NOAA Fisheries has released a draft procedural directive intended to provide guidance on when and how the Secretary of Commerce will review and assign management authority over fisheries found across more than one Council jurisdiction.
Recreational Summer Flounder Management Strategy Evaluation
The Council is conducting a management strategy evaluation (MSE) which will evaluate different management strategies designed to minimize discards in the recreational summer flounder fishery. Development of this MSE is part of the continued implementation of the Council’s Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) structured framework process.
Recreational Reform Initiative
Illex Quota Working Group
The Illex Working Group will address two closely related problems. The first is to develop an approach for in-year quota adjustments. The second is to lay the basis for a benchmark stock assessment (Research Track) in 2021. Each task will require involvement of scientists, industry, and managers. Both tasks are focused on the challenge of identifying appropriate catch limits for a dynamic, short-lived species whose survival, growth and abundance on the US shelf are driven by a complex interplay of environmental conditions.