Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic - Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States - Amendment 17a (Us National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Regulation) (Noaa) (2018 Edition)

Book excerpt: The Law Library presents the complete text of the Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic - Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States - Amendment 17A (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Regulation) (NOAA) (2018 Edition). Updated as of May 29, 2018 NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 17A to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule establishes an annual catch limit (ACL) of zero for red snapper, which means all harvest and possession of red snapper in or from the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is prohibited, and for a vessel with a Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper, harvest and possession of red snapper is prohibited in or from State or Federal waters. This rule also implements an area closure for South Atlantic snapper-grouper that extends from southern Georgia to northern Florida where harvest and possession of all snapper-grouper species is prohibited (except when fishing with black sea bass pots or spearfishing gear for species other than red snapper), and requires the use of non-stainless steel circle hooks when fishing for snapper-grouper species with hook and line gear north of 28° N. latitude in the South Atlantic EEZ. Additionally, Amendment 17A establishes a rebuilding plan for red snapper and requires a monitoring program as the accountability measure (AM) for red snapper. The intended effects of this rule are to end overfishing of South Atlantic red snapper and rebuild the stock. This ebook contains: - The complete text of the Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic - Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States - Amendment 17A (US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Regulation) (NOAA) (2018 Edition) - A dynamic table of content linking to each section - A table of contents in introduction presenting a general overview of the structure