Tag Archives: Pacific Fishery Management Council
D.B. Pleschner: Anchovy collapse simply a manufactured ‘crisis’
If you follow news about the Monterey Bay, you’ve undoubtedly heard the recent outcry by environmentalists in the media claiming the anchovy population in California has collapsed and the fishery must be closed immediately. The current controversy stems largely from a study funded by environmental interests that claims an apocalyptic decline of 99 percent of the anchovy population from 1951 to 2011. However, fishermen have seen a surge in anchovies in recent years. Read the rest here 20:19
Pacific Fishery Management Council and Enviro’s Cripple California Swordfish Driftnet Fleet.
The measure approved by the Pacific Fishery Management Council would cap at two over a two-year period the number of creatures such as sperm whales and loggerhead turtles that could be injured or killed after becoming entangled in gillnets, said Kit Dahl, staff officer with the council. The measure was lauded by environmentalists who have waged a years-long battle with gillnet fishermen who harvest swordfish mostly in Pacific waters off San Diego and Los Angeles. It was unclear how often fishermen capture endangered species in the gillnets. Read the rest here 20:19
The Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet September 9‐16, 2015 in Sacramento, California,
The Pacific Fishery Management Council and its advisory bodies will meet September 9‐16, 2015 in Sacramento, California, to address issues related to management of groundfish, highly migratory species, ecosystem management, salmon, Pacific halibut, and habitat matters. Download the September 9-16, 2015 Meeting Notice WITH Detailed Agenda (includes public comment deadlines and other logistic information) Download the September 9-16, 2015 Detailed Agenda (agenda only) Join the meeting by visiting this link: Click here Webinar ID is: 141-257-515 10:26
Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting in Spokane, June 10-16, 2015
The Pacific Fishery Management Council and its advisory bodies will meet June 10-16, 2015 in Spokane, Washington, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Spokane City Center. Download the June 2015 Meeting Notice WITH Agenda (includes full logistics for public comment deadlines) Download the June 2015 Agenda, Listen to the Live Audio Stream (starting on Friday, June 12, 2015) 21:06
West Coast sardine decline: Science vs. politics, By D.B. Pleschner
The federal Pacific Fishery Management Council has shut down the remainder of the current sardine season and has canceled the 2015-16 fishing season altogether. Fishermen supported this action. Why the closure? According to environmental groups like Oceana, it was to stop overfishing and save starving sea lions deprived of essential sardines. Neither reason is true, but many in the media have trumpeted this hyperbole put forth by groups whose political agenda is to shut down fishing completely. Read the rest here 08:40
Pacific Fishery Management Council votes to halt this seasons West Coast sardine fishery as soon as possible
Meeting outside Santa Rosa, California, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to halt the current season as early as possible, affecting about 100 fishing boats. The season normally would end June 30. Earlier this week, the council shut down the next sardine season, which was set to begin July 1. The council did not take Wednesday’s decision lightly and understood the pain the closure would impose on the fishing industry, said council member Michele Culver, representing the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Read the rest here 22:15
Valuable west coast fishery to close July 1
Poor recruitment, thought to be the result of unfavorable ocean conditions, has resulted in a perilous drop in the Pacific sardine of the Pacific sardine off the U.S. West Coast. Just to note, contrary to recent claims and reports – the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee states the fishery is NOT overfished nor is it subject to overfishing. Read the rest here 10:39
Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting in Rohnert Park, California April 10 – 16, 2015
The Council and its advisory bodies will meet April 10-16, 2015 in Rohnert Park, California to address issues related to salmon, Pacific halibut, groundfish, coastal pelagic species, and essential fish habitat matters. The action starts Saturday! April 10-16, 2015 Meeting Agenda , Council Meeting Internet Live Audio Stream Click here to register 18:03
Con Group Oceana wants West Coast Sardine Fishing shut down immediately!
