Oct. 9, 2012: We'll credit eligible vessel accounts with surplus carryover of sablefish N and S by Oct. 12, 2012. We'll also allocate Pacific whiting, reapportioned from the tribal sector, to QS accounts by Oct. 19, 2012. Although there is typically a Sept. 1 deadline to transfer QP from a QS to vessel account, QS owners will have until Dec. 15, 2012, to transfer reapportioned whiting from QS accounts to vessel accounts.
Sept. 24, 2012: The Fisheries Permit Office has mailed letters to all Quota Share permit owners and vessel account holders advising that QS permits and vessel accounts must be renewed online starting on Oct. 1, 2012, and no later than Nov. 30, 2012. There is no cost to renew the QS permits and vessel accounts. Individuals who need to update their ownership interest information will need to mail an updated form to us. Failure to renew QS permits by the deadline will result in the loss of 2013 quota pounds and failure to renew vessel accounts will result in the loss of surplus carryover quota pounds.
The Permit Office has also mailed out renewal applications for all Pacific Coast groundfish limited entry permits, which may be renewed online or by paper. The deadline is Nov. 30, 2012. The renewal application fee is $135 for each permit.
Sept. 13, 2012: Fishing Strategies Shift as West Coast Fleet Gains Confidence under Catch Shares
May 29, 2012: Update on Decision in West Coast Trawl Rationalization Case: Pacific Dawn v. Bryson, C10-4829 TEh (N.D. Cal.) (PDF 94KB)
In response to the remedy order issued in Pacific Dawn, LLC v. Bryson, NMFS plans to move forward with two rulemakings, called the reconsideration of allocation of whiting (RAW 1 and 2). RAW 1 is a proposed, temporary rule that will delay or revise several portions of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Trawl Rationalization Program regulations such that the Council's and our flexibility to respond to the court order is not constrained. It published on May 21, 2012.
The RAW 2 rulemaking will be done through a three-meeting Council process, with a preliminary preferred alternative selected at the June 2012 Council meeting. A final preferred alternative is scheduled to be selected at the September Council meeting. RAW 2 will take into account the Council's September 2012 recommendation and reconsideration of the dates used for initial allocation of whiting for the shorebased IFQ and atsea mothership fisheries. It will go through the standard FMP Council process, and will reconsider the catch history years used for the initial allocation of Pacific whiting. The second rule is scheduled to be proposed in November 2012 and final in March 2013. It will have an effective date no later than April 1, 2013, in time for the start of the 2013 season and consistent with the court-ordered deadline.
