Oregon Fish & Wildlife CommissionDecember 2, 2016

Exhibit D

2015 Nearshore Logbook Report and

2017 Groundfish Fishery Regulations

Maggie SommerMarine Fishery Management Section Leader

2015 Commercial Nearshore Logbook Report

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http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/publications/

2015 Commercial Nearshore Logbook ReportGeographic Distribution: Permit Home Port

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49 black/blue rockfish permits without nearshore endorsement

70 with

2015 Commercial Nearshore Logbook ReportLogbook Return Rate

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Nearshore landings obtained from commercial fish tickets (Ticket lbs.), number of trips submitting logs (Submissions), and fleet compliance with the logbook submission requirement (Compliance).

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Distribution of nearshore logbook hails, 2015 only

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Nearshore Logbook Catch-Per-Unit-Effort IndicesRelative Abundance for 2015 Stock Assessments

2017 Groundfish Regulations

The Pacific Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service develop federal harvest levels and management measures.

OFWC adopts federal rules by reference as the basis for state management, and may adopt additional or more conservative regulations to meet fishery goals.

State groundfish regulations include annual harvest guidelines for the commercial and recreational sectors, commercial trip limits, recreational bag limits, gear requirements, depth restrictions, etc.

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2017 Federal Groundfish RulesHarvest Specifications

• 2017 is the beginning of a new 2-year federal management cycle

• Harvest specifications will change based on new assessments:– Black rockfish– Minor nearshore rockfish complex– Kelp greenling– Canary rockfish

• Federal final rule expected in December/early January• Staff recommend adopting the federal regulations by

reference now, with OARs to be filed upon publication of the final federal rule

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2017 Federal Groundfish RulesSablefish e-Ticket Requirement

New fed rule requires e-tix for all sablefish landings

Improves timeliness and accuracy of catch data

In 2015-16, 31 dealers bought sablefish in OR

– 22 already use e-tix– 2 haven’t yet but are set up– 7 are undecided

Included in “adopt by reference” fed regs

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2017 State Harvest Guidelines (values below in metric tons)

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*

*Greenling proportions appear different prior to 2017 because a portion was deducted off the top for rec. shore & estuary catch before the remainder was apportioned to comm. & rec. sectors, but it was counted as part of the rec 24.9%

2017 Commercial Nearshore Fishery Regulations

Bi-monthly trip limits

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Commercial Trip Limits2016 Status Quo

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Commercial Nearshore Landings 2014-2016, with (% HG attainment)

Species/MgtGroup

Black RF  Blue RF ONSRF  Cabezon Greenling

Year 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015 2014 2015

Landings (mt) 123.1 120.9 3.5 1.2 7.1 5.2 15.4 16.1 15.4 12.9

Species /Management

GroupBlack RF  Blue/

Deacon RF ONSRF  Cabezon Greenling

2014 landings (mt) 123.2(88%)

3.5(88%)

7.1(74%)

15.4(51%)

15.4(66%)

2015 landings (mt) 121.9(88%)

1.2*(63%)

5.3(63%)

16.4(54%)

12.9(55%)

2016 landings (mt)thru 11/14

100.8(72%)

1.6(63%)

5.0(63%)

14.7(49%)

7.8(33%)

* ~ 4 mt of Blue / Deacon RF discard mortality in 2015

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Factors Affecting Commercial Nearshore Attainment:Lingcod Fishery

Wind speed: higher max wind speed lower landings

Wind direction: S to SW winds lower landings

Water temperature: higher temp lower landings

Upwelling: higher upwelling index higher landings

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Factors Affecting Commercial Nearshore Attainment:Environmental Variables

Public meetings in October in Brookings, Port Orford, Pacific City

– 19 nearshore fishers, 2 federal observers, 2 Oregon State Police

Major messages– 2016 effort pattern driven by weather, other fisheries – Stability and predictability in regulations is very important– Maintain year-round season, south coast has stronger winter

markets for black rockfish than north coast– Be more aggressive with black rockfish trip limits early in the

season

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2017 Commercial Nearshore RegulationsPublic Input

Adopt the following cumulative period trip limits for 2017:

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2017 Commercial Nearshore RegulationsStaff Recommendation

Black Rockfish / Blue Rockfish / Nearshore Fishery Permit Transfer Eligibility Clarification

To be eligible for transfer section 1.b. of ORS 508.957 requires:“the vessel operating under the permit has made, in the

previous calendar year, a minimum of five landings that contained at least 15 pounds of black rockfish, blue rockfish or nearshore fish.”

