Dan Hull, Chairman
David Witherell, Executive Director
SUBJECT:title
GOA Groundfish SAFE Report and 2018/2019 Harvest Specifications
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STAFF CONTACT: Jim Armstrong (NPFMC)
ACTION REQUIRED:recommended action
1. Review the 2017 Ecosystem Considerations report for the Gulf of Alaska.
2. Approve the Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report.
3. Recommend final GOA groundfish harvest specifications for 2018 and 2019, including:
* Overfishing Level (OFL) and Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) for all stocks. [SSC]
* Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for all stocks, taking into account the State waters Pacific cod and pollock fisheries.
* Prohibited Species Catch (PSC) limits and seasonal apportionments of Pacific halibut.
* Pacific halibut discard mortality rates (DMRs).
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BACKGROUND:
At this meeting, the Council will review the Ecosystem Considerations report for the Gulf of Alaska, adopt the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Groundfish Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report, and make final recommendations on groundfish harvest specifications, PSC limits, and halibut DMRs to manage the 2018 and 2019 GOA groundfish fisheries. Upon publication in the Federal Register, the 2018/2019 final harvest specifications will replace harvest specifications adopted last year for the start of the 2018 fisheries.
GOA SAFE and Ecosystem Considerations reports. The GOA Groundfish Plan Team met in Seattle on November 13-17, 2017 to prepare the GOA Groundfish SAFE report. The SAFE report forms the basis for GOA groundfish harvest specifications for the next two fishing years. The SAFE introduction summarizes the Plan Team recommendations for each stock/complex. The hyperlinks to the full report, and the Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Considerations report (which was reviewed by the Plan Team in September) are posted. The Council will review and adopt the full report at this meeting.
The Plan Team's recommendations for final harvest specifica...
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