Updates - Page 66 of 72 - Pacific Fishery Management Council

Ad Hoc Climate and Communities Core Team Meeting, May 30-31, 2019

The Ad Hoc Climate and Communities Core Team met on Thursday, May 30 and Friday, May 31, 2019 in Portland, Oregon (see agenda). The Team worked on climate change scenario planning and began developing a plan for a Council-focused scenario planning exercise as part of the Fishery Ecosystem Plan Climate and Communities Initiative.

The Team was formed in March 2019 and will report back at the September 2019 Council meeting.

The specific tasks addressed during this meeting were:

Refine the scenario topic used in the exercise
Develop a timeline for the scenario planning process (to be conducted between the September 2019 and March 2020 Pacific Council meetings)
Identify participants in the exercise.
Plan future meetings or webinars if necessary.

ADD ANY RESULTING REPORTS HERE

Climate and Communities Initiative Spring 2019 Update

In March 2019 the Council formed the Climate and Communities Core Team (Ad Hoc CCCT) to manage a scenario planning exercise on the topic of shifting stock availability (including shifting distribution) across species, FMPs, and communities across the west coast. The Council expects this exercise to result in the definition of tools, products, and processes necessary to react to potential future ecosystem states resulting from climate variability and climate change. The Core Team will flesh out the details of this scenario planning exercise and report back to the Council in September 2019. The bulk of the scenario planning activities would occur between October 2019 and March 2020 when the Council would receive a report on the outcomes of the exercise. Using Scenarios to Explore Climate Change: A Handbook for Practitioners (National Park Service, 2013) provides a general overview of using scenario planning methods to evaluate adaption strategies for climate change.

Climate and Communities Initiative: 2018 Activities

In 2018, the following activities took place:

Quick Link to the Recorded Webinars and Presentations in the 2018 Webinar Series on Ecosystem Climate and Communities
A March 2018 EWG report describing major Council decision types that may benefit from increased ecosystem science input.
An April 2018 EWG report with suggestions for issues for discussion at the May 2018 Nature Conservancy workshop on climate change and fishing communities.
A May 15-16 workshop sponsored by The Nature Conservancy to further the objectives of this initiative, and provide information in support of a climate initiative.
A September 2018 EWG report reviewing information gathering activities conducted up to that time and recommending that the Council consider using climate change scenario planning as a vehicle to accomplish the goal of this initiative. In response, the Council formed the Ad Hoc Climate Scenario Investigation Committee (CSI), composed of Council members Caren Braby, Rich Lincoln, and John Ugoretz to consider how scenario planning efforts could advance the Climate and Communities Initiative. The CSI reported back to the Council in November 2018 with a set of tasks for the EWG to lay the groundwork for conducting a scenario planning exercise beginning in 2019.

Climate and Communities Initiative 2017 Activities

2017 ACTIVITIES

In March 2017 the Council scoped a potential Fishery Ecosystem Plan initiative to take up in the coming years. They asked the Ad Hoc Ecosystem Workgroup (EWG) to report back in September 2017 with more information to choose between a combined initiative on the socioeconomic effects of fisheries management practices on fishing communities (A.2.7) and on human recruitment to the fisheries (A.2.6), and an initiative on the effects of near-term climate shift and long-term climate change on our fish, fisheries, and fishing communities (A.2.8).

The EWG presented a report in September that identified specific objectives of the initiatives, inventoried available information, and proposed a timeline for completing either or both initiatives. Based on this scoping the Council decided to begin work on the Climate Shift Initiative with an emphasis on the wellbeing of dependent fishing communities.

Habitat Committee

The Council’s Habitat Committee provides advice to the Council on a wide variety of habitat-related issues. The committee works with other advisory bodies on habitat issues, helps develop ways to resolve habitat problems and avoid future habitat conflicts, and makes recommendations for actions that will help achieve the Council’s habitat objectives. Meetings are open to the public.

Lance Hebdon is the Chair and Dr. Correigh Greene is the Vice-Chair of the Habitat Committee (HC).

See the HC roster.

Latest Habitat Reports

Current Habitat Topics

The list below includes major topics discussed by the Habitat Committee since 2015. For more information, see the briefing book archives.

