Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Highly Migratory Species; Withdrawal of Emergency Regulations Related to the Deepwater Horizon MC252 Oil Spill

NMFS terminates the emergency regulations promulgated in response to the Deepwater Horizon MC252 oil spill. The circumstances that created the need for emergency short-term fishing closures no longer exist. As of April 19, 2011, NMFS reopened all areas of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that were previously closed to all fishing because of the oil spill. NMFS has worked closely with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to assess whether seafood from the Gulf EEZ is tainted or contaminated to levels that pose a risk to human health. NMFS and FDA have determined that seafood from all previously closed areas of the Gulf EEZ due to the oil spill is safe for human consumption. Therefore, NMFS withdraws the emergency regulations that established a protocol for closing and reopening portions of the Gulf, South Atlantic, and Caribbean EEZ that were or could potentially be affected by the oil spill. The intent of this rule is to withdraw the now obsolete regulations from the codified text. While NMFS and FDA determined that seafood from areas previously closed due to the oil spill is safe for human consumption, NOAA and other natural resource trustees continue to study the impacts of the oil spill through the natural resource damage assessment process to identify the extent of injuries to natural resources and services, as well as the proposed restoration alternatives to compensate for such injuries.