Fisheries Management – Pacific Highly Migratory Species

Current understanding

NMFS manages the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) fishery off the U.S. West Coast, including the large-mesh drift gillnet fleet that targets swordfish and thresher shark. Under an established climate-triggered protocol, NMFS closes a Pacific Loggerhead Conservation Area off southern California during June–August when forecasts indicate El Niño conditions or elevated sea surface temperatures, to reduce bycatch risk to endangered North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles. The practical effect is a seasonal shutdown of drift gillnet activity in the designated area during triggered years, with associated revenue impacts on a small West Coast fleet.

Evidence log

• 2026-07-07 — International Fisheries; Pacific Tuna Fisheries; Conservation and Management Measures for Tropical Tunas in the Eastern Pacific Ocean for 2026 and Beyond: 2026 final rule implements IATTC September 2025 resolutions for tropical tuna (bigeye, yellowfin, skipjack) management in the Eastern Pacific Ocean for 2026 and beyond, including sea turtle bycatch mitigation measures — routine domestic implementation of international commission decisions. (novelty: 2)
• 2026-05-20 — Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Prohibit Retention of Mobulid Rays in Fisheries for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species: cross-connection with fisheries-management-atlantic-hms: Parallel U.S. HMS management regimes in the Atlantic and Pacific, both implementing regional fishery management organization recommendations (ICCAT vs. IATTC/WCPFC) into domestic bycatch and retention rules. (novelty: 2)

Open questions

Related