Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2017-18 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Amendment 27; Correction

This action corrects the 2017-18 harvest specifications and management measures final rule that published on February 7, 2017. That rule established 2017-18 harvest specifications and management measures for groundfish taken in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California, consistent with the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (PCGFMP), including harvest specifications consistent with default harvest control rules in the PCGFMP. That action also included regulations to implement Amendment 27 to the PCGFMP, which added deacon rockfish to the PCGFMP, reclassified big skate as an actively managed stock, added a new inseason management process for commercial and recreational groundfish fisheries in waters off California, and made several clarifications to existing regulations. This action fixes errors in 2017-18 harvest specifications and management measures final rule by correcting the definition of ecosystem component species to remove big skates, making three corrections related to the recreational groundfish retention regulations in effect in waters off California, making a correction to the groundfish retention regulations in the limited entry fixed gear and in the open access fisheries, and correcting the unit of weight used to set the sablefish cumulative limit for Tier 2 of the limited entry fixed gear sablefish fishery.