Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Trawl Rationalization Program; Program Improvement and Enhancement; Amendment 21-1

This action implements revisions to the Pacific coast groundfish trawl rationalization program (program), a catch share program, and includes regulations that affect all commercial sectors (limited entry trawl, limited entry fixed gear, and open access) managed under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This action includes regulatory amendments to further implement Amendments 20 and 21 to the FMP and an FMP amendment to further revise Amendment 21 (called Amendment 21-1). This action includes, but is not limited to: Revisions to the Pacific halibut trawl bycatch mortality limit; clarification that Amendment 21 supersedes limited entry/open access allocations for certain groundfish species; revisions to the observer coverage requirement while a vessel is in port and before the offload is complete; revisions to the electronic fish ticket reporting requirements; revisions to the first receiver site license requirement; further clarification on moving between limited entry and open access fisheries; a process for end-of-the-year vessel account reconciliation; and an exemption from processing at sea for qualified participants in the Shorebased Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program.