National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration November 19, 2019 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The SEDAR 64 stock assessment process for Southeastern U.S. yellowtail snapper will consist of a Data Workshop, a series of assessment webinars, and a Review Workshop. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council will hold its 168th meeting in December to discuss the items contained in the agenda in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS is transferring 53.2 metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) quota from the Reserve category to the General category, to account for an accrued overharvest of 33.7 mt from previous time period subquotas. This action is intended to provide opportunities for General category fishermen to participate in the December General category fishery, which is scheduled to reopen on December 1, 2019, and is based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments. This action would affect Atlantic tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT.

In this rule NMFS implements Amendment 28 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, changing closed areas that affect commercial vessels fishing with bottom contacting gear in Federal waters off of Washington, Oregon, and California under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. The final rule establishes new and revised areas closed to bottom trawling to conserve and protect Pacific coast groundfish essential fish habitat, and re-open areas that were closed to bottom trawling to rebuild previously-overfished groundfish stocks. Combined, these two changes increase protections for groundfish essential fish habitat and provide additional flexibility to participants fishing with bottom trawl gear in the groundfish trawl rationalization program. Amendment 28 also closes deep-water areas off the coast of California to bottom contacting gear to protect deep-water habitats, including deep-sea corals, under fishery management plan discretionary provisions in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.