The North Pacific Fishery Management Council meets Wednesday through April 3, at the Hilton Hotel, in Anchorage, with the advisory panel and science committee meetings already in swing Monday.

Sixteen hours are devoted to charter halibut management beginning 8 a.m. today. Final action on the charterboat moratorium analysis is planned.

Action on Gulf of Alaska groundfish rationalization is on hold until October at the request of Gov. Sarah Palin.

The council will receive the crab rationalization 18-month review from council staff.

Fisheries consultant for the city Joe Sullivan wrote in a memo to City Manager Linda Freed and Borough Manager Rick Gifford that under normal protocol, upon receiving the report the council would take initial comments from the public. The council will then provide comments to council staff and give them direction regarding further council action on this item.

Sullivan wrote it is unlikely the council will take definitive action on the Pacific cod sector split or the 18-month review at this meeting, because there are no formal council documents for either issue on which to comment. The deadline for filing comments for this meeting was March 21.

Council staff senior economist Mark Fina put the 18-month review document on the council Web site, www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc, under items for the March meeting.

The council is scheduled to review the Gulf Pacific cod sector-split problem statement and develop alternatives. It received a draft problem statement and preliminary alternatives from the advisory panel at its February meeting, but deferred action on the panel’s recommendations to provide the public with an opportunity to review and comment on them.

Other items on the agenda are: groundfish management, the observer program, community development quotas, scallop management, habitat conservation, Aleutian Island fishery ecosystem plan and Arctic management.

Mirror writer Deanna Cooper may be reached via e-mail at dcooper@kodiakdailymirror.com.