NMFS proposes recreational measures for the 2005 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. The implementing regulations for these fisheries require NMFS to publish recreational measures for the upcoming fishing year and to provide an opportunity for public comment. The intent of these measures is to prevent overfishing of the summer

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Framework Adjustment 1 to the Atlantic DeepSea Red Crab (Red Crab) Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This proposed rule would modify the existing annual review and specification process to allow specifications to be set for up to a 3 year timeframe. The proposed action would allocate for fishing year (FY) 2006

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS proposes regulations to implement measures in Amendment 2 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) developed jointly by the New England and MidAtlantic Fishery Management Councils (Councils). Amendment 2 was developed to address essential fish habitat (EFH) and bycatch issues, and to revise the FMP to address several issues raised during

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring commercial summer flounder quota to the Commonwealth of Virginia from its 2005 quota. By this action, NMFS adjusts the quotas and announces the revised commercial quota for each state involved.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), NMFS closed portions of Federal waters of the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and southern New England from June 14, 2005, through September 30, 2005, to the harvest for human consumption of certain bivalve molluscan shellfish due to the presence in those waters of the toxin that causes

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS proposes measures to modify the existing reporting and record keeping regulations for federally permitted seafood dealers participating in the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Atlantic sea scallop, Northeast (NE) multispecies, monkfish, Atlantic mackerel, squid, butterfish, Atlantic surfclam, ocean quahog, Atlantic herring, Atlantic

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that the directed fishery for Loligo squid in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will be closed effective 0001 hours, April 25, 2005. Vessels issued a Federal permit to harvest Loligo squid may not retain or land more than 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of Loligo squid per trip for the remainder of the quarter (through June 30, 2005). This

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), has projected that 100 percent of the quarterly incidental total allowable catch (TAC) of Georges Bank (GB) cod specified to be harvested under the Regular B DaysatSea (DAS) Pilot Program will be harvested by July 18, 2005. Therefore, the use of Regular B DAS

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that the directed fishery for Loligo squid in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will be closed effective 0001hrs local time, December 18, 2005. Vessels issued a Federal permit to harvest Loligo squid may not retain or land more than 2,500 lb (1.13 mt) of Loligo squid per trip for the remainder of the year (through December 31,

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS published a temporary rule in the Federal Register on August 2, 2005, to adjust the 2005 Winter II commercial scup quota and possession limit. NMFS has since received information that a substantial amount of scup landed during the 2005 Winter I period were misreported as porgies via the Electronic Dealer Reporting System. This action corrects

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS published in the Federal Register of January 4, 2005, a final rule containing final specifications for the 2005 and 2006 summer flounder fisheries and for the 2005 scup and black sea bass fisheries. Inadvertently, Table 4 of the final rule contained an incorrect Winter I period scup possession limit. This document corrects that error.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS proposes regulations to implement measures in FW 40B to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). FW 40B was developed by the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) to modify existing effort control programs implemented under Amendment 13 to the FMP to improve the effectiveness of these programs and to create additional

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces the closure of the Closed Area I (CAI) Scallop Access Area for general category scallop vessels for the remainder of the 2005 fishing year (through February 28, 2006). This closure is based on a determination by the Northeast Regional Administrator (RA) that general category scallop vessels will have made all of the 162 allowed

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS issues final specifications for the 2006 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries, and makes preliminary adjustments to the 2006 commercial quotas for these fisheries. This final rule specifies allowed harvest limits for both commercial and recreational fisheries, including scup possession limits. This action prohibits federally

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces final specifications for the 2005 fishing year for the Atlantic herring (herring) fishery, which will be maintained through the 2006 fishing year unless stock and fishery conditions change substantially. This action includes one minor regulatory language change that reflects a previously approved measure in the Fishery Management

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The final rule implementing Amendment 13 and the interim final rule implementing Framework Adjustment (Framework) 40A to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) contained several inadvertent errors and omissions. The intent of this proposed rule is to correct these inadvertent errors and omissions, clarify specific

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that the 2005 summer flounder commercial quota available to New York has been harvested and is announcing the closure of summer flounder in Federal waters. Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in New York for the remainder of calendar year 2005, unless

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The regulations contained in the temporary rule, emergency action, published on September 9, 2005, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), continue through December 31, 2005. In that action NMFS reopened a portion of Federal waters of the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and southern New England that it had previously closed

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS publishes this final rule to implement measures previously approved, but not implemented under Framework 16 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (Scallop FMP) and Framework 39 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP (Multispecies FMP) (Joint Frameworks). The implementation of these measures was delayed, pending approval of reporting

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that 95 percent of the Atlantic herring total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to Management Area 1A (Area 1A) for 2005 is projected to be harvested by December 2, 2005. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, December 2, 2005, federally permitted vessels may not fish for, catch, possess, transfer or land more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that it has approved the request of the State of Rhode Island to transfer 50,186 lb (22,764 kg) of commercial summer flounder quota to the States of Maine, Connecticut, New York, Delaware, and Maryland, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in accordance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Addendum XV to

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS announces that 95 percent of the Atlantic herring total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to Management Area 1B (Area 1B) for fishing year 2005 is projected to be harvested by December 23, 2005. Therefore, effective 0001 hours, December 23, 2005, federally permitted vessels may not fish for, catch, possess, transfer or land more than 2,000 lb

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS implements measures to establish target total allowable catch (TAC) levels for the monkfish fishery for the 2005 fishing year (FY), and adjust trip limits and daysatsea (DAS) for limited access monkfish vessels fishing in the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA). Based on formulas established in Framework Adjustment 2 (Framework 2) to the

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : Veterans Affairs Department

NMFS proposes to amend the regulations implementing the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Atlantic bluefish fishery and the FMP for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. This rule would make administrative changes that would allow NMFS to consider and process state commercial quota transfer requests that address lateseason

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NMFS proposes 2006 specifications for the Atlantic bluefish fishery, including statebystate commercial quotas, a recreational harvest limit, and recreational possession limits for Atlantic bluefish off the east coast of the United States. The intent of these specifications is to establish the allowable 2006 harvest levels and possession limits to

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE : National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration