Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Amendment 52

Samenvatting

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Amendment 52 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic (FMP), as submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (the Council). For golden tilefish, this proposed rule would revise the annual catch limits (ACLs), commercial longline component fishing season, and recreational accountability measures (AMs). For blueline tilefish, this proposed rule would reduce the recreational bag limit, modify the possession limits, and revise the recreational AMs. In addition, Amendment 52 would update the acceptable biological catch (ABC), overfishing limit (OFL), and annual optimum yield (OY). The purpose of this proposed rule and Amendment 52 is to respond to the most recent stock assessment for golden tilefish, and to prevent recreational landings from exceeding the recreational annual catch limits (ACLs) for golden tilefish and blueline tilefish.