Fishing Limits in Purse Seine and Longline Fisheries, Restrictions on the Use of Fish Aggregating Devices in Purse Seine Fisheries, and Transshipment Prohibitions

The proposed action would implement recent decisions of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. The rule would establish limits on fishing effort by U.S. purse seine fishing vessels, put in place restrictions regarding fish aggregating devices for U.S. purse seine fishing vessels, establish limits on catches of bigeye tuna by U.S. longline vessels, prohibit U.S. vessels used to fish for highly migratory species from transshipping catch in a particular area of high seas and remove certain reporting requirements applicable to such vessels in that area, and make administrative changes to existing regulations to correct outdated cross references. This action is necessary for the United States to satisfy its obligations under the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, to which it is a Contracting Party.

One of the elements of the proposed rule needs to go into effect by July 1, 2018.