Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Discard Provision for Herring Midwater Trawl Vessels Fishing in Groundfish Closed Area I

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Through this action, NMFS removes a regulatory exemption for midwater trawl herring vessels, which was originally implemented by a November 2, 2009, final rule. The exemption allowed midwater trawl vessels with an All Areas and/or Areas 2 and 3 Atlantic herring limited access permit fishing in Northeast (NE) multispecies Closed Area I (CA I) to release fish that cannot be pumped from the net at the end of pumping operations, without those fish being sampled by a NMFS at-sea observer. As a result of this rule, vessels will be required to bring the fish on board the vessel and make them available to the at-sea observer for sampling. The publication of this action is part of a Court-approved joint motion to stay pending litigation.