Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region; Framework Action

NMFS issues this final rule to implement management measures described in a framework action to the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region (FMP) (Framework Action), as prepared by the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils (Councils). This final rule allows transfer of Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel caught in excess of the trip limit with gillnet gear from one vessel with a Federal Spanish mackerel commercial permit to another vessel with a Federal Spanish mackerel commercial permit that has not yet harvested the trip limit; allows the receiving vessel involved in a Spanish mackerel transfer-at-sea to have three gillnets onboard instead of two; and modifies the commercial trip limits for king mackerel in the Florida east coast subzone. This rule also implements an administrative change to correct an inadvertent error in a prior rulemaking unrelated to this Framework Action. The purpose of this final rule is to modify the restrictions on transfer-at-sea and gillnet allowances for Atlantic migratory group Spanish mackerel to minimize dead discards of Spanish mackerel and modify the king mackerel trip limit in the Florida east coast subzone to optimize utilization of the resource.