, ending daily at approximately 6:00 PM PT or when business for the day is complete

Only the audio portion and presentations displayed on the screen at the Council meeting will be broadcast. The audio portion is listen‐only; you will be unable to speak to the Council via the broadcast.

For agenda item topics and meeting information, please see the March 2020 Council meeting webpage.

Please Note: The GotoMeeting broadcast is not a substitute for attending the Council meeting in-person. We strive to make this service fully available, but due to unforeseen technical issues (internet/power outages, GoToMeeting service issues, etc), this service may not be available during portions of the Council meeting.

Instructions to join the meeting in “listen-only” mode

http://www.gotomeeting.com/online/webinar/join-webinar
Enter the Webinar ID: 752-427-619
Please enter your email address (required)

This is a “listen only” broadcast, you may use your computer speakers or headset to listen.

If you do not have a headset or computer speakers, you may use your telephone to listen to the meeting by dialing this TOLL number +1 (562) 247-8422 (not a toll-free number); enter the phone attendee audio access code: 771-083-667; then enter the Audio Pin: Shown after joining the webinar. The webinar is broadcast in “listen only” mode.

Technical Information

System Requirements

PC-based attendees: Required: Windows® 7, 8, 10, Vista, or XP
Mac®-based attendees: Required: Mac OS® X 10.5 or newer
Mobile attendees: Required: iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phone or Android tablet (See the GoToMeeting Webinar Apps)

You may send an email to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt for technical assistance.

MP3 Audio Files

Approximately five business days after the meeting has ended, you may visit the “Previous Meetings” webpage where you will find links to the MP3 files.

March 2020 Briefing Book

Recent reports

A. Call to Order

A.3 Situation Summary: Executive Director’s Report
- A.3, Attachment 1: CEQ’s Proposed NEPA Regulations: Overview for the CCC

A.4 Situation Summary: Detailed March 3-9, 2020 Agenda

B. Open Comment Period

B.1 Situation Summary: Comments on Non-Agenda Items
- B.1.a, Supplemental California State Senate Report 1: Letter from Senator Mike McGuire
- B.1.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

C. Administrative Matters

C.1 Situation Summary: Report of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
- C.1.a, National Marine Sanctuaries Report 1 (Electronic Only)
- C.1.c, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

C.2 Situation Summary: Marine Planning Update
- C.2 Attachment 1: WCOA Annual Meeting Highlights
- C.2.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

C.3 Situation Summary: Approval of Council Meeting Record
- C.3, Attachment 1: Draft Council Meeting Record: 252nd Session of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (November 15-21, 2019)
- C.3.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

C.4 Situation Summary: Membership Appointments; Statement of Organization, Practices, and Procedures; and Council Operating Procedures
- C.4.a, WDFW Report 1
- C.4.a, USFWS Report 1
- C.4.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

C.5 Situation Summary: Future Council Meeting Agenda and Workload Planning
- C.5, Attachment 1: Pacific Council Workload Planning: Preliminary Year-at-a-Glance Summary
- C.5, Attachment 2: Draft Proposed Council Meeting Agenda, April 2020 in Vancouver, Washington
- C.5.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

D. Habitat Issues

D.1 Situation Summary: Current Habitat Issues
- D.1, Attachment 1: Council letter to NMFS and Bureau of Reclamation on California’s Central Valley Project
- D.1, Attachment 2: Response from NMFS to Council letter on Central Valley Project
- D.1, Attachment 3: Council letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management on Jordan Cove Project
- D.1.a, Supplemental HC Report 1
- D.1.c, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E. Salmon Management

