Dan Hull, Chairman
David Witherell, Executive Director
SUBJECT: title
IFQ Committee Report (including data review of small unfished quota and quota migration)
end
STAFF CONTACT: Sam Cunningham
ACTION REQUIRED: recommended action
Review Committee Minutes; action as necessary
BACKGROUND:
The IFQ Committee meets on Monday, October 2 at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel. Committee minutes will be reviewed by the chairman and posted under Agenda Item D-2 on the Council’s electronic agenda as soon as possible following that meeting.
The IFQ Committee’s agenda is subject to change as deemed appropriate by the Committee chair considering the time available. All discussion and reference documents are posted under Agenda Item D-2 unless otherwise noted. The draft agenda includes the following items:
• Discussion paper on halibut retention in BSAI pot gear (Council Agenda Item D-3)
• NMFS report on cost recovery programs. In February 2017, the Council requested a comparison of Alaska Region cost recovery programs, to include information on how NMFS attributes costs to a program, and line-item costing for NMFS divisions and external partners that vary across cost recovery programs.
• NMFS inseason management report on 2017 GOA sablefish longline pot gear fishery. The Council requested a mid-year update on participation, observer coverage, and halibut bycatch in the new fishery. The report contains a link to the Alaska Region website for up-to-date registration for pot tags. Staff has also provided a frequency plot of observer data on sampled sablefish length by gear type for the 2017 GOA pot and hook-and-line sectors.
• Data report on small quota share blocks that are unfished. The Council requested this information as a step towards evaluating the effectiveness of the “sweep-up” block provisions. To accompany this report, a 2012 NMFS review of QS and IFQ issuance and revocation is also posted.
• Data report on movement of quota shares into and out of rural communities. This report looks at QS movement via purchase/sale and via relocation of quota holders to new communities both in and outside of Alaska. This report is part of a larger discussion of rural access to IFQ fisheries.
• Review of any committee member proposals forthcoming.