Annual Catch Limits for Groundfish - Amendment 23

Amendment 23 is the proposed vehicle for implementation of the new National Standard 1 (NS1) requirements in the groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The precise nature of amendments that the Pacific Council may consider is not clear, but some modifications will be necessary to conform the catch-setting system to the new rules and nomenclature in the NS1 Guidelines. In addition, the control rule which serves as the basis for setting acceptable biological catch (ABC) needs modification to account explicitly for scientific uncertainty in the setting of ABCs. At the June 2009 meeting, the Council provided guidance on the development of Amendment 23 alternatives, which included:

1. The Groundfish Management Team (GMT) and Council staff should document the performance of the inseason catch monitoring and adjustment mechanism to evaluate the efficacy of these accountability measures.
2. The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Council staff should coordinate development of alternative acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules to synchronize with the 2011-2012 biennial specifications process, with the goal of providing alternatives for the November council meeting.
3. The development of ABC control rules and annual catch limit (ACL) considerations for target and overfished species is to be prioritized over such specifications for unassessed species, in the event it does not appear both will be possible for the November council meeting.
4. The development of ABC control rules should be based on relatively simple and understandable metrics.

The entire Pacific Council June 2009 decision document is available at: http://www.pcouncil.org/decisions/currentdec.html . A final preferred alternative is expected at the November 2009 meeting, and the amendment is scheduled for implementation in January 2011.

Annual Catch Limits for Highly Migratory Species

For the Highly Migratory Species FMP, informal public scoping on revisions to the FMP has begun through the council meeting process, but the ACL and Accountability Measure (AM) requirements hinge on how broadly the Council and National Marine Fisheries Service apply the statute’s alleged “international exemption.” The Council seems likely to determine that “stocks in the fishery” will include most, if not all, of the current managed species (13 in all), some of the currently “monitored” species, and possibly some of the prohibited species not covered by any other FMP (e.g., great white shark). A detailed implementation schedule is not yet available.

Annual Catch Limits for Coastal Pelagic Species

For the Coastal Pelagic Species FMP, informal public scoping was begun through the council meeting process, and the potential timing for amending the FMP is late 2010 or early 2011. Clearly anchovy and jack mackerel qualify as “stocks in the fishery,” requiring a system of ABCs, ACLs and AMs. Other modifications are needed to conform the sardine and Pacific mackerel control rules to the new nomenclature, and the control rules require modification to account adequately for scientific uncertainties, including the uncertainty associated with high levels of predation on these important forage fish stocks in the California Current ecosystem. A detailed implementation schedule is not yet available.