🏢Spring 2025 Regulatory Agenda
In compliance with Executive Order 12866, entitled "Regulatory Planning and Review," and the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended, the Department of Commerce (Commerce), in the spring and fall of each year, publishes in the Federal Register an agenda of regulations under development or review over the next 12 months. Rulemaking actions are grouped according to pre-rulemaking, proposed rules, final rules, long-term actions, and rulemaking actions completed since the publication of the Fall 2024 Unified Agenda. The purpose of the Agenda is to provide information to the public on regulations that are currently under review, being proposed, or recently issued by Commerce. It is expected that this information will enable the public to participate more effectively in Commerce's regulatory process. Commerce's Spring 2025 Unified Agenda includes regulatory activities that are expected to be conducted during the period July 1, 2025, through June 31, 2026.
Learn More🦐Gulf Council Public Meeting Notification for Fisheries Stakeholders
The Gulf Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) will hold a 3 day in-person meeting of its Standing and Special Shrimp Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSCs).
Learn More🎣Quota Transfer Regulation for Summer Flounder Fishery
NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring a portion of its 2025 commercial summer flounder quota to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This adjustment to the 2025 fishing year quota is necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised 2025 commercial quotas for North Carolina and Massachusetts.
Learn More🐟Notice for West Coast Groundfish Trawl Logbook Information Collection
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite 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. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on March 31, 2025 (90 FR 14252), during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Learn More🌊Pacific Fishery Management Council Public Meeting Announcement
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council) will convene an online meeting of the Ecosystem-Based Management Subcommittee of its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC ES), which is open to the public.
Learn More🎣New Regulatory Changes Impacting California Groundfish Fisheries
This final rule announces routine inseason adjustments to management measures in commercial and recreational groundfish fisheries. These inseason adjustments will change depth restrictions and trip limits for some stocks in recreational and commercial groundfish fisheries off the California coast to allow more attainment of healthy stocks that co-occur with California quillback rockfish. This action is intended to allow commercial and recreational fishing vessels to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks.
Learn More🐢2026 Sea Turtle Observer Requirement and Its Business Impact
NMFS is providing notification that the agency will not identify additional fisheries to observe on the 2026 Annual Determination (AD), pursuant to its authority under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Through the AD, NMFS identifies U.S. fisheries operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of America, and Pacific Ocean that will be required to take observers upon NMFS' request. The purpose of observing identified fisheries is to learn more about sea turtle bycatch in a given fishery, evaluate measures to prevent or reduce sea turtle bycatch, and implement the prohibition against sea turtle takes. Fisheries identified on the 2020 and 2023 ADs (see table 1) remain on the AD for a 5-year period and are required to carry observers upon NMFS' request until September 29, 2025, and December 31, 2027, respectively.
Learn More🎣2025 Commercial Atlantic Mackerel Fishery Closure and Regulations
NMFS is closing the commercial Atlantic mackerel fishery through December 31, 2025. This closure is required by regulation because NMFS projects that 80 percent of the mackerel domestic annual harvest has been harvested. This action is necessary to comply with the regulations implementing the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan and is intended to prevent overharvest of Atlantic mackerel.
Learn More🎣Temporary Re-Opening of Blueline Tilefish Harvest in the South Atlantic
NMFS announces the re-opening of commercial harvest for blueline tilefish in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic through this temporary rule. The most recent data for commercial landings of blueline tilefish indicate the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) for the 2025 fishing year has not yet been reached. Therefore, NMFS re-opens the commercial sector to harvest blueline tilefish in the South Atlantic EEZ for 6 days. The purpose of this temporary rule is to allow for the commercial ACL of blueline tilefish to be harvested while managing the risk of exceeding the commercial ACL.
Learn More🐟South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Public Meeting Announcement
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold a meeting of its Citizen Science Projects Advisory Panel via webinar October 6, 2025.
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