References:
[Federal] Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) – Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan
[State] Department of Fish and Wildlife – Market Squid Fishery Management Plan, Marine Life Management Act, Marine Life Protection Act

Introduction:
For more than a decade, both federal and California State fishery management programs have adopted an ecosystem-based management (EBM) focus: federally managed fisheries must comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), whose amendments adopted by Congress in 2007 provide an even stronger than previous ecosystem-based fishery management framework that mandates, among other provisions, the integration of ecosystem consideration in fishery management (MSA Section 406). The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) developed a California Current Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) and called for annual California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment status reports to guide fishery managers in applying EBM principles in the management strategies of west coast fisheries.

Fluharty, D., et. Al. (1999), in the paper Ecosystem-based fishery management: a report to Congress by the Ecosystem Principles Advisory Panel (U.S. Department of Commerce. NOAA/NMFS), acknowledged the PFMC’s Anchovy Fishery Management Plan (precursor to the Coastal Pelagic Species FMP) for setting aside a portion of the population as forage for other marine life. This FMP was a pioneer in adopting an ecosystem approach to fisheries management, and the ecosystem focus was carried over into the CPS FMP, with a  150,000 mt CUTOFF portion of the sardine stock deducted ‘off the top’ of the age 1+ biomass estimate when computing harvest guidelines, to account for uncertainty and  provide a forage reserve. 

(Note:  Due to the sharp reduction in anchovy landings by the time the CPS FMP was adopted in 2000, the CPS Management Team designated both northern anchovy and jack mackerel, also a minor fishery, as “monitored” stocks.  Pacific sardine and Pacific mackerel were designated as “actively managed” stocks, requiring annual stock assessments and annually set harvest guidelines.  Prioritizing resources for more active fisheries, monitored stocks did not require annual assessments but overall annual catch limits were reduced to precautionary catch rates 75 percent below Maximum Sustained Yield (MSY – now also called the overfishing level or OFL)

In 2021, the PFMC tasked the management team with revising the CPS FMP to remove reference to “active” and “monitored,” and to describe management measures for each fishery.   In 2022, the Council adopted a new management framework for the central subpopulation of northern anchovy (CSNA).   See more about the new anchovy management framework below.

The State of California also adopted an ecosystem focus for fishery management, paralleling that of the MSA, with the Marine Life Management Act (MLMA) in 1998, and Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) in 1999.

• Fisheries governed by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and State of California are managed based on precautionary principles that mandate protection of ecosystems and habitats, and conservation of all marine life (including ‘forage’ species). Monitoring fisheries stocks and determining estimates of population abundance are an essential and ongoing component of management. Fisheries are currently managed in a manner in which annual catch limits, restricted access, and time/area closures [both seasonal and permanent] play a key role.

• Stock assessment science incorporates estimates of abundance and productivity of a given stock first to sustain and protect the resource, considering forage needs, as well as to optimize the potential yield. Adaptive fishery management is an ongoing process and requires estimates of current biomass, historical biomass, productivity, and uncertainty.

• Shifts in the biomass of different species in many fished ecosystems have often been driven by environmental change rather than the direct or indirect effects of fishing. This is particularly true for Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS). In fact, in most pelagic systems, species replacements would have occurred even in the absence of fishing pressure.

• An independent Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) plays an important role in peer reviewing proposed federal management guidelines. CPS fisheries are closely governed and regulated based on established “best available science” principles.

CPS FISHERY MANAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

A pioneering EBM fishery management plan, the federal Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan (CPS FMP) established a “CUTOFF”, subtracting 150,000 metric tons off the top of the estimated sardine age 1+ biomass, to ensure a resilient core population, account for uncertainty in biomass estimates, and provide for forage needs.  The CPS FMP established a Sea Surface Temperature (SST) control rule for sardine, recognizing that warm-water oceanic cycles tend to favor sardine population abundance and cold-water regimes reduce productivity.

• A Precautionary Harvest Guideline (HG) Fraction was set on a sliding scale of 5-20% of sardine age 1+ biomass minus CUTOFF, based on a three-year running average SST. temperature index from the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) time series. The harvest control rule reduces the harvest rate to 5% when SST drops below about 15 degrees C.

