SSC and Advisory Panel As described here, the Council has moved up the timing for its AP/SSC nomination process, and will be accepting nominations for the SSC and AP from now through November 15, 2022. Details about how to apply will be distributed and posted on the Council website by the end of June. The… Read More →
Campbell Farewell
The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association and other industry partners held a seafood reception for members and attendees at the North Pacific Council meetings, and to honor Cora Campbell at her last meeting. Campbell has been involved with the Council for many years, first serving on the Advisory Panel in 2004, then participating as a Council… Read More →
CGOA Rockfish Program
The Council at this meeting selected a preferred alternative to revise the Central Gulf Alaska Rockfish Program after reviewing the public review draft, recommendations from the SSC and AP, and considering public testimony. The Council also requested staff address comments from the SSC in the Secretary of Commerce version to the extent practicable. The preferred… Read More →
BSAI Small Vessel Access
The Council evaluated the initial review draft of the Bering Sea Aleutian Island (BSAI) small vessel access analysis and selected a preliminary preferred alternative. After receiving the presentation on the analysis, public comment, and recommendations from the Science and Statistical Committee and the Advisory Panel, the Council revised the purpose and need statement to align… Read More →
BSAI Crab Specifications – Aleutian Islands Golden King Crab
The Council specified OFLs and ABCs for Aleutian Islands golden king crab (AIGKC) and accepted the updated BSAI Crab SAFE chapter. For AIGKC, the Council adopted an OFL of 3,761 mt and ABC of 2,821 mt for the 2022/23 fishing year. Based on the updated stock assessment, AIGKC is not overfished. The AIGKC 2022 catch… Read More →
Snow Crab Rebuilding Plan
At this meeting, the Council adopted draft alternatives for an analysis to establish a rebuilding plan for Eastern Bering Sea (EBS) snow crab, and requested public comment on ways to reduce fishing-related mortality of snow crab. On October 19, 2021, NMFS notified the Council that the Eastern Bering Sea (EBS) snow crab status has been… Read More →
Trawl Electronic Monitoring
The Council conducted an initial review of a draft analysis to integrate Electronic Monitoring (EM) on Pollock Catcher Vessels using Pelagic Trawl Gear and Tender Vessels in the North Pacific Observer Program and recommended releasing the analysis for final action. The Council selected Alternative 2 as the preliminary preferred alternative which would implement EM on… Read More →
Observer Issues
The Council received a presentation from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on the Draft 2021 Observer Program Annual Report and provided recommendations for the development of the 2023 Annual Deployment Plan (ADP). The Annual Report provides a scientific evaluation of the deployment of observers in 2021 to evaluate if deployment expectations were met that… Read More →
Salmon Reports
The Council received a range of reports related to western Alaskan salmon and salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery, and took several actions. A series of scientific reports were presented on state and federal efforts on Western Alaska Chinook and chum stock status; salmon research; salmon bycatch genetics for both chum and Chinook;… Read More →
IFQ Committee Report
The Council received a report on the IFQ Committee’s May 2022 meeting. The IFQ Committee made three recommendations to the Council, which were supported: (1) initiate an analysis of modified halibut vessel use caps in IPHC Area 4; (2) schedule the next review of alternatives to allow the voluntary, careful release of small sablefish in… Read More →