Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 32

Samenvatting

NMFS published a proposed rule on November 2, 2011 (76 FR 67656) to implement management measures described in Amendment 32 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 32) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). During the comment period for that proposed rule, NMFS identified an inconsistency in the codified text of that rule regarding the accountability measures for recreational gag and red grouper that needs correction. This rule proposes to further revise the recreational accountability measures for gag and red grouper to correctly specify what will occur if the ACL is exceeded and the species is overfished. This proposed rule is intended to end overfishing of gag, allow the gag stock to rebuild, and co-manage gag and red grouper by implementing concurrent management measures.