Thank you Kodiak | Council Changes | Call for Nominations | Observer/Monitoring Reports | BSAI Crab Issues | Halibut Area 4 Vessel Caps | Small Sablefish Release| UFMWG| Crab Rationalization Program Review| Central GOA Rockfish Program Review| BSAI Pacific Cod Pot LAPP| Research Priorities| Climate Scenarios Workshop| Staff Tasking | Upcoming Meetings |

Remembering Kenny Down

A memorial service for Kenny was held on Saturday, June 8th, in Seattle, Washington. The service was live-streamed on Zoom, and the Council held a space during the meeting for members and the public who wanted to attend the celebration of life service as a community. Kenny Down will be remembered not only for his devotion and unwavering love to his family, but also for his legacy of kindness and compassion. We are fortunate to have known him and for his participation in the Council process.

The June 2024 Kodiak Council meeting was the last for several of our instrumental Council staff: two analysts, Sam Cunningham, who has been with us for 12 years. Sarah Rheinsmith-Gardner has been with us for three years, and admin Sarah LaBelle has been with us for six years. All three have been great co-workers and terrific teammates, and we wish you continued success in your future endeavors. We will miss you all immensely.

Call for Nominations

The Council is accepting nominations for its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Advisory Panel (AP) for 2025. Nominations, letters of interest, and a resume should be submitted via the Council’s nominations portal on the eAgenda, by October 31 at 5 pm Alaska time. Please note that all submissions will be viewable on the webpage.

The SSC members serve one-year terms and may be reappointed with no term limits. The Council is seeking candidates with the following expertise: (1) a social scientist with a background in anthropology, sociology, human geography, or a related field; and (2) a scientist with broad expertise in quantitative ecosystem science and/or ecology with a specific expertise in marine mammals. While not a requirement, the Council values candidates who have experience working with Alaska coastal communities and/or with scientific expertise with local knowledge and/or traditional knowledge.

A description of AP membership criteria and duties is included in the AP Handbook. Members can be appointed for a 1, 2, or 3-year term by the Council, with a maximum of three consecutive three-year terms. The eAgenda provides a list of AP members whose term is expiring at the end of this calendar year. 

FMAC/PCFMAC

The Council is soliciting nominations for the following representation on the fishery monitoring committees: 

• One active observer representative who can provide expertise on full coverage observer issues,
• One active observer representative who can provide expertise on partial coverage observer issues, and
• Someone who represents or who has experience with catcher vessels that operate in the Trawl EM program.

The FMAC and PCFMAC each typically meet one to two times per year, though additional meetings may occur as needed. The next meetings will be in September 2024 (exact dates and location are still being determined but will be posted on the Council calendar as soon as possible). The FMAC agenda will include review of a discussion paper on observer availability, and the PCFMAC will review the 2025 Draft Annual Deployment Plan (ADP). Please submit a letter of interest describing how your experience and background relates to one or more of the above to Sara Cleaver, sara.cleaver@noaa.gov, by July 31, 2024.

Observer/Monitoring Reports

The Council received a presentation from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on the Draft 2023 Observer Program Annual Report and provided recommendations for the development of the 2025 Annual Deployment Plan (ADP). The annual report covers full coverage fisheries, which accounts for the majority of harvest in the North Pacific, and partial coverage fisheries, which are primarily the halibut and sablefish IFQ fleet and groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska not in a catch share plan. Because full coverage fisheries are straightforward in terms of coverage rates, much of the annual report focuses on the monitoring that occurred in the partial coverage fisheries in the previous year compared to the deployment expectations laid out in the ADP. In addition to evaluating whether deployment expectations were met in the previous year, the annual report also includes information describing the program, enforcement trends, outreach efforts, and agency recommendations for the 2025 Draft ADP, which will be reviewed this fall.

The Council also received a report from the Fishery Monitoring Advisory Committee (FMAC) on the recommendations and discussion coming out of the recent committee meeting. The FMAC report included recommendations on the 2023 Annual Report and on ideas for inclusion in the 2025 Draft ADP, a budget update from NMFS, as well as several other topics.

