December 1, 2014 — The following was released by NOAA:
NMFS announces two final rules that will publish in the Federal Register on Tuesday, December 2, 2014.
1) The final rule to implement Amendment 7 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic HMS Fishery Management Plan . This action is necessary to meet domestic management objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act including preventing overfishing, achieving optimal yield, and minimizing bycatch to the extent practicable, as well as the objectives of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA) and obligations pursuant to binding recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. NMFS takes these actions to reduce and account for bluefin dead discards in all categories; optimize fishing opportunities in all categories within the United States’ quota; enhance reporting and monitoring; and adjust other management measures as necessary. Most of the management measures in the final rule will take effect January 1, 2015, while some measures will take effect on either June 1, 2015, or January 1, 2016. For more information, please see the attached HMS Listserve Notice and the link below: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/documents/fmp/am7/index.html
2) The 2015 shark specifications final rule. This action establishes quotas and opening dates for the 2015 Atlantic commercial shark fisheries. Some of the quotas have changed from the proposed rule based on adjustments to account for additional landings reported as of October 15, 2014. Additionally, based on public comment, NMFS has changed the opening date of the aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark management groups in the Atlantic region from June 1 to July 1, 2015. All other shark fisheries open on January 1, 2015
View the final rule regarding the 2015 Atlantic shark commercial fishing season