North Pacific Fishery Management Council

Managing Fisheries off the Coast of Alaska

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Home / Newsletters / February 2024 Newsletter

February 2024 Newsletter

Call for Nominations | Norton Sound Red King Crab | BBRKC area closures | Pelagic trawl gear definition | Cook Inlet Salmon | GOA Tanner crab | Programmatic Evaluation | AFA program review work plan | June Climate workshop /IRA update | Small sablefish release | Research priorities | Staff tasking | Thank you Seattle! | Upcoming Meetings

Call for Nominations – FMAC

The Council is soliciting a nomination for the Fisheries Monitoring Advisory Committee (FMAC) and Partial Coverage Fisheries Monitoring Advisory Committee (PCFMAC). The Council is looking for one representative who can serve on both committees, who can ideally:

  • provide expertise on fixed gear fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska
  • have experience or represent fishery participants with experience with electronic monitoring (EM);
  • have familiarity with issues of catch monitoring on small vessels.

The FMAC and PCFMAC convene industry members, agency representatives, EM and observer providers to advise the Council on issues related to monitoring in the North Pacific halibut and groundfish fisheries. The FMAC advises the Council on all types of monitoring across all sectors in Alaskan fisheries, whereas the PCFMAC is a subset of the FMAC members addressing issues specific to the partial coverage sector.
The FMAC and PCFMAC typically each meet once per year, though additional meetings may occur as needed. The next meeting will be in May 2024 (exact dates and location are still being determined but will be posted on the Council calendar as soon as possible).
Please submit a letter of interest describing how your experience and background relates to one or more of the above to Sara Cleaver (Council staff) by noon Alaska time on Friday, March 29th. (sara.cleaver@noaa.gov; 907-271-2809).

Norton Sound red king crab harvest specifications

The Council received an overview of the 2024 stock assessment fishery evaluation (SAFE) report chapter for Norton Sound red king crab (NSRKC), and set specifications. The Council adopted SSC recommendations of an OFL of 332 metric tons (733,000 pounds) with an ABC of 233 metric tons (513,000 pounds).

The 2024 BSAI Crab SAFE report chapter for NSRKC indicates that the stock is not overfished, and overfishing did not occur because the 2023 total catch mortality (200mt) was less than the 2023 OFL (310mt).

Given the elimination of the 2025 February Council meeting, the Council will be setting harvest specifications for NSRKC 2025 season in December 2024. The Crab Plan Team will review proposed models for NSRKC in September 2024, and recommend harvest specifications at a half-day virtual meeting in November 2024.

The Council also reviewed stock prioritization and, based on SSC recommendation, endorses moving Pribilof Island Blue King Crab (PIBKC) to a quadrennial assessment cycle, highlighting that overfished status and overfishing determination will continue to take place on an annual basis. The SSC also reviewed proposed models for the May 2024 SAFE report chapter for Aleutian Islands golden king crab.

Staff contact is Sarah Rheinsmith. 

BBRKC area closures

The Council reviewed an analysis of alternatives for closing areas in the Bristol Bay region of the eastern Bering Sea to certain groundfish gears for the purpose of reducing Bristol Bay red king crab (BBRKC) mortality and promoting crab stock abundance and yield from the BBRKC fishery. The Council determined that it would not proceed with analysis of static annual area closures at this time, citing a lack of certainty about the benefits of the action for the BBRKC stock and conclusions in the analysis suggesting that the area closures could result in greater overall bycatch of salmon, halibut, and other crab species. 

The Council is supporting stakeholder-led approaches to minimizing BBRKC bycatch and fishing impacts on important habitat areas that are informed by current and ongoing research into BBRKC seasonal distribution and movement across crab life-stages, as well as gear innovation to minimize effects of trawl and pot gear on the crab population. The Council is encouraging all groundfish and crab fishery participants to develop agreements for dynamic area-management, information sharing for crab avoidance, best practices, and gear innovation. Such agreements would be revisited regularly so that they are adaptive to new information and shifting ecosystem conditions. Agreements should include metrics to evaluate performance relative to Council objectives.

The Council also requested a discussion paper that would inform a process for incentivizing pelagic trawl gear innovation to achieve the objectives identified by the Council. Those objectives include minimizing bycatch, minimizing gear impacts on sensitive benthic habitat and unobserved mortality of species that rely on such habitat, improving or maintaining fishing efficiency, and adaptability to new technology. The scope of the discussion paper – as it relates to the regulatory definition of pelagic trawl gear – would include both the BSAI and the Gulf of Alaska. The Council promotes regulatory consistency across regions whenever possible, and the definition of pelagic trawl gear is relevant to groundfish fishery management in both regions. The Council prioritized creating a revised pelagic trawl gear definition that is reflective of current practices and allows for innovation before examining trawl gear performance standard regulations that may be difficult to enforce. The Council highlighted that its present focus is on gear innovation and participant-led approaches to achieving the objectives defined by the Council, and that the most effective approaches might not require regulatory changes to gear definitions or time/area closures.

