Saving Seafood

Latest regulations safeguard 140,000 square miles off the West Coast

November 19, 2019 — Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued final regulations to protect the seafloor habitat off the West Coast from bottom trawling.

The regulations cover 140,000 square miles and includes corals, sponges, rocky reefs and other important areas for marine life and ocean ecosystems. These safeguards for the living seafloor are in response to a vote by the Pacific Fishery Management Council in April 2018, which followed years of scientific input and advocacy by Oceana, which has an office in Monterey County.

Bottom trawling is described as the most damaging fishing method to seafloor habitats off the West Coast. Weighted nets are dragged to catch fish living near the seafloor and in doing so flatten, topple and crush delicate corals and sponges that provide habitat for these fish and other marine creatures.

The new regulations protect unique and important ocean areas off Washington, Oregon and California. Also included is the protection of deep-sea habitats beyond 3,500 meters depth (nearly 2 miles) below the ocean’s surface from all commercial bottom-contact fishing gear. In addition, the regulations increase fishing opportunities by allowing select re-openings in some historic fishing grounds where bottom trawling has been prohibited in recent years to recover overfished rockfish populations.

Read the full story at the Santa Cruz Sentinel

Rebound in Groundfish Leads to New Flexibility for Fishermen, Protection for Deep-Sea Corals

November 19, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Sweeping changes in West Coast groundfish fisheries adopted this week will reopen access for fishermen to productive fishing grounds where fish populations have rebounded. These changes will also protect sensitive deep-water habitat and deep-sea corals from bottom fishing.

The changes come in the form of an amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for groundfish off the West Coast. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) recommended the amendment to NOAA Fisheries, which finalized it this week. The new provisions take effect January 1, 2020, and are widely supported by fishermen and other stakeholders.

The changes affect what is known as Essential Fish Habitat, or EFH, the habitat necessary to support sustainable fisheries. By law, the Council must minimize effects on EFH, and in 2005 did so for groundfish habitat. It established area closures that limited bottom trawling and other types of gear that contact the sea floor.

A review of the latest science and fishing results led the Council to increase protections for EFH in some places. It also reopened some important fishing areas that had been closed.

Read the full release here

PFMC: Groundfish Stock Assessment Process Review Webinar to be Held Friday, 12/13/2019

October 30, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

Participants in the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council’s) 2019 groundfish stock assessment process will hold a meeting via webinar to review and evaluate the 2019 stock assessment review (STAR) process.  The webinar will be held on Friday, December 13, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) or until business for the day has been completed.  The goal of the webinar is to solicit process improvements to recommend for future groundfish stock assessments and STAR panel reviews.  Process recommendations will be provided to the Pacific Council at their March 2020 meeting in Rohnert Park, California.

Please see the Groundfish Stock Assessment Process Review Webinar Notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer John DeVore  at 503-820-2413; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

November 14-20, 2019 PFMC meeting “Fast Facts”

October 29, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The November 14-20, 2019 Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting “Fast Facts” are available. Fast Facts are answers to FAQs that can help you get oriented for the upcoming meeting.

If you have additional questions regarding the November 14-20, 2019 Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting:

PFMC: November 2019 Briefing Book online (November 14-20, 2019 PFMC mtg)

October 25, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Briefing Book for the November 14-20, 2019 Council meeting has been posted to the Council’s website on the “November 2019 Briefing Book” webpage.

The Briefing Book contains the meeting agenda, “situation summaries” (brief summaries that provide background for each agenda item), reports and materials for each agenda item, and public comment submitted to our e-portal. Advisory body and committee agendas and memos are also available.

For further information:

PFMC: Groundfish Management Team to Hold Webinar November 5, 2019

October 10, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s  Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will convene a webinar meeting to discuss items on the Pacific Council’s November 2019 meeting agenda.  The webinar will be held Tuesday, November 5, 2019 from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.  The webinar end time is an estimate, the meeting will adjourn when business for the day is completed.  This meeting is open to the public.

Please see the Groundfish Management Team Webinar Notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Mr. Todd Phillips  at 503-820-2426; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

PFMC: November 14-20, 2019 PFMC Meeting Notice and Agenda Now Available

October 10, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet November 14‐20, 2019 in Costa Mesa, California, to address issues related to groundfish, salmon, Pacific halibut, highly migratory species, coastal pelagic species, habitat, and administrative matters. The meeting of the Council and its advisory entities will be held at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa Hotel, 3050 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626; telephone, 714‐540‐7000.

Please see the November 14-20, 2019 Council Meeting notice on the Council’s website for meeting detail, schedule of advisory body meetings, our new E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines.

Key agenda items for the meeting include Council considerations to:

  • Adopt Final Salmon Methodology Changes for 2020 and Beyond
  • Adopt Final 2020 Salmon Preseason Management Schedule and Consider an Annual Management Cycle Amendment
  • Review Updated Risk Assessment and Provide Final Recommendations for Southern Residence Killer Whale Endangered Species Act Consultation, as Appropriate
  • Adopt Final Changes for the 2020 Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan and Annual Fishery Regulations
  • Adopt Final Regulations for the 2020 Commercial Directed Pacific Halibut Fishery and Scope Future Transition of Management
    Provide Final Recommendations on Revised Electronic Monitoring Guidelines and Draft Program Manual and Provide Guidance on Implementation
  • Adopt Final Preferred Alternatives for 2020 Harvest Specifications for Cowcod and Shortbelly Rockfish
  • Adopt Final 2021‐2022 Groundfish Harvest Specifications and Preliminary Management Measures
  • Adopt Pacific Whiting Yield Set‐Asides for 2020 and Final Action on Groundfish Fishery Inseason Adjustments
  • Scope a Highly Migratory Species Plan Amendment Authorizing Shallow Set Longline Gear Outside of the Exclusive Economic Zone
  • Review Methodologies for Estimating Nearshore Abundance of the Central Subpopulation of Northern Anchovy, Consider the Frequency of Review of Overfishing Limits, and Consider Alternatives for Accountability Measures

For further information:

Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff at 503-820-2280; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

PFMC: Habitat Committee to meet via webinar on October 30, 2019

October 8, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Habitat Committee will hold a meeting via webinar, which is open to the public. The webinar will be held Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 9 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, and will end at noon on the same day. Public comments during the webinar will be received from attendees at the discretion of the Habitat Committee Chair.

Please see the Habitat Commitee Webinar Notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Ms. Jennifer Gilden  at 503-820-2418; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Southern Resident Killer Whale Workgroup to meet via Webinar October 29, 2019

October 8, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council)  Ad Hoc Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) Workgroup (Workgroup) will meet via webinar, and this meeting will be open to the public.  The  webinar meeting will be held on Tuesday, October  29, 2019, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), or until business for the day has been completed.  This is a public meeting and not a public hearing.  Public comments will be taken at the discretion of the Workgroup co-chairs as time allows.

Please see the SRKW Workgroup Webinar Notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Ms. Robin Ehlke  at 503-820-2410; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Public review draft of Fishery Ecosystem Plan Chapters 1 & 2 revisions now available

October 4, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

Pacific Coast Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the U.S. Portion of the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem – Proposed revisions to Chapters 1 and 2 as part of the five-year review are now available.

As part of the five-year review of its Fishery Ecosystem Plan, in September 2019 the Council adopted for public review a revision of Chapters 1 and 2 including the vision statement and purpose, goals, and objectives.  The Council will take final action to adopt these changes at its March 2020 meeting. The deadline to submit written public comment for that meeting will be in early February 2020.