Fishery Management Plan for U.S
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FISHERY MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR U.S. WEST COAST FISHERIES FOR HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES AS AMENDED THROUGH AMENDMENT 3 PACIFIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL 7700 NE AMBASSADOR PLACE, SUITE 101 PORTLAND, OREGON 97220 WWW.PCOUNCIL.ORG MARCH 2016 Cover illustration by Roy Allen, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, La Jolla, California. Printed: March 24, 2016 Filename: HMS FMP Mar16.docx This document is published by the Pacific Fishery Management Council; current r National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration award number NA05NMF441008. Highly Migratory Species FMP ii March 2016 Preface Reorganization of the FMP under Amendment 1 The Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP) was originally published as a combined document with the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), required by the National Environmental Policy Act in August 2003. That document contains detailed descriptions of the biological and socioeconomic environment affected by implementation of the Plan and an analysis of alternatives for implementing different components of the Plan, along with discussion of critical issues, such as stock status, protected species interactions, bycatch, and the management regime in place prior to FMP implementation. Amendment 1 made substantive changes to the FMP to address bigeye tuna overfishing and also reorganized the FMP to excerpt elements specific to the FMP, as adopted and approved, from the combined FMP/FEIS. Descriptive material in the original FMP/FEIS has been moved to a series of appendices. The original FMP/FEIS remains a publicly available document. The information and analysis contained therein are a valuable resource to support future management actions and amendments to this FMP. Highly Migratory Species FMP iii March 2016 Table of Contents Preface Reorganization of the FMP under Amendment 1 ........................................................................... iii Definition of Terms as used in the HMS FMP .......................................................................................... viii Acronyms ................................................................................................................................................... xiii 1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose of This Document ........................................................................................................ 1 1.2 How This Document is Organized ............................................................................................ 2 1.3 Application of Federal Authority .............................................................................................. 3 1.4 Complexity of HMS Management ............................................................................................ 4 1.5 History of the Fishery Management Plan .................................................................................. 6 1.6 Management Context .............................................................................................................. 10 1.6.1 Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) ...................................................... 10 1.6.2 U.S.-Canada Albacore Treaty ........................................................................................... 11 1.6.3 Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission ......................................................... 12 1.6.4 United Nations Agreements .............................................................................................. 13 1.6.5 High Seas Fishing Compliance Act (HSFCA) .................................................................. 13 1.6.6 Western Pacific Pelagics FMP .......................................................................................... 13 1.6.7 Relationship to Existing Fishery Management ................................................................. 17 1.6.8 Treaty Indian Fishing Rights ............................................................................................ 17 1.6.9 Other International Entities ............................................................................................... 19 2.0 Management Philosophy ................................................................................................................ 21 2.1 Management Philosophy and Approach .................................................................................. 21 2.2 Management Goals and Objectives ......................................................................................... 22 2.3 Unilateral Management, Harvest Guidelines and Quotas, and Overfishing ............................ 23 2.3.1 Unilateral Management ..................................................................................................... 23 2.3.2 Precautionary harvest guidelines and quotas .................................................................... 23 2.2.3 Overfishing ....................................................................................................................... 23 2.4 Fixed Elements of the Fishery Management Plan ................................................................... 24 3.0 Species in the Management Unit ................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Management Unit Species (Actively Managed) ...................................................................... 25 3.2 Determining the Primary FMP for Managed Stocks ............................................................... 27 3.3 Species Included in the FMP as Ecosystem Component Species ........................................... 27 3.4 Prohibited Species ................................................................................................................... 28 4.0 Preventing Overfishing and Achieving Optimum Yield ................................................................ 29 4.1 Reference Points Including MSY, OY, and Status Determination Criteria ............................ 29 4.1.1 MSY, SDC, and Determining Overfishing and Overfished .............................................. 31 4.1.2 Optimum Yield ................................................................................................................. 33 4.1.4 ABC, ACLs, ACTs, and Accountability Measures .......................................................... 34 4.1.5 Council Response to Overfishing ..................................................................................... 35 4.2 Assessment of Stock Status ..................................................................................................... 36 4.3 Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation Report .................................................................. 37 4.4 Status of Management Unit Stocks at the Time of FMP Adoption ......................................... 38 4.5 Measures Adopted by the Council to End of Overfishing and Rebuild Overfished Stocks .... 39 Highly Migratory Species FMP v March 2016 4.5.1 Bigeye Tuna ...................................................................................................................... 39 5.0 Biennial Process for SpecifYING Management Reference Points and Management Measures ... 47 5.1 Framework Procedures ............................................................................................................ 47 5.2 Management Cycle .................................................................................................................. 50 5.3 Procedure for Making Recommendations to Regional Fishery Management Organizations . 52 6.0 Management Measures .................................................................................................................. 53 6.1 General Conservation and Management Measures ................................................................. 53 6.1.1 Legal Gear and Gear Restrictions ..................................................................................... 53 6.1.2 Incidental Catch Allowance .............................................................................................. 55 6.1.3 Bycatch (Including Catch-and-Release Programs) ........................................................... 55 6.1.4 Fishery Observer Authority .............................................................................................. 57 6.1.5 Protected Species .............................................................................................................. 57 6.1.6 Prohibited Species ............................................................................................................. 58 6.1.7 Quotas or Harvest Guidelines ........................................................................................... 59 6.1.8 Allocation.......................................................................................................................... 60 6.1.9 Treaty Indian Fishing ........................................................................................................ 60 6.1.10 Procedures for Reviewing State Regulations .................................................................... 61 6.1.11 Exempted Fishing Permits ................................................................................................ 62 6.1.12 Temporary Adjustments due to Weather .........................................................................