NMFS Proposes Rule to Remove Dark Rockfish from Groundfish Management Plans, Transferring Management to Alaska

Summary

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has issued a proposed rule to remove dark rockfish from the Fishery Management Plans for the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area and the Gulf of Alaska, transferring management to the State of Alaska, which would then assume responsibility for dark rockfish catch by State-permitted vessels in these areas, in an effort to improve conservation and management of the species and align with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws.