Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 2016 Red Snapper Commercial Quota Retention

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NMFS issues regulations to implement management measures described in a framework action to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP), as prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule withholds 4.9 percent of the 2016 red snapper commercial quota prior to the annual distribution of red snapper allocation to the Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) program shareholders on January 1, 2016. This final rule allows the allocations being established through Amendment 28 to the FMP (Amendment 28) to be effective for the 2016 fishing year should Amendment 28 be approved by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) in 2016. This final rule also makes a technical correction to re-insert regulatory text that a previous rulemaking inadvertently omitted, which specifies that the recreational annual catch limit (ACL) for red snapper is equal to the total recreational quota.