The season end date for the California recreational halibut fishery was extended by two weeks and will now be November 15 or until the quota is reached. The dates for the Washington recreational halibut fishery were set as following for Marine Areas 1 through 6:
Marine Areas 6 – 10:
April 22 through May 22, three days per week, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Memorial Day weekend, open Friday through Sunday, May 28, 29, and 30
June 3 through June 26, three days per week, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Marine Area 5:
May 6 through May 22, two days per week, Thursday, and Saturday
Memorial Day weekend, open Friday through Sunday, May 28, 29, and 30
June 3 through June 26, three days per week, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Marine Areas 3 and 4:
May 6 through May 22, two days per week, Thursday and Saturday
Memorial Day weekend, open Friday and Sunday, May 28 and 30
June 3 through June 26, two days per week, Thursday and Saturday
Marine Area 2:
May 6 through May 23, two days per week, Thursday and Sunday
Memorial Day weekend, open Thursday, May 27
If sufficient quota remains, open June 17, 20, 24, 27
Marine Area 1:
May 6 through May 23, two days per week, Thursday and Sunday
Memorial Day weekend, open Thursday, May 27
June 3 through June 27, open two days per week, Thursday and Sunday
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) removed the Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation Areas (YRCA) and the Westport Offshore YRCA for the South Coast Subareas, consistent with the groundfish regulation. WDFW will also allow the retention of yellowtail rockfish, widow rockfish, canary rockfish, redstriped rockfish, greenstriped rockfish, silvergray rockfish, chilipepper, bocaccio, and blue/deacon rockfish, Pacific cod, flatfish species, and lingcod north of the Washington-Oregon border on all-depth halibut days for the Columbia River Subarea, consistent with regulations to the north.
Transition of Area 2A halibut management continues
Since November 2019, the Council has worked to transfer permitting and management of the non-Indian commercial directed halibut fishery from the International Pacific Halibut Commission to the Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). This November, the Council adopted final alternatives from an updated range of alternatives.
The alternatives focus on when the Council will consider changes to the fishery (i.e., setting vessel limits and season dates) and to whom and how NMFS will issue permits. Supporting analysis for this action will continue to be developed over the next year. The Council’s intent is to implement the directed fishery management framework in 2022 or 2023.
The final alternatives are:
Consider the directed fishery framework during the Catch Sharing Plan process in September and November; including any guidance for vessel limits and inseason changes for NMFS implementation. (4.1.2 Alternative 2)
Issue permits for all Area 2A halibut fisheries: commercial directed, incidental salmon troll, incidental sablefish, and recreational charter halibut fisheries. (4.2.1 Alternative 2)
Allow NMFS to determine the appropriate application deadlines for all commercial halibut applications, set to coincide with Council meetings and NMFS processing time. (4.2.2 Alternative 2)
Require proof of permit to be onboard fishing the vessel and made readily available upon request, regardless of the type of permit (e.g., paper or electronic). NMFS to provide access to permit in a printable format or send paper copy directly to the participant. (4.2.5 Alternative 1, revised status quo).
Council recommends seasons for 2021 commercial halibut
In November, the Council recommended a season structure for the 2021 Area 2A non-tribal directed halibut fishery that includes a 58-hour fishing period beginning at 8 a.m. on the fourth Tuesday in June, and ending at 6 p.m. on the subsequent Thursday. This structure is similar to that used for the first time in 2020.
If sufficient quota remains, a second 58-hour period would be announced beginning on the Tuesday two weeks after the first period, and, if necessary, a third period of up to three fishing days would be allowed starting on the Tuesday four weeks after the first period.
Openings will continue in this manner until November 15 or when the limit for the Area 2A non-treaty directed commercial fishery is taken, whichever comes first. This recommendation will be forwarded to the International Pacific Halibut Commission for consideration at its January 25-29 annual meeting.
