Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 9; OMB Control Numbers

NMFS issues this final rule to implement the approved measures in Amendment 9 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). This final rule increases the minimum size for red porgy, black sea bass, gag, and black grouper for all participants in the fishery; increases the minimum size for vermilion snapper for a person subject to the bag limit; establishes bag limits for red porgy and black sea bass; during March and April, prohibits harvest and possession in excess of the bag limit and prohibits purchase and sale of red porgy, gag grouper, and black grouper; for greater amberjack, reduces the bag limit, establishes a commercial quota, prohibits sale of greater amberjack caught under the bag limit when the commercial fishery is closed, prohibits harvest and possession in excess of the bag limit during April, changes the beginning of the fishing year to May 1, and prohibits coring (i.e., removing the head from the carcass); restricts possession of gag and black grouper within the aggregate grouper bag limit; establishes an aggregate bag limit for all snapper-grouper species currently not under a bag limit (excluding tomtate and blue runner); requires escape vents and escape panels with degradable hinges and fasteners in black sea bass pots; and specifies that a vessel with longline gear on board may only possess certain deep-water species of snapper-grouper (i.e., snowy grouper, warsaw grouper, yellowedge grouper, misty grouper, golden tilefish, blueline tilefish, and sand tilefish.) Finally, NMFS informs the public of the approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this rule, publishes the OMB control number for these collections, and corrects the list of control numbers applicable to title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The intended effect of this rule is to reduce overfishing and to conserve and manage these snapper-grouper species.