• Annual Catch Limit (ACL) regulations adopted with the federal Magnuson Reauthorization Act require the Pacific Fishery Management Council to set harvest levels at the lower of the rate established through the CPS FMP sardine harvest control rule or the Council’s P* policy, an additional precautionary buffer mandated to prevent overfishing.

• In 2022, the PFMC adopted a new framework for managing the central subpopulation of northern anchovy (CSNA). This framework calls for a model-based stock assessment every 8 years or as needed, and a two-year “check-in” on biomass trends based on a three-year running average of biomass estimated in annual acoustic trawl surveys. The short-term Allowable Biological Catch (ABC) can be reduced or increased depending on biomass trends. The maximum catch limit remains at 25,000 mt, the same limit as when anchovy were managed under the de-facto “monitored” stock framework, which set catch rates 75 percent below MSY. This adaptive framework can adjust for dynamic change in the anchovy population. In 2022, the anchovy biomass was estimated at more than two million mt

The CPS FMP authorized a limited-entry fishery for CPS finfish in CA; reduced the CA CPS finfish fleet to 65 permits, established capacity goal at 5,650.9 mt, to maintain a diverse fleet with normal harvesting capacity equal to long-term expected aggregate total finfish target harvest level of approx. 110,000 mt.  Even though no krill fishery currently exists on the west coast, the CPS FMP added krill to the CPS FMP as a ‘prohibited species’.

• [Note: all west coast states prohibit harvesting and landing krill in state waters, but the CPS FMP prohibition prevents future offshore harvest/processing of krill in US EEZ]

The CPS FMP established a proxy MSY for market squid at 30% egg escapement. Squid is included under the CPS FMP, but is actively managed by CA under the California Market Squid FMP.

California Market Squid Fishery Management Plan (MSMFP), implemented under the Marine Life Management Act:

o   In addition to 30% egg escapement, the state MSFMP mandates:

§  fishery closures statewide on weekends;

§  State limited entry for the squid fishery, transferable permits [reduced purse seine fleet from 164 to 77 transferable vessel permits at initial issuance (number of transferable vessel permits reduced to 68 in 2021)]

ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

In addition to precautionary fishery management measures, the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) established marine reserves closed to all fishing, including CPS and squid fishing.  Many reserves were sited adjacent to bird rookeries and marine mammal haul out sites to provide forage for other marine life and ensure sufficient squid egg escapement.

• Approximately 20 percent of squid spawning areas in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary waters were closed in 2003. These areas were sited adjacent to known bird nesting sites on Anacapa and Santa Barbara Islands.

• The MLPA Initiative implemented additional marine reserves on the Central Coast near Año Nuevo and the Farallon Islands to protect ‘forage’ for birds and marine mammals near rookeries and haul-out sites.

• More Marine Reserves were implemented in Southern CA during the South Coast MLPA Initiative process.

• The Market Squid FMP also prohibited the use of attracting lights in all waters of the Gulf of the Farallons National Marine Sanctuary.

Overall, Marine Reserves in California protect more than 30 percent of traditional squid spawning grounds. Weekend closures represent about 29 percent of the spawning week. In addition, market squid often spawn in many areas not utilized by the fishery.

Definitions:
Egg Escapement – the number or proportion of a female squid’s lifetime supply of eggs that she is able to deposit, on average, before being harvested in the fishery.

Egg Escapement Method – a management tool used to determine whether the fleet is fishing above or below a predetermined sustainable level of exploitation. The method requires establishing a threshold value (30%) to ensure that an adequate number of eggs are deposited prior to harvest.

NOTE: Preliminary research conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, indicates that the guidelines (or parameters) established by this method may be considered conservative for market squid in that viability of eggs may increase with increased harvesting of adult squid. Research and modeling to date indicate that the fishery is well-managed according to precautionary principles.  In support of this finding, a 2019, a Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch report classified California Market Squid as a best choice.