National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration September 24, 2021 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NMFS closes the General category fishery for large medium and giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved fork length or greater) Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) for the September subquota time period until the General category reopens on October 1, 2021. Given that the General category September subquota will be closed by this action through the end of September, NMFS is also waiving previously- designated restricted-fishing days (RFDs) for the rest of September. The fishery will reopen on October 1, 2021, and the previously- designated RFDs will resume on October 1, 2021. This action applies to Atlantic Tunas General category (commercial) permitted vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels with a commercial sale endorsement when fishing commercially for BFT.

This notice sets forth the proposed schedule and agenda of a forthcoming meeting of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC). The members will meet the new Assistant Administrator for Fisheries and hear Administration priorities. They will also discuss building resilient fisheries, the seafood sector, and coastal communities reliant on marine resources; the Subcommittee on Aquaculture strategic plans; and climate science and the Next-Gen Data Acquisition Plan. Status updates will be provided on the fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget outlook, operations, facilities, and workforce management issues, as well as progress reports from MAFAC's Recreational Electronic Reporting Task Force and planning for the 2022 Recreational Fisheries Summit.