Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Western Pacific Bottomfish Fishery; Amendment 5

NMFS issues a final rule to implement Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bottomfish and Seamount Groundfish Fisheries of the Western Pacific Region (FMP). This rule implements a permanent limited access program for the Mau Zone bottomfish fishery in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). The intent of this action is to conserve and support the long-term productivity of the bottomfish stocks by preventing the potential for excessive harvest capacity and to improve the low economic returns in the fishery.