Highly migratory species advisory bodies to review options on deep-set buoy gear limited entry program
NMFS briefed the Council on elements of its final preferred alternative for the deep-set buoy gear limited entry program that require clarification, including the qualification criteria for a limited entry permit. The highly migratory species advisory bodies will review options to revise these elements, and the Council will next consider these changes in March 2021.
Council weighs in on Pacific bluefin tuna management
At its November 30-December 4 meeting, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) adopted a new measure that sets a 425 metric ton Pacific bluefin tuna catch limit for the U.S. in 2021. This is a one-year rollover of the current two-year measure. Because the IATTC meeting was conducted online, a more extensive revision of Pacific bluefin catch limits was deferred until 2021 with the hope it can be conducted in person.
In a related action, the Council recommended modifications to the domestic trip limit system for Pacific bluefin tuna fisheries for 2021. The current pre-trip notification requirement would be eliminated, while the requirement that electronic fish tickets be submitted within 24-hours of the landing would be retained.
The Council recommended an initial trip limit of 20 mt. During the first quarter (January 1 – March 31), the catch limit would be reduced to 15 mt when annual landings reached 250 mt. The trip limit would then be reduced to 2 mt when annual landings reached 325 mt.
During the second quarter (April 1 – June 30), the catch limit would be reduced to 15 mt when annual landings reached 275 mt. The trip limit would then be reduced to 2 mt when annual landings reached 350 mt.
During the third quarter (July 1 – September 30), the catch limit would be reduced to 15 mt when annual landings reached 300 mt. The trip limit would then be reduced to 2 mt when annual landings reached 375 mt.
During the fourth quarter (October 1 – December 31), the catch limit would be reduced to 15 mt when annual landings reached 325 mt. The trip limit would then be reduced to 2 mt when annual landings reached 375 mt.
NMFS will now begin the process to publish regulations implementing these trip limits.
Council briefed on status determination criteria for highly migratory stocks
Every two years, the Council reviews the benchmarks (“status determination criteria”) that NMFS uses to determine whether HMS stocks are subject to overfishing or are overfished.
This year, the IATTC scientific staff used a new approach in their latest stock assessments for eastern Pacific Ocean yellowfin and bigeye tuna, which presented challenges for NMFS. The assessments use a probability-based framework, which show stock status in terms of the likelihood that the stock is subject to overfishing or overfished. NMFS must translate these results into discrete status determination criteria benchmarks. As a result, the Scientific and Statistical Committee will work with NMFS and IATTC staff on this task. The results will be reported to the Council in March 2021. Over the longer term, the SSC may recommend standardized methods for identifying stock determination criteria for international stock assessments that use a probabilistic framework.
NMFS reports on hard caps for large-mesh drift gillnet fishery
In November, NMFS reported on hard cap regulations for the California large-mesh drift gillnet fishery. NMFS explained its process for reviewing the Council’s original proposal, described how the Council could modify these regulations to lessen their economic impact, and summarized public comment NMFS received on the regulations before they were issued.
The Council tasked the HMS advisory bodies with developing options for clarifying the purpose and need statement for the Council’s hard caps action, and developing alternative approaches to address NMFS’ concerns about negative economic impacts. Any alternatives must still meet the Council’s goal of encouraging fishing behavior that minimizes bycatch. This topic is set for Council discussion in June 2021.
Council directs analysis to focus on gear switching impacts
Sablefish (blackcod). Photo: D Ross Robertson/CC BY-NC 4.0
The Council wants to better understand the impacts of limiting gear switching (the use of fixed gear in the trawl individual fishing quota fishery) in order to help identify the maximum level of gear switching that should be allowed. In November, the Council directed analysts to report on this issue.
Some members of industry have long-standing concerns about the impacts of gear switching on trawlers’ ability to harvest the full trawl quota. Specifically, there is concern that if gear switchers use sablefish quota pounds, those quota pounds would not be available to trawlers, who need them to catch other stocks that are intermixed with sablefish.
The Council is tentatively scheduled to discuss gear switching maximum levels in April 2021 before selecting a range of alternatives in June 2021.
