The Council considered two emergency IFQ fishery modifications that would have (1) temporarily increased the 10% cap on the year-to-year rollover of uncaught IFQ pounds, and (2) extended the IFQ Program to a “year-round” fishery. The Council chose not to take action on either proposal at this time. The Council indicated that it does not plan to revisit the proposals unless the issue is brought back to the Council by stakeholders as the 2020 fishery and the effects of the pandemic unfold.
In both cases, the Council reviewed 2020 harvest rates to-date and determined that modifying the IFQ season at this point would be premature. The Council also noted that mechanisms to account for unharvested 2020 IFQ pounds in future catch limits exist in both the stock assessment and the harvest specifications processes.
Staff contacts are Sam Cunningham and Sarah Marrinan.
