Department of Commerce March 10, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This action serves as a notice that NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), has found that the following stocks are subject to overfishing or are in an overfished condition: Gulf of Mexico Greater Amberjack is subject to overfishing and continues to be in an overfished condition; Gulf of Mexico Gray Triggerfish is subject to overfishing but is not in an overfished condition; Puerto Rico Scups and Porgies is subject to overfishing; Puerto Rico Wrasses is subject to overfishing; and Gulf of Maine cod continues to be subject to overfishing and in an overfished condition. In addition, Pacific Bluefin Tuna, which is jointly managed by the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council and the Pacific Fisheries Management Council, continues to be subject to overfishing and continues to be in an overfished condition. NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary, notifies the appropriate fishery management council (Council) whenever it determines that overfishing is occurring, a stock is in an overfished condition, a stock is approaching an overfished condition, or when a rebuilding plan has not resulted in adequate progress toward ending overfishing and rebuilding affected fish stocks.

NMFS issues this proposed rule for the 2015 Pacific whiting fishery under the authority of the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), and the Pacific Whiting Act of 2006. This proposed rule would allocate 17.5% of the U.S. Total Allowable Catch of Pacific whiting for 2015 to Pacific Coast Indian tribes that have a Treaty right to harvest groundfish, and would revise the regulation authorizing NMFS to reapportion unused allocation from the tribal allocation to the non-tribal sectors earlier in the fishing season.