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Council endorses 25% preliminary threshold, advances stock-definition work under Phase 2
Summary
The Pacific Fishery Management Council approved a 25% "EEZ predominance" threshold as a preliminary test to sort 86 groundfish species for Phase 2 stock-definition work and asked staff to continue analysis and return definitions for prioritized stocks in upcoming meetings.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council on March 20 moved the Phase 2 stock-definition process forward by adopting a 25% threshold framework as a preliminary filter to identify species “principally caught” in federal waters and by advancing a slate of species for further analysis.
The 25% threshold — meaning species for which at least 25% of fishing-related mortality occurs in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone — was presented to the council by lead analyst Todd Phillips and recommended by the council’s Groundfish Management Team. “We selected a precautionary threshold of 25 percent,” Phillips said during the briefing, describing the decision as intended to create a manageable subset of species for further work.
Why it matters: The council’s groundfish Fishery Management Plan lists species but not stock boundaries. Defining stocks is a prerequisite for assessment, rebuilding…
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