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Final Environmental Impact Statement
Modifications to Pelagic Longline Bluefin Tuna Area-Based and Weak Hook Management Measures
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The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for a rule that would modify bluefin tuna bycatch management measures in the pelagic longline fishery is now available. The document presents our analysis of whether current regulations are still necessary to achieve conservation and management objectives for the pelagic longline fishery related to limiting incidental catch of bluefin tuna during directed fishing for other species.
Who is affected?
The measures analyzed in the FEIS could affect any U.S. pelagic longline commercial fishermen who fish in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.
Why is it needed?
We began this evaluation because:
- Of a shift in our approach beginning in 2015 to manage and limit the bluefin tuna incidental catch in the pelagic longline fishery that focuses on individual vessel accountability.
- Of continued underharvest of quotas in pelagic longline target fisheries, particularly swordfish.
- Of requests from the public and the Advisory Panel to remove regulations that are perceived by some constituent groups to be unnecessarily burdensome and restrictive if they were no longer needed to achieve conservation objectives in light of the success of measures like the Individual Bluefin Quota Program.
- NOAA Fisheries stated in Amendment 7 of the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan that we would conduct a three-year evaluation of two gear restricted areas: the Cape Hatteras Gear Restricted Area and the Spring Gulf of Mexico Gear Restricted Area.
What will it do?
The preferred alternatives presented in the FEIS are summarized below.
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Topic
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Preferred Alternative
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| Northeastern United States Closed Area |
Alternative A4
Undertake a review process to evaluate the continued need for the Northeastern United States Pelagic Longline Closure. Includes a provision to ensure that the threshold for closure of the area effectively remains the same (percentage-wise) in the event that the U.S. allocation of bluefin tuna is reduced at a future International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas meeting. |
| Cape Hatteras Gear Restricted Area |
Alternative B2
Elimination of the Cape Hatteras Gear Restricted Area.
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| Gulf of Mexico Gear Restricted Area |
Alternative C3
Undertake a review process to evaluate the continued need for the Spring Gulf of Mexico Gear Restricted Area. Includes a provision to ensure that the threshold for closure of the area effectively remains the same (percentage-wise) in the event that the U.S. allocation of bluefin tuna is reduced at a future International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas meeting.
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| Weak hooks |
Alternative D2
Seasonal requirement for weak hooks. |
The full range of considered alternatives can be found in the FEIS by clicking on the link below.
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Fishery Bulletins and Notices
Visit NOAA Fisheries' Rules & Regulations directory to learn more about recent federal management actions affecting Atlantic highly migratory species.
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Questions?
Contact Craig Cockrell at 301-427-8503 or Jennifer Cudney at 727-824-5399.
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