Receipt of Petition for Rulemaking for Atlantic Cod
We, NOAA Fisheries, announce receipt of a petition for rulemaking from the Conservation Law Foundation. This petition requests we prepare a Secretarial Amendment and take specific emergency action to end overfishing and rebuild Atlantic cod…
Published
08/18/2021
Framework Adjustment 61 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
This action approves and implements Framework Adjustment 61 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. This rule revises the status determination criteria for Georges Bank and Southern New England-Mid Atlantic winter flounder, implements a…
Effective
07/27/2021
Proposed Rebuilding Plan for the Southern Red Hake Fishery
This proposed rule would establish a 10-year rebuilding plan for the overfished southern red hake stock. The New England Fishery Management Council took additional time to develop this action given a pending research track assessment that could have…
Published
07/12/2021
Proposed Rule for 2021-2023 Small-Mesh Multispecies Specifications
This rule proposes specifications for the 2021 fishing year, and projects specifications for fishing years 2022 and 2023, as recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council. This action also proposes to increase whiting possession limits to 15…
Published
06/11/2021
Revisions to Framework Adjustment 59 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan and Sector Annual Catch Entitlements; Correction
This final rule distributes sector allocation carried over from fishing year 2019 into fishing year 2020 and corrects minor errors published in the final rule approving and implementing Framework Adjustment 59 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery…
Effective
03/25/2021
Fishing year 2020 Possession and Trip Limit Increases for the Northeast Multispecies (New England Groundfish) Common Pool Fishery
This action increases the possession and trip limits of Georges Bank cod, Gulf of Maine cod, Gulf of Maine haddock, Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic winter flounder, American plaice, and witch flounder for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for…
Effective
03/11/2021
Approved At-Sea Monitoring and Electronic Monitoring Providers for Groundfish Sectors
We have approved seven companies to provide Northeast multispecies sector at-sea and electronic monitoring services in fishing years 2021 and 2022. Regulations implementing the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan require at-sea and…
Published
02/04/2021
Increase in Sector Carryover of 2019 Annual Catch Entitlements and Carryover of Unused Leased-in Days-at-Sea by Common Pool Vessels
This temporary rule implements emergency measures under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to revise portions of the fishing year 2019 carryover provisions in the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan…
Effective
12/31/2020
Interim Final Rule; Fishing Year 2020 Recreational Management Measures for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery
This rule sets fishing year 2020 recreational management measures for Gulf of Maine *(GOM) cod and haddock. This action is necessary to respond to updated catch and other scientific information. The measures are intended to ensure the recreational…
Effective
08/13/2020
Framework Adjustment 59 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
This action approves and implements Framework Adjustment 59 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. This rule sets or adjusts catch limits for 19 of the 20 multispecies (groundfish) stocks and makes minor changes to groundfish management…
Effective
07/28/2020
Northeast Multispecies Measures for Fishing Year 2020
This action implements measures for the Northeast multispecies fishery for the 2020 fishing year. This action is necessary to ensure that the Northeast multispecies common pool fishery may achieve the optimum yield for the relevant stocks, while…
Effective
05/01/2020
Possession and Trip Limit Increases for the Northeast Multispecies (New England Groundfish) Common Pool Fishery
This action increases the possession and trip limits of Georges Bank cod, Gulf of Maine cod, Gulf of Maine haddock, Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine yellowtail flounder, American plaice, and witch flounder for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the…
Effective
03/23/2020
2019 Southern Red Hake Possession Limit Reduction
Effective at 1615 hours on February 3, 2020, the southern red hake commercial possession limit has been reduced from 5,000 lb to the incidental limit of 400 lb per trip. As of January 14, 2020, landings data shows that the fishery will reach the 90…
Effective
02/03/2020
Closure of the Regular B Days-at-Sea Program for the Remainder of Fishing Year 2019
This action closes the Regular B Days-at-Sea Program and prohibits the use of Regular B Days-at-Sea for all Northeast multispecies vessels for the remainder of fishing year 2019, through April 30, 2020. This action is being taken because the common pool…
Effective
12/16/2019
2019 Northern Red Hake Possession Limit Reduction
This action reduces the commercial per-trip possession limit for northern red hake for the remainder of the 2019 fishing year. Regulations governing the small-mesh multispecies fishery require this action because the northern red hake fishery is…
Effective
09/09/2019
Correction: Common Pool Gulf of Maine Winter Flounder Trip Limit
We are correcting a temporary rule that implemented measures for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the 2019 fishing year. These measures included possession and trip limits and the allocation of zero trips into the Closed Area II Yellowtail…