NMFS to modify cost recovery regulations
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) intends to modify cost recovery regulations to specify that cost recovery from the at-sea fleet is based on whiting catch only, rather than on all species delivered. The Council will make a final recommendation on this change in April 2021.
On a related note, next March the Council will consider whether to prioritize reconstituting its Cost Recovery Committee. The Committee would work with NMFS to evaluate how the trawl catch share cost recovery program was conducted.
NMFS reports on seabird bycatch
NMFS reported on seabird bycatch in November, summarizing interactions between U.S. West Coast fisheries and seabirds and presenting estimates of fleet-wide bycatch for seabirds for the years 2002-2018.
The report covers lethal and non-lethal interactions, as well as sightings, for six fisheries using hook-and-line gear, eight fisheries using trawl gear, and five fisheries using pot gear.
The Pacific halibut fishery had relatively high black-footed albatross bycatch, and the California ridgeback prawn fishery had relatively high bycatch of Brandt’s cormorant compared to other fisheries. No birds were observed as bycatch in the California sea cucumber fishery.
A total of 47 bird species interacted with, or were sighted in, these fisheries over the 2002- 2018 period, up from 41 in the last report in 2018. Thirteen of these species are considered endangered, threatened, vulnerable, or near threatened.
All three north Pacific albatross species interact with these fisheries: black-footed, Laysan, and the Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed short-tailed albatross. To date, only one short-tailed albatross has been observed taken by these fisheries, and the estimated mortality is generally less than 1 individual per year. However, black-footed albatross are caught annually in a number of fisheries, primarily hook-and-line. Laysan albatross have occasionally been taken by fisheries reported here, but the mortalities are few and infrequent.
The report did not cover recreational and tribal fisheries.
Council considers inseason adjustments, whiting set-asides
At its November meeting, the Council considered inseason adjustments for 2020 and 2021 groundfish fisheries and 2021 Pacific whiting set-asides for research and pink shrimp fisheries. The Council did not recommend inseason changes for the remainder of 2020, but did adopt the following adjustments for 2021 (as detailed in the Groundfish Management Team (GMT) report):
Sablefish north of 36° North latitude (N. lat.) daily-trip-limit (DTL): no changes to the limited entry fixed gear fishery. For open access, limits were changed to 600 lbs. per day, or 1 landing per week of up to 2,000 lbs., not to exceed 4,000 lbs per 2 months.
Sablefish south of 36° N. lat. DTL: the limited entry fixed gear limit was changed to 2,500 lbs per week. The open access limit was changed to 2,000 lbs. per week, not to exceed 6,000 lbs. per 2 months.
Lingcod south of 40° 10′ N. lat. trip limits in 2021: limited entry fixed gear was changed to 1,600 lbs. per 2 months. Open access was changed to 700 lbs. per month.
Shortspine and longspine thornyhead south of 34° 27′ N. lat. in 2021: the open access DTL was changed to 100 lbs. per day and not more than 1,000 lbs. per 2 months.
Each November, the Council reviews incidental catch of Pacific whiting in research activities and in the pink shrimp fishery. This information is used to set the following year’s set-aside. The Groundfish Advisory Subpanel and the GMT both said the set-aside for 2021 could be reduced due to the low incidental catch in these fisheries over the last five years. The Council subsequently recommended reducing the 2021 Pacific whiting set-aside from 1,500 mt to 750 mt.
The GMT reported on the catch to date of yelloweye and shortbelly rockfish. As of November, the incidental catch of yelloweye and shortbelly rockfish were both well below their limits. See further details on the recent groundfish catch here.
Assessment team looks at climate impacts on sablefish
The Pacific Sablefish Transboundary Assessment Team, which includes scientists from the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, is developing a management strategy evaluation (MSE) framework for Northeast Pacific sablefish. The project focuses on modeling climate-driven recruitment given future climate impacts and how harvest control rules driven by regional assessments may affect long-term stock status.
