Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States; Regulatory Amendment 15

NMFS implements management measures described in a regulatory amendment (Regulatory Amendment 15) to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule increases the commercial and recreational ACLs for yellowtail snapper, decreases the commercial ACL for gag, and revises the accountability measure (AM) for gag by removing the requirement that all other South Atlantic shallow-water grouper (SASWG) are prohibited from harvest when the gag commercial ACL is met or projected to be met. In addition, Regulatory Amendment 15 revises the optimum yield (OY) for yellowtail snapper and increases the recreational annual catch target (ACT) for yellowtail snapper harvested in or from the South Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This final rule also includes several administrative changes to regulatory text, which are unrelated to the measures contained in Regulatory Amendment 15. The purpose of Regulatory Amendment 15 and this final rule is to provide socio-economic benefits to snapper-grouper fishermen and communities that utilize the snapper-grouper resource, while maintaining fishing mortality at sustainable levels according to the best scientific information available.