Fisheries Management – Pacific Coast Groundfish

Current understanding

NMFS manages the Pacific Coast Groundfish fishery off Washington, Oregon, and California under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, using area-based closures and gear restrictions to protect sensitive seafloor habitat while allowing commercial and recreational harvest. A 2025 final rule replaces the Cordell Bank Groundfish Conservation Area off central California with a redrawn Groundfish Exclusion Area, consolidating overlapping closure boundaries to reduce regulatory complexity and expand fishing opportunities while maintaining habitat protections. The practical effect is simpler compliance for the groundfish fleet and modestly expanded access in areas outside the sensitive habitat footprint.

Evidence log

• 2026-08-20 — Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2025-2026 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments: 2025-2026 biennial specifications inseason adjustment raises commercial sablefish trip limits coastwide while reducing vermilion and sunset rockfish sub-limits south of Point Conception to constrain catch of depleted stocks. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-07-22 — Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 36; Limited Entry Fixed Gear Follow-On Actions: 2026 final rule implements Amendment 36 follow-on actions for the Limited Entry Fixed Gear (LEFG) sablefish fishery: adds gear-endorsement flexibility, removes the LEFG base-permit designation and primary sablefish season hour limits, and establishes a cost-recovery program for the LEFG primary sablefish fishery. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-07-21 — Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 38; 2027-28 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures: Proposed Amendment 38 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP (with draft NEPA EA) would remove rebuilding plans for yelloweye rockfish and California quillback rockfish after both stocks were determined rebuilt, as part of the 2027-28 biennial specifications and management measures process. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-05-11 — Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2026 Pacific Whiting Harvest Specifications, 2026 Tribal Allocation, and 2026 Incidental Set-Aside: 2026 Pacific whiting harvest specifications finalized, setting total allowable catch, Tribal allocations, and incidental set-asides under the Magnuson-Stevens Act to implement Tribal treaty rights and prevent overfishing. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-06-16 — Fisheries Off West Coast States; Extension of Emergency Action To Temporarily Increase 2026 Harvest Specifications and Sector Allocations for Shortspine Thornyhead, Canary Rockfish, and Petrale Sole: NOAA extends emergency action increasing 2026 harvest specifications and sector allocations for shortspine thornyhead, canary rockfish, and petrale sole, citing catch-only projections indicating higher available biomass than prior stock assessments. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-06-17 — Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific: cross-connection with fisheries-management-pacific-coastal-pelagic: A Pacific-wide executive directive to restore and expand U.S. commercial fishing links the CPS and Groundfish FMP regimes under a common policy push, potentially affecting how NMFS sets harvest specifications across both fisheries. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

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