Amendment 20 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan

NOAA Fisheries is requesting comments on a proposed amendment to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (88 FR 17515, March 23, 2023) that, if approved, would remove terminology and references to stock management categories ("Active" and "Monitored"). This proposed Amendment was initiated by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to address a perceived lack of clarity regarding the meaning and use of these terms as a means of categorizing stock management in the CPS FMP. Specifically the intent of this action is to remove references to these named categories, but not to revise the manner in which CPS stocks are managed. Because this action does not change the manner in which CPS stocks are managed, this action is relatively administrative in nature. The 60-day comment period for the proposed amendment ends on May 22, 2023.

There are two references to these management category terms in federal regulations. To align with the proposed Amendment, NMFS is requesting comments on a proposed rule that would remove those terms from federal regulations (88 FR 20456, April 6, 2023). The 30-day comment period for the proposed rule ends on May 8, 2023.