National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration February 8, 2024 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Climate Change Taskforce will meet February 26, 2024.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Ad Hoc Ecosystem Workgroup (EWG) is holding an online meeting, which is open to the public.

This advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeks comment on the benefits or disadvantages of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) potentially setting future restrictions, resulting in subsequent rulemakings from NMFS, in the Atlantic the coastal migratory pelagics fishery and the dolphin and wahoo fishery, and the snapper- grouper fishery in the South Atlantic. The Council recently set a control date of December 8, 2023. That control date, and an existing control date of June 15, 2016, may both be used to create restrictions limiting participation in the exclusive economic zone for the Federal charter vessel/headboat (for-hire) components of the recreational sectors of the coastal migratory pelagics fishery in the Atlantic, dolphin and wahoo fishery in the Atlantic, and snapper-grouper fishery in the South Atlantic. The Council is considering a future action that may affect or limit the number of participants in the fishery, and stresses that participants should locate and preserve all relevant, fishing-related documents. If such an action is developed, approved, and implemented through a Council decision and a subsequent rulemaking by NMFS, future access to the fishery after the control date would not be assured. NMFS is informing the public of the new control date, in part, to promote awareness of the potential changes to eligibility criteria for future access so as to discourage speculative entry into the Federal for-hire components of the Atlantic coastal migratory pelagics, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, or the South Atlantic snapper- grouper fisheries, while the Council and NMFS consider whether and how access to these for-hire components should be managed.