In November, Dr. Melissa Haltuch (NWFSC, Scientific and Statistical Committee) and Maia Kaptur (University of Washington) briefed the Council on the project. The Council recommended a workshop in the spring of 2021 to engage West Coast stakeholders to explore alternative management strategies and performance metrics to be analyzed in the MSE. The Council recommended an additional workshop to engage stakeholders from all the jurisdictions that manage sablefish from Alaska, British Columbia, and the West Coast to better understand how regional management strategies affect the stock throughout its range.
Length-based assessment methods endorsed
The Council adopted the length-based assessment methods endorsed by the Scientific and Statistical Committee. These methods are anticipated to be used to assess spiny dogfish, copper rockfish, quillback rockfish, and squarespot rockfish in 2021.
The Council approved the 2021 salmon management schedule in November. All meetings and hearings are expected to be conducted online. A summary of the schedule is provided below.
Jan. 19-22, 2021: The Salmon Technical Team (STT) meets to draft Review of 2020 Ocean Salmon Fisheries. (Available mid-February)
Feb. 16-19: STT meets to complete Preseason Report I: Stock Abundance Analysis and Environmental Assessment Part 1 for 2021 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations. (Available early March)
Feb. 20 – Mar. 4: State and tribal agencies hold constituent meetings to review preseason abundance projections and range of probable fishery options.
Mar. 2-5 & 8-11: The Council adopts 2021 regulatory management measure alternatives for public review and addresses inseason action for fisheries opening before May 16.
Mar. 11-20: The STT completes Preseason Report II: Proposed Alternatives and Environmental Assessment Part 2 for 2021 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations (available late March).
Mar. 11-31: Management agencies, tribes, and the public develop their final recommendations for the regulatory alternatives. North of Cape Falcon Forum meetings are held between the March and April Council meetings.
Mar. 22:Preseason Report II is posted on the Council website.
Mar. 23-24: Tentative dates of public hearings to review the Council’s proposed regulatory options are: Washington (Tuesday, March 23); California (Tuesday, March 23); and Oregon (Wednesday, March 24). Meetings will be held online. Comments on the alternatives will also be taken during the April 6-15 Council meeting.
Apr. 6-15: The Council adopts final 2021 regulatory management measures.
Apr. 15-21: The STT completes Preseason Report III: Council Adopted Management Measures and Environmental Assessment Part 3 for 2021 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations (published by April 22).
May 16: NMFS implements Federal ocean salmon fishing regulations.
Council adopts preferred alternative to address salmon fishery’s effect on Southern Resident killer whales
Transient killer whales in Monterey Bay. Photo: Mike Doherty/Unsplash
In November, the Council adopted a final preferred alternative to address the effect of Council-area ocean salmon fisheries on the Chinook salmon prey base of Southern Resident Killer Whales.
The Council adopted a threshold of 966,000 Chinook, which would trigger action in the preseason process. This number is the mean of the seven lowest years of Chinook salmon abundance (before fishing) in the area North of Cape Falcon. When a year’s preseason abundance projection falls below this threshold, the following management actions will be taken:
Quotas for non-treaty fisheries north of Cape Falcon will be reduced on a sliding scale based on Chinook abundance.
No more than 50 percent of the non-treaty commercial troll Chinook salmon quota north of Cape Falcon will be assigned to the spring (May-June) period.
An expanded area of the Columbia River control zone will be closed to salmon retention from the start of non-treaty ocean salmon fisheries until June 15.
The Grays Harbor control zone will be closed to salmon retention from the start of non-treaty ocean salmon fisheries until June 15.
The start of the commercial troll fishery between Cape Falcon and the Oregon/California border will be delayed until April 1.
The Oregon and California waters of the Klamath Management Zone (KMZ) will be closed to commercial and recreational salmon fisheries from October 1 through March 31 of the following year.
An expanded KMZ area will be closed to salmon retention from September 1 through March 31 of the following year. (Typically the Klamath Control Zone, an area near the mouth of Klamath River, is closed to fishing during the month of August).
