Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; White Hake Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area Closure for the Common Pool Fishery

摘要

NMFS is closing the White Hake Trimester Total Allowable Catch (TAC) Area to all common pool vessels fishing with trawl gear, sink gillnet gear, or longline/hook gear for the remainder of Trimester 1, through August 31, 2012. This action is necessary to prevent the common pool fishery from exceeding its Trimester 1 TAC or its annual catch limit for white hake. This rule is expected to slow the catch rate of white hake in the common pool fishery for the remainder of Trimester 1.