National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration May 2, 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS is closing the commercial fishery for blacktip sharks, aggregated large coastal sharks (LCS) and hammerhead shark management groups in the western Gulf of Mexico sub-region. This action is necessary because the commercial landings of aggregated LCS in the western Gulf of Mexico sub-region for the 2017 fishing season exceeded 80 percent of the available commercial quota as of April 26, 2017, and the aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark management groups are quota- linked under the regulations. The blacktip shark fishery in the western Gulf of Mexico sub-region will be closed to minimize regulatory discards of aggregate LCS in the western Gulf of Mexico sub-region, which are often caught in conjunction with blacktip sharks in the commercial shark fisheries. This closure will affect anyone commercially fishing for sharks in the western Gulf of Mexico sub- region.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management (Habitat) Advisory Panel (AP) in Charleston, SC. The meeting is open to the public.