Dan Hull, Chairman
Chris Oliver, Executive Director
SUBJECT: title
Groundfish Harvest Specifications; Stock Structure Report; Three-River Index review - Proposed Specs
end
STAFF CONTACT: Diana Stram / Jim Armstrong
ACTION REQUIRED: recommended action
Review Groundfish Plan Team Reports, Recommend, for proposal, BSAI and GOA groundfish harvest specifications for 2017-2018.
BACKGROUND:
Plan Team Reports
The BSAI and GOA Groundfish Plan Teams met during September 13-16, 2016, to review and recommend groundfish harvest specifications to be proposed for the upcoming 2017 and 2018 fishing years. The Teams also reviewed reports from assessment authors to identify items for inclusion in stock assessments that will be presented at the November Plan Team meetings. Team recommendations for the upcoming two fishing years consist of rollovers of existing final 2017 harvest specifications. Those harvest specifications were adopted by the Council in December 2015. Minutes from the Joint BSAI/GOA Groundfish Plan Team and individual BSAI and GOA Groundfish Plan Team meetings are attached (Item 1).
Proposed Harvest Specifications
At this meeting the Council will recommend, for proposed rulemaking, BSAI and GOA groundfish harvest specifications for the upcoming two-year period (2017 and 2018) which will notify the public of expected Council action to set final harvest specifications in December 2016. Existing 2017 harvest specifications were published as a final rule in the Federal Register in March 2016 and will be in place January 2017 when the groundfish fishing year begins. Proposed harvest specifications for the year after next (2018) are typically set equal to the proposed upcoming year (2017) harvest specifications. In addition to harvest specifications, the Council will recommend, for proposal, gear and target fishery apportionments of prohibited species catch (PSC) limits for halibut, red king crab, Tanner crab, opilio crab, and herring. Final harvest specifi...
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