Commercial and recreational salmon fisheries in the Monterey management area will be closed from October 1 through March 31 of the following year.
The Council was in favor of reevaluating conservation objectives for Sacramento River fall Chinook and Klamath River fall Chinook and developing an age-structured stock assessment for Sacramento River fall Chinook, when sufficient data becomes available.
The Council’s preferred alternatives will be forwarded to NMFS for review and approval with the goal of implementing this new management approach in 2021.
NMFS continues to work toward control rule for coho stocks
The Council’s Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) coho ad hoc workgroup is making progress on a new harvest control rule for SONCC coho stocks, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In November, the Council reviewed a summary of available data, a description of proposed risk assessment methods, and a review of a preliminary range of harvest control rules. The Council commended these efforts and asked that future work consider environmental variables as harvest control rules are further developed. The Council is scheduled to adopt a range of alternatives at its April 2021 meeting.
An Interview with Don Hansen: The whale watching business
A humpack whale calf. Photo: Jorge Vasconez/Unsplash
This is the third and last part of our interview with Don Hansen, who has been involved in the Council process since it started in 1976.
I started whale watching on the West Coast. Phil Grignon down at San Clemente high school here, had his biology class looking at whales. We had the boats, and he had the kids, so we started whale watching in the early ’50s. We just took school kids in 1950, and then we built up from that where we have a festival of whales every year. [It’s] all up and down the West Coast now, everybody’s whale watching. But we were the first. NOAA’s got rules and regulations on it, but the whales don’t read the rules and regulations. If you shut the boat down, they’ll come up to you if they’re inquisitive at all – and they are very inquisitive. They’ll just come right up to the boat. We’ve had them blow on the kids and everything else.
Once I was following a mother and a calf, at a safe distance, but I got between the calf and the mother. Not intentionally, it just happened. And she turned on me, and flipped her tail and hit the boat. Splashed the people and told me “stay away from my baby.” That was scary. I’d never had that happen. I didn’t intend to separate the two of them, it just happened. The baby came this way and the mother decided she didn’t like it, so she told me to get away. Yes, ma’am. I did.
You know, going back into whaling. One of the original Council members was [a whaler.] His grandson is on an advisory panel now. Hunter. Gibb Hunter. He was one of the original Council members, and he was a whaler. One of the last whaling boats out of Eureka.
The schoolkids here in Southern California, San Clemente High School, were part of getting the whale listed as endangered—the gray whale—and then, when they recovered, they were a part of the program to de-list it. When you go on the endangered species list it’s almost impossible to get off the list. But they were part of the listing and part of the delisting. It was quite a program they put together.
There’s a lot more whales, different whales now. We’re seeing with the ocean conditions changing like they are, we’re seeing lots of blue whales, which are the biggest mammal in the world. We’ve seen those more now than we’ve ever seen them, and there’s more and more humpbacks on the coast here than there used to be. And you’ve got minke whales, and then you have the normal gray whales going up and down the coast. And lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of dolphins. Tons and tons of dolphins. Both common and white-sided.
And then you get the killer whales down here too, the orcas down here. One of the things they love to eat is sea lions. I’ve been trying to tell them, for years, to come down here. They could feed for months, years—a lifetime down here. Learn how to eat the sea lions.
But the main thing is, we’ve accomplished a lot in these last 50 years. We’ve rebuilt stocks, we’ve brought people together, we’ve done a lot of important things. I really want to thank everyone I’ve worked with over the years, from Bill Fox and Charlie Fullerton years ago to Chris Oliver now at NOAA. And the executive directors all the way back to the beginning, and of course the great Council staff, and everyone else who has contributed through those years. We’ve done some great things. I’m really proud to have been part of this process.
An overview of fishery bills in the 116th Congress
Status of bills tracked for Council in the 116th Congress (December 10, 2020).
As of December 10, the Council has tracked 105 bills in the 116th Congress relating to West Coast fisheries, habitat, and management. Of these, 48 bills were introduced but went nowhere; 24 were reported by committee but never progressed; 14 passed the House but not the Senate; and five passed the Senate but not the House.
