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

Resumen

NMFS announces that it is establishing a new control date to control future access to 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 further limit the number of participants in the fishery. This announcement is intended, in part, to promote awareness of the potential eligibility criteria for future access so as to discourage speculative entry into the fishery while the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and NMFS consider whether and how access to the snapper-grouper fishery should be controlled.