National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration November 9, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted Amendment 123 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) for review. If approved, Amendment 123 would amend regulations governing Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis) (halibut) prohibited species catch (PSC), or bycatch, limits in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) to link the halibut PSC limit for the Amendment 80 commercial groundfish trawl fleet in the BSAI groundfish fisheries to halibut abundance. This action is necessary to comply with the requirements of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). In particular, National Standard 9 and National Standard 1 require fishery management plans to minimize halibut PSC to the extent practicable while achieving optimum yield in the BSAI groundfish fisheries on a continuing basis. Further, National Standard 4 requires fishery management plans to ensure that when it becomes necessary to allocate or assign fishing privileges among various U.S. fishermen, such allocation shall be fair and equitable, reasonably calculated to promote conservation, and carried out in such manner that no particular individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of such privileges. National Standard 8 requires that conservation and management measures take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities by utilizing economic and social data that are based upon the best scientific information available in order to provide for the sustained participation of such communities and, to the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities. Amendment 123 is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the BSAI FMP, and other applicable laws.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (MAFMC's) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel will hold a public meeting jointly with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Advisory Panel.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Crab Plan Team (CPT) will meet virtually on November 29, 2022.