Staff contact is Sam Cunningham. 

Pelagic trawl gear definition

The Council initiated an analysis of changes to the definition of pelagic trawl gear to align regulations with current practices in Alaska, and to remove outdated regulatory text that does not reflect innovations in gear performance over previous decades. Potential changes related to the inclusion of the “codend” in the pelagic trawl gear definition are intended to align current regulations with the Council’s intent in defining pelagic trawl gear in 1993, and could result in improved regulatory compliance and achievement of Council objectives.

The action alternative that will be analyzed would revise the pelagic trawl gear definition (50 CFR 679.2) in any of four ways (options):

  1.  Exclude the codend from limitations applicable to the trawl net.
  2.  Remove outdated text related to “parallel line” trawls,
  3. Allow the use of flotation for bycatch excluder devices;
  4. Allow hardware that secures technology to the trawl as long as the hardware does not appreciably change the intended performance of the trawl.

The Council notes that this motion is aligned with a process to incentivize gear innovation that minimizes pelagic trawl impacts on sensitive benthic habitat and unobserved fishing mortality.

Staff contact is Sam Cunningham.

Cook Inlet Salmon

The SSC and Council reviewed NMFS’s 2024 stock assessment and fishery evaluation (SAFE) report for the Cook Inlet EEZ salmon fishery. While the SSC made recommendations regarding overfishing limits and acceptable levels of biological catch, the Council took no action to recommend harvest specifications. As a result, NMFS will publish proposed harvest specifications under Secretarial authority, as informed by the recommendations of the SSC. NMFS will be taking public comment on Cook Inlet Salmon species specifications once they are published in the Federal Register.

NMFS remains on track to implement a federal management regime for the Cook Inlet EEZ salmon fishery by May 2024. NMFS is currently reviewing public comments received on the proposed Amendment 16 to the Salmon FMP and proposed implementing regulations and will respond to all comments when it publishes a final rule. 

NMFS plans to consult with tribes over requests for a tribal subsistence salmon fishery in the Cook Inlet EEZ. NMFS will report the results of such consultations back to the Council for further consideration.

Staff contact is Nicole Watson.

GOA Tanner crab

The Council reviewed a discussion paper on Gulf of Alaska Tanner Crab Protections based on the Council’s request from June 2023. The discussion paper and presentation examined retained groundfish catch and Tanner crab bycatch by target groundfish fisheries and select gear types, current Tanner crab distributions in the Kodiak District, and options to implement full monitoring requirements in statistical areas 525630 and 525702 from 2019 – 2023. 

The Council passed a motion requesting an expanded discussion paper which will include areas of highest Tanner crab abundance in Barnabas Gully and statistical areas 525630 and 525702; consideration of existing closures off the east side of Kodiak Island; Tanner crab distribution and surveyed abundance in the Kodiak District; expanded time frame for analysis; and the value and landings of non-pelagic trawl, pelagic trawl, and pot groundfish fisheries and directed Tanner crab fishery in statistical areas 525630 and 525702 and the Central Gulf of Alaska.

The expanded discussion paper will help in the decision making process by providing additional information that is responsive to the concerns heard through public testimony and brought forth by the Advisory Panel. This recognizes the importance of the fishery to the region and the consistent high concentrations of Tanner crab of all life stages in these areas. 

Staff contact is Nicole Watson.

Programmatic Evaluation

The Council received a presentation on the background and next steps for the Programmatic Evaluation that the Council initiated in June 2023. The proposed action would develop new fisheries management policies, goals, and objectives for all federally managed fisheries in the North Pacific- those included in the FMPs for BSAI and GOA Groundfish, BSAI Crab, Scallop, Salmon, and the halibut fisheries managed under the authority of the Halibut Act.

Staff sought guidance on next steps and how the Council would like to provide opportunity for meaningful engagement of Alaska Native Tribes and stakeholders in relation to the Programmatic. In response to public testimony, the Council chose to slow down the PEIS timeline rather than begin the formal NEPA scoping process this coming July. This revised timeline would provide additional time for pre-scoping, to allow for robust and meaningful public and Tribal engagement on the development of the programmatic evaluation, including input on the alternatives and scope of the action.

