On Nov. 21, 2003, the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada on Pacific Hake/Whiting was signed.

The agreement establishes agreed percentage shares of the transboundary stock of Pacific hake, also known as Pacific whiting. It also creates a process through which U.S. and Canadian scientists and fisheries managers will recommend the total catch of Pacific hake each year. The agreement anticipates that stakeholders from both countries will have significant input into this process.

The agreement, implemented for the first time in 2012, creates four new bodies to assist the governments of Canada and the United States to assess and sustainably manage the shared whiting resource:

• The Joint Management Committee (JMC) is charged with determining the Total Allowable Catch of whiting every year.
• The industry Advisory Panel (AP) is charged with reviewing the management of the fishery and making recommendations to the JMC regarding the overall Total Allowable Catch.
• The Joint Technical Committee (JTC) is charged with annually providing the JMC with a stock assessment that includes scientific advice on the annual potential yield of the offshore hake/whiting resource that may be caught for that fishing year.
• The Scientific Review Group (SRG) is charged with providing an independent peer review of the work of the JTC.

This web site will provide background on the treaty, and list news and meetings being held to implement the agreement.