The North Pacific Fishery Management Council plans to hold virtual meetings during the first two and a half weeks of December, with Scientific and Statistic Committee and Advisory Panel meetings beginning on Thursday, Dec. 2.
Items on the agenda include consideration of an emergency action request for extension of the red king crab savings area, a matter before the council only. The request for this emergency action was prompted by a decision for closure of the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery in the Bering Sea for the current season due to lack of abundance of legal male king crab.
The full agenda, schedule and documents for review are now available on the council’s website, https://www.npfmc.org.
Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers said their fishermen are facing a $200 million hit from that closure, and is urging the council to expand the red king crab savings area closure to bottom trawling to protect female Bristol Bay red king crab.
The council decided during staff tasking to ask for an analysis of the situation before making any further decision on whether to expand that savings area.
Other major issues before the council in December include a committee report on 2022 annual management measures for the charter halibut sector, the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands halibut abundance-based management, and final harvest specifications for the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish.
The written public comment period opens on Nov. 15 and runs through Nov. 30. Submitted comments will be reviewed and posted online after the deadline closes.
Questions may be emailed to npfmc.admin@noaa.gov.