Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon prohibited species catch reapportionment, as well as charter halibut management measures for 2016, will be finalized by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council at its December meeting in Anchorage.
The December council meeting is also when harvest specifications are set for the coming year for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska groundfish harvest specifications.
Other major issues before the federal council during its Dec. 7-15 meeting at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Anchorage include an initial review of the charter halibut recreational quota entry, a review of the halibut management framework, Amendment 80 coop reports on 2016 halibut prohibited species catch management plans, and discussion papers on the Bering Sea fishery ecosystem plan and biomass-based BSAI halibut prohibited species catch limits.
The council will also review a Gulf of Alaska trawl bycatch management work plan, the American Fisheries Act program, and the halibut/sablefish individual fishing quota program. These and other agenda items are posted online at www.npfmc.org
All council meetings are open to the public, except for executive sessions. The deadline for written comments on agenda items is 5 p.m. Alaska standard time on Dec. 1. Comments should be emailed to npfmc.comments@noaa.gov.
While the council is in session, audio is provided over the Internet via https://npfmc.adobeconnect.com/december2015
The International Pacific Halibut Commission 2015 interim meeting is set to hold its 2015 interim meeting several days earlier, Dec. 1-2 at the Hotel Deca in Seattle.
The IPHC meeting agenda, and webcast information will be posted at the PIHC website, http://iphc.int/meetings-and-events/interim-meeting.html
Webcast recordings and the meeting presentations will also be posted on the website following the meeting, the IPHC said.
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