E.1 Situation Summary: National Marine Fisheries Service Report
- E.1 Attachment 1: Letter regarding schedule for the 2020 salmon season regulatory review from Mr. Chris Oliver, Assistant Director of Fisheries to Mr. Chuck Tracy, Executive Director of Pacific Fishery Management Council; received January 29, 2020
- E.1 Attachment 2: Letter of Notice of Intent to Sue from Wild Fish Conservancy to U.S. Department of Commerce and National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to ensure that their authorization of the southeast Alaska salmon fisheries does not jeopardize the continued existence of the Southern Resident Killer Whale and four Chinook salmon species; received January 9, 2020
- E.1.b, Supplemental NWFSC Report 1: Salmon-related publications of the Northwest and Southwest Fisheries Science Center in 2019-present
- E.1.d, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E.2 Situation Summary: Willapa Bay Coho Forecast Methodology Review – Final
- E.2, Supplemental Attachment 1: Willapa Bay Coho – Supporting Documentation of Abundance Forecasting Approach (Electronic Only)
- E.2.c, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E.3 Situation Summary: Southern Resident Killer Whale Endangered Species Act Consultation
- E.3.a, SRKW Workgroup Report 1 (Electronic Only)
- E.3.c, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E.4 Situation Summary: Review of 2019 Fisheries and Summary of 2020 Stock Forecasts
- Review of 2019 Ocean Salmon Fisheries (Electronic Only)
- E.4, Attachment 1: Excerpts from Chapter 3 of the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan
- Supplemental Preseason Report I: Stock Abundance Analysis and Environmental Assessment Part 1 for 2020 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations (Electronic Only)
- E.4.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E.5 Situation Summary: Identify Management Objectives and Preliminary Definition of 2020 Management Alternatives
- E.5, Attachment 1: Guidance for Alternative Development and Assessment
- E.5, Attachment 2: Emergency Changes to the Salmon FMP
- E.5, Attachment 3: FR 97-22094: Policy Guidelines for the Use of Emergency Rules
- E.5.a, California Salmon Council Report 1
- E.5.a, Supplemental SAS Report 1: SAS Proposed Initial Salmon Management Alternatives for 2020 Non-Indian Ocean Fisheries
- E.5.f, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E.6 Situation Summary: Recommendations for 2020 Management Alternative Analysis
- E.6.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E.7 Situation Summary: Further Direction for 2020 Management Alternatives
- E.7.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E.8 Situation Summary: Further Direction for 2020 Management Alternatives
- E.8.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E.9 Situation Summary: Adopt 2020 Management Alternatives for Public Review
- E.9.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

E.10 Situation Summary: Appoint Salmon Hearings Officers
- E.10, Attachment 1: Schedule of Salmon Fishery Management Alternative Hearings
- E.10.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

F. Pacific Halibut Management

F.1 Situation Summary: Annual International Pacific Halibut Commission Meeting Report
- F.1, Attachment 1: 2020 Area 2A Pacific Halibut Allocation
- F.1.a, IPHC News Release: International Pacific Halibut Commission Completes 96th Annual Meeting
- F.1.a, IPHC Report 1: Report of the 96th Session of the IPHC Annual Meeting (AM096); Anchorage, Alaska, USA., 3-7 February 2020 (Electronic Only)
- F.1.b, IPHC Representative Report 1: Report on the 2020 International Pacific Halibut Commission Annual Meeting
- F.1.b, IPHC Representative Report 2: Update on the Management Strategy Evaluation Process for Pacific Halibut
- F.1.d, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

F.2 Situation Summary: Incidental Catch Recommendations: Options for Salmon Troll and Final Recommendations for Fixed Gear Sablefish Fisheries
- F.2, Attachment 1: Summary of Pacific Halibut Incidental Catch Management
- F.2.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

F.3 Situation Summary: Transition of Area 2A Fishery Management
- F.3, Attachment 1: Letter from Pacific Fishery Management Council Chair Philip Anderson to International Pacific Halibut Commission Executive Director Dr. Wilson Regarding Council Recommendations for the 2020 Non-Indian Commercial Directed Halibut Fishery, dated December 13, 2019
- F.3, Attachment 2: Draft Range of Alternatives for the Proposed Transfer of Management Responsibilities for Area 2A Pacific Halibut Fisheries with Focus on the Non-Indian Directed Commercial Fishery
- F.3.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

