The Pacific Fishery Management Council on Tuesday finalized a long‑awaited review of the West Coast trawl catch‑share (IFQ) program and adopted a research and data agenda the council said is needed to understand why the program has underperformed on economic goals in recent years.

The review — prepared by outside economists and reviewed by the council’s advisory bodies — concluded there is no single program failure. Instead the analysis found a mix of external and internal forces has reduced utilization and profitability for many participants, especially in the bottom‑trawl sector.

Consultant Melissa Aaron summarized the diagnosis for the council, saying that "it really appears to be the cumulative ... effects of all of these factors combined," pointing to market shocks, tariffs, inflationary cost increases, declines in key export markets and changes in processor infrastructure as interconnected drivers.

The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and the Groundfish Advisory Subpanel both endorsed the review and the prioritized research needs. The SSC said the review provides "a good foundation to guide future council actions" and stressed the importance of continued economic data collection to evaluate future reforms.

Key findings included:
- A sharp decline in sablefish ex‑vessel prices that significantly reduced bottom‑trawl participant revenue; SSC members flagged this as a major driver.
- Rising fixed and operational costs at shore‑based processors — including waste and byproduct disposal and environmental compliance — that have eroded processor profitability and contributed to closures in some ports.
- Evidence the quota‑pound market is providing useful signals but may not operate as efficiently as possible, and that several stocks are being held 'for insurance' and therefore not fully fished.

Council members voted unanimously to finalize the review and adopt the research and data needs appended to the document. Those needs include targeted analysis of administrative and monitoring costs, assessment of the quota‑market functioning, investigation of the reasons for better outcomes in the catcher‑processor sector, and deeper study of how processor capacity loss affects coastal communities.

What’s next: The Groundfish Management Team will compile and prioritize a package of follow‑on actions for the council at its March meeting. The council asked staff and advisory bodies to scope policy options — from changes to monitoring and EDR practices to carryover and phase‑in rules — for overwinter analysis.