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

Through this final rule, NMFS is implementing allowable catch levels, an overfishing limit, an allowable biological catch, and an annual catch limit for Pacific mackerel in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the West Coast (California, Oregon and Washington) for the fishing seasons 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, pursuant to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan. The harvest guideline and annual catch target for the 2019-2020 fishing season are 11,109 metric tons (mt) and 10,109 mt, respectively. The harvest guideline and annual catch target for the 2020-2021 fishing season are 7,950 mt and 6,950 mt, respectively. If the fishery attains the annual catch target in either fishing season, the directed fishery will close, reserving the 1,000-mt difference between the harvest guideline and annual catch target as a set-aside for incidental landings in other Coastal Pelagic Species fisheries and other sources of mortality. This rule is intended to conserve and manage the Pacific mackerel stock off the U.S. West Coast.