The SSC received a report from Jodi Pirtle (NMFS AKR) and Ned Laman (AFSC) on the development of new and revised species distribution models that may provide information to support descriptions and mapping of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) in the Council’s FMPs. The discussion paper and presentation reviewed analyses under development to provide information to… Read More →
EFH Amendments
The Council took final action in April to modify the Council’s BSAI Groundfish, GOA Groundfish, BSAI King and Tanner Crab, Salmon, and Arctic FMPs to update descriptions and maps of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH), and to update recommendations for non-fishing activities that may affect EFH. The Council reviewed an Environmental Assessment (EA) that examined the… Read More →
EFH Effects
EFH Fishing Effects Methods The Council reviewed and approved a proposed method to evaluate the effects of fishing on Essential Fish Habitat for BSAI and GOA Groundfish and BSAI crabs, developed by a subcommittee of the SSC. The proposal presented a three-tiered approach to evaluating the effects of commercial fishing on EFH using the outputs… Read More →