Effective
05/10/2019
Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Common Pool Measures for Fishing Year 2019
This action implements measures for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the 2019 fishing year. This action is necessary to ensure that the Northeast multispecies common pool fishery may achieve the optimum yield (OY) for the relevant stocks,…
Effective
05/01/2019
Northeast Multispecies Fishery: Witch Flounder Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area Closure for the Common Pool Fishery
This action closes the Witch Flounder Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area to Northeast multispecies common pool vessels fishing with trawl gear through April 30, 2019. The closure is required because the common pool fishery is projected to have caught…
Effective
04/12/2019
Adjustment of Georges Bank and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Yellowtail Flounder Annual Catch Limits
This action transfers unused quota of Georges Bank and Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder from the Atlantic scallop fishery to the Northeast multispecies fishery for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year. This quota transfer is…
Effective
03/21/2019
Gulf of Maine Cod and Witch Flounder Trip Limit Increases for the Common Pool Fishery
This action increases the possession and trip limits of Gulf of Maine cod and witch flounder for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the remainder of the 2019 fishing year, in order to provide the common pool fishery greater opportunity to…
Effective
03/13/2019
Small-Mesh Multispecies Fishery: Inseason Adjustment to the Northern Red Hake Possession Limit
This action reduces that the commercial per-trip possession limit for northern red hake for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year. Regulations governing the small-mesh multispecies fishery require this action because the northern red hake fishery is…
Effective
02/27/2019
Northeast Multispecies Fishery Approved Monitoring Service Providers
NOAA Fisheries has approved four companies to provide Northeast multispecies sector at-sea monitoring services in fishing years 2019 and 2020. Regulations implementing the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan require at-sea monitoring…
Published
02/01/2019
Small-Mesh Multispecies Fishery: Inseason Adjustment to the Southern Red Hake Possession Limit
NOAA Fisheries announces that the commercial per-trip possession limit for southern red hake has been reduced for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year. Regulations governing the small-mesh multispecies fishery require this action to prevent the…
Effective
12/26/2018
Georges Bank Cod Trip Limit Adjustment for the Common Pool Fishery
This action adjusts the possession and trip limits of Georges Bank cod for Northeast multispecies common pool vessels for the remainder of the 2018 fishing year, in order to ensure that the common pool fishery is able to harvest, but not exceed, its…
Effective
11/29/2018
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; 2018-2020 Small-Mesh Multispecies Specifications
NMFS proposes small-mesh multispecies specifications for fishing years 2018-2020 and corrects a regulatory error from a previous rulemaking action. The specifications are intended to establish allowable catch limits for each stock within the fishery to…
Effective
04/27/2018
Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan: Control Date for Northeast Multispecies Charter/Party Fishery
This notice announces a new control date that may be used to determine future participation in the Northeast multispecies charter/party fishery. This notice is necessary to inform interested parties that the New England Fishery Management Council is…
Comments Close
04/18/2018
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery;
This action proposes approval of, and regulations to implement, Framework Adjustment 57 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. This rule would set 2018-2020 catch limits for 20 multispecies (groundfish) stocks, adjust allocations for…
Comments Close
04/06/2018
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Fishing Year 2018 Recreational Management Measures
NMFS proposes to set 2018 recreational management measures for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock and Georges Bank cod. This action is necessary to respond to updated catch and other scientific information. The proposed measures are intended to ensure the…
Comments Close
04/06/2018
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Adjustment of Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Yellowtail Flounder Catch
This action transfers unused quota of Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder from the Atlantic sea scallop fishery to the Northeast multispecies fishery for the remainder of the 2017 fishing year. This transfer implements an inseason…
Effective
03/21/2018
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Groundfish Fishery;
This rule extends the emergency action to remove the 2017 southern windowpane flounder accountability measures (AM) for non-groundfish trawl vessels. The rule is necessary because the emergency measures would otherwise expire before the end of the 2017…
Effective
03/01/2018
New England Fisheries Current Rulemaking
We are in the process of migrating the Greater Atlantic Fisheries Rules and Regulations to this website. During the transition, please visit our Federal Register Actions page to find our current regulations.
12/31/2017