Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States; Control Date for Commercial Wreckfish Sector

Zusammenfassung

NMFS announces that it is establishing a new control date of March 11, 2011, to control future access to the commercial wreckfish sector of the snapper-grouper fishery operating in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. If changes to the management regime are developed and implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), a control date could be used to limit the number of participants in this commercial sector. This announcement is intended, in part, to promote awareness of the potential eligibility criteria for future access so as to discourage speculative entry into this sector while the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and NMFS consider whether and how access to the commercial wreckfish sector should be controlled.