🦪Closure of Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Fishery for 2025
NMFS announces the closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area for the remainder of the 2025 fishing year. Regulations require this action once the Northern Gulf of Maine Set- Aside has been reached. Subject to specific enumerated exceptions, possession, retention, or landing of scallops is prohibited in the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area once the Regional Administrator publishes a notice in the Federal Register that the Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside has been reached. This action is intended to prevent the overharvest of the 2025 Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside.
Learn More🐟Western Pacific Fishery Management Council Public Meetings 2025
The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of its Archipelagic Plan Team (APT) and Pelagic Plan Team (PPT) to discuss fishery management issues and develop recommendations for future management of fisheries in the Western Pacific Region.
Learn More🎣New Regulation on Shortraker Rockfish for Alaska Fisheries
NMFS is prohibiting retention of shortraker rockfish in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) except by catcher/ processors checked-in to the Central GOA Rockfish Program who are fishing with a rockfish cooperative quota permit. This action is necessary because the 2025 total allowable catch of shortraker rockfish for vessels other than these catcher/processors has been reached.
Learn More🐟Gulf Fishery Management Council Meeting Notice for 2025
The Gulf Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council) will hold a one-day in-person meeting of their Standing and Shrimp Scientific and Statistical Committees (SSCs).
Learn More🎣NMFS Council Coordination Committee Public Meeting Overview
The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) will host a hybrid meeting of the Council Coordination Committee (CCC) consisting of eight Regional Fishery Management Council (RFMC) chairs, vice chairs, and executive directors and its subcommittees from May 13, 2025 to May 15, 2025. The intent of this meeting is to discuss issues of relevance to the Councils and NMFS, including issues related to the implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (MSA), other topics of concern to the RFMCs, and decisions and follow-up activities.
Learn More🎣2025 Monkfish Fishery Specifications and Compliance Regulations
NMFS is implementing specifications for the 2025 monkfish fishery. This action is necessary to ensure allowable monkfish harvest levels that will prevent overfishing and allow harvesting of optimum yield. This action is intended to establish the allowable 2025 harvest levels, consistent with the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan and previously announced multi-year specifications.
Learn More🐟Temporary Fishing Closure for Pollock in Gulf of Alaska
NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 620 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2025 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 620 in the GOA.
Learn More🎣Proposed Management Measures for 2025 Black Sea Bass Fishing
NMFS proposes Federal management measures for the 2025 black sea bass recreational fishery. The implementing regulations for this fishery require NMFS to publish recreational measures for the fishing year and to provide an opportunity for public comment. The intent of this action is to set management measures that allow this recreational fishery to achieve, but not exceed, the recreational harvest target and thereby prevent overfishing.
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 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.
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