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 →
Sablefish Pots and IFQ Committee Report
The Council received reports reviewing the Gulf of Alaska sablefish pot fishery and recommendations from the IFQ committee. The GOA sablefish pot review summarized 3-4 years of fishery data as well as information gathered from speaking with fishery participants, managers, and stock assessment scientists. The review and subsequent testimony highlighted aspects of the fishery management… Read More →
IFQ Small Sablefish Release
The Council conducted its initial review of an analysis to allow vessel operators in the fixed gear IFQ sablefish fishery to voluntarily release sablefish they consider to be too small to have much economic value. After reviewing the analysis, the Council suspended action on this issue pending IFQ Committee recommendations on the relative priority of… Read More →
Sablefish apportionment
The SSC received a report regarding ongoing analyses of different ways to spatially apportion the sablefish stock sub-area ABCs across management regions in the GOA and BSAI. Preliminary results indicate limited biological differences amongst apportionment schemes. Final analyses of a range of apportionment schemes and their performance against some biological and economic objectives will be… Read More →
Small Sablefish Discarding/Release
The Council and AP reviewed a discussion paper on the potential creation of a discard allowance for the fixed gear individual fishing quota (IFQ) sablefish fishery, and took action to initiate an analysis. The Council’s motion for the analysis cites the low commercial value and high survival rate of small sablefish, and suggests that allowing… Read More →
Small Sablefish Discarding
The Council reviewed a second discussion paper on allowing sablefish discarding in the directed Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) longline and pot fisheries, and tasked staff with continuing to explore issues related to sablefish discarding. The sablefish discarding allowance was initially evaluated as a management response to the extremely large 2014 year class, but is now… Read More →
Sablefish Depredation Workshop
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is preparing a two-hour evening working session to bring together fishermen, stock assessment authors, and SSC members to discuss opportunities for cooperative research to investigate the impacts of sablefish depredation by killer whales and sperm whales from fishing gear in the GOA and BSAI. Cooperative research efforts are those… Read More →
Small Sablefish Discarding
The Council reviewed a discussion paper that considered modifying the requirement to retain sablefish in the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) longline and pot fisheries. The Council’s request for the discussion paper was responsive to public testimony in April 2018 that the IFQ fishery was experiencing an increase in catch of small sablefish due to an… Read More →
