National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration August 14, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will convene a series of 8 public hearings regarding Amendment 14 to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan. Amendment 14 will establish a series of 8 marine protected areas (MPAs) in Federal waters off the South Atlantic to protect a portion of the population and habitat of long-lived, slow-growing, deepwater snapper grouper species (snowy grouper, misty grouper, speckled hind, yellowedge grouper, warsaw grouper, golden tilefish, and blueline tilefish) from directed fishing pressure. Proposed as ``Type II'' MPAs, fishing for and possession of snapper grouper species would be prohibited in the area, but fishermen would be allowed to troll for pelagic species such as tuna, mackerel, and billfish. Amendment 14 includes alternatives for the use of Vessel Monitoring Systems as an enforcement tool for the MPAs. Additionally, the Council intends to work closely with NOAA Fisheries' Highly Migratory Species Division to prohibit the use of bottom longlines by shark fishermen in the proposed MPAs.

This proposed rule would implement Amendment 9 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP), which would prohibit large vessels, i.e., those 50 ft (15.2 m) or longer, from fishing for bottomfish in Federal waters within 50 nm (92.6 km) around Guam, and would establish Federal permitting and reporting requirements for these large bottomfish fishing vessels. The proposed rule is intended to maintain viable bottomfish catch rates by small vessels in the fishery, to sustain participation by smaller vessels in the fishery, to maintain traditional patterns of the bottomfish supply to local Guam markets, and to provide for the collection of adequate fishery information for effective management.