May 7, 2013 — NMFS proposes to update the estimated number of vessels/persons in the commercial fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean.
Updates are based on state and federal fisheries permit data. The estimated number of vessels/persons participating in fisheries operating within U.S. waters is expressed in terms of the number of active participants in the fishery, when possible. If this information is not available, the estimated number of vessels or persons licensed for a particular fishery is provided. If no recent information is available on the number of participants, vessels, or persons licensed in a fishery, then the number from the most recent LOF is used for the estimated number of vessels/persons in the fishery. NMFS acknowledges that, in some cases, these estimations may be inflations of actual effort. However, in these cases, the numbers represent the potential effort for each fishery, given the multiple gear types several state permits may allow.
Read the proposed rule at the Federal Register