The US Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) will meet next week to discuss setting allowable biological catch (ABC) limits for Kona crab in Hawaii as well as bigeye tuna catch limits for longliners.
According to a release from the council ahead of its three-day meeting in Honolulu, which begins June 22, members of its scientific and statistical committee (SSC) will hear reports in order to help them make recommendations on the ABC for Kona crab. A recently produced stock assessment on the species gives catch projections until 2026 and will help the committee recommend the ABC for the 2020 to 2023 period.
The committee will also consider recommendations for catch limits in for longline bigeye tuna for US territories. The regional Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission limited US longline bigeye catch to 3,554 metric tons annually in 2019 and 2020 but the US National Marine Fisheries Service has the authority to set limits for the individual territories. The council's SSC will make recommendations on those limits.
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