Amendment 35 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan

Amendment 35 defines 8 stocks for the following 8 species: chilipepper rockfish, English sole, redbanded rockfish, rougheye/blackspotted rockfish (a cryptic pair), widow rockfish, yellowtail rockfish, and yelloweye rockfish. Amendment 35 does not require implementing regulations, and none are implemented.

Background

The Council is required to identify stocks in need of conservation and management per the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), and its National Standards. The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) currently lists the species managed under the FMP and the groundfish stocks thus far defined under Amendment 31. This process to develop stock definitions for all managed Pacific coast groundfish species is a multi-phase process which began in 2021. Phase 1 was the first phase of this process that defined 20 stocks of 14 species listed in the FMP (Amendment 31). Amendment 35 will define stocks for a further 8 species within the fishery management unit, including the geographic boundaries for each of the stocks. The Council recommended stock definitions for 8 species of Pacific Coast groundfish because they have stock assessments scheduled in 2025 or 2027. The Council is pursuing a process for stock definitions for the remaining species in the FMP under another action known as Phase 2.

This action is necessary for NOAA Fisheries to make stock status determinations, which in turn will help prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished stocks, and achieve optimum yield.