Map of regional fishery management council jurisdictions (click to expand)
In May 2023, NOAA Fisheries released a draft procedural directive titled “Guidance on Council Authority for Preparing Fishery Management Plans for Stocks that May Extend across the Geographic Areas of more than one Council, pursuant to MSA §304(f)” (also referred to as the “Climate Governance Policy”). The draft procedural directive is intended to provide guidance on when and how the Secretary will review and assign management authority over existing (and potentially new) fisheries found across more than one Council jurisdiction. To date, the Councils and NOAA Fisheries have addressed management of fisheries that span multiple Council jurisdictions on a case-by-case basis. NOAA Fisheries has stated that additional guidance is needed to address governance issues associated with climate-related shifts in stock distributions. The draft procedural directive proposes a four-step process for reviewing the geographic scope of fisheries and Council management authority. A detailed overview of the proposed process is provided at the bottom of this page.
Given the Mid-Atlantic Council’s shared regional boundaries with two other East coast Councils, as well as the number of Mid-Atlantic stocks that extend beyond the Council region boundaries, this procedural directive has the potential to directly impact a number of Mid-Atlantic Council fishery management plans.
Comments on the Draft Procedural Directive
NOAA Fisheries requested comments on the draft procedural directive by November 17, 2023.
Mid-Atlantic Council: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council submitted comments on the draft procedural directive to NOAA Fisheries on November 17, 2023. The Council’s letter notes a number of serious concerns with the draft procedural directive and recommends that the agency engage the Councils on the development of a revised process.
Scientific and Statistical Committee: The Mid-Atlantic Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) reviewed the draft procedural directive on July 12, 2023, and provided the following comments to the Council:
Report from July 12, 2023 SSC Review of NOAA Fisheries Draft Climate Governance Procedural Directive
Council Coordination Committee: The Council Coordination Committee (CCC), which consists of leadership from the eight regional fishery management councils, received a presentation by NOAA Fisheries at the May 2023 CCC meeting and provided initial feedback on the draft procedural directive. In October 2023 the CCC submitted formal comments to NOAA Fisheries.
Other Council Comment Letters: Several other regional fishery management councils submitted comment letters to NOAA Fisheries regarding the draft procedural directive.
Public Comments
On July 7, 2023, the Mid-Atlantic Council sent a letter to NOAA Fisheries expressing concern about the lack of planned public outreach or comment opportunities. NOAA Fisheries responded on August 9, 2023.
The Mid-Atlantic Council hosted a public webinar on October 16, 2023, to collect public input on the procedural directive. A recording of the webinar is available at the link below.
Overview of the Proposed Process
The draft policy proposes a four-step process for reviewing the geographic scope of fisheries and Council management authority. Click on the headings below for a brief description of each step. Please note that this summary was developed by Council staff to facilitate Council and public review and development of comments. Refer to the draft policy for complete details.
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In Step 1, NOAA Fisheries will determine whether a review of geographic scope and/or Council authority is needed. The draft policy states that NOAA Fisheries will consider conducting a review under the following circumstances:
If information indicates a potential geographic shift of the species or fishing effort, including, but not limited to:
A shift of greater than 15% of landings revenue or recreational effort to another Council’s jurisdiction (based on a comparison of multi-year averages).
Documented shift in stock distribution.
Certain Council actions that have cross-jurisdictional implications.
Upon request from a Council (with supporting information and rationale)
Step 1 lists an array of data sources that NOAA Fisheries may consider, including stock assessments, fishery independent and dependent data, traditional and ecological knowledge, stakeholder-provided information, ecosystem status reports, and more. After analyzing the available information, NOAA Fisheries will determine whether a review of initial determinations/designations is warranted, and, if so, proceed to Step 2.
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The objective of step 2 is to determine the geographic scope of the fishery, considering both the location of the fish (species, sub-species, and stocks) and the location of fishing effort. The draft policy lists a variety of data sources and “additional considerations” that may be considered during this step. However, it does not provide details on the process that will be used for making a determination. Councils may be given up to six months to make a recommendation to NOAA Fisheries on how the fishery should be identified. If Step 2 concludes that there is one fishery that extends into areas of authority for more than one Council, the process will move on to Step 3.
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In Step 3, NOAA Fisheries will designate one or more Councils to be responsible for preparing, or amending, the FMP. The possible outcomes of this step are: (1) one Council is designated to manage the fishery throughout its range, (2) multiple Councils are designated to manage the fishery jointly throughout its range under one FMP, or (3) multiple Councils are designated to manage the fishery via multiple FMPs.
The draft policy includes an extensive list of “considerations” that may be considered as part of Step 3, as well as several “presumptions pertaining to designations”:
If more than 75% of a fishery’s landings revenue accrues to, or recreational fishing effort occurs in, another Council's jurisdiction, there is a presumption that NOAA Fisheries will assign/reassign management authority to the other Council;
If between 40% and 75% of a fishery’s landings revenue accrues to, or recreational fishing effort occurs in, another Council’s jurisdiction, there is a presumption that NOAA Fisheries will either assign joint management authority to the two Councils or assign multiple Councils to develop multiple FMPs.
[If data from non-fishery dependent sources indicate [15 - 75 % distribution changes], then [TBD, NMFS is seeking input about how to develop a presumption here].
Appendix 2 describes additional considerations and recommendations for each potential designation. The relevant Councils may be given up to six months to make a designation recommendation. At the end of this step, NOAA Fisheries will document the rationale for the designation decision and notify the relevant Councils.
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Step 4 describes the process and guidelines for transitioning management authority from one Council to another. The policy states that there will be at least a 2-year phase-in period, starting with the notification of revised designations, during which the Councils transition responsibilities. Additionally, the existing FMP and regulations should remain in-place until superseded or amended by the responsible Council(s), and the Council that historically led the FMP should not undertake any modifications to allocations or permitting requirements during this transition period.