OMNIBUS Acceptable Biological Catch and Risk Policy Framework Adjustment

The purpose of the action is to adjust the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council’s (Council) Mid-Atlantic Council’s current risk policy by accepting a higher level of risk (i.e., the probability of overfishing) for stocks that are healthy and either at or above biomass targets. This action is in response to the Council’s review of the risk policy to determine if any modifications were necessary to meet the goals and objectives for its managed fisheries. This action would also remove the typical/atypical species designation in respect to over-exploitation vulnerability when applied to the current risk policy to better utilize advancements in stock assessment and modeling approaches that can more appropriately account for and address such vulnerability. This action is administrative in nature and the proposed adjustments would be applied to future specifications actions.