The Council appreciated the 2023 Observer Program Annual Report and had several specific recommendations on the 2023 Annual Report, included in the Council motion. Additionally, the Council supported the NMFS recommendations to use the same allocation and stratification methods for the draft 2025 ADP as was recommended and implemented for the 2024 fishing year.

The Council continues to take issues of observer harassment seriously and supports continuation of NMFS’ efforts to create a safe working environment for observers.

On behalf of the Council, staff plan to send a letter to NOAA expressing concern with delays in the transfer of observer fee revenue, cost recovery funds, and pelagic trawl EM start-up funds to AFSC and NMFS due to the new Commerce Department financial system, and concern with the 2022 and 2023 sequestered portion of the observer fees not yet being transferred and available for observer deployment.

Lastly, under staff tasking, the Council is soliciting nominations for additional members for the fishery monitoring committees. See ‘call for nominations’ newsletter for specifics. 

Staff contact is Sara Cleaver.

BSAI Crab Issues

The Council specified overfishing limits (OFLs) and acceptable biological catch amounts (ABCs) for Aleutian Island golden king crab (AIGKC) and approved the updated BSAI Crab SAFE chapter (motion).

For AIGKC, the Council adopted an OFL of 3,725 t and ABC of 2,794 t for the 2024/25 fishing year. AIGKC was not overfished based on the updated stock assessment. The final determination of stock status will be provided in the final 2023 BSAI crab SAFE at the October 2024 Council meeting.

The Council also reviewed model scenarios for Saint Matthews blue king crab, Eastern Bering Sea snow crab, Bristol Bay red king crab, and Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab, and several other topics from the May 2024 Crab Plan Team Report.

Staff contact is Diana Stram. 

Halibut Area 4 Vessel Caps

The Council moved an action on halibut IFQ vessel use caps in Area 4 on for final review with several changes to the purpose and need statement for action and several revisions to the alternatives considered. This action considers a long-term change for creating new vessel caps specific to halibut IFQ regulatory Area 4. This action is being considered to increase utilization of quota and fishery revenues in Area 4 by providing additional harvest opportunities for vessels that were constrained by the previous vessel use cap while maintaining the Council’s objectives for the IFQ program to provide entry level opportunities and support sustained participation by fishery dependent communities.

Since 2020 for Areas 4B, 4C/D and 2021 for Area 4A, the Council has requested NMFS promulgate regulations to remove vessel use caps for IFQ halibut. As a result, vessel caps do not apply to Area 4 and IFQ halibut harvested in Area 4 does not accrue to vessel caps in other Areas currently and through the 2027 IFQ fishing season. However, these exemptions were intended to be interim measures to provide additional flexibility to vessels in Area 4 given several years of challenging circumstances (e.g., global pandemic, collapse of snow crab fishery, reduction in processing capacity) and while a longer-term regulatory response is considered. The proposed action currently under consideration would supersede this Area 4 exemption from the vessel caps if implemented before 2027.

The Council’s amended action alternative for consideration includes creating a new halibut vessel cap for Area 4 halibut TAC. This would either establish a limit of 4%, 5% or 6% of the Area 4 halibut TAC (Option 1) or exclude Area 4A from the new vessel cap under consideration and establish an Area 4B/4C/4D/4E vessel cap of 7%, 9%, or 11% (Option 2). The Council clarified that this action is not intended to impact the order in which areas are fished; a vessel may operate in Area 2C, Area 3 and Area 4 in any order. Landings in Area 4 up to an amount equal to the difference between the vessel limit that applies inside and outside of Area 4 would not accrue towards the limit outside of Area 4. This does not change the vessel use limitations that exist outside of Area 4; all landings made outside of Area 4 would still be limited by the existing caps and all total landings would apply to the Area 4 cap.

The Council is considering two sub-options that could apply under either option. The first sub-option states that halibut IFQ held by an Area 4B CQE would not accrue towards the Area 4 vessel cap (sub-option 1). The second sub-option considers establishing a review period of three or five years after implementation for any creation of a separate Area 4 vessel cap (sub-option 2).