General topic	Details	Relevant agencies or organizations	Date last discussed in Habitat Committee
Essential fish habitat for highly migratory species	Five year review	NMFS	2020 (March)
Ecosystem-based fishery management	Annual Integrated Ecosystem Assessment report	NMFS	Annually
Salmon	Salmon rebuilding	NMFS, Council	2020 (March)
Groundfish essential fish habitat (EFH)	Groundfish EFH (Amendment 28)	Council, NMFS	2019 (September)
Fishery Ecosystem Plan	Five-year review	Council	2020 (March)
Fishery Ecosystem Plan	Climate and communities initiative	Council	2019 (March)
Dams	Klamath dam removal		2019 (November)
Corals	Deep sea corals	NOAA	2019 (March)
Columbia River	Dissolved gas levels at dams	States of Washington, Oregon	2019 (March)
Aquaculture	Humboldt Bay aquaculture	Humboldt Bay Harbor District, Nordic Aquafarms	2019 (March)
Sacramento water	Central Valley Operations Biop	Bureau of Reclamation, NMFS	2019 (November)
Sediment management	Washington and California coastal sediment management activities	WDFW, California Natural Resources Agency	2019 (June)
Research and data	CalCOFI ( California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations) update	NMFS	2019 (June)
Offshore energy	Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) California task force activities; offshore wind	BOEM	2019 (June)
Liquified natural gas (LNG)	Jordan Cove LNG project and pipeline	FERC	2019 (November)
Klamath	New Biological Opinion	Bureau of Reclamation	2019 (June)
Klamath	Flushing flows	Bureau of Reclamation, NMFS	2019 (June)
Sanctuaries	Sanctuaries	National Marine Sanctuary Program	2020 (March)
Sacramento Delta	Study of Juvenile Salmon Use of the Sacramento Delta	NMFS	2019 (April)
Priorities	Shared Council/NMFS habitat priorities	Council, NMFS	2019 (November)
Pollutants	National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit for offshore Seafood Processors	Environmental Protection Agency	2019 (April)
Drought	Washington drought declaration	Washington state	2019 (April)
Coastal zone management	Proposed Rule Changes to Coastal Zone Management Act Federal Consistency Process	NMFS	2019 (April)
Beavers	Oregon Dept of Transportation (ODOT) beaver removal policies	ODOT	2019 (April)
Aquaculture	NOAA aquaculture rules/plan	National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)	2019 (April)
Research and data	Research and data needs	Council	2018 (September)
Killer whales (southern resident)	Expansion of critical habitat	NOAA	2019 (November)
Ecosystem-based fishery management	West Coast Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Roadmap Implementation	NMFS	2018 (September)
Columbia River	Treaty negotiations	Dept. of State	2018 (September)
Climate change	Report to legislature on ocean acidification	Oregon Coordination Council on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia	2018 (September)
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act	Reauthorization	Council	2018 (November)
Dams	Raising of Shasta dam	Bureau of Reclamation	2018 (November)
Dams	San Clemente dam removal		2018 (November)
Columbia River	Essential fish habitat in the Columbia River	EPA	2018 (November)
Aquaculture	Pacific Ocean Aquafarms (proposed offshore yellowtail tuna facility)	Hubbs Sea World Research Institute	2018 (November)
Estuaries	General	PMEP, others	2019 (September)
Columbia River	Flows		2018 (June)
Offshore energy	Trident/Morro Bay offshore wind project	Trident Wind	2018 (April)
Columbia River	Spill (through dams)	Federal Columbia River Power System	2018 (April)
Salmon	Escape of Atlantic salmon from aquaculture facility		2017 (September)
