National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration October 2, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces the availability for public review and comment of proposed Fishery Ecosystem Plans (FEPs) for American Samoa, Hawaii, Mariana Archipelago, Pacific remote island areas, and western Pacific pelagic fisheries. The FEPs would incorporate and reorganize elements of five existing western Pacific fishery management plans from a species- or fishery-basis, to one that is founded on geography. The FEPs would not change current management measures. The objectives of the FEPs are to be consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) through the incorporation of ecosystem-based goals and principles in fishery management.