Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Commercial Shark Management Measures

This final rule adjusts the regional quotas and establishes new trimester season quotas for large coastal sharks (LCS) and small coastal sharks (SCS) based on updated landings information. This final rule includes a framework mechanism for the annual adjustment of quotas, a method of accounting for over- or underharvests in the transition from semi-annual to trimester seasons, and a new process for notifying participants of season opening and closing dates and quotas. This final rule also announces the opening and closing dates for the LCS fishery based on adjustments to the regional and trimester quotas. This action is necessary to ensure that the landings quotas in the Atlantic commercial shark fishery represent the latest landings data and accurately reflect historic and current fishing effort.