National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration August 5, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS announces approval of Amendments 38 and 39 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (FMP). Amendment 38 establishes a mechanism in the FMP to specify annual catch limits and accountability measures for each crab stock. This action is necessary to account for uncertainty in the overfishing limit and prevent overfishing. Amendment 39 modifies the snow crab rebuilding plan to define the stock as rebuilt the first year the stock biomass is above the level necessary to produce maximum sustainable yield. Amendments 38 and 39 are intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the FMP, and other applicable laws.

The SEDAR 25 assessments of the South Atlantic black sea bass and golden tilefish will consist of a series of workshops and webinars: this notice is for webinars associated with the Assessment portion of the SEDAR process. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

NMFS proposes regulations to implement measures in Framework Adjustment 7 (Framework 7) to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (Monkfish FMP). The New England Fishery Management Council and Mid- Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Councils) developed Framework 7 to adjust the annual catch target (ACT) for the Northern Fishery Management Area (NFMA) to be consistent with the most recent scientific advice regarding the acceptable biological catch (ABC) for monkfish. The New England Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) has recommended a revision to the ABC based on information from a 2010 stock assessment (50th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC 50)). Framework 7 would also specify a new day-at-sea (DAS) allocation and trip limits for the NFMA commensurate with the new ACT, and Framework 7 and would also adopt revised biomass reference points for the NFMA and Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA), based on the recommendations of SARC 50 and the SSC.