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Pacific Council narrows coastwide stock definitions; adopts preliminary and final preferred alternatives for dozens of groundfish stocks
Summary
After multi‑day debate, the council adopted a series of motions defining the status of 45 of 47 species considered in Phase 2 stock definitions — keeping many stocks in the groundfish FMP, designating others as ecosystem components, and forwarding a small set for 10‑factor analysis or removal — while asking staff to draft conforming FMP language.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council on June 15 concluded its Phase 2 stock‑definition deliberations and adopted a sequence of motions that set preliminary and final preferred alternatives for most of the 47 stocks under review. Council members combined scientific reports and advisory body recommendations to decide which stocks remain in the groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which should be designated ecosystem component (EC) species, and which require additional 10‑factor analysis before a final decision.
Why it matters: stock definitions determine whether a species is subject to federal conservation and management within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Those determinations affect monitoring, assessment schedules, harvest specifications and the council’s ability to implement federal measures.
What the council decided: through multiple motions led primarily by Council member Lynn Mattis, the council: - Adopted final preferred alternatives (FPAs) or maintained the preliminary preferred alternatives (PPAs) as FPAs for numerous species with already defined stocks in the FMP…
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