G. Ecosystem Management

G.1 Situation Summary: California Current Ecosystem and Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) Report and Science Review Topics
- G.1.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

G.2 Situation Summary: Fishery Ecosystem Plan Five-Year Review – Final Action
- G.2, Attachment 1: Proposed revisions to Chapters 1 and 2 as part of the five-year review, Draft for Public Review (September 2019)
- G.2, Supplemental Attachment 2: Pacific Coast Fishery Ecosystem Plan (July 2013) Electronic Only
- G.2.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

G.3 Situation Summary: Climate and Communities Initiative Workshop Report
- G.3, Attachment 1: Developing Climate Change Scenarios for the California Current Ecosystem –Workshop Report
- G.3, Supplemental Attachment 2: Concepts and Questions for the Next Phase of the Climate and Communities Initiative (Jonathan Star)
- G.3.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

H. Groundfish Management

H.1 Situation Summary: National Marine Fisheries Report
- H.1.a, NMFS WCR Report 1: Omnitracs VMS Unit Replacement
- H.1.b, NMFS NWFSC Report 1: At-Sea Hake Observer Salmon Sampling Protocols
- H.1.d, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

H.2 Situation Summary: Initial Stock Assessment Plan and Terms of Reference
- H.2, Attachment 1: Data and Analysis Supporting the Prioritization of Species for Stock Assessments in 2021 and 2023
- H.2, Supplemental REVISED Attachment 2: NMFS Assessment Prioritization Workbook (Excel workbook Electronic Only)
- H.2, Attachment 3: SSC Groundfish Subcommittee Report on Groundfish Stock Assessment Process Review Webinar held on December 13, 2019
- H.2, Supplemental Attachment 4: Summary of the NWFSC West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey data for select species from 2003-2019
- H.2.a, ODFW Report 1: ODFW Report on Initial Stock Assessment Plan
- H.2.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

H.3 Situation Summary: Update on Exempted Fishing Permits for 2021-2022
- H.3, Attachment 1: Summary of Council November 2019 Actions on 2021-2022 EFP
- H.3, Attachment 2: Year-Round Coastwide Midwater Rockfish EFP: Monitoring and Minimizing Salmon Bycatch When Targeting Rockfish in the Shorebased IFQ Fishery, 2021-2022
- H.3, Attachment 3: January 31, 2020 letter from Kotow and Lasko Withdrawing CCA CAL/Okuma Fishing Tackle EFP Proposal
- H.3, Attachment 4: Groundfish EFP Proposal: Yellowtail Rockfish Jig Fishing off California
- H.3, Attachment 5: Commercial Midwater Hook-and-Line Rockfish in RCA off Oregon
- H.3, Attachment 6: Proposal for an Exempted Fishery Permit, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Enhanced Yelloweye Recreational Fishery Biological Sampling
- H.3, Attachment 7: Monterey Bay Regional Exempted Fishing Permit Targeting Chilipepper Rockfish
- H.3, Attachment 8: December 9, 2019 letter from Mr. Phil Anderson to Mr. Chris Oliver
- H.3, Attachment 9: February 4, 2020, letter from Mr. Chris Oliver to Mr. Phil Anderson
- H.3.a, CDFW Report 1: California Department of Fish And Wildlife Report on 2021-2022 Exempted Fishing Permits
- H.3.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

H.4 Situation Summary: Update on 2021-2022 Harvest Specifications and Management Measures
- H.4.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

H.5 Situation Summary: Inseason Adjustments Including Shorebased Carryover – Final Action
- H.5.a, Supplemental NMFS Report 1: Update on 2020 trawl gear exempted fishing permit
- H.5.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

I. Highly Migratory Species Management

I.1 Situation Summary: NMFS Report
- I.1.a, NMFS Report 1
- I.1.d, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

