Amendment 23 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan
Summary
On May 29, 2025, the Regional Administrator of the West Coast Region, NOAA Fisheries, with the concurrence of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, approved Amendment 23 to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Amendment 23 implements a revised rebuilding plan for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine in response to a court order.
The overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable biological catch (ABC), and annual catch limit (ACL) will continue to be set annually based on stock assessments, the control rules in the FMP, and recommendations from the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee regarding uncertainty in the assessment and OFL.
Annual catch limit
Under the revised rebuilding plan, the annual catch limit (ACL) will be set as follows:
When the age 1+ biomass is 50,000 mt or less
- ACL = 2,200 mt or the ABC, whichever is lower.
When the age 1+ biomass is greater then 50,000 mt
- ACL = 5 percent of the age 1+ biomass or the ABC, whichever is lower.
This revised rebuilding plan is intended to conserve, manage, and rebuild the Pacific sardine stock off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California.