Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 27

NMFS issues final regulations to implement Framework Adjustment 27 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Framework Adjustment 27 is necessary to address overfishing of several stocks, in particular Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod, and to achieve the rebuilding goals of the FMP for the 1999 multispecies fishing year. This final rule implements management measures that establish GOM Rolling Closures of greater size and duration than the current GOM Inshore Closure Areas, reconfigure and increase the duration of the Cashes Ledge Closure Area, reduce the GOM cod landing limit to 200 lb/day-at-sea (DAS) (90.7 kg/DAS), modify the haddock landing limit, increase the minimum square-mesh size to 6.5 inches (16.51 cm) for the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank and Southern New England (SNE) Regulated Mesh Areas, and clarifies the method of calculating the weight of fish parts and fillets, for purposes of possession limits. Framework 27 also includes mechanisms that allow the Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional Administrator) to reduce the GOM cod landing limit to between 5 and 100 lb/DAS (2.3 and 45.3 kg/DAS) when 30 percent of the FMAX GOM cod target TAC (402 mt) is harvested, depending upon the risk of exceeding the target TAC, and allows the Regional Administrator to either increase or decrease the haddock trip limit based upon the percentage of TAC which is projected to be harvested.