Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Groundfish Fishery Management Measures; Corrections

NMFS announces changes to the closed areas affecting the limited entry fixed gear fleet, the open access non-trawl gear fleet and the recreational fishery in southern California. For the limited entry fixed gear and open access non-trawl gear fleets, south of 34[deg]27' N. lat. to the U.S./Mexico border, the eastern, inshore boundary of the non-trawl rockfish conservation area (non-trawl RCA), an area closed to fishing by those fisheries, will be a boundary line approximating the 30-fm (55-m) depth contour, except in the Cowcod Conservation Areas (CCA) where the inshore boundary will remain at 20- fm (37-m) [Note: The CCA is a distinct closed area separate from the non-trawl RCA]. The western, seaward boundary of the non-trawl RCA will remain at a line approximating 150-fm (274-m). For the recreational fishery, south of 34[deg]27' N. lat. to the U.S./Mexico border, the seaward boundary of the open area will be marked by a boundary line approximating the 30-fm (55 m) depth contour, except in the CCA where the boundary will remain at 20-fm (37-m). [Note: The CCA is a distinct closed area separate from the non-trawl RCA.] These actions, which are authorized by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), will allow fishermen access to more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks. NMFS also announces several corrections to the existing RCA boundaries.