In December 2018 the North Pacific Council adopted a Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan (BS FEP). Fisheries Ecosystem Plans are a tool that can serve as a framework for continued incorporation of ecosystem goals and actions in regional management.
Staff contact is Diana Evans: 907-271-2815.BS FEP Action Modules
To date, the Council has initiated two Action Modules under the framework of the Bering Sea, and taskforces have been created to accomplish their tasks over the course of 2-3 years.
Evaluating Climate Change Action Module Taskforce
The goal of this climate project is to evaluate the vulnerability of key species and fisheries to climate change, and to strengthen resilience in regional fisheries management.
Local Knowledge/Traditional Knowledge/Subsistence Action Module Taskforce
The goal of the Local Knowledge (LK), Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Subsistence Action Module is to develop protocols for using LK and TK in management, and to understand the impacts of Council decisions on subsistence resources, users, and practices.
Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Team
The Council has appointed the following members of a BS FEP team. The Team’s primary responsibilities are to develop and update the Core FEP document, to discuss potential and ongoing FEP action modules, make recommendations to the Ecosystem Committee and the Council about future steps, and to help communicate results to the Council.
Documents and Motions
Newsletter Articles
- Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Team and Taskforce reports (4/13/2022)
- Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan (6/13/2019)
- Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan (12/14/2018)
- Ecosystem Committee/Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan (2/20/2018)
- BS Fishery Ecosystem Plan (4/14/2017)
- Bering Sea FEP (12/19/2016)
- BS FEP Document, January 2019
FEP Team meetings
- BS FEP team meeting: September 5-7, 2017. AFSC, Seattle, WA
- BS FEP team meeting: April 24-26, 2017. Homer, AK.
- Agenda
- Presentations from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Landscape Conservation Cooperative: overview, coastal resiliency workshops
- BS FEP team meeting: January 19-20, 2017, Seattle, WA.
- REPORT
- Agenda, background documents:
- Comparison of FEP contents
- Council discussion paper on BS Fishery Ecosystem Plan (12/15)
- Lenfest report on Building Effective Fishery Ecosystem Plans (Executive Summary, report, website)
- NMFS Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Policy and Roadmap (website)
2016
- December – Council approves membership of BS FEP team
- January – update on next steps for Ecosystem Committee
2015
- December – Discussion paper, Council motion on BS FEP (12/15); Council Motion on NOAA EBFM Policy (12/15)
- March – Discussion paper (part 1, part 2), AFSC presentations on EBM science (Aydin, Holsman, Zador, Ortiz (video)), Ecosystem Committee minutes
2014
- October – Council motion
- September – Staff synthesis, Ecosystem Committee minutes
- June-October – the Council requested public input from local residents and communities, as well as agencies, organizations and the general public, about the objectives and structure of the FEP, prior to decision-making. The following are summaries of stakeholder input at three public hearings:
- February – Discussion paper, Ecosystem Committee minutes, Council motion
2013
- June – Council motion initiating work on BS FEP