The Council has not yet identified a preliminary preferred alternative for action.

 Staff contact is Anna Henry.

Small Sablefish Release

The Council recommended a preliminary preferred alternative on small sablefish release, with revisions to the purpose and need statement and alternatives. The action being considered would allow sablefish under 22 inches in total length to be released in the IFQ and CDQ fixed gear fisheries and would create a new incidental harvest allowance (ICA) to account for sablefish that are not retained. The proposed action, which has been moving through the Council process since 2018, is in response to the low economic value of small sablefish which have inundated commercial catches over the past several years.

The proposed action includes several options for the Council and elements considered in the analysis. At this meeting, the Council eliminated an option which would allow voluntary release of sablefish of any size. The Council also removed an option to implement a sunset provision for this action. Additionally, the Council added an element recommending the development of careful release requirements for fixed gear sablefish fisheries but did not include this element as part of its PPA.

The analysis described implementation details that need to be considered when moving this action forward. A discard mortality rate (DMR) would be applied to discarded sablefish. This DMR would be recommended by the SSC during its annual harvest specifications process and would be used both in the sablefish stock assessment as well for inseason management of the fisheries. To account for sablefish that are not retained in the fishery, NMFS would need to establish either one or two separate ICAs. The potential impacts of how these ICAs are established, and who would be affected, will be further detailed in the next iteration of the analysis.

The analysis, with revisions per SSC and Council discussion, will be considered for final action at a future meeting.

Council staff is Sara Cleaver. 

Unobserved Fishing Mortality Workgroup

The Council reviewed the Unobserved Fishing Mortality Working Group (UFMWG) report and found that it was comprehensive and responsive to Council-defined objectives. The report identified data gaps, data availability, and prioritized areas of research to better inform unobserved fishing mortality estimations. Additionally, the working group developed a framework to include unobserved fishing mortality estimates into stock assessments.

Currently, there are substantial data deficiencies that preclude any estimation of unobserved fishing mortality. The Council moved to pause the working group until more research is completed that may be used to inform unobserved fishing mortality estimates. The Council requested updates on ongoing work that would inform unobserved fishing mortality estimates (motion). Research updates will be filtered through the Crab Plan team. 

Crab Rationalization Program Review

At this June meeting, the Council received a Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Crab Rationalization Program Review as required every seven years for rationalization programs under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This comprehensive report is also intended to comply with the NOAA procedural guidance on reviewing allocations. The Council approved the review as final and complete after the incorporation of SSC recommendations to the extent practicable. After these changes are made to the document, a final version of the document will be posted on the Council’s webpage for Program and Allocation reviews and noted in a future Executive Director report when available.

The Council also passed two motions for discussion papers related to elements of the BSAI Crab Rationalization Program.

The first discussion paper would consider components of the arbitration regulations in the BSAI Crab Rationalization Program and their effects, to determine if changes are necessary to reduce industry costs, increase transparency and predictability, and/or respond to lower crab total allowable catch limits (TACs). This discussion paper would include four topics related to arbitration. The paper will consider:

1. timing of joining an arbitration organization which occurs well before the TAC limits are set, requiring certain costs regardless of whether a fishery is open,
2. certain elements of the binding arbitration system including:
   • that only harvesters (Class A IFQ holders) can initiate binding arbitration, 
   • the arbitrator must only select a remedy proposed by one side, they cannot select an independent or compromise remedy based on the facts provided in the arbitration, and 
   • the ability for parties to receive the arbitrator’s written report and rationale, as well as a publicly available report providing key rationale (without including confidential information).
3. whether current regulations allow an IPQ/IFQ holder to withdraw their application for quota any time prior to the quota being issued, and 
4. an alternate structure under low TAC levels in which binding arbitration would not apply, to remove the burden of the system in low TAC years while still providing stability and protection to both harvesters and processors.

