April 22, 2023

NOAA Fisheries – Upcoming Fisheries Management and Protected Resources Actions in 2010

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Upcoming Actions

In 2010, NOAA Fisheries will be undertaking a number of important actions aimed at:

• Ending overfishing of fish stocks through the implementation of annual catch limits;

• Rebuilding overfished fish stocks to productive levels; • Protecting endangered species from fishing activities and other

threats; and• Protecting marine mammals from fishing activities and other

threats.

Some of these actions will likely be controversial and may have significant economic impacts

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Fisheries Management - Opportunities

• Rebuilding US stocks would increase the current ex-vessel value by an estimated $2.2 billion (54%) annually from $4.1 billion to $6.3 billion.

• This increase would generate an estimated additional $31 billion in sales nation-wide.

• At this level, the US seafood industry would generate a total of $133 billion in sales and support 2 million jobs.

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Examples of Progress

• Since 2000, a total of 76 fish stocks have been designated as overfished. — 30 stocks (or 39 percent) are no longer overfished— 15 are now considered fully rebuilt

• Atlantic sea scallops were once severely overfished. But through the efforts of NOAA Fisheries, the New England Fisheries Management Council, and the scallop fishermen it is now the top valued species in the US at $370 million.

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Protected Resources - Opportunities

• Conservation and protection of marine mammals and endangered and threatened species maintains healthy and productive ecosystems.

• Benefits from healthy ecosystems include:— commercial and recreational fisheries— facilitates offshore industries (alternative

energy, oil and gas, military training) — tourism (e.g., whale watching, scuba diving)— esthetic value

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Annual Catch Limits (ACLs)

• New requirement in 2006 Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization.• Fishery management plans shall “establish a mechanism for

specifying annual catch limits … at a level such that overfishing does not occur in the fishery, including measures to ensure accountability.”

• ACLs may not exceed the acceptable biological catch and other fishing level recommendations of a Council’s scientific and statistical committee

• Guidelines published in January 2009 to help Councils implement this new provision by the 2010 deadline for stocks subject to overfishing and 2011 for all other stocks.

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Rebuilding Overfished Stocks

For a fishery determined to be overfished, Councils must:• Prepare and implement measures within 2 years to end

overfishing immediately and rebuild affected stocks of fish• Set a rebuilding time that:

— does not exceed 10 years, except where biology, other environmental conditions, or management measures under international agreements dictate otherwise; and

— is as short as possible, taking into account certain factors.Councils may request that the Secretary implement interim

measures until Council measures are completed.

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Endangered Species Act Requirements

• Federal Agencies are required to ensure, in consultation with NMFS, that they do not jeopardize continued existence of listed species or adversely modify critical habitat.

• Formal consultations result in Biological Opinions, which may include reasonable and prudent alternatives (RPA) to avoid jeopardy or adverse modification.

• NMFS consults internally on its own actions, including Fishery Management Plans.

• RPAs may include reduction in fishing effort, gear modifications, and/or time area closures.

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Marine Mammal Protection Act Requirements

• NMFS must determine allowable levels of mortality and serious injury and identify strategic stocks— maintain current stock assessments estimates and

calculate potential biological removal levels (PBR)— identify strategic stocks, listed species, depleted

stocks, and stocks for which PBR is exceeded• NMFS must develop and implement take reduction plans

for fisheries that interact with strategic stocks. — reduce incidental take below PBR within 6 months— reduce rate of incidental take to level approaching

zero within 5 years

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Actions – East Coast

• Endangered Species Act consultations for monkfish, groundfish, spiny dogfish, lobster, summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, squid, mackerel, butterfish, and skate (spring 2010)

• Determination whether Atlantic sturgeon should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (fall 2010)

• Determination whether shortnose sturgeon should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (fall 2010)

• Potential requirement for turtle excluder devices in trawl fisheries – e.g., summer flounder, sea scallops, croaker, weakfish, welk (late 2010)

• Potential measures associated with the Atlantic large whale take reduction plan (2010 to 2014)