15 lbs…per landing? Or in total for 5 landings?

ODFW has interpreted the requirement to mean 15 lbs per landing, and we recommend OAR language with that clarification:

…minimum of five landings that contained at least 15 pounds of any combination of black rockfish, blue rockfish or nearshore fish in each landing

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2017 Recreational Groundfish Fishery Regulations

1. Bag limits2. Remove kelp greenling length limit3. Descending devices

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1. Bag Limits

Bag limits stabilize the overall fishery harvest rate and are designed to keep catch under the annual limit and provide for year-round opportunity

2016 bag limits:• Marine Fish (rockfish, greenling, cabezon) bag limit = 7 fish• Sub-bag limit of 3 blue/deacon rockfish• Sub-bag of 1 canary rockfish• Sub-bag limit of 1 cabezon (closed January 1 – June 30)• No retention of China, copper, quillback rockfish• No retention of yelloweye rockfish

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2016 Recreational Groundfish Fishery

Trend of increasing effort continues – 36,000 trips (50%) more in 2015 than 2012

Increasing black rockfish landings – 218,000 mt (112%) 

more in 2015 than in 2012 

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2016 Recreational Groundfish Fishery

Current HG2017 HG

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2016 Recreational Groundfish Fishery

2017 Rec. Harvest Guideline = 33.1 mt

Public meetings: August, in Brookings, North Bend, Newport, and Salem

Additional input via phone/email/in-person outreach

Bag limits - mix of “be precautionary” and “be aggressive” with preseason bag limits

Descending devices – most input supported requiring them, some supported continuing outreach and keeping them voluntary; consistent input to keep the rule simple

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2017 Recreational Groundfish RegulationsPublic Input

Unusually high uncertainty in predicting 2017 effort and catch

Canary rockfish Opportunity to keep canary rockfish may reduce catch of black rockfish and other species in marine bag

Longleader fisheryNew opportunity for recreational all-depth midwater rockfish fishing

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2017 Recreational RegulationsUncertainty and Risk

New Long-leader Fishery in 2017

Testing in Oregon under a federal EFP showed potential to catch midwater rockfish without yelloweye bycatch

NMFS final rule allowing fishing at all depths with longleader gear expected by April 1, 2017

Staff propose authorizing this in state regulation via temp rule when fed rule is final, then bringing it to OFWC in April 2017

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1. Recommended 2017 Bag Limits

Bag limits modulate the overall fishery harvest rate and are designed to keep catch under the annual limit and provide for 12 months of opportunity.

2016 2017 bag limits:• Marine Fish (rockfish, greenling, cabezon) bag limit = 7 fish• Sub-bag limit of 6 black rockfish• Sub-bag limit of three blue/deacon rockfish• No retention of China, copper, quillback rockfish• Sub-bag limit of 4 blue/deacon, China, copper,

quillback rockfish in aggregate• Sub-bag of 1 canary rockfish• Sub-bag limit of 1 cabezon (closed January 1 – June 30)• No retention of yelloweye rockfish

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2. Kelp Greenling Length Limit

• Currently, 10” minimum length limit for kelp greenling• No conservation need; stock is extremely productive• Few anglers keep fish as small as 10” • Minimum length was removed from federal rule on our

recommendation

Recommend eliminating this requirement in state rule to simplify regulations

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3. Descending Devices

ODFW research showed recompression improves survival– “Credit” for use of descending devices w/yelloweye & canary

Education/outreach: Distributing devices, new webpages and demo videos

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52%

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3. Descending DevicesDemonstration Video (2 min)

3. Descending DevicesStaff Proposal

Require all groundfish anglers to have a functional device onboard

Require use when releasing rockfish outside 30 fathoms• Not all rockfish require recompression; barotrauma is

less likely/severe in shallower water• Most benefit gained with this depth• Aligns with normal seasonal closure at 30 fm

Option: exclude black/blue/deacon/yellowtail/widow• Recent public input strongly favors requiring use for all

rockfish released for a simpler rule

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Summary of Recommendations

• Adopt federal harvest specifications and regs (2017-2018 groundfish fisheries & sablefish e-tickets) by reference

• Adopt state harvest guidelines for commercial & recreational groundfish fisheries

• Adopt commercial nearshore bimonthly trip limits• Revise the commercial nearshore permit transfer OAR to

clarify interpretation of “15 pounds per landing”• Adopt recreational bag limits• Eliminate the recreational kelp greenling length limit• Adopt descending device requirement

(consider striking the exemption for certain species)

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Endwhere’s Cabezon?