The second discussion paper that was tasked will focus on potential changes to regulations on buying and holding crab C shares (i.e., crew quota share). In particular, this discussion paper will evaluate revising eligibility requirements for receiving C shares through transfer to mirror the requirements recently implemented for holding or maintaining active participation requirements for C shares. This includes participation in either one fishing where a delivery of crab is made in any of the Crab Rationalization Program fisheries or a demonstration of 30 days of fishing or tendering in a State of Alaska or Federal commercial fishery .

In addition, the paper will consider increasing the use cap for how much C share an individual can hold.

Staff contact is Sarah Marrinan.

Central GOA Rockfish Program Review Workplan

At this June meeting, the AP and the Council approved a workplan for a comprehensive review of the Central Gulf of Alaska (CGOA) Rockfish Program as required every seven years by the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This review will also serve to meet the requirements of an allocation review as described by NOAA allocation policy directive 01-119. The AP provided a list of topics and details to specifically guide the analysts’ direction on areas to cover in the review. The Council noted that as the program was reauthorized in 2021 and has therefore been recently considered in a holistic manner, it could be efficient and helpful to focus more analytical effort on the topics highlighted by the AP and the factors that have changed since that time.

Staff contact is Anna Henry.

BSAI Pacific Cod Pot Gear Cooperative Program (LAPP)

The Council reviewed a discussion paper covering a broad range of topics that could inform the potential development of a cooperative-based Limited Access Privilege Program (LAPP, or “catch shares”) for BSAI Pacific cod pot fisheries for catcher processors (CP) and catcher vessels ≥ 60 feet in length (O60 CV). The Council did not define elements and options of a LAPP to proceed to analysis at this time. Rather, it was requested that staff develop a subsequent discussion paper that focuses on seven topics in greater depth of detail.

1. Pacific cod allocation by harvest area: Consider whether quota should be allocated across the BSAI or by subarea (BS, AI), noting that eligible pot cod licenses differ in their area endorsements. Identify ways in which the timing or logistics of these fisheries might affect the fleet’s ability to harvest an allocation.
2. Prohibited species catch (PSC) allocation: Identify PSC species that occur in the BSAI Pacific cod pot fishery, by area, and how NMFS might manage newly set limits. Provide encounter rate data on PSC and other non-target species to help the Council envision a reasonable range of limits that could be analyzed, and discuss reasons why encounter rates under a LAPP might differ from rates under current management. Consider how PSC limit apportionments under a LAPP might affect other cod sectors.
3. Discuss how extended pot cod seasons might have implications for compliance under Improved Retention/Improved Utilization (IR/IU) regulations, and how those concerns could be addressed.
4. Monitoring: Define and preliminarily assess trade-offs between observer coverage and electronic monitoring – especially with regard to crab PSC accounting, timeliness of data availability, and cost. Identify decision-points in program design that might determine the level of monitoring that is required.
5. Processing sector: Describe the current state of the shoreside processing sector that receives BSAI Pacific cod. Consider the effects of allowing mothership processing in the fishery. Consider how tendering helps or complicates the prosecution and management of the fishery under a LAPP. Scope potential tools that could recognize the historical participation of current processors while allowing for new entrants in the processing sector.
6. Provide more detailed demographic information on LLP license holders who have only a BS or only and AI pot cod area endorsement.
7. Describe ways in which other programs provide opportunities for new entrants that might be applicable to a BSAI pot cod LAPP.

Staff contact is Anna Henry.

Research Priorities

The Council adopted research priorities for 2024-2028 as recommended by the SSC, with two minor wording changes. The final research priorities include a “top twelve” list of urgent priorities, as well as critical ongoing monitoring that the Council supports. The Council also revised the definition for critical ongoing monitoring to include research focused on incorporating local knowledge, traditional knowledge, and subsistence information into the fishery management process. In accordance with the MSA, the Council’s research priorities will be transmitted to the Secretary of Commerce and the Alaska Fishery Science Center, and will also be shared with a number of universities and funding entities in order to inspire progress on research in support of its management decisions.

