Final action is set for the December meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Anchorage on the council’s revised salmon fishery management plan.
This comes in the wake of the council’s review of the initial review draft analysis of options to revise and update the plan during its fall meeting at Unalaska. The council chose to retain alternative 3 as its preferred preliminary alternative, which it adopted in April of this year. That preferred preliminary alternative modifies the plan to exclude from its scope the three historical net commercial salmon fishing areas in the west area excusive economic zone, and to maintain the prohibition on commercial salmon fishing in the remaining west area. The sport fishery in the west area would also be removed from the scope of the plan. The plan would remain in effect in the east area exclusive economic zone, and the state would continue to manage the commercial salmon troll and sport fisheries in federal waters under delegated management authority, the council said.