Staff will report back to the Council in April 2024 with a plan for specific opportunities for engagement. Additionally, the Council encouraged formal Tribal consultation between Alaska Native Tribes and NMFS. The Council heard from the public and Tribes that summer is not a feasible time for consultation with Western Alaska Tribes, so staff are working to hold at least one engagement session prior to the start of the summer. Information gathered through engagement sessions and Tribal consultation can help direct what should be included in the Notice of Intent, including stakeholder and Tribal perspectives on:

  • The purpose and need for the proposed action.
  • Alternatives the environmental impact statement (EIS) should consider, any associated expected impacts, and specific types of analyses relevant to the proposed action.
  • Input on the schedule for the decision-making process moving forward.

The action to amend the Council’s fisheries management policy(ies), goals, and objectives is not Bering Sea-specific and the Council welcomes input from stakeholders and Tribes with perspectives from across the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Bering Sea. Additionally, discussions at the June 2024 Climate Scenarios Workshop may be considered in further scoping the Programmatic Evaluation.

The Council will use the additional input gathered through pre-scoping to consider whether to alter the previously adopted alternatives, and what to include in the formal NEPA Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), currently scheduled to publish in fall 2024. The Council must intend to complete a Final PEIS within two years of publishing the NOI. During that time, the Council will continue to consider public comments received through NEPA scoping and iterative reviews of the analysis, and adjust alternatives or the scope of the analysis as needed.

Staff contact for the development of the programmatic evaluation is Sara Cleaver. Any requests for Tribal Consultation should be directed to Amilee Wilson at NMFS.

AFA program review work plan

The Council and the Advisory Panel were unable to review the workplan prepared for the AFA Program Limited Access Privilege Program (LAPP) review at this meeting due to scheduling conflicts. However, the SSC did review this workplan and noted it reflects the national guidance issued by NMFS, as well as the best practices the Council has developed through several iterations of LAPP reviews. The primary issue raised by the SSC is how to balance presentation of the full history of the AFA, which is now a longstanding program, with a focus on more recent status and developments in the fishery. The SSC recommended that the full history of the program be included to provide context on long term effects of the AFA. These can be presented as graphical metrics, though may not require deeper discussions or analysis except as program impacts highlighted in previous program reviews.

Staff contact is Kate Haapala.

June Climate workshop / IRA update

The Council received a presentation on planning for the upcoming Climate Scenarios Workshop, which will be held June 5-6 in Kodiak as part of the June Council meeting. The purpose of the 2024 Climate Scenarios workshop is to generate short- and long-term ideas for management approaches and tools to improve climate resiliency of federally managed fisheries in the North Pacific. The workshop is an important step in the Council’s climate readiness planning and links the work of the Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Climate Change Task Force (CCTF), the IRA work plan, and the Council’s programmatic evaluation. The workshop is one pathway for identifying ideas that can be explored further through the PEIS scoping and development process. 

Public participation is important to the success of this workshop. Interested members of the public are encouraged to attend in person in Kodiak or virtually via Zoom. The workshop will include virtual breakout sessions for remote participants. Participants will be asked to register so Council staff can plan accordingly. More information is available including a one-page workshop flyer and a workshop page on the Council’s website. 

Updates on the workshop and the Council’s climate readiness work will be posted to the Council’s website. Members of the public interested in occasional updates and workshop registration reminders are also welcome to sign up for an optional climate readiness mailing list.

The Council also received a brief update of the Council’s proposal to NMFS for funding to support climate readiness, through the funding opportunity available to the regional fishery management councils under the Inflation Reduction Act. The final proposal was submitted at the end of January and builds on the approach discussed in December for advancing and expanding upon existing Council initiatives. In addition to supporting the hiring of a new staff member (Katie Latanich), the proposal, if funded, will support the additional work described on the climate readiness webpage under IRA funding.

Staff contact is Katie Latanich.

Small sablefish release

This agenda item was an SSC-only item at this meeting. The SSC provided analysts with recommendations on sablefish discard mortality rates (DMRs) (12%, 20%, 35%) to be used in the upcoming analysis on the proposed action to allow release of small sablefish in the IFQ fishery. The SSC also provided feedback on the analytical approach for the next iteration of the analysis, including the proposed simulation study to address prior SSC requests on potential impacts to the sablefish stock, and recommendations for economic analyses associated with the action.

The DMR is a critical assumption when trying to evaluate potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts of this action, and by implementing a reasonable upper and lower bound on DMR, simulation analyses can demonstrate the range of impacts on spawning stock biomass and catch advice. Having a reasonable range of DMRs to analyze will reduce one source of uncertainty in the forthcoming EA/RIR analysis of the potential impacts of the proposed action scheduled for June 2024.

