Proposed Rule: Recreational Harvest Control Rule Framework Adjustment to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish Fishery Management Plans

This action proposes changes to the process used to set recreational management measures (bag, size, and season limits) for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board. The changes also include modifications to the recreational accountability measures.

The proposed changes are part of a broader long-term effort by both the Council and Commission to improve recreational management of these four species. The new management program aims to provide greater stability and predictability in recreational measures from year-to-year while accounting for uncertainty in recreational catch estimates. The proposed process would allow managers to consider two factors: 1) biomass compared to the target, and 2) estimated recent recreational harvest compared to future harvest limits, to determine if management measures need to change, and if so, by how much.