Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 13

NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 13 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico (Amendment 13), as prepared and submitted by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule establishes a 10-year moratorium on issuance of Federal Gulf shrimp vessel permits; requires owners of vessels fishing for or possessing royal red shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to have a royal red shrimp endorsement; requires owners or operators of all federally permitted Gulf shrimp vessels to report information on landings and vessel and gear characteristics; and requires vessels selected by NMFS to carry observers and/or install an electronic logbook provided by NMFS. In addition, Amendment 13 establishes biological reference points for penaeid shrimp and status determination criteria for royal red shrimp. The intended effects of this final rule are to provide essential fisheries data, including bycatch data, needed to improve management of the fishery and to control access to the fishery. Finally, NMFS informs the public of the approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this final rule and publishes the OMB control numbers for those collections.