Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 36; Limited Entry Fixed Gear Follow-On Actions

NMFS issues these proposed regulations to implement amendment 36 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (Groundfish FMP). The proposed regulations include management measures that would apply to vessels registered to limited entry fixed gear (LEFG) endorsed permits and LEFG permit owners in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. Specifically, NMFS proposes to add flexibility to the LEFG permits' gear endorsements, remove the base permit designation of LEFG permits, remove the start and end times (i.e., hours of the day) for the open dates of the primary sablefish season, and develop a cost recovery program for the LEFG primary sablefish fishery. The purpose of this action is to provide increased flexibility to LEFG participants while reducing administrative burdens and to develop a cost recovery program to meet the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).