NMFS Responds to Petition for Rulemaking on Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery

Summary

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has decided not to undertake a rulemaking to require specific gear modifications for Atlantic sea scallop vessels to prevent sea turtle captures, as requested by the Fisheries Survival Fund and the Garden State Seafood Association. Instead, NMFS will conduct rulemaking under the Endangered Species Act to address incidental sea turtle takes by May 2005.