• Critical habitat designation for North Atlantic right whales (2011)

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Actions - New England and Mid-Atlantic

New England groundfish management measures (May 2010):

• End overfishing of 13 stocks, • Begin or continue rebuilding 13 overfished stocks,• Set annual catch limits and accountability measures

for stocks subject to overfishing, • Establish sector programs, and• Modify effort controls for common-pool vessels

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Actions - New England and Mid-Atlantic

• Potential Atlantic Coastal Act non-compliance determination for shark fishing in New Jersey waters (spring 2010)

• Set deep-sea red crab annual specifications (spring 2010)• Set the total allowable catch for Atlantic herring (May

2010)• Establish an Atlantic butterfish rebuilding plan (May 2010)• Set Atlantic scallop specifications for 2010 and 2011, and

establish annual catch limits (summer 2010 to spring 2011)

• Development of an Atlantic mackerel limited access program (Jan 2011)

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Actions - New England and Mid-Atlantic

• Management measures associated with the harbor porpoise take reduction plan (spring 2010)

• Determination whether cusk should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (summer 2010)

• Implementation of annual catch limits and accountability measures for all Mid-Atlantic fisheries (spring 2011)

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Actions – Atlantic Highly Migratory Species

• Potential listing of bluefin tuna under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (spring 2010)

• Measures to end overfishing of blacknose sharks and rebuild this overfished stock (spring 2010)

• Development of Federal smooth dogfish management measures (spring 2010)

• Determination whether Atlantic bluefin tuna retention limits should be changed (summer 2010)

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Actions – South Atlantic

• Measures to end overfishing of South Atlantic red snapper and rebuild the stock— commercial and recreational directed harvest of red

snapper currently prohibited under an interim rule— Council is developing permanent measures to end

overfishing (late 2010)• Set South Atlantic snapper-grouper annual catch

limits and accountability measures (summer 2010)

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Actions – Gulf of Mexico

• Measures to reduce sea turtle interactions in the Gulf of Mexico shallow water grouper fishery (May 2010)

• Set the red snapper total allowable catch in both commercial and recreational fisheries (May 2010)

• Set the greater amberjack total allowable catch to ensure rebuilding (May 2010)

• Measures to end overfishing of gag and prevent overfishing of red grouper (late 2010)

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Actions – Caribbean

• Establish annual catch limits and accountability measures for reef fish (late 2010)

• Establish annual catch limits and accountability measures for queen conch (late 2010)

• Determination whether seven Scleracinian coral species should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (fall 2010)

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Actions – West Coast

• Set annual catch limits and tribal allocation for Pacific whiting (spring 2010)

• Measures to rebuild the petrale sole (summer 2010)• Pacific groundfish trawl rationalization (catch share)

program (late 2010)• Set annual catch limits and accountability measures

for Pacific sardine (2011)

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Actions – West Coast

• West coast salmon fishery— 2010 fishing season and regulations— New biological opinion for Sacramento River winter

run chinook salmon potentially may effect harvests (May 2010)

• Development of a lower Columbia River chinook harvest plan (May 2010)

• Development of a Puget Sound chinook harvest plan (summer 2010)

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Actions – North Pacific

• Reduce the bycatch of chinook salmon in the North Pacific pollock fishery (early 2011)

• Potential measures assocaited with a biological opinion on the effects of the Alaska groundfish fisheries on Steller sea lions (early 2011)

• Designation of critical habitat for the Cook Inlet beluga whale – likely won’t effect fishing (late 2010)

• Determination whether ringed and bearded seals should be listed under the Endangered Species Act – likely won’t effect fishing (early 2012)

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Actions – Western Pacific

• Determination whether false killer whales should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (fall 2010)

• Potential measures in the Hawaii-based deep-set tuna fishery associated with the take reduction team for false killer whales (late 2010)

• Revisions to the critical habitat designation for Hawaiian monk seals (late 2010)

• Determination whether bumphead parrotfish should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (late 2010)

• Western Pacific bigeye tuna catch limit reductions (fall 2010)

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Background

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