Commerce Department Proposed Rule

2023-00053: Fisheries Off West Coast States; Highly Migratory Fisheries; Amendment 6 to Fishery Management Plan for West Coast Highly Migratory Species Fisheries; Authorization of Deep-Set Buoy Gear

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Summary

NMFS announces that the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 6 to the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP) for review by the Secretary of Commerce. The intent of Amendment 6 is to authorize deep-set buoy gear (DSBG) as a legal gear type for targeting highly migratory species (HMS) off the U.S. West Coast, and to establish management measures, a permitting program, and a standardized bycatch reporting methodology (SBRM) for this fishery. The amendment is expected to affect harvest levels of swordfish by authorizing an additional gear type for commercial harvest of HMS in Federal waters off the U.S. West Coast. The Council transmitted the draft Amendment to NMFS on December 21, 2022.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 1 part of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

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