🦪Research Track Assessment Meeting for Atlantic Sea Scallops
NMFS will convene the Research Track Assessment Peer Review Meeting for the purpose of reviewing the Atlantic sea scallop stock. The Research Track Assessment Peer Review is a formal scientific peer- review process for evaluating and presenting stock assessment results to managers for fish stocks in the offshore U.S. waters of the northwest Atlantic. Assessments are prepared by the research track working group and reviewed by an independent panel of stock assessment experts from the Center of Independent Experts. The public is invited to attend the presentations and discussions between the review panel and the scientists who have participated in the stock assessment process.
Learn More🎣2025 Regulatory Changes for Pacific Halibut Fisheries Impacting Businesses
This final rule approves changes to the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan (CSP) for the International Pacific Halibut Commission's (IPHC) regulatory Area 2A off Washington, Oregon, and California. In addition, the rule implements new management measures for the 2025 recreational fisheries in Area 2A, including the recreational fishery season open dates and subarea allocations for Area 2A. This action also adds a new inseason management provision that explicitly allows for the inseason transfer of anticipated uncaught recreational fishery allocation from the Northern California subarea to the South of Point Arena subarea. These actions are intended to conserve Pacific halibut, while providing additional angler opportunity to achieve the Area 2A allocation set by the IPHC.
Learn More🎣Proposed 2025-2027 Regulations for Mid-Atlantic Tilefish Fisheries
In this action, NMFS proposes specifications for the 2025 fishing year for the golden tilefish and blueline tilefish fisheries north of the North Carolina/Virginia border and projects specifications for the 2026 and 2027 golden tilefish fishery. The proposed action is necessary to establish allowable harvest levels and other management measures to prevent overfishing while allowing optimum yield, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP).
Learn More🎣Fisheries Reallocation of Pollock in Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
NMFS is reallocating the projected unused amounts of the Aleut Corporation and the Community Development Quota (CDQ) pollock directed fishing allowances (DFA) from the Aleutian Islands subarea to the Bering Sea subarea. This action is necessary to provide the opportunity for the harvest of the 2025 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock, consistent with the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI).
Learn More🐠NOAA Workshop Participant Registration for Protected Species
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Learn More🎣2025 Recreational Season Closure for Golden Tilefish and Gag
This document contains corrections to two temporary rules published in the Federal Register on March 20, 2025, with an effective date span of March 21 through December 31, 2025, and March 24, 2025, with an effective date span of June 26 through December 31, 2025. Both of these temporary rules announced the season closure dates for the recreational harvest of golden tilefish and gag, respectively, in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. This document corrects the subject headings of those temporary rules.
Learn More🎣Correction to Fishery Management Plans for U.S. Virgin Islands
NMFS corrects the final rule that implemented management measures described in the Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John Fishery Management Plans (collectively, island-based FMPs), which published in the Federal Register on September 13, 2022. Among other measures, the final rule revised species tables in Appendix A to part 622 and inadvertently removed banded rudderfish from the South Atlantic snapper-grouper species table. The purpose of this correcting amendment is to fix this inadvertent error.
Learn More🐟NOAA Invites Comments on Groundfish Trawl Logbook Information Collection
The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment preceding submission of the collection to OMB.
Learn More🎣Proposed Revisions to West Coast Salmon Fisheries Regulations
NMFS proposes revisions to regulations that implement the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Council) Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This proposed action would remove the rebuilding plans for Queets River natural coho salmon (Queets coho salmon) and Strait of Juan de Fuca natural coho salmon (JDF coho salmon) from regulation, as these stocks have been rebuilt and are no longer required to be managed under a rebuilding plan.
Learn More🦭Renewal of Pinniped Permit
On August 21, 2024, NMFS received an application pursuant to section 120(f) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, on behalf of their respective states; the Nez Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; and the Willamette Committee (hereafter "eligible entities"). In their application, the eligible entities requested that NMFS renew their August 14, 2020, MMPA section 120(f) permit (which expires on August 14, 2025) for an additional five years to intentionally take, by lethal methods, individually identifiable California sea lions (CSL) (Zalophus californianus) and Steller sea lions (SSL) (Eumetopias jubatus: Eastern stock) that are located in the main stem of the Columbia River between river mile 112 (I-205 bridge) and McNary Dam (river mile 292), or in any tributary to the Columbia River that includes spawning habitat of threatened or endangered salmon or steelhead (Onchorynchus spp.) (hereafter "geographic area"). The eligible entities seek no changes to the terms and conditions in the August 14, 2020, permit, other than to renew the existing permit for a five-year period that would begin on the date of issuance of the permit.
Learn More