NOAA Fisheries is implementing additional interim measures intended to reduce overfishing on species managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP), under the authority of section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). This interim final rule implements additional restrictions specified in the Settlement Agreement Among Certain Parties ("Settlement Agreement"), which was ordered to be implemented by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Court) in a Remedial Order issued on May 23, 2002. The additional measures include the following: A freeze on days-at-sea (DAS) at the highest annual level used from fishing years 1996-2000 (beginning May 1, 1996, through April 30, 2001) and a 20-percent cut from that level; a freeze on the issuance of new open access Hand-gear permits, and a decreased cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder possession limit for that category; increased gear restrictions for certain gear types, including gillnets, hook-gear and trawl nets; restrictions on yellowtail flounder catch; and mandated observer coverage levels for all gear sectors in the Northeast (NE) multispecies (groundfish) fishery. This interim final rule also continues many of the measures contained in an earlier interim final rule that was published on April 29, 2002, for this fishery. This action is necessary to bring the regulations governing the NE multispecies fishery into compliance with the Settlement Agreement and the Court's Remedial Order.