The full SSC report can be found here. Staff contact is Sara Cleaver.

Research priorities

The SSC received a brief presentation summarizing the process and progress of reviewing research priorities for the 2024 cycle. For this initial review, SSC members were provided with a summary and detailed reports of the top 5, supplementary, and critical ongoing monitoring lists from the Plan Team research priority meetings. Please see the SSC eAgenda for detailed reports from each Plan Team. Additional information can be found on the Research Priorities webpage.

The final review of research priorities by the SSC, AP, and Council will occur at the April 2024 Council meeting. 

Staff contact is Nicole Watson.

Staff tasking/B reports

B Reports

During the agency reports (Section B on the eAgenda), the Council responded to several discussion items:

  • The Council reviewed and supported an eLogbooks exempted fishing permit (EFP) application submitted to NMFS that would exempt fishermen from the regulations that require fishing vessels to produce printed copies of electronic logbooks, in order to facilitate the transition using electronic logbooks that are fully-integrated with modern technology.
  • At the request of NMFS, the Council provided input on a petition for emergency action related to Chinook salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. While the Council does not support the emergency petition because the requested action is unlikely to remedy the emergency resulting from salmon run failures in Western Alaska, the Council continues to prioritize the importance of ongoing Chinook salmon bycatch management as well as actions such as the chum salmon bycatch action that is scheduled for initial review in April.
  • The Council appreciated the fishing gear research presentation provided by Dr. Brad Harris and Dr. Craig Rose. Council members discussed the overview of North Pacific fishing gear research to estimate and reduce the impacts of fishing gear on benthic habitat, as well as methods to catalog and measure pelagic trawl gear configurations and their contact with the seafloor; and the current uses and potential future applications of the Fishing Effects Model.
  • Staff provided a status report on the Council’s submitted proposal to NMFS for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding to support climate readiness. The final proposal builds on the approach discussed in December for advancing and expanding upon existing Council initiatives develop a climate-resilient management policy (through a programmatic EIS); continue work to incorporate local knowledge and traditional knowledge; and strengthen the consideration of uncertainty and risk in harvest specifications. The Council’s new climate readiness webpage will be regularly updated with the status of ongoing work under this proposed funding, including the June Climate Scenarios Workshop for which planning is underway.

Staff Tasking

The Council discussed the relative priority and scheduling of previously-tasked projects, and new tasking. The revised 3 meeting outlook reflects this guidance.

The Council discussed the public requests for a tribal subsistence salmon fishery in the Cook Inlet Federal fishery, and NMFS noted that they would explore possibilities and report back to the Council. Individual Council members also noted their intent to follow up privately on other requests from public testimony, which they may bring back up for Council consideration at a future meeting. 

Finally, regarding committees:

  • Dr. Sherri Dressel and Dr. Franz Mueter were reelected as SSC co-Chairs for 2024, and Ali Whitman was elected as vice-Chair.
  • Brian Ritchie was reelected as Advisory Panel Chair for 2024, and Paul Wilkins as co-Vice Chair. Heather Mann was elected to be the other co-Vice-Chair for the AP.
  • The Council Chair appointed David Little and Brian Dafforn to the IFQ Committee. The next IFQ Committee meeting will be held in March, to review the upcoming Area 4 Vessel Caps analysis.
  • The Council requested staff prepare an overview of all Council committees for review in April, to include to see if they are still all relevant and/or whether they need updated terms of reference or tasking direction, as well as committee structure, composition, and membership to ensure that the Council is getting the necessary and timely input on current topics. The Council will also clarify the process for the public to submit new management measure proposals to the Council.

Thank you, Seattle

Attendees of the February 2024 Council meeting were treated to an evening seafood reception sponsored by partners in the North Pacific fishing industry. Because of scheduling changes, future February meetings are scheduled to be virtual only and the reception marked that transition. Much of the seafood was donated,  and a good time was had by all. Future scheduling for upcoming meetings is found on our website: https://www.npfmc.org/future-council-meetings/

Upcoming meetings

The following Committee and Plan Team meetings are currently anticipated:

  • BS FEP Climate Change Taskforce – February 26, 2024; virtual
  • Scallop Plan Team – March 5, 2024; Kodiak, AK and virtual
  • IFQ Committee – March 28, 2024; virtual
  • BSAI Crab Plan Team – May 13-17, 2024; Anchorage, AK and virtual

The Council will be hosting a Climate Scenario Planning workshop in June 2024, which will take place over two days (June 5-6) in the middle of the scheduled Council meeting. The intent is for the SSC, AP, and Council to break during these days so that members as well as the public may attend the workshop. A more detailed update was provided in February and is captured in a separate newsletter article.