West Coast fisheries managers will likely shut down sardine fishing this year in the face of evidence that the stock is declining. The commercial fishing fleet hopes that the Pacific Fishery Management Council will not be so concerned that they shut down other fisheries, such as mackerel and anchovies. However, the conservation group Oceana wants an immediate shut down. The group says this would leave food in the ocean for sea lions and other wildlife and speed the rebuilding process for sardines. Read the rest here 13:43
Ocean Salmon Season Will Open April 4 by Dan Bacher
The recreational salmon fishing season is slated to begin in the Fort Bragg, San Francisco and Monterey South regions of the California coast on Saturday, April 4, 2015. In spite of the record drought, the outlook for this year’s season is promising, due to an abundance of both Sacramento and Klamath River Chinook salmon. On March 12, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) adopted three public review options for the 2015 recreational and commercial salmon seasons off the West Coast. Read the rest here 10:01
West Coast waters shifting to lower-productivity regime, new NOAA report finds
Large-scale climate patterns that affect the Pacific Ocean indicate that waters off the West Coast have shifted toward warmer, less productive conditions that may affect marine species from seabirds to salmon, according to the delivered to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Read the rest here 11:41
Pacific Fishery Management Council move to protect tiny ocean fish
West Coast fishery regulators on Tuesday banned fishing for huge swaths of species at the base of the ocean’s food chain, a major step toward ocean conservation that was hailed by environmentalists and fishermen alike. Most people probably never have heard of the hundreds of species protected by Tuesday’s vote at the council’s meeting in Vancouver, Washington. They fall into seven broad categories: Pacific saury, Silversides, round and thread herring, Pacific sand lance, Osmerid smelts, mesopelagic fishes and pelagic squids. Read the rest here 07:30
Pacific Fishery Management Council – Meeting in Vancouver, Washington March 6-12, 2015
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet March 6-12, 2015 in Vancouver, Washington to address issues related to salmon, Pacific halibut, highly migratory species, ecosystem based management, and habitat matters. Info page, Click here Download a PDF version of the Meeting Notice and Agenda Join the meeting in “listen-only” mode, Click here 10:14
Eco Zealot Oceana to feds: sea lions starving due to overfishing
Marine con group Oceana says thousands of sea lion pups that have died on the West Coast this year are succumbing to starvation from a lack of forage fish. Sardines – a preferred fish of sea lions – are more scarce than they have been in 15 years. Oceana is calling upon the Pacific Fishery Management Council to put a moratorium on new forage fisheries at its meeting next month. Read the rest here 14:00
Nominees sought for Pacific Fishery Management Council
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is currently accepting nominations for a seat on the Pacific Fishery Management Council. The deadline to request nomination materials is Feb. 13. The three-year term begins in August. The successful candidate must work collectively with other council members, often making difficult decisions and fulfilling the standards set forth by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Serving on the council is a substantial time commitment. Read the rest here 17:53
Pew Enviro Fueled Legislative Witch Hunt: An end to ‘curtains of death’?
California Assembly and Senate have asked federal fishery managers to end drift gillnets, which some call “curtains of death.” California remains the only state where drift gillnet fishing are legal. The legislature has authority over remaining gillnet permits. Recently lawmakers sent a letter to Pacific Fishery Management Council and National Marine Fisheries Service, demanding a transition to alternative fishing methods. Read the rest here 08:08
Higher Pacific sardine limits urged over environmental objections
The higher limits were proposed unanimously by the 14-member Pacific Fishery Management Council, one of eight advisory panels around the country that oversee commercial and recreational fishing for U.S. waters in their regions. Read the rest here 09:55
Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting November 12-19, 2014, Costa Mesa, California – Listen Live!
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet November 12-19, 2014 in Costa Mesa, California to address issues related to coastal pelagic species, groundfish, Pacific halibut, salmon, highly migratory species management, and habitat matters. Agenda and Meeting Notice here One-Way Live Stream webinar Available here Webinar ID, 430-417-591 More info here 15:11
Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting September 10-17, 2014, in Spokane, Washington
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet September 10-17, 2014 in Spokane, Washington to address issues related to management of groundfish, highly migratory species, coastal pelagic species, salmon, ecosystem management, and habitat matters. Download a PDF copy of the September 2014 meeting notice and agenda Listen to the Meeting here Enter webinar ID #: 143-975-167 and your email address (required) www.pcouncil.org
Fishermen Divided Over New Lingcod Limit Rules
A recent decision to increase the legal harvest limit of lingcod, a popular West Coast fish species, has sparked debate and some disagreement among fishermen and scientists. The lingcod population is higher than it’s been in several decades, according to the , the Portland-based panel of scientists and fishermen that approved the regulation change in late June. Read more here 04:03
Forage fish management key to protecting Pacific Ocean ecosystem health
Pacific sardine populations have shown an alarming decline in recent years, and some evidence suggests anchovy and herring populations may be dropping as well. The declines could push fishermen toward other currently unmanaged “forage fish,” Read more here 10:35 The Forage Fish Farce
Washington and Oregon: Commercial salmon fishery open until Tuesday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, NMFS in consultation with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, representatives from the commercial troll fishery, and the Pacific Fishery Management Council, has taken in-season actions with respect to the commercial troll salmon fishery. Read more here 09:41
Stronger restrictions adopted affecting California’s drift gill net fishery
West Coast fishery managers on Monday adopted stringent regulations against California’s swordfish and thresher shark drift gill net fishery, laying the framework to more aggressively limit its bycatch of endangered ocean species. Read more here 12:03
Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet June 18-25, 2014 in Garden Grove, California Listen Live!
Download a PDF copy of the June 18-25, 2014 Council Meeting Notice and Agenda – Join the meeting in “listen-only” mode by clicking this link, Enter the Webinar ID – The June 20-25, 2014 Webinar ID is: 675-991-863 Please enter your email address (required) More info here 11:12
Pacific bluefin tuna deemed in danger – Centre for Biological Diversity
The Centre for Biological Diversity filed a legal petition urging the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA) to prohibit fishing for Pacific bluefin tuna, which is reported to have suffered a 96 per cent decline since large-scale fishing began. Read more here 12:09
California drift gill nets escape legislative ban; new technology promises to reduce bycatch
Local fishers have won a hard-fought battle against environmentalists working to ban the use of controversial gill nets, which are notorious for snagging unintended victims in their underwater synthetic webs. A bill in the state Legislature that would have likely shut down a local swordfish and thresher shark drift gill net fishery failed its first committee hearing despite widespread support from ocean and environmental advocates. Read more here 15:04
Bay Area commercial salmon fishing season begins
Expectations for the season hover between optimism and pessimism. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, a regulatory body, estimates there are 634,700 adult salmon in the Pacific Ocean that were born in the Sacramento River system, which is lower than the estimates from 2010 to 2012 but much higher than the figures from 2006 to 2009, when the fishery collapsed. Read more here 08:38
Pacific Fishery Management Council has good news for both Oregon sport anglers and commercial troll salmon fishermen
Recreational and commercial troll Chinook salmon fishing this year looks to vary from good to great based on forecasted adult returns destined for key river basins of the Columbia River, the Central Valley in California, and the Klamath River. Read more here dailyastorian 21:34
The Columbian: In Our View: Small Forage Fish a Big Deal
The Pacific Fishery Management Council is expected to have a big conversation this week about some small things. Well, small in size but large in importance. As part of a weeklong series of meetings, council members are scheduled Thursday morning to tackle the issue of “forage fish”,,Read more here 13:48
Fish and Future by Carmine Gorga Read more here
Starts Tomorrow! The Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting in Sacramento – Listen Live!
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet March 7-13, 2014 in Sacramento, California to address issues related to salmon, Pacific halibut, groundfish, coastal pelagic species, highly migratory species, and habitat matters. Key agenda items for the March meeting include Council considerations can be read here. Council Meeting Internet Live Audio Stream information here 10:21
