Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Golden Crab Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 3

NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 3 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Golden Crab Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). This rule extends through December 31, 2002, the allowed use of cable for a mainline attached to golden crab traps; clarifies the size of the required escape panel or door on a golden crab trap; removes the historical catch requirement for renewing a commercial vessel permit for golden crab; allows the issuance of a commercial vessel permit for golden crab for the southern zone for a vessel that held a valid permit for the southern zone in October 2000 but did not meet the 5,000-lb (2,268-kg) requirement for renewal in the following year; allows a vessel with a documented length overall greater than 65 ft (19.8 m) that is permitted to fish in the southern zone to fish also in the northern zone; allows two new commercial vessel permits to be issued for the northern zone; provides that a commercial vessel permit will not be renewed if the Regional Administrator (RA) does not receive an application for renewal by June 30 each year; liberalizes the allowed increase in the size of a permitted vessel; creates a small-vessel sub-zone in the southern zone in which only permitted vessels 65 feet (19.8 m) or less in length may fish for golden crab but may not do so in the remainder of the southern zone; and adds measures related to the proposed sub-zone to the list of management measures that may be modified via the FMP's framework procedure for regulatory adjustments. The intended effect is to protect the golden crab resource while allowing development of the fishery that is dependent on that resource.