Pacific Council adopts preliminary list of actions to respond to White House seafood competitiveness order

The Pacific Fishery Management Council on June 2025 approved an unprioritized list of ongoing and upcoming regulatory actions to support Executive Order 14,276, ‘‘Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness,’’ and directed staff to apply criteria and return a finalized recommendation at the council’s September meeting.

The council’s action puts on record the items staff and advisory bodies identified as aligning with the EO’s goals to stabilize markets, improve access, enhance economic profitability and prevent fishery closures. Kelly Ames, council deputy director, told the council that NOAA Fisheries requested a response and that the councils must provide priorities and an implementation timeline: "NIMS has requested the council prepare a response to the EO by September 1 using the NIMS template," Ames said, adding that the EO’s transmittal deadline cannot be extended beyond Oct. 14.

Why it matters: the EO directs federal agencies and the regional councils to propose actions that reduce regulatory burden and support domestic seafood production. The council framed this effort as a two-step process: identify candidate actions now, then apply refined criteria over the summer and take final action in September so the council can transmit a prioritized response in time for the administration.

Most important actions and areas the council identified include: for groundfish — in‑season management and specifications flexibility, continued work on stock definitions and harvest advice, exempted fishing permits (EFPs) and follow‑on actions stemming from the trawl catch share program review, and a planned independent evaluation of the council’s stock assessment process; for coastal pelagic species — sardine stock definitions and in‑season catch counting; for highly migratory species — the HMS roadmap, additional EFP work and international management; and for salmon — revised conservation objectives, in‑season management and Pacific halibut interactions. The council’s compiled list draws on the year‑at‑a‑glance priorities adopted earlier in 2025 and on advisory‑body reports provided at the meeting.

Advisory bodies and stakeholders raised measures aimed at lowering industry costs and increasing stability. Jeff Lackey, reading the Groundfish Advisory Panel (GAP) statement, urged near‑term regulatory changes including follow‑on actions from the trawl catch share review, moving the midwater rockfish EFP into regulation, reexamining cost‑recovery implementation, and streamlining monitoring requirements. "Turning off the VMS for days or months at a time will decrease the cost and allow for more efficiency in the fishing operation," Lackey said, summarizing a GAP recommendation that fishermen be allowed intermittent deactivation of vessel‑monitoring systems in some circumstances. The GAP also noted that trawl catcher‑processor monitoring approaches subject some deliveries to what it described as overlapping 200% coverage — "vessels monitored at a 100% electronic or human observer and a 100% monitoring when the catch is delivered shoreside" — and recommended evaluating how to reduce duplicative monitoring costs.

Processors and industry representatives urged rapid fixes where feasible. Lori Steele, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association and manager of the midwater rockfish EFP, said moving that EFP into regulation could be a low‑effort change: "Moving the midwater rockfish EFP into regulation is simply a matter of just erasing regulations off the books," she said, urging the council and staff to identify low‑hanging regulatory changes.

At the same time, public commentators and advisory bodies cautioned the council to align any acceleration with available staff and science capacity. A commercial fisherman who testified during public comment said he supported the EO’s goals but warned of practical limits: "I support the executive orders; however, due to staffing and budget cuts, the agencies that are being mandated to do these are getting hamstrung," he said.

Formal council action: Councilmember Asia Sumelo moved that the council offer the unprioritized list of in‑progress and planned items as a preliminary list to be finalized in September; Krista Smithson seconded the motion. After discussion the motion passed unanimously. Later in the meeting the council also approved a separate motion to adopt the advisory‑body reports for staff to use in refining and applying criteria; that motion likewise passed unanimously.

Next steps and context: staff will work over the summer to apply criteria and coordinate with the West Coast Region and science centers to evaluate what can be completed before the September council meeting; the council intends to take final action in September and transmit its recommendations shortly thereafter. Kelly Ames said the intent is to produce a response that can be completed using the NIMS (NOAA Fisheries) template and to provide a timeline for implementation of the council’s priorities.