The NPFMC’s research priorities cover a wide range of topics. The following list is presented in no priority order. 

Top Twelve list of Council research priorities for 2024-2028

• Further research to reduce western Alaska salmon bycatch in Bering Sea groundfish fisheries (e.g. research on salmon and drivers of salmon distribution, as well as drivers of groundfish fishery behavior including avoidance of other PSC species).
• Quantify the magnitude of fishing gear (e.g., pelagic trawl vessels, derelict crab pots, and modified crab pots to reduce bycatch) impacts on crab and their associated benthic habitat and develop fishing gear innovations where needed. 
• Evaluate direct marine mammal-fishery interactions (including feeding on discards and spatio-temporal trends in bycatch) and potential mitigation measures for marine mammal conservation.
• Examine the economic, social, and cultural effects of fisheries and fishery management policy on communities over time (including impacts from fishery policy changes and Tribal citizen and Tribal Nation reliance on, participation in, and impacts of federally managed fisheries).
• Develop actionable ecosystem indicators relevant to single-species stock assessments and ecosystem assessments that address climate change impacts to managed stocks 
• Continue to acquire basic life history information with an emphasis on improved estimates of size/age at maturity to advance understanding of the mechanisms for how maturity changes over space and through time. 
• Increased understanding of the spatial distribution, habitat requirements, and movement of crabs relative to life history events and fishing. 
• Develop predictive tools and models that evaluate the impact of multiple projected climate scenarios on managed resources to inform management options related to ecosystem production and resilience and adaptation of fishing communities.
• Retrospective and meta- analysis regarding whether, how, when and why objectives and goals of fishery management plans are or are not achieved over time (e.g., Bmsy proxy evaluation).
• Norton Sound Red King Crab case study as a pilot study for the incorporation of Local Knowledge, Traditional Knowledge, and subsistence information in a relatively small scale fishery that is experiencing challenges related to both stock and climate change factors.
• Improve surveys in untrawlable habitat, particularly for rockfish, Atka mackerel, sculpins, and snow crab. 
• Improve discard mortality rate estimates for scallops, crab, and groundfish stocks by gear types. 

Staff contact is Diana Evans.

Climate Scenarios Workshop

The Council convened a two-day Climate Scenarios Workshop on Wednesday, June 5 and Thursday, June 6.. The purpose was to generate ideas for short- and long-term management approaches to improve climate resiliency of federally managed fisheries in the North Pacific. The workshop included over 200 in-person and virtual participants.

The workshop included case studies of climate change impacts in Alaska fisheries, and examples of ongoing work by the Council, NMFS, and communities to build climate readiness and support adaptation. The main focus of the workshop was a set of four hypothetical future scenarios that described varying degrees of climate change impacts that could be experienced in the future, as well as a range of ecosystem-based management approaches that could be practiced by the Council. Participants explored these hypothetical scenarios through small group breakout sessions.

No decisions were made at the workshop. Council staff provided a preliminary overview of themes of workshop discussions during Council staff tasking. The final workshop report will be available in September, and the public is invited to share additional comments and ideas. . The Council will receive a presentation on the workshop report in October, consider how ideas from the workshop may fit into new or existing Council initiatives, and consider how and when to take further action.

Workshop participants can use this voluntary feedback form to share additional ideas related to the workshop discussions, as well as suggestions to help the Council improve the use of workshops as a discussion opportunity. Responses will be reviewed by Council staff and incorporated into the final workshop report. This form will be open through the end of June.

Thanks to participants, speakers, facilitators, and notetakers for supporting a productive two days of discussion!

Staff contact is Katie Latanich.

Staff Tasking

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

Following review of the B reports and staff tasking materials, the Council took the following actions:

Advisory Groups

• Call for nominations for 2025 SSC and AP members (see separate newsletter article).
• Call for nominations for FMAC and PCFMAC trawl gear EM and active observer representatives (see separate newsletter article)
• Appointed Nicole Kimball to represent the Council on the North Pacific Research Board. 

