Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery

NMFS issues final specifications for the 2004 Atlantic deep- sea red crab (red crab) fishery. The target total allowable catch (TAC) and fleet days at sea (DAS) for fishing year (FY) 2004 are 5.928 million lb (2.69 million kg) and 780 fleet DAS, respectively. One qualified limited access vessel has opted out of the fishery for FY2004; therefore, the four remaining limited access vessels are each allocated 195 DAS. The intent of the specifications is to conserve and manage the red crab resource and provide for a sustainable fishery. In addition, this action corrects a citation in the regulations implementing the Red Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP).