Biological Opinion: Fishing Conducted under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery211 Management Plan for the California, Oregon, and Washington Groundfish Fishery

摘要

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has reinitiated consultation under211u001ethe Endangered Species Act (ESA) section 7(a)(2) on the fishing conducted under 211u001ethe Pacific Fishery Management Council's (PFMC) Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery 211u001eManagement Plan (FMP) for the California, Oregon, and Washington groundfish 211u001efishery. Consultation was reinitiated to consider the effect of the FMP on 22 new 211u001eEvolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) of salmonids that have been added to the 211u001elist of threatened and endangered species since the last consultation on May 14, 211u001e1996. The groundfish fisheries in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off 211u001eWashington, Oregon, and California are managed under authority of the Magnuson-211u001eStevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). Annual 211u001emanagement recommendations are developed according the FMP of the PFMC. The PFMC 211u001eprovides its management recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce, who 211u001eimplements the measures in the EEZ if they are found to be consistent with the 211u001eMagnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable law. Because the Secretary, acting 211u001ethrough NMFS, has the ultimate authority for the FMP as modified by Amendment 11 211u001eand its implementation, NMFS is both the action agency and the consulting agency 211u001ein this consultation.