NOAA reports quillback rebuilding, says several groundfish rulemakings progressing

NOAA Fisheries told the Pacific Fishery Management Council on Tuesday that California quillback rockfish was declared rebuilt this month and that an in-season rollback requested by the council earlier this year was published and took effect upon federal notice.

The announcement follows publication of the 2025 California quillback benchmark assessment and related decisions by the agency and scientific review bodies. "On September 16, NMFS declared California quillback rockfish rebuilt," said Keely Kent, NOAA Fisheries' rulemaking lead for the region, summarizing the agency's report to the council. Kent added that the agency published the council-requested in-season action on Sept. 18 that restored previous commercial and recreational structures in California federal waters.

Why it matters: The quillback action reopened or relaxed restrictions that had limited fishing opportunity while the species was considered at lower population levels. Council members and state managers said the rollback helped restore near-term fishing opportunity for coastal fleets.

The council's scientific partners told members the Northwest Fisheries Science Center has completed the first pass of its groundfish bottom trawl survey and is running follow-up legs and other survey efforts. Craig Russell, director of the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring Division at the NWFSC, said the integrated West Coast project survey finished most data-collection legs and a final comparison leg will continue through the end of the month. "This is a tremendous team effort," Russell said, thanking vessel crews and industry collaborators who have helped pilot new multifunction trawl systems.

Agency staff also said a new interactive web tool — a story map developed jointly with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission and funded by BOEM — is available to let users explore where and how west-coast scientific surveys are conducted.

Council and advisory responses: Council members and state delegates publicly thanked NOAA and the Science Center for rapid work on the quillback response. California, Oregon and Washington representatives credited interjurisdictional coordination. "We all did the best we could to get them done as quickly as possible," Oregon's representative said, noting state and federal timelines do not always align.

Staffing and rulemakings: Kent told the council the agency is prioritizing workloads because of reduced staff capacity in some offices. She said several long‑running rulemakings — including gear‑marking and entanglement risk reduction, the Cordell Bank rule, and the coral rule — have made internal progress toward publication but do not yet have public notice dates. Kent also reported that a limited‑entry follow‑on package is proceeding as planned.

Ending: NOAA and the Science Center asked for continued coordination with states and industry as surveys and rulemakings progress; council members said they would review updates at future meetings.