Summer Flounder Fishery

Resumo

NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 6 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder Fishery (FMP). This amendment would allow vessels with moratorium permits to carry on board nets other than the minimum mesh size once the seasonal thresholds for summer flounder are retained, modify the schedule for establishing the annual management measures, provide for an experimental fishery to gather data, prohibit the use of twisted mesh, prohibit interference with any observers, and modify the dimensions of the fish box or tote. The intended effect of this rule is to relieve the industry of a regulatory restriction, use the best available data to assess the fishery, establish conformity with other regulations in the same fishing area, and protect observers.