Topics that did not pick up traction in the 116th Congress included Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization, Coronavirus relief for fishing communities, climate change and ocean acidification, coral protection, prohibiting oil drilling off the West Coast, transfering management of anadromous species to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, changing the management of forage fish, addressing fishery disaster declarations, promoting marine energy research, reforming maritime liens, labeling or prohibiting genetically modified salmon, and preventing international trade in shark fins.
Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act sent to President for signature
On December 10, the House passed Senator Diane Feinstein and Representative Ted Lieu’s (both D-CA) Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, sending it to the President to be signed into law. The bill, which passed the Senate on July 22, extends current California state regulations regarding driftnets to all Federal waters within five years. Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce will be required to conduct a transition program to phase out large-scale driftnet fishing and to promote the adoption of alternative fishing practices.
In November, the Council directed staff to track the Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act and any related executive orders issued by the Biden Administration, in preparation for responding to any forthcoming requests for Council comment.
The Ocean Climate Solutions Act was introduced on October 20, 2020. The bill will continue to be shaped in the next Congressional session. The bill incorporates many separate (and often bipartisan) bills that were introduced during the 116th Congress. The sponsors of these bills are familiar to the Council – Roger Wicker, Jared Huffman, Lisa Murkowski, Suzanne Bonamici, Don Young, Marco Rubio, and more.
The primary issue of interest to the Council is the proposed policy “to prohibit any commercial extractive or destructive human activity and minimize the impact from human activity on 30 percent of the ocean” under U.S. jurisdiction by 2030.
Other sections of the bill focus on Blue Carbon (coastal habitats including mangroves, tidal marshes, kelp forests, and other tidal or saltwater wetlands that have the capacity to sequester atmospheric carbon), offshore energy, climate-ready fisheries, extending the Coastal Barriers Resources Act to the West Coast, amending the Coastal Zone Management Act, strengthening marine mammal conservation, tribal resilience, ocean acidification, harmful algal blooms, national ocean policy, data sharing, wetlands restoration, greenhouse gas emissions from shipping, whale strikes, and other topics.
Habitat Report: Offshore wind, aquaculture, salmon and beavers
Aquaculture opportunity areas
NOAA is soliciting comments on Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) as part of the Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth. The Order directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish ten AOAs nationwide by 2025. The first proposed areas are in the Southern California Bight and the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA plans to identify three to five sub-areas within each AOA for future aquaculture siting.
After the first two AOAs are identified, two additional AOAs must be identified in each of the following four years until there are a total of ten AOAs.
The Council is developing a comment letter identifying issues and concerns regarding siting of the proposed AOA in Southern California. Considerations include valuable fishing grounds, habitat areas of particular concern, Essential Fish Habitat Conservation Areas, and areas prone to hypoxia and harmful algal blooms.
The public comment deadline is December 22 (see notice in 85 Federal Register 67519 (Oct. 23, 2020)).
Salmon Rebuilding Plans
The Habitat Committee (HC) has been examining habitat issues that contributed to the overfishing status for Sacramento fall Chinook and Klamath River fall Chinook. They presented a list of life-stage-specific habitat indicators for Sacramento River fall Chinook, that includes 28 indicators and six life stages. For Sacramento River fall Chinook, data are available from the 1980s to the present.
Next, the HC will finalize these indicators and develop similar indicators for Klamath River fall Chinook.
A quokka from Australia. We’re just checking to see if you’re paying attention. Photo: Tobias Fischer/Unsplash
Beaver management
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently consulted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services on the control of semiaquatic mammals in Washington and Oregon. The consultations were the result of a lawsuit, and include beaver and other aquatic mammals.
NMFS worked with the USDA to improve understanding of the importance of beavers in maintaining salmon habitat and to document and minimize the scope of lethal beaver removals.
Under the new program resulting from the consultations, lethal removal of beaver in Washington State is declining. Beaver removals in Oregon are currently paused pending a National Environmental Policy Act analysis. A new NMFS brochure promotes nonlethal beaver management techniques for landowners and resource managers.