I.2 Situation Summary: Review of Essential Fish Habitat – Scoping
- I.2, Attachment 1: Action Plan for Highly Migratory Species Essential Fish Habitat Review: Background, Process, and Schedule
- I.2.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

I.3 REVISED Situation Summary: International Management Activities; Including U.S./Canada Albacore Treaty
- I.3, Attachment 1: Treaty between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America on Pacific Coast Albacore Tuna Vessels and Port Privileges
- I.3, Attachment 2: Letter from Michael Tosatto to Archie Taotasi Soliai, Simon Kineen, and Phil Anderson summarizing WCPFC15 Outcomes
- I.3, Attachment 3: WCPFC Circular 2019/81, Outcomes Document for WCPFC16
- I.3.a, NMFS Report 1 (revised 02/18/2020)
- I.3.a, Supplemental NMFS Report 2: Update on NMFS International HMS Activities
- I.3.d, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

I.4 Situation Summary: Drift Gillnet Fishery Hard Caps Update
- I.4, Attachment 1: Protected Species Hard Caps for the California/Oregon Large-Mesh Drift Gillnet Fishery, Final Rule (85 FR 7246)
- I.4.a, NMFS Report 1
- I.4.b, Public Comments (If received, Electronic Only)

Ancillary Meetings (Advisory Body and Committee Agendas AND Committee Memos)

Ancillary Agendas

All Committee Agendas for the March 2020 briefing book (bookmarked in alphabetical order for easy navigation)

Advisory Body and Committee Memos

All Committee Memos for the March 2020 briefing book (bookmarked in alphabetical order for easy navigation)

Informational Reports, General Information, and Membership Roster

Informational Reports

Informational Report 1: Recreational Fisheries Information Network (RecFIN) Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) Regional Implementation Planning Priorities 2019–2021
Informational Report 2: Staff Summary of Federal Legislation in the 116th U.S. Congress
Informational Report 3: Trawl Rationalization (Trat) Compliance Summary, 2019
Supplemental Informational Report 4: Guidance for Determining Negligible Impact under MMPA Section 101(a)(5)(E)

General Information and Membership Roster

General Information for March 2020: Chair’s Reception Flyer, Future Meeting Schedule, Hotel Floor Plan (meeting room layout), Council Member Seating Chart, and Membership Roster

Highly Migratory Species Advisory Subpanel and HMS Management Team to hold webinar February 26, 2020

Salmon Technical Team and Scientific and Statistical Committee salmon subcommittee to hold webinar February 26, 2020

NMFS publishes final rule and requests comments; protected species hard caps for the California/Oregon large-mesh drift gillnet fishery

NMFS is publishing regulations under the authority of Section 303(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to implement an immediate closure of the California/Oregon drift gillnet (DGN) fishery for swordfish and thresher shark (14 inch (36 cm) minimum mesh size) if a hard cap (i.e., limit) on mortality/injury is met or exceeded for certain protected species during a rolling 2-year period.

The final rule is effective March 9, 2020. Comments on the final rule and supporting documents must be submitted in writing by March 23, 2020.

Please see the Federal Register notice dated February 7, 2020 for the final rule and instructions on how to comment.

If you have additional questions, please contact ontacting Lyle Enriquez, NMFS West Coast Region, 501 W. Ocean Boulevard, Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213, or Lyle.Enriquez@noaa.gov.

Notice of availability: proposed rule for the 2020 Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan

NOAA Fisheries has issued a proposed rule for the Pacific halibut Catch Sharing Plan and annual management measures for Area 2A off Washington, Oregon, and California. Comments on the proposed changes to the Catch Sharing Plan and domestic Area 2A Pacific halibut management measures must be received by March 9, 2020. Please see the Federal Register notice dated February 6, 2020 to view the proposed rule and instructions on how to comment.

For further information, please contact Kathryn Blair, NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region; phone: 503-231-6858, fax: 503-231-6893, or e-mail: kathryn.blair@noaa.gov.

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