Advisory Panel The following members of the AP have been reappointed to a 3-year term: Ruth Christiansen, Jeff Kauffman, Patrick O’Donnell, John Scoblic, and Sinclair Wilt. Also, John Gruver has been reappointed for a 1-year term, and Victoria O’Connell Curran has been reappointed to complete the term of her seat, which expires at the end of… Read More →
BSAI Groundfish Specifications
Status of stocks and specification of OFL, ABC, and TAC The Council reviewed the Ecosystem Status Report for the Eastern Bering Sea, the Bering Sea and Aleutian Island (BSAI) Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report, and made final recommendations on groundfish harvest specifications, PSC limits, and halibut DMRs to manage the 2020 and… Read More →
GOA Groundfish Final Harvest Specifications
The Council approved the 2019 Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report and recommended final harvest specifications for the 2020 and 2021 GOA groundfish fisheries. For final rulemaking for the 2020 and 2021 fishing years, the Council recommended OFLs and ABCs consistent with SSC recommendations, and final TACs. The Council… Read More →
2020 Charter Halibut Management Measures for Areas 2C and 3A
After reviewing ADF&G’s analysis of potential charter management measures and the recommendations of the Charter Halibut Management Committee, the Council established preliminary recommendations for 2020 charter measures in Areas 2C and 3A. For Area 2C, the Council recommends a progression of catch restrictions that would be applied in an additive measure to status quo measures… Read More →
BSAI Pacific cod Parallel Fishery Limited Access
At this meeting, the Council took final action to adopt a preferred alternative (Alternative 2) that would prohibit all Federal vessels from fishing for Pacific cod in waters from shore to 3 miles in the BSAI without the proper permits and licenses. The directed fisheries for Pacific cod in state waters (0 to 3 nm)… Read More →
Crab Partial Offloads
The Council took final action to recommend a preferred alternative that removes the prohibition on a vessel continuing to fish for Crab Rationalization Program (CR) crab between the time of a partial delivery and the time at which all CR crab are offloaded by the vessel. The purpose of the action is to provide flexibility… Read More →
St Matthew Island Blue King Crab Rebuilding
The Council reviewed an initial draft environmental assessment of a rebuilding plan for St Matthew Island blue king crab. The Council chose a preliminary preferred alternative that would allow directed harvest during rebuilding if estimates of stock biomass are sufficient to open the fishery under the State of Alaska’s crab harvest strategy. Official notice that… Read More →
Central Gulf of Alaska Rockfish Program Reauthorization
The Council approved the Initial Review draft of the Central Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) Rockfish Program (RP) for release to the public with suggested changes by the Council, SSC, and Advisory Panel. No changes were made to the Council’s Purpose and Need statement. The Council selected a Preliminary Preferred Alternative (PPA) that is posted on… Read More →
Unguided Halibut Rental Vessels
The Council reviewed an initial review draft of an action that evaluated the potential impacts of: 1) a registration requirement for unguided halibut rental vessels and 2) aligning bag and size limits of unguided anglers using rental vessels to harvest halibut with those of charter anglers in IPHC Regulatory Areas 2C and 3A. After reviewing… Read More →
BSAI Halibut Abundance-based Management
The Council reviewed a workplan for addressing October 2019 SSC comments on the BSAI Halibut Abundance-based Management (ABM) Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) limits management action analysis, and provided feedback on prioritizing tasks to facilitate Council review of the analysis in June 2020. The Council continues to consider proposed management measures to index Pacific halibut PSC… Read More →
