Limited Access Management of Federal Fisheries In and Off of Alaska

Resumen

NMFS issues a final rule to implement Amendment 30 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Groundfish Fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area (BSAI) and Amendment 34 to the FMP for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA), and to implement regulatory amendments affecting the Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries in and off of the State of Alaska (Alaska or State). This action is necessary to raise the sablefish community development quota (CDQ) allocation limit for qualified applicants from 12 percent to 33 percent in order to allow total allocation of the sablefish CDQ reserve, and to expand the types of evidence that may be used to verify vessel leases for the Pacific halibut and sablefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) program.