NOAA NEPA Document Database

The proposed action is to develop and approve management measures for the 2024 ocean salmon fisheries

This action would modify the regulatory process of scheduling restricted-fishing days (RFDs). As part of this modification, this action may codify and set the schedule of RFDs for the 2024 fishing year and subsequent fishing years. This action also would establish a General category default daily retention limit for large medium or giant bluefin tuna (BFT) on open days. Finally, this action would clarify the BFT dealer regulations and the definition of a BSD tag to address dealer and dealer agent activities on RFDs. This action is being taken pursuant to the rulemaking authority under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 1801 et seq., and consistent with the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act, id. §§ 971 et seq. This action is not anticipated to have any potential significant impacts on the environment.

This document supports implementation of 2024-2026 fishing years’ specifications for federal spiny dogfish specifications, which support a sustainable stock and harvest of optimum yield.

This action would establish the 2025-26 harvest specifications for groundfish caught in the U.S. exclusive economic zone seaward of Washington, Oregon, and California, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. This action would also revise management measures intended to keep the total annual catch of each groundfish stock or stock complex within the annual catch limits. These measures are intended to help prevent overfishing, rebuild overfished stocks, achieve optimum yield, and ensure management measures are based on the best scientific information available. We do not anticipate significant impacts from this action.

The State of WI has nominated sites within the Bay of Green Bay for designation as a NERR. This would join 30 other sites around the country.

EIS for designation of Atchafalaya NERR in Louisiana

This DEIS is prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act to assess the environmental impacts associated with a reasonable range of alternatives intended to modify the sector allocation, overfishing limit, acceptable biological catch, annual catch limits, and annual catch targets of red grouper in the Gulf of Mexico.

Under section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) shall issue regulations deemed necessary and advisable for the conservation of species listed as threatened. The Secretary may also apply any of the prohibitions in Section 9(a)(1) of the ESA, including prohibiting import, export, take, and interstate commerce. This proposed ESA 4(d) rule would apply protective regulations to the threatened oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus). This is the accompanying EA to this Proposed Rule.

Red snapper has been closed in the South Atlantic from 2010 to 2017 except for short seasons in 2012, 2013, and 2014. Recently discovered and unforeseen data from the long-term Southeast Reef Fish Survey (SERFS) fishery independent index of abundance show that the red snapper stock has continued to rebuild and the population has increased. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing temporary measures through emergency action to allow a limited fishing season for the recreational and commercial sectors in 2017. No significant impacts to protected species are expected.

The proposed action would establish a shrimp fishery access area (SFAA) along the eastern boundary of the northern extension of the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC) where trawling for rock shrimp is currently prohibited. Within the proposed SFAA, a shrimp vessel with a valid limited access commercial vessel permit for rock shrimp would be allowed to bottom trawl for rock shrimp. Coral Amendment 10 would help achieve optimum yield in the South Atlantic rock shrimp portion of the shrimp fishery and increase economic and social benefits to rock shrimp fishermen by increasing access to historic rock shrimp fishing grounds, while maintaining protection of the Oculina deep water coral ecosystems.

The Framework proposes to 1) update state-specific red snapper private angling component calibration ratios and annual catch limits (ACL) for Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi to provide a more accurate estimate of state landings for red snapper management; and 2) update gray snapper catch limits including the overfishing limit, acceptable biological catch, and ACL based on SEDAR 75 and approved as best scientific information available by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee. There are no potential significant impacts, issues, or problems with the project. This framework and proposed regulation changes are not expected to be controversial.

Amendment 49 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council would revise the sector annual catch limits (ACLs), the commercial minimum size limit, the commercial seasonal trip limits, and the April spawning season closure for greater amberjack. In addition, Amendment 49 would revise the overfishing limit, acceptable biological catch, annual optimum yield, and sector allocations of the total ACL for greater amberjack. Amendment 49 would remove the recreational annual catch targets for species in the FMP. The purpose of Amendment 49 is to ensure catch limits are based on the best scientific information available and to ensure overfishing does not occur for the South Atlantic greater amberjack stock, while increasing social and economic benefits.

The purpose is to modify the Gulf red snapper catch limits including the OFL, ABC and stock ACL, sector ACLs, and sector ACTs based on the 2022 catch analysis completed by the SEFSC and approved as the best scientific information available by the SSC. There are no known issues or potential significant impacts associated with this action.

The temporary emergency rule would modify the greater amberjack recreational fixed closed season to be August 1 – 31 and November 1 – July 31 (open September 1 – October 31). This action is being taken in response to a request made by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) at its June 2022 meeting. The recreational fishing year is from August 1 through July 31, and the current recreational fixed closed season allows fishing from August through October and then in May. In response to the most recent greater amberjack stock assessment (SEDAR 70 2020), which determined that greater amberjack is not making adequate rebuilding progress and is still both overfished and experiencing overfishing, the Council requested that NOAA Fisheries implement an emergency rule to modify the 2022/2023 recreational fishing season to only be open in September and October of 2022. This rule is intended to reduce overfishing, reduce the probability of an annual catch limit overage and subsequent payback for the recreational sector, and reduce the severity of a postseason payback that could possibly prevent the recreational season from opening in the 2023/2024 fishing year while the Council develops long-term measures to end overfishing and rebuild the stock with Reef Fish Amendment 54. Further, current regulations do not allow the portion of an overage that could not be paid back in the following year to be carried over to the second year. The failure to reduce overfishing and mitigate for the entire overage of recreational harvest that is projected to occur in the 2022/2023 under the current fixed closed season would result in serious conservations issues to the greater amberjack stock and may prevent it from rebuilding by 2027.

Amendment 32 proposes to modify Gulf Migratory Group cobia (Gulf Group cobia) recreational data monitoring data units from Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) Coastal Household Telephone Survey to MRIP Fishing Effort Survey and reduce the Gulf Group cobia acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limits (ACL), and annual catch targets based on the most recent stock assessment (Southeast Data Assessment and Review 28 Update). Further, Amendment 32 proposes to increase the Gulf Group cobia minimum size limit in the Florida East Coast (FLEC) Zone; reduce the possession limit and implement a vessel and trip limit across the Gulf Group cobia range; modify the Gulf and FLEC zone apportionment of the Gulf Group cobia stock ACL; and modify the FLEC Zone sector allocation. Amendment 32 also proposes changes to the CMP Framework procedure to clarify South Atlantic Fishery Management Council responsibilities for Gulf Group cobia and make some clarifying updates to language regarding the ABC Control Rule.

The need for the rule is to end overfishing of Gulf Group cobia as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act , update existing Gulf Group cobia catch limits to be consistent with best scientific information available and contemporary data collection methods, and to clarify the Gulf and South Atlantic Councils’ responsibilities in the CMP FMP framework procedure.

The purpose of this document is to modify the Gulf red snapper catch limits including the OFL, ABC, sector ACLs and sector ACTs based on the interim analyses completed by the SEFSC. This action is to use the best scientific information available to prevent overfishing while achieving optimum yield, consistent with the red snapper rebuilding plan and the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

The action would increase the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) lane snapper overfishing limit, acceptable biological catch, and annual catch limit consistent with the most recent stock assessment and recommendations from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s Science and Statistical Committee. The proposed rule would also modify the accountability measures to require a closure in any year in which the annual catch limit is met or projected to be met. The need for the rule is to update existing lane snapper catch limits and accountability measures based on the best scientific information available and to achieve optimum yield consistent with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, while preventing overfishing.

The proposed actions in this framework amendment would designate 30 artificial reef sites in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off North Carolina and four artificial reef sites in the EEZ off South Carolina as special management zones (SMZ). The proposed actions would also prohibit the use of certain gear types in the SMZs and limit harvest to the recreational bag limit by some or all of the gear.