Posted on October 24, 2024
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) met September 30 - October 9, 2024 online and in person in Anchorage. AMCC was there to advocate for considering social and ecological impacts when setting harvest limits, stronger habitat protection measures against pelagic trawl gear and improvements to how fisheries are managed in a rapidly changing marine environment.
This blog post provides background about these issues, what was planned for this meeting and what AMCC was advocating. It also includes AMCC’s summary of the meeting results and anticipated next steps.
Agenda Item (C3): Bering Sea and Aleutian Island and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Specifications
Background:
Annually, the NPFMC discusses specifications including Overfishing Limits and Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for all groundfish managed within the North Pacific. After plans are first proposed and discussed within specialized Plan Team meetings, they come before the NPFMC for their first review in October and are finalized in December, setting the following year's harvest levels. A suite of information including Groundfish Plan Team reports, stock assessment information and ecosystem status reports are reviewed. However, this annual decision making process provides a critical opportunity for participants to provide insight on ecosystem based management observations such as ecological and social systems, which the NPFMC should also consider when setting next year's harvest.
What was planned for this meeting: The TAC for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) for the following year's harvest was discussed at this meeting.
What AMCC advocated for and why: In our comment letter and testimony (starts at approx. 8:29), AMCC and allies encouraged the NPFMC to develop and incorporate integrated ecosystem science and diverse knowledge into TAC transparently. We advocated for a progressive ecosystem-based management framework that includes social systems (e.g., well-being) and ecological considerations (e.g., bycatch, habitat, predator/prey stock status). The 2023 Center for Independent Review (CIR) report supports using targeted ecological information and bycatch tradeoff analyses for TAC setting under the Optimum Yield (OY) framework. Additionally, the 8th national meeting of the Scientific Coordination Subcommittee (SCS8) meeting emphasized creating a vehicle to provide relevant social, economic and community information during TAC setting. As the NPFMC manages fisheries in a changing marine environment, public participation and engagement are vital to promoting the best available science.
Meeting results: Bycatch controls were triggered to protect important species during times of low abundance periods. The NPFMC received a letter from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicating the post-season Chinook Salmon run size is 197,359, below the 250,000 three-river index threshold (Upper Yukon, Unalakleet and Kuskokwim Rivers). Consequently, the Bering Sea pollock fishery’s performance standard will remain at 33,318 Chinook salmon, and the PSC limit will remain at 45,000. For halibut, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Eastern Bering Sea survey estimated 125,145 fish, below the 150,000 threshold, resulting in a “low abundance” state for the 2025-2026 PSC limit for the Amendment 80 fleet. Detailed information can be found in the Council’s motion for the BSAI groundfish harvest specifications.
Anticipated next steps: In December, AMCC will urge the NMFS to use all available information sources, including contributions from diverse participants, the Ecosystem Status Reports (ESRs) and Ecosystem and Socioeconomic profiles (ESPs). The ESRs connect Alaska ecosystem research with fishery management, enhancing our understanding of the balanced connections needed in decision-making. The ESPs help integrate socioeconomic data into fisheries management, making decisions more comprehensive and informed.
Agenda item (C6): Pelagic Gear Definition
Background: Unregulated pelagic (midwater) trawl gear frequently makes contact with the seabed, causing significant long-term damage to sensitive habitats crucial to maintaining marine biodiversity. Data from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands reveals that pelagic trawls come into contact with the seafloor between 60-100% of the tow, while in the Gulf of Alaska, contact rates have been as high as 40%, even in areas closed to bottom trawling. This frequent seabed contact undermines habitat protections and threatens vital species like coral, which take decades to grow and provide essential habitat for fish populations.
What was planned for this meeting: The NPFMC reviewed a preliminary Regulatory Impact Review (RIR) aimed at amending the Federal pelagic trawl gear definition.
What AMCC advocated for and why: Through our comment letter and testimony (starts at approx. 5:47) , AMCC stressed the urgency of the NPFMC taking the following actions to address these issues:
Clarify the Definition of Pelagic Trawl Gear to prevent seafloor contact and reinforce habitat protection explicitly.
Reaffirm the importance of seafloor protection by revising performance standards to ensure compliance and accountability in minimizing damage.
Encourage Gear Innovation that reduces habitat impact and aligns with the NPFMC’s conservation goals.
