Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Scoping Process

Resumen

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) announces its intent to prepare an amendment (Amendment 14) to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (MSB) and to prepare an EIS to analyze the impacts of any proposed management measures. This amendment may address one or more of the following issues: The implementation of catch share systems for the squid fisheries; the need for additional fishery monitoring to determine the significance of river herring and shad incidental catch in the MSB fisheries; and the effectiveness and impacts of management measures to minimize bycatch and/or incidental catch of river herrings and shads. The Council is initiating a public process to determine the scope of alternatives to be addressed in the amendment and EIS. NMFS and the Council are alerting the interested public of the commencement of the scoping process and providing for public participation in compliance with environmental documentation requirements.