Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications

NMFS issues this final rule to implement the annual catch limit (ACL), harvest guideline (HG), annual catch target (ACT) and associated annual reference points for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Pacific coast for the fishing year season of July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012. NMFS establishes the ACL, HG, and ACT under the regulations implementing the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Pacific mackerel off the Pacific coast. The ACL (or maximum HG) for the 2011- 2012 Pacific mackerel fishing year is 40,514 metric tons (mt). The ACT, which will be the directed fishery harvest target, is 30,386 mt. If the fishery attains the ACT, the directed fishery will close, reserving the difference between the ACL and ACT (which is 10,128 mt) as a set-aside for incidental landings in other CPS fisheries. This final rule is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific mackerel stock off the U.S. West Coast.