Craig Cross, long-time fixture in the Council process, participated in his last meeting as a Councilmember after having served the limited 3 terms. Mr. Cross brought decades of personal experience in many of the fisheries and programs the Council manages. Craig became active on the Council’s Advisory Panel in 1996 and served for 16 years… Read More →
Appointments and Call for Nominations
GOA Groundfish Plan Team appointment The Council appointed Andrew Olson to the GOA Groundfish Plan Team. Mr. Olson serves as the Southeast Regional Groundfish-Shellfish Coordinator for ADF&G. Mr. Olson is responsible for supervising all groundfish research in the Southeast Region and he has served as the principal investigator on Demersal Shelf Rockfish and Southeast sablefish… Read More →
Observer Report on 2020 Deployment During Covid
The Council received a presentation from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on the 2020 Observer Annual Report and provided recommendations for the development of the 2022 Draft Annual Deployment Plan (ADP). The Annual Report provides a scientific evaluation of the deployment of observers in 2020 to evaluate if deployment expectations were met that year.… Read More →
Trawl Electronic Monitoring
The Council took action to initiate analysis to implement electronic monitoring (EM) on pollock catcher vessels (CVs) using pelagic trawl gear and tender vessels transporting pollock catch in the eastern Bering Sea (BS) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA). The principal investigators on the BS and GOA pelagic pollock EM exempted fishing permit (EFP) presented an… Read More →
BSAI Crab
The Council specified OFLs and ABCs for Aleutian Islands golden king crab (AIGKC) and Pribilof Islands blue king crab (PIBKC) and accepted the updated BSAI Crab SAFE chapters for those stocks. The Council also reviewed model scenarios for Eastern Bering Sea snow crab, Bristol Bay red king crab, and Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab and… Read More →
BSAI Pcod Trawl CV LAPP
At this meeting, the Council conducted a second initial review of an analysis for a Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Pacific cod trawl catcher vessel (CV) limited access program (LAPP). After reviewing the analysis, the SSC and Advisory Panel recommendations, and listening to public testimony, the Council recommended releasing the analysis for final action… Read More →
BSAI Pacific Cod Small Boat Access
The Council reviewed a discussion paper and initiated an analysis for new access opportunities for smaller vessels (e.g., <57 ft) in the Bering Sea Aleutian Island (BSAI) Pacific Cod less than 60 ft hook-and-line (HAL) or pot sector by allowing smaller HAL/pot vessels to harvest Pacific cod from the BSAI Pacific cod jig sector allocation.… Read More →
Sablefish Overages
The Council reviewed a discussion paper, requested in December 2020, to examine management tools that the Council may consider to limit or prevent overages of trawl sablefish area- and sector-specific allocations. The Council initiated the discussion paper in response to public comment and a letter submitted to the Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries in October… Read More →
Research Priorities
The Council received an update from the SSC on its proposed process for conducting triennial review of research priorities. Although the Council had approved three-year research priorities at its April 2021 meeting, the SSC deferred aspects of the review process and changes to a strategic priorities to the June 2021 meeting. For subsequent triennial reviews,… Read More →
Central Arctic Agreement
The Council noted the receipt of the Instrument of Approval of the Agreement from the People’s Republic of China that allows the implementation of the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean (Agreement). The Agreement, completed in Ilulissat, Canada on 3 October 2018, commits the parties to not authorize any… Read More →