Letters

• To NMFS, requesting extension through September 30th of the 60-day public comment period to receive information from interested parties regarding the status of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon, to be included within the status review.
• To NMFS, thanking Dr. Cisco Werner for his participation in the Climate Workshop and his presentation to the Council, as well as re-emphasizing the need for NMFS funding for the core Alaska surveys.
• To NMFS requesting an extension to the public comment period on the EBFM roadmap update (currently ends July 31st), and providing comments along the lines of previous Council letters on this topic. 

Other tasking

• Requested a presentation in October from the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Coast Guard on Russian fishing activities on the border and within U.S. waters.
• Initiated a regulatory amendment analysis to address maximum retainable amount calculations for Pacific ocean perch in the trawl EM fisheries. 
• Highlighted the need to prioritize actions on which the Council is requesting SSC review, given that time on the SSC agenda is a limited resource. Staff will report back on this issue at a future meeting. 

Chum Salmon Bycatch Scheduling – Special Meeting, February 2025

In April 2024, the Council directed staff to look at different venues to host a special meeting of the Council focused solely on its consideration of the Bering Sea chum salmon bycatch issue in Anchorage. The Council is scheduled to meet on February 3^rd-10^th, 2025 to consider new management measures to reduce western Alaska chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. These measures include an overall cap on the number of chum salmon that could be incidentally taken by the fishery, as well as closures of times and areas when western Alaska chum salmon are more likely to be encountered on the pollock fishing grounds.The February 2025 Council meeting will be held at the Egan Center in Anchorage. The Scientific and Statistical Committee is currently scheduled to meet February 3^rd – 5^th, the Advisory Panel is scheduled to meet February 4^th – 7^th, and the Council February 7^th – 10^th. The staggered approach is intended to provide members of the public as much opportunity as possible to follow the issue through the various bodies. All members of the public can participate in-person and virtually ncluding virtual options to provide testimony to the Council and its advisory bodies. 

Upcoming Meetings

The following Committee and Plan Team meetings are currently anticipated

Advisory Group	Dates and location	Draft agenda topics (may change)
BSAI Crab Plan Team	Sep 9-13, 2024Seattle, WA and virtual	·     BBRKC, Tanner crab, Snow crab, SMBKC specifications·     Review proposed models for NSRKC, AIGKC
Fishery Monitoring Advisory Committee (FMAC)	September 2024Anchorage, AK / Seattle, WA and virtual	·    Review observer availability discussion paper·    Review NFWF EM proposals
Partial Coverage Fishery Monitoring Advisory Committee (PCFMAC)	September 2024Anchorage, AK / Seattle, WA and virtual	·   Review draft 2025 ADP
Legislative Committee	September 2024 (T)Virtual (T)	· Review draft national fisheries legislation, and how it would affect Council
IFQ Committee (T)	September 2024 (T)Virtual (T)	· Review IFQ Program Review Report·   Develop Terms of Reference
Joint BSAI/GOA Groundfish Plan Teams	Sep 17-20, 2024Virtual	· Preliminary survey results·     Proposed specifications for groundfish·     New models for November assessments·     Halibut DMRs, ESR climate update·     GOA rockfish spatial management paper
Charter Halibut Management Committee	October 2024Virtual	· Receive final 2023 harvest estimates / preliminary harvest estimates for 2024·     Recommend charter management measures for analysis
BSAI Crab Plan Team	Nov 5, 2024Virtual	· NSRKC specifications
Bering Sea FEP Climate Change Taskforce (CCTF)	Early Nov 2024 (T)In person (TBD – ANC or JNU) and virtual	· Recap workplan, process, progress, and outcomes·     Develop recommendations for moving forward and for a Council climate workplan·     Draft a final report
Joint BSAI/GOA Groundfish Plan Teams	Nov 12-15, 2024Seattle, WA and virtual	· Review Ecosystem Status Reports (ESRs)·     Stock assessment review and final specifications for groundfish
Charter Halibut Management Committee	December 2024Anchorage, AK and virtual	· Recommend 2025 charter management measures