Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery; Closure of the Eastern U.S./Canada Area and Prohibition of Harvesting, Possessing, or Landing of Yellowtail Flounder from the U.S./Canada Management Area

NMFS announces that the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator), has determined that 85 percent of the total allowable catch (TAC) of Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder allocated to be harvested from the Western and Eastern U.S./Canada Areas has been harvested by October 1, 2004. To prevent the GB yellowtail flounder TAC allocation from being exceeded, the Regional Administrator is closing the Eastern U.S./Canada Area to all limited access NE multispecies days-at-sea (DAS) vessels, unless participating in a future approved Special Access Program (SAP) for which the TAC allocation for the target stock for that SAP has not been fully harvested. In addition, the Regional Administrator is prohibiting all limited access NE multispecies DAS vessels from harvesting, possessing, or landing GB yellowtail flounder from within the entire U.S./Canada Management Area, effective October 1, 2004.