Saving Seafood

Ad Hoc Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Coho Workgroup to hold online meeting August 10, 2021

July 14, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council)  Ad Hoc Southern Oregon Northern California Coast (SONCC) Coho Workgroup (Workgroup) will host an online meeting that is open to the public. The online meeting will be held Tuesday, August 10, 2021, from 9 a.m., Pacific Daylight Time, until 5 p.m., or until business for the day has been completed.

Please see the SONCC Coho Workgroup August 2021 meeting notice on the Pacific Council’s website for the purpose of the online work session.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff Robin Ehlke at 503-820-2410.

Now: Accepting Applications for Executive Director of the Pacific Fishery Management Council

July 8, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is seeking candidates to serve as its next Executive Director.  The application period is open now through August 8, 2021.  More information is provided in the Executive Director recruitment packet, which consists of a recruitment announcement and a position description.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is committed to the principle of diversity and is particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of people, including minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

PFMC: Executive Director Recruitment Announcement

July 7, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is seeking candidates to serve as its next Executive Director.  The application period is open now through August 8, 2021.  More information is provided in the Executive Director recruitment packet, which consists of a recruitment announcement and a position description.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is committed to the principle of diversity and is particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of people, including minorities, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

PFMC: June 2021 Council decision document online

July 7, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council met June 24-26 and 28-30, 2021 via RingCentral webinar. The June 2021 Council Meeting Decision Document contains the highlights of significant decisions made during that meeting. Results of agenda items that do not reach a level of highlight significance are typically not described in the decision document.

PFMC to hold marine planning and offshore development online meeting July 22-23, 2021

July 1, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) will hold an online meeting to consider information on marine planning and offshore development and activities, which is open to the public. The online meeting will be held Thursday, July 22 and Friday, 23, 2021, beginning at 9 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time and continuing until 5 p.m. or until business is completed.

Please see the meeting notice on the Council’s website for details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Mr. Kerry Griffin at 503-820-2422; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

PFMC Climate and Communities Core Team to hold online meeting July 8, 2021

June 16, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Climate and Communities Core Team (CCCT) is holding an online meeting, which is open to the public. The online meeting will be held July 8, 2021, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time and continuing until 12:00 p.m. or until business is completed.

Please see the CCCT meeting notice on the Council’s website for details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Dr. Kit Dahl at 503-820-2422; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Pacific Council Executive Director Announces Retirement This Year

June 15, 2021 — Change is coming to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. After five years of leadership, several years of deputy director leadership and a career in West Coast fisheries, Executive Director Chuck Tracy is planning his next adventure: retirement.

“My last five years as ED have been the most challenging of my career, and I hope I have been at least an adequate accomplice in all the Council has engaged in during that time,” Tracy said in an email to Council members, colleagues and staff earlier this month. He plans to cap 20 years of Council service with his retirement at the end of this year.

Read the full story at Seafood News

PFMC June 2021 Briefing Book online

June 4, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Briefing Book for the June 21-26 & 28-30, 2021 Council meeting has been posted to the Council’s website on the “ June 2021 briefing book” webpage.

The Briefing Book contains the meeting agenda, “situation summaries” (brief summaries that provide background for each agenda item), reports and materials for each agenda item, and public comment submitted to our e-portal. Advisory body and committee agendas and memos are also available.

For further information:

Limiting Chinook Fishing in Low-Return Years to Help Killer Whales: What Do You Think?

June 3, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is asking for public input on a Pacific Fishery Management Council recommendation to reduce impacts from fishing off the West Coast. The recommendation would be implemented if salmon numbers fall too low to provide enough prey for the 75 endangered Southern Resident killer whales.

NOAA Fisheries is proposing to adopt the Council’s recommendation, and conducted a consultation under the Endangered Species Act. This consultation ensured that the amended fisheries management plan does not jeopardize the continued existence of threatened or endangered species, or negatively impact designated critical habitat. It incorporated recent research that revealed new details of when and where the whales forage, and their preferred prey.

The Council created a workgroup of representatives from West Coast states, tribes, and NOAA Fisheries to examine the issue. The workgroup completed a risk assessment evaluating the impact of fisheries on West Coast Chinook salmon abundance and, in turn, on the Southern Residents, and developed recommendations.

Late last year the Council adopted the workgroup’s suggestions. They included limiting commercial and recreational fishing in certain places off California, Oregon, and Washington when estimated Chinook salmon numbers north of Cape Falcon, Oregon, fall below a certain level of abundance.

The workgroup recommended that level be set as the average of the seven lowest years of forecast salmon abundance off the northern Oregon and Washington coasts. This average is currently estimated at 966,000. Chinook numbers have remained above that level in recent years; 2007 was the last year when forecasts would have fallen below the threshold.

Read the full release here

PFMC Ad Hoc SONCC Coho Workgroup to hold online meeting July 7, 2021

May 27, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) Coho Workgroup will host an online meeting that is open to the public. The online meeting will be held Wednesday, July 7, 2021 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time or until business for the day has been completed.

Please see the meeting notice on the Pacific Council’s website for additional details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Robin Ehlke at 503-820-2410; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.