Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Comprehensive Annual Catch Limit Amendment for the South Atlantic

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NMFS announces that the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted the Comprehensive Annual Catch Limit Amendment (Comprehensive ACL Amendment) for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. The Comprehensive ACL Amendment amends the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region, the Golden Crab Fishery of the South Atlantic Region, the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery off the Atlantic States, and the Pelagic Sargassum Habitat of the South Atlantic Region. The Comprehensive ACL Amendment proposes actions to specify annual catch limits (ACLs), allowable biological catch (ABC), ABC control rules, and accountability measures (AMs) for species in the FMPs for Snapper- Grouper, Dolphin and Wahoo, Golden Crab, and Sargassum. The Comprehensive ACL Amendment proposes to specify ABC, and describe the current terminology and measures in place in the Sargassum FMP that are consistent with an ACL and AMs. For Sargassum, this amendment would not specifically set an ACL because there is currently a commercial quota in place which functions as an ACL, and there are commercial closure provisions in the event the quota is met or proj