Fishery Ecosystem Plan	Climate vulnerability assesssment report	Council/NMFS	2017 (September)
Dams	Oroville Dam	US Army Corps of Engineers, others	2017 (September)
California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment	Assessment indicators	NMFS	2017 (September)
Aquaculture	Rose Canyon Aquaculture project (offshore project for seabass, yellowtail, etc)	Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute	2017 (September)
Ecosystem-based fishery management	Sablefish ecosystem indicators	Council, NMFS	2017 (November)
Salmon	Coastal Coho Restoration Plan	NMFS	2017 (March)
Fishery Ecosystem Plan	General initiatives	Council	2017 (March)
Research and data	Habitat Use Database	NMFS	2017 (June)
Research and data	BOEM data portal for offshore renewable energy	BOEM	2017 (June)
Marine planning	Marine planning		2017 (June)
Law enforcment	NMFS Office of Law Enforcement Strategic Plan review	NMFS	2017 (June)
Climate change	Pacific Coast Collaborative and Ocean Acidification Alliance	Pacific Coast Collaborative (states of WA, OR, CA)	2017 (June)
Aquaculture	Coast Seafoods aquaculture project	Coast Seafoods/Humboldt Bay	2017 (April)
General	Fisheries-specific habitat objectives	Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission	2016 (November)
Dams	Hells Canyon Section 401 Certification	Federal Energy Regulatory Commission	2016 (November)
Columbia River	Columbia River operations, general	NMFS, BOR, EPA, USFWS	2020 (March)
Sacramento water	Sacramento winter-run chinook outlook and planning	NMFS	2016 (March)
Nuclear power	Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant closure/fish entrainment	Pacific Gas & Electric	2016 (June)
Climate change	Western Regional (Climate Change) Action Plan	NMFS	2016 (June)
Ecosystem-based fishery management	Ecosystem indicators	NMFS	2016 (April)
Climate change	Thermal Refugia in the Columbia River System/Norwest Stream Temperature Model	NMFS	2016 (April)
Climate change	Ocean Acidification policy recommendations	NMFS	2016 (April)
Riparian buffers	Oregon Forest Practices Act buffer requirements inadequate	Oregon Board of Forestry	2015 (November)
General	Intergovernmental Policy Council habitat framework		2015 (November)
Drought	Federal legislation - drought issues		2015 (November)
Columbia River	High temperatures and fish kills	NMFS/WDFW/ODFW	2015 (November)
Forage fish	Unmanaged forage fish protection	Council	2015 (March)
Climate change	NMFS Climate Science Strategy Update	NMFS	2015 (March)
Offshore energy	Oregon State University (OSU) wave energy test site	OSU	2015 (June)
Desalination	Proposed desalination projects in California	DeepWater Desal, California American Water, People's Moss Landing Water Desal Project	2015 (June)
Aquaculture	Catalina Sea Ranch/KZO Sea Farms proposed project	Catalina Sea Ranch/KZO Sea Farms proposed project	2015 (June)
Flooding	Chehalis River flood damage reduction project	Washington Dept of Ecology, USACE	2019 (September)
Aquaculture	Ventura Shellfish Project		2019 (September)
Sanctuaries	Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Management Plan Review	Office of National Marine Sanctuaries	2019 (November)
Eelgrass	Review of California eelgrass mitigation policy	NOAA	2019 (November)
Salmon	Salmon reintroduction upstream of Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee dams	Confederated Tribes of the Colville/UCUT	2019 (November)
Offshore energy	Responsible Offshore Energy Development Alliance (RODA)	RODA	2019 (November)
Humpback whales	Expansion of critical habitat	NOAA	2019 (November)

