National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration December 29, 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS published a final rule on November 29, 2023, to announce routine inseason adjustments to management measures in commercial and recreational groundfish fisheries for the 2024 fishing year. That rule is intended to allow commercial and recreational fishing vessels to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks. This action corrects the trip limits for the limited entry (LE) fixed gear and open access (OA) fleets for ``Other Flatfish'' (butter sole, curlfin sole, flathead sole, Pacific sanddab, rex sole, rock sole, and sand sole) south of latitude (lat.) 40[deg]10' North (N). This correction is necessary so that the implementing regulations are accurate and implement the action as intended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). This action also corrects a final rule published on December 1, 2023.