Utilize monitoring technologies like cameras and sensors to track and limit bottom contact accurately using pelagic trawls.
Reclassify Pelagic Trawl Gear as Bottom-Contact Gear until an enforceable performance standard is adopted to prevent seabed contact effectively.
While pelagic trawling is currently managed separately from bottom trawling, the reality of frequent seafloor contact means we cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the environmental impacts. AMCC is pushing for swift and decisive action to ensure that Alaska’s vibrant fishing communities, ecosystems, and fisheries remain sustainable for future generations.
Meeting results:
The NPFMC revised the purpose, need and list of alternatives for analysis. The updated options will allow for additional flotation in codends and bycatch excluder devices, remove outdated text and permit necessary instrumentation to monitor and adjust net performance. The NPFMC also emphasized this action is crucial in minimizing the impacts of pelagic trawl gear on bycatch, sensitive habitats and unobserved mortality. They affirmed the narrow scope of this action, focusing solely on regulatory definition changes to facilitate trawl gear innovation.
Anticipated next steps:
We anticipate the issue to come before the NPFMC again during the June 2025 meeting. In addition, efforts to incentivize gear innovations and amend performance standards will be coming forward as well. Stay tuned for updates on the NPFMC’s decisions and the outcomes of AMCC’s efforts to protect Alaska’s marine ecosystems from harmful trawling practices.
Agenda Item (D2): Climate Reports
Background:
Fishing and marine dependent communities in Alaska and around the Nation are grappling with fisheries management considerations in a changing marine environment. Climate change has already had large impacts on North Pacific fisheries and ecosystems, and these impacts are expected to increase over time according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report 2022.
What was planned for this meeting:
With climate change impacting federally managed fisheries, the NPFMC is preparing for climate-resilient fisheries management. They reviewed two critical reports to guide future actions. The first report was generated from the 8th national Scientific Coordination Subcommittee (SCS8) meeting, where members discussed applying Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) Control Rules in a Changing Environment. The full meeting summary is expected in early 2025, but a brief summary report has provided some more immediate considerations for the NPFMC. The second report summarized findings from the NPFMC’s Climate Scenarios Workshop held in June 2024 in Kodiak. Both of these reports offer guidance to the NPFMC to develop further tools and approaches to enhance climate readiness in their management process.
What AMCC advocated for and why:
The Climate Scenarios Workshop Report provided a solid foundation for further discussion with the NPFMC. AMCC took the opportunity to offer initial comments to amplify key findings from the workshop, aimed at enhancing the climate resiliency of federally managed fisheries in the North Pacific. Key points highlighted the need to:
Define climate resilience to encompass ecosystems, communities, science and management.
Enhance NPFMC’s responsiveness, advance climate readiness planning and strengthen operations and public engagement.
Promote intergenerational access and equity, offering more opportunities for new entrants, Tribal interests and communities.
Encourage the fishing industry to lead efforts in reducing carbon emissions.
Utilize timely climate science to support resilience in a rapidly changing marine ecosystem.
Results:
The NPFMC’s Climate Scenarios Workshop Report, especially its discussion section, includes detailed meeting notes from all plenary and breakout sessions. It captures innovative ideas from 200 participants to support fisheries management under a variety of climate scenarios. Additionally, the NPFMC supported two priorities from the SCS8:
Consider revising groundfish and crab harvest control rules to be more climate-resilient, starting with an SSC workshop in February or April 2025.
Compile social and economic information to ensure the best scientific data informs the NPFMC decision-making and TAC setting.
These initiatives aim to strengthen the consideration of uncertainty and risk in harvest specifications.
Anticipated next steps:
In December 2024, the NPFMC will receive the Climate Change Task Force final report. Along with the Climate Scenario Workshop report and other climate-related work, this will aid the NPFMC in planning and communicating climate resiliency efforts comprehensively through a tracking tool or work plan. AMCC will monitor the NPFMC’s progress and advocate for viable solutions to advance climate-resilient fisheries.
Please read the Council's October newsletter to learn more about the outcomes of the meeting and mark your calendars for December 2-10, 2024 - the next scheduled meeting of the NPFMC online and in person in Anchorage. To stay up to date on this meeting, visit the NPFMC website and watch for updates from AMCC in our monthly enews - sign up at www.akmarine.org.
Gulf of Alaska hydrocorals, photo courtesy of Oceana
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