Council tasks staff to refine 'green‑light' Pacific bluefin trip‑limit options for November; durable design excluded

The council agreed to ask staff to work with NOAA Fisheries and state partners to further develop Pacific bluefin trip‑limit options that could allow in‑season increases when catch projections indicate low utilization of the U.S. annual catch limit. The motion followed lengthy discussion of market drivers, fleet composition and confidentiality constraints in catch records.

Jamie DiMend (maker) said the intent was to develop a tool the council could use to "green‑light" higher trip limits late in a season when there is demonstrable underutilized quota, while leaving established buffer points that protect small‑scale gears in place. Marcus Medick of the HMS Advisory Subpanel highlighted the international angle: "We're concerned if we don't take our portion or a higher percentage of our quota... that is gonna cause problems for us in the international arena," he said, arguing the U.S. should show it can use its allocation.

NOAA Fisheries staff advised that the programmatic environmental assessment completed in 2024 likely covers many of the trip‑limit alternatives under discussion and that any additional analysis should be focused and timed to allow NMFS to finalize rulemaking for the 2027 fishery. The HMS Management Team recommended changing one proposed suboption — a percentage‑based ‘durable trip‑limit’ design — because percentage triggers tied to a potentially much larger quota could inadvertently reserve unrealistically large buffers for small‑scale gears. The council amended the motion to exclude the durable, percentage‑based suboption and passed the main motion to develop green‑light options for presentation in November.