Offshore Wind Energy
Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) recently conducted a webinar on offshore wind, focusing on the state of the science on wind-ocean ecosystem impacts. Since the webinar mainly focused on East Coast issues, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations has asked RODA to do a similar West Coast-focused webinar in the near future.
Advisory Body appointments
Oregon Council memberChrista Svenssonhas been appointed as an alternate Commissioner to the Western and Central Pacific Commission (WCPFC), replacingDorothy Lowman, who will continue to represent the United States as the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) co-chair of the IATTC-WCPFC Northern Committee Joint Working Group on bluefin tuna.
Anna Weinstein was appointed to the conservation position on the Coastal Pelagic Species Advisory Subpanel formerly held by Gillian Lyons; Gretchen Hanshew and Daniel Studt were appointed to the two National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) West Coast Region positions on the Groundfish Management Team (GMT) formerly held by Abigail Harley and Karen Palmigiano; Katherine Pierson was appointed to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife position formerly held by Patrick Mirick on the GMT; and Dr. Chantel Wetzel was appointed to the vacant NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center position.
On the Groundfish Endangered Species Workgroup, Scott Benson was appointed to the Sea Turtle Taxa position formerly held by Dr. Tomo Eguchi; and Lynn Mattes was appointed to the vacant Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife position.
On the Ad Hoc Groundfish Electronic Monitoring Committees, Andrew Torres will replace Brian Corrigan as the NMFS Office of Law Enforcement representative on the Technical Advisory Committee, and Mike Orcutt will replace Howard McElderry on the Policy Advisory Committee.
Washington State announced on December 8 that it has submitted a draft plan for how to distribute $50 million in Federal relief funding to members of Washington’s commercial seafood, shellfish and charter industries to NOAA Fisheries for review and approval.
Under Section 12005 of the CARES Act, Congress provided $300 million to states to distribute to fisheries participants with Washington and Alaska receiving the highest allocation of $50 million each.
“The pandemic had early and dramatic impacts to shellfish and commercial fishing businesses. These activities play an outsized role in our state, especially in our tribal and natural resources dependent economies,” Gov. Jay Inslee said. “I am pleased that we will soon have more assistance available to help these hurting businesses recover.”
“Submitting this plan for federal review brings us one step closer to getting this funding into the hands of commercial fishing and shellfish industry members who need it most,” said Ron Warren, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) fish policy director. “We applaud Washington’s congressional delegation for securing this relief for members of Washington’s commercial seafood, shellfish and charter industries.”
This step follows a three-month effort, led by the Governor’s Office, to develop the plan with assistance from the Washington departments of Fish and Wildlife, Agricultural, Commerce, and the Washington Office of Financial Management. State officials met virtually with commercial fishers, shellfish growers and seafood processors to better understand the consequences of COVID-19 on the industries, coordinating with fisheries managers in neighboring West Coast states as well. The Governor also convened discussions with the 24 treaty tribes to learn about their COVID-19 impacts to subsistence, cultural and ceremonial fisheries.
Under the draft plan, industry members who experienced a gross revenue loss from January through July 2020 greater than 35 percent of their 2015-2019 average would be eligible to apply for Federal relief funding. (Exceptions are available for industry members without a full five-year history). Applicants can choose smaller window periods within the timeframe so long as the period is at least 28 days. Washington-based commercial fishers who fish in Alaska are also eligible.
Money earned from freshwater species and retail sales are excluded. Eligible commercial fishery participants must include all their revenues regardless of whether they landed the fish.
Once NOAA Fisheries reviews and approves the plan, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) will send application materials to potentially eligible businesses, which will have 45 days to apply for relief. Following the plan’s approval, information, application materials and instructions will be available on the PSMFC website.
WDFW is the primary state agency tasked with preserving, protecting, and perpetuating fish, wildlife, and ecosystems, while providing sustainable fishing and hunting opportunities.
