NPFMC – Fishermens News

NPFMC Opens Comment Period for October Meeting in Anchorage

11Sep

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NPFMC Opens Comment Period for October Meeting in Anchorage

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has opened the public comment period for items on its agenda for the council’s next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 30 through Oct. 8 at the Egan Center in Anchorage. All comments submitted are to be reviewed and then visible online after the deadline closes. The council and its advisory panel will also take in-person and remote oral testimony during their meetings, which will also be broadcast on Zoom. Anyone intending to give oral testimony remotely must be connected to the meeting, either through zoom on their device or using a designated call-in phone number provided by the council in its meeting notice. Major issues listed on the agenda range from Bering Sea/Aleutian Island crab specifications for Bristol Bay red king crab Tanner ...

ABSC’s Goen Appointed to Fishery Management Council

28Aug

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ABSC’s Goen Appointed to Fishery Management Council

Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen has been appointed to a Washington State seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to serve the remaining two-year term vacated by the May 5 death of Kenny Down, who had been a voting member of the council since 2015. The appointment was announced Aug. 21 by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The crab sector of the commercial fisheries industry heralded Goen’s appointment as a positive step for the crab fishery. While employed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for 15 years, she focused on fishing quote programs, including implementation of the Trawl Rationalization Program. Before going to work for ABSC, Goen worked with the International Pacific Halibut Commission, overseeing the commission...

NPFMC to Discuss Observer Coverage, Other Fisheries Issues at Next Meeting

5Jun

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NPFMC to Discuss Observer Coverage, Other Fisheries Issues at Next Meeting

Observer coverage, Aleutian Islands golden king crab, vessel caps for halibut landings and the release of small sablefish are top items for discussion before the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) meeting in Kodiak June 7-12. The council has received over three dozen comments to date on the issues. The council’s Fishery Monitoring and Advisory Committee is to present its report on observer coverage in the 2023 fisheries. Most of the comments regarding observer coverage are from harvesters calling for reduced bycatch from trawlers whose nets catch an abundance of salmon, halibut and snow crab. One commenter cited an incident of draggers reporting 85,295 individual snow crab as bycatch within seven days in an area closed to crabbing. An observer with Saltwater Inc. urg...

NPFMC Approves Revisions of Salmon Bycatch Proposals for Another Staff Analysis

10Apr

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NPFMC Approves Revisions of Salmon Bycatch Proposals for Another Staff Analysis

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) on April 8 approved a lengthy revised list of alternatives for staff to analyze as part of a process where final action is still a year away. As council member Andy Mezirow noted during the meeting, the analyzed document is expected to come back before the council in the fall and final action is expected in April 2025. “This is not an action we are taking that will change anything,” said Mezirow, a charter vessel operator from Homer whose last council meeting before leaving office is set for June in Kodiak. “When the Board of Fisheries meets, they make a decision, but here it takes more time. “How can we do a better job of communicating that?” Mezirow asked fellow council members. “Is there a better way of communicating we ...

Wash. Governor Nominates Conservationist for Seat on NPFMC

27Mar

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Wash. Governor Nominates Conservationist for Seat on NPFMC

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on March 22 nominated Becca Robbins-Gisclair, senior director of Arctic Programs for the Ocean Conservancy, to one of two obligatory Washington state seats on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. The governor said Robbins-Gisclair was his first choice, noting her work with Alaska tribes and grassroots organizations to protect a region that is on the frontlines of global climate change. She also serves as a domestic advisor for the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission and the Bering Sea Fishery Advisory Body, and has worked for several Alaska organizations as a natural resources advisor. Robbins-Gisclair resides on Coast Salish lands in Bellingham, Wash. In his letter of recommendation to NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator for Fish...

NPFMC Amendments Would Expand Electronic Monitoring Program

24Jan

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NPFMC Amendments Would Expand Electronic Monitoring Program

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendment 126 to the Fishery Management Plans for groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area and Amendment 114 to the Fishery Management Plan for groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska. If approved, the amendments would expand electronic monitoring (EM) to pelagic trawl pollock catcher vessels and tenders delivering to shoreside processors or stationary floating processors in the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska. Both amendments 126 and Amendment 114 are intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the BSAI FMP and the GOA FMP. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on Monday, Jan. 22 by the National Oceani...

Norton Sound Winter Red King Crab Fishery Begins Feb. 1

10Jan

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Norton Sound Winter Red King Crab Fishery Begins Feb. 1

Although the allowable harvest is yet to be determined, the commercial red king crab fishery in Alaska’s Norton Sound is set to begin on Feb. 1, with a guideline harvest level (GHL) similar to last year’s winter fishery. To date, no buyers have registered for this winter red king crab season and participating commercial crab permit holders will need their own markets. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) said catcher-seller and direct marketer application forms are available at the Nome ADF&G office or online at www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishlicense.main. Crewmember licenses are also available at ADF&G in Nome or online at www.adfg.alaska.gov/Store/. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Crab Plan Team has yet to make recommendations on 20...

29Nov

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Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit Begins Dec. 5 in Anchorage

The Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit (AYFS) gets underway at the Marriott Hotel in Anchorage on Dec. 5, with three days of intensive training and networking opportunities to train the next generation of commercial fisheries harvesters. The event is organized by Alaska Sea Grant and includes presentations on a range of topics for those getting into the business of fisheries, from financing fishing vessels and business insurance, to marketing the catch and participating in the Alaska Board of Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. The keynote address is to be delivered by veteran commercial fisherman Duncan Fields, owner of Shoreside Consulting in Kodiak, and a former North Pacific Fisheries Management Council member. Alaska Sea Grant marketing specialist Que...

Federal Fisheries Council Action on Bycatch Prompts Critical Rebuttal

18Oct

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Federal Fisheries Council Action on Bycatch Prompts Critical Rebuttal

A group of commercial, sport and subsistence fishing entities are taking issue with a decision by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) to postpone setting limits on chum salmon bycatch and reducing seafloor damage caused by midwater trawl gear. Their concerns were summarized in a statement issued Oct. 12 by the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), SalmonState, DeepStrike Sportfishing and the Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association. During its October meeting in Anchorage from Oct. 2-10, the council approved analysis of additional management measures to minimize chum salmon bycatch. The council acknowledged that about 99% of the chum salmon encountered as bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery are encountered ...

Public Comment Sought on Research Priorities for Alaska’s Exclusive Economic Zone

19Jul

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Public Comment Sought on Research Priorities for Alaska’s Exclusive Economic Zone

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is seeking public comment regarding research priorities for fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off of Alaska for a triennial review. The council is mandated to develop research priorities for fisheries, habitats and other areas necessary for management purposes and reviews those priorities every three years. Comments may be sent via the council’s eAgenda meeting portal up until 5 p.m. Alaska Time (6 pm Pacific) on Oct. 31. Written comments should be sent via “Request for Information: Research Priorities Triennial Review”, https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/2998, using either the “Comment Now” function on the eAgenda page or by using the comment form, https://forms.gle/PPfkFPQ1JCXJrRSN9, by the October 31 deadlin...