NMFS issues this final rule to amend the regulations governing the Atlantic swordfish fishery to: establish the U.S. swordfish quota for the North Atlantic Ocean at 2,464 metric tons (mt) dressed weight (dw) for 1997, at 2,398.6 mt dw for 1998, and at 2,333.2 mt dw for 1999, with one half of each year's longline/harpoon subquota allocated to each of two semiannual fishing seasons (June 1 through November 30 and December 1 through May 31); define the South Atlantic swordfish stock and set a 188 mt dw quota for that stock for 1997, with one-half allocated to each of the two semiannual fishing seasons; and implement the same management measures for the South Atlantic swordfish stock as are currently in place for the North Atlantic stock.