ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT TO CONDUCT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH EXPERIMENTS USING PELAGIC LONGLINE GEAR IN A PORTION OF THE EAST FLORIDA COAST CLOSED AREA OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN

This action would allow pelagic longline fishermen into the Florida East Coast Closure in order to assess target and bycatch catch rates in the area. This data will be analyzed after the project to evaluate the effectiveness of the current area. Depending on the results of the project this could lead to a further fishery management action.

This is expected to be controversial with the recreational HMS fishery participants and NGOs interested in the conservation of marine resources.