NOAA Fisheries announces the availability to the of Amendment 12 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan. Amendment 12 integrates provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act National Standard guidelines as revised in 2016, a rulemaking regarding standardized bycatch reporting methodology, and NOAA Fisheries policy directives into the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan.
Amendment 12:
- Revises some of the objectives in the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan
- Adopts the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) stock determination criteria for ICCAT-managed HMS
- Reviews the HMS standardized bycatch reporting methodology
- Establishes the triggers for review of allocations of quota-managed HMS
- Notifies the public of modified timing for release of the HMS Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) Report.
There are no implementing regulations associated with the Amendment 12. Any operational changes to fishery management measures as a result of Amendment 12 would be considered in future rulemakings, as appropriate.