Habitat Correspondence and Resolutions

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Pacific Council News: Administrative Briefs

A dory fisherman brings in his boat in Pacific City, Oregon.

New Council newsletter format debuts

The Council is updating the format of its newsletter to make it more flexible and user-friendly. The web-based format uses a “post” style for articles on similar topics, which makes it easier to share articles across platforms and allows third-party news outlets to link to Council articles. In addition, the new format is smartphone-friendly and will eventually reflect the look of the Council’s new website, which is currently under construction. We welcome your comments during this transition period.

E-Portal open for June briefing book comments

The Council’s comment portal is now accepting comments on June briefing book materials. Please visit the June 2019 Council Meeting E-portal to submit your written comment. Select the agenda item you are interested in commenting on and either enter your comments in the text box, or upload a file containing your comments in .pdf format. You may submit one comment per agenda item in advance of the initial advance briefing book public comment deadline (Thursday, May 23, 5:00 pm).

You will then be allowed one more comment opportunity between 5:01 p.m., May 23 and the supplemental public comment deadline (5:00 p.m., Monday, June 10, 2019), which will allow you to review the advanced briefing materials scheduled to be posted to the Council website no later than close of business, Monday, June 3, 2019.

If you have questions on this process, please contact Kris Kleinschmidt or see the instructional demo YouTube video.

Advisory body appointments

In March and April, the Council reviewed and approved the following appointments: Greg Krutzikowsky was appointed to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) seat on the Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team formerly held by Cyreis Schmitt; Patrick Mirick was appointed to the ODFW seat on the Groundfish Endangered Species Workgroup formerly held by Dr. Caren Braby; Caroline McKnight was appointed to the California Department of Fish Wildlife (CDFW) vacancy on the Groundfish Management Team; Travis Buck was appointed to the CDFW seat on the ad hoc Ecosystem Workgroup formerly held by Deb Wilson-Vandenberg; Melinda Rowse was appointed to the NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center seat on the Salmon Technical Team formerly held by Dr. Robert Kope; Jon Pink was appointed to the Washington Coastal Tribal Fisheries vacancy on the Salmon Advisory Subpanel; and Robin Bown was appointed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service position on the Groundfish Endangered Species Workgroup formerly held by Laura Todd.

The Council recommended adding an additional at-large Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) position as a means of bringing needed expertise to the committee and appointed Dr. Marisol Garcia-Reyes, Dr. Kristen Marshall, and Dr. Jason Shaffler to the three vacant at-large positions on the SSC.

Chris German of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) will replace CDR Jason Brand as RADM Throop’s second designee and as an Enforcement Consultant for the USCG. The Council expressed their appreciation for CDR Brand’s contributions to the Council and wished him the best in his future endeavors. The Council also welcomed Sergeant Kit Rosenberger as an alternate for Captain Dan Chadwick as a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Consultant.

The Council approved the revisions to the Council Operating Procedures regarding rules of conduct, staffing expectations, and the Council’s new electronic public comment policies with minor language changes.

Legislative News

The Legislative Committee met in April to discuss several bills, including:

H.R. 549: the FISH Act, introduced by Ken Calvert (R-CA). This bill is the same as H.R. 3916, which was the subject of a 2017 Council letter to Congressman Calvert. The bill transfers all functions with respect to anadromous species and catadromous species under the Endangered Species Act from the Secretary of Commerce or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to the Secretary of the Interior. Opposing groups believe the bill would weaken protections that currently exist under NMFS jurisdiction.

S. 906/H.R. 1979: Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, introduced by Diane Feinstein and Ted Lieu (D-CA). This bill would extend current California state regulations regarding driftnets to all Federal waters within five years.

H.R. 2236: Forage Fish Conservation Act, introduced by Debbie Dingell (D-MI). This bill amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require Scientific and Statistical Committees to provide scientific advice on maintaining a sufficient abundance of forage fish populations; adds forage fish populations and distribution as a research priority; calls for Councils to develop lists of unmanaged forage fish species and prohibit development of new fisheries (as the Pacific Council has done); and requires Councils to reduce annual catch limits for forage fish fisheries according to the dietary needs of fish species and other marine wildlife.

The Council is tracking the driftnet and forage fish bills, but has not been asked to provide comments. (The Council may not comment on legislation unless it receives a Congressional request).

The Legislative Committee will meet next at the June Council meeting.

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2019: Third-party video review discussed

In April 2019 the Council scheduled electronic monitoring (EM) items for the June, September, and November 2019 Council meetings and recommended the Groundfish Electronic Monitoring Policy Advisory Committee (GEMPAC) meet as necessary to review National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) procedural directives and program guidance documents.

In September the Council recommended that NMFS consider changes to the EM Program Guidelines and the draft Data Storage Procedural document that had been identified by the GEMAC. The Council agreed to ask Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) to identify a way forward that would allow PSMFC to continue providing EM review services for the industry in 2021.

In November the Council reviewed, but did not finalize, their recommendations on the revised EM Program Guidelines and the Draft EM Manual. The Council agreed to tell NMFS that they wanted to delay implementation of the EM regulations until 2022, and would consider extending the EM exempted fishing permit at the March 2020 meeting. The Council asked for more information on the appropriate level of video review for vessel steam time (nonfishing activity).

The Council noted that an analysis was needed to understand the effect of applying vessel-specific halibut discard mortality estimates to non-reviewed trips as noted by the GEMPAC/TAC. Finally, the Council expressed concern about the cost effectiveness of the program and said it would like the industry to continue to work with NMFS and PSMFC to find a way for industry to fund part of the EM program.

Pacific Council News Spring 2019: Admin

New Council newsletter format debuts

The Council is updating the format of its newsletter to make it more flexible and user-friendly. The web-based format uses a “post” style for articles on similar topics, which makes it easier to share articles across platforms and allows third-party news outlets to link to Council articles. In addition, the new format is smartphone-friendly and will eventually reflect the look of the Council’s new website, which is currently under construction. We welcome your comments during this transition period.

E-Portal open for June briefing book comments

The Council’s comment portal is now accepting comments on June briefing book materials. Please visit the June 2019 Council Meeting E-portal to submit your written comment. Select the agenda item you are interested in commenting on and either enter your comments in the text box, or upload a file containing your comments in .pdf format. You may submit one comment per agenda item in advance of the initial advance briefing book public comment deadline (Thursday, May 23, 5:00 pm).

You will then be allowed one more comment opportunity between 5:01 p.m., May 23 and the supplemental public comment deadline (5:00 p.m., Monday, June 10, 2019), which will allow you to review the advanced briefing materials scheduled to be posted to the Council website no later than close of business, Monday, June 3, 2019.

If you have questions on this process, please contact Kris Kleinschmidt or see the instructional demo YouTube video.

Advisory body appointments

In March and April, the Council reviewed and approved the following appointments: Greg Krutzikowsky was appointed to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) seat on the Coastal Pelagic Species Management Team formerly held by Cyreis Schmitt; Patrick Mirick was appointed to the ODFW seat on the Groundfish Endangered Species Workgroup formerly held by Dr. Caren Braby; Caroline McKnight was appointed to the California Department of Fish Wildlife (CDFW) vacancy on the Groundfish Management Team; Travis Buck was appointed to the CDFW seat on the ad hoc Ecosystem Workgroup formerly held by Deb Wilson-Vandenberg; Melinda Rowse was appointed to the NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center seat on the Salmon Technical Team formerly held by Dr. Robert Kope; Jon Pink was appointed to the Washington Coastal Tribal Fisheries vacancy on the Salmon Advisory Subpanel; and Robin Bown was appointed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service position on the Groundfish Endangered Species Workgroup formerly held by Laura Todd.

The Council recommended adding an additional at-large Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) position as a means of bringing needed expertise to the committee and appointed Dr. Marisol Garcia-Reyes, Dr. Kristen Marshall, and Dr. Jason Shaffler to the three vacant at-large positions on the SSC.

Chris German of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) will replace CDR Jason Brand as RADM Throop’s second designee and as an Enforcement Consultant for the USCG. The Council expressed their appreciation for CDR Brand’s contributions to the Council and wished him the best in his future endeavors. The Council also welcomed Sergeant Kit Rosenberger as an alternate for Captain Dan Chadwick as a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Consultant.

The Council approved the revisions to the Council Operating Procedures regarding rules of conduct, staffing expectations, and the Council’s new electronic public comment policies with minor language changes.

Legislative News

The Legislative Committee met in April to discuss several bills, including:

H.R. 549: the FISH Act, introduced by Ken Calvert (R-CA). This bill is the same as H.R. 3916, which was the subject of a 2017 Council letter to Congressman Calvert. The bill transfers all functions with respect to anadromous species and catadromous species under the Endangered Species Act from the Secretary of Commerce or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to the Secretary of the Interior. Opposing groups believe the bill would weaken protections that currently exist under NMFS jurisdiction.

S. 906/H.R. 1979: Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, introduced by Diane Feinstein and Ted Lieu (D-CA). This bill would extend current California state regulations regarding driftnets to all Federal waters within five years.

H.R. 2236: Forage Fish Conservation Act, introduced by Debbie Dingell (D-MI). This bill amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require Scientific and Statistical Committees to provide scientific advice on maintaining a sufficient abundance of forage fish populations; adds forage fish populations and distribution as a research priority; calls for Councils to develop lists of unmanaged forage fish species and prohibit development of new fisheries (as the Pacific Council has done); and requires Councils to reduce annual catch limits for forage fish fisheries according to the dietary needs of fish species and other marine wildlife.

The Council is tracking the driftnet and forage fish bills, but has not been asked to provide comments. (The Council may not comment on legislation unless it receives a Congressional request).

The Legislative Committee will meet next at the June Council meeting.

Administrative shorts

On Earth Day a few members of the Council staff conducted a litter cleanup at Chinook Landing, a boat ramp and park near the Council office. They gathered three bags of debris, mostly beer bottles and plastic water bottles. The Pacific Council and its staff continue to look for ways to reduce impacts to our environment. We work with hotels to ensure recycling bins are available and clearly labeled, encourage the use of electronic documents, reuse paper, and collect styrofoam, batteries, and plastic clamshells from staff for recycling. Please help us out by supporting our recycling efforts at Council meetings!

National Marine Sanctuaries: Bill Douros, Regional Director of the National Marine Sanctuaries program, reported to the Council on Office of National Marine Sanctuary activities and programs.

Saltonstall-Kennedy program: Cliff Cosgrove, National Saltonstall-Kennedy Program Manager, briefed the Council on the program and solicited feedback on ways to improve communications, dissemination, and utilization of results achieved through projects funded by the program. An evening session on the program was held on April 12. Each year, the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program awards up to $10 million to fisheries research and development projects which are selected based on how well they address the needs of fishing communities, benefit U.S. fishing industries (including both commercial and recreational fisheries), and involve fishing community participation. From 2010 through 2018, over $15 million in funding was awarded for 57 projects through the S-K Program in the West Coast region.

Allocation review: The Council approved a draft operating procedure (COP 27) on intersector allocation reviews for public review.

Return to the Pacific Council News.

Pacific Council News Spring 2019: Highly migratory species

Council explores ways to measure bycatch, interactions in drift gillnet fishery

In March, the Highly Migratory Species Management Team reported on the development of new methods to report bycatch rates in the large-mesh drift gillnet fishery relative to performance metrics.

Performance metrics provide a way for the Council to monitor the drift gillnet fishery’s bycatch of finfish and interactions with certain marine mammals and sea turtles compared to historical levels or performance objectives. If these numbers are consistently at a level higher than one of the performance objectives, the Council may consider whether new measures are necessary to limit bycatch or reduce interactions with protected species. In June the team will report on bycatch estimates for the 2016/17 fishery for 22 species as well as measures of the overall bycatch rate for the fishery.

The team is also assessing the uncertainty surrounding bycatch estimates under different levels of observer coverage, and is working on ways to reduce bycatch if the fishery fails to meet its standards.

Return to the Pacific Council News.

Pacific Council News Spring 2019: Pacific halibut

Changes to halibut management may be on the horizon

The non-Indian commercial directed halibut fishery may be managed by the Council in the future, in response to International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) recommendations to change the structure of the fishery, citing safety concerns. The Council asked representatives from NMFS, the states, and Council staff to meet with the IPHC before the June Council meeting to discuss the logistics associated with a transition plan. Next steps will be discussed at the June Council meeting.

The fishery structure has been a topic of discussion between the IPHC and Council since May 2017, when the IPHC recommended the Council consider a change in the management of the fishery. The IPHC did not recommend a particular management structure for the fishery, but supported changes that would reduce the concentration of fishing effort.

A stakeholder workshop may occur later in 2019 to discuss regulatory alternatives (opening date, season structure, and vessel limits) for the 2020 fishery. At the November Council meeting, NMFS will provide a report on the process, timeline, and workload associated with transitioning the management of the fishery. Skip to other halibut news.

Halibut incidental catch limits for salmon troll fishery set

The Council adopted final incidental landing restrictions for the salmon troll fishery as follows: from May 1, 2019 through the end of the 2019 salmon troll fishery, and from April 1-30, 2020, license holders may land no more than one Pacific halibut per two Chinook, except one Pacific halibut may be landed without meeting the ratio requirement, and no more than 35 halibut landed per trip.