The Council received genetics reports on the stock of origin of Chinook and chum salmon bycatch in the 2015 Bering Sea pollock fishery, the GOA pollock fishery, GOA rockfish (and arrowtooth) CV trawl fishery and the GOA non-pollock CP trawl fisheries. The Council requested that the salmon genetics inter-agency working group hold a public workshop to facilitate industry feedback on appropriate spatial and temporal resolution or other analyses to facilitate industry bycatch avoidance. The Council also requested that the workgroup consider a feasibility study to collect adipose fin status and otoliths in the Gulf of Alaska rockfish fishery to help inform the relative contributions to overall bycatch from hatcheries. Additional requests for further analyses are contained in the SSC minutes and the Council motion available online.
The Council also received annual reports from the pollock industry on their 2016 incentive plan agreements (IPA) for Chinook salmon avoidance in the Bering Sea. A report on the chum salmon avoidance by the pollock fleet under the inter-cooperative agreement (ICA) was also presented. Following this year, in accordance with regulatory changes under amendment 110, chum salmon bycatch avoidance will be incorporated into sector-specific IPAs. Staff contact is Diana Stram.
