Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; American Lobster Fishery; Fishery Management Plan (FMP) Amendments to Achieve Regulatory Consistency on Permit Related Provisions for Vessels Issued Limited Access Federal Fishery Permits

NMFS issues this final rule to implement measures contained in Amendment 11 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP; Amendment 7 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish FMP; Amendment 11 to the Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog