Dan Hull, Chairman
David Witherell, Executive Director
SUBJECT: title
GOA Rockfish Program Review
end
STAFF CONTACT: Jon McCracken
ACTION REQUIRED: recommended action
Review Central GOA Rockfish Program
BACKGROUND:
The current iteration of the Central GOA Rockfish Program (Rockfish Program) has been in place since the 2012 fishing year. Section 303A(c)(1)(G) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act (MSA) states that all Limited Access Privilege Programs (LAPP) must include provisions for regular monitoring and review. A formal and detailed review must occur 5 years after implementation of the LAPP. The Council also requested at its June meeting that the required fisheries allocation review be included as part of the overall program review package.
This document fulfills the program review requirements, focusing on the goals and objectives of the program defined by the Council, MSA LAPP requirements, and NOAA Fisheries program review guidance, as well as the NMFS fisheries allocation review. The report includes quantitative measures of the effectiveness of the program meeting the goals and objectives when data allow. Qualitative discussions of the impacts are provided when sufficient data are unavailable.
The intent of the Rockfish Program was to maintain the conservation, management, safety, and economic gains created by the Rockfish Pilot Program. In addition to those objectives, specific elements of the Pilot Program were modified under the Rockfish Program so that the program could be improved or the Rockfish Program would comply with legal authority granted to NOAA Fisheries. This report addresses these issues.
The Rockfish Program will expire at the end of 2021, unless the Council takes action to renew it. Assuming that this review will be followed by an analysis to consider options to continue the program, a timeline of potential milestones for reviewing the overall program is provided in the attached figure. In order to ensure seamles...
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