Fisheries off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Trawl Rationalization Program; Program Improvement and Enhancement; Amendment 21-1

Zusammenfassung

NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 21-1 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for review by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary). Amendment 21-1 would further revise the FMP to support the trawl rationalization program, a catch share program, implemented in January 2011 through Amendments 20 and 21. Amendment 21-1 would modify the FMP to clarify that Amendment 21 supersedes the limited entry/open access allocations for groundfish species allocated through Amendment 21. Amendment 21-1 would also revise the formula in the FMP to allocate Pacific halibut bycatch to the limited entry trawl fishery.