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Pacific Council narrows widow rockfish harvest-control alternatives after SSC cautions on overfishing risk
Summary
After SSC and advisory reports flagged a high risk of overfishing under some near-term catch alternatives, the Pacific Fishery Management Council removed two higher-catch options and asked staff and legal counsel to clarify technical guidance ahead of a June final action.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council on April 9 refined the range of alternatives for an agenda item on widow rockfish harvest-control rules, removing two higher-catch options and moving a new, smaller-buffer option forward for further analysis.
The move came after the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) told the council that several ad hoc catch alternatives for 2027–28 could exceed the default overfishing limit (OFL) and carry materially greater short-term risk. "The SSC appreciates the work of the stat to produce this analysis," SSC member Dr. Gayen Johnson said during the council discussion, summarizing the committee's view that higher near-term catches would require deeper reductions later to meet long-term biomass targets.
Why it mattered: council staff told members the SSC found the OFL derived from equilibrium reference points to be 6,239 metric tons, and that some candidate annual catch limits (ACLs) would exceed that OFL if fully attained. Groundfish Management Team analysts said an ACL set one metric ton below the SSC's OFL paired with status-quo allocations would preserve opportunity while keeping the probability of exceeding the OFL low under projected attainment scenarios.
What the council did: Jamie Diamond moved — and the council voted unanimously — to remove alternatives 2A and 2C from the range and to add a new 2D option (SSC OFL minus one metric ton) for further analysis. The motion also removed an out‑of‑date alternative from a companion analytical document. The council asked staff, working with general counsel, to clarify whether the SSC's technical memo and statutory guidance were interpreted consistently and to bring a refined analysis back in June.
Looking ahead: the council left a final preferred alternative for June, when staff will present updated analyses including allocation impacts and any clarifying SSC work. The SSC and the council emphasized the need for a management-strategy-evaluation if the council moves to an alternative harvest-policy framework, to ensure short-term trade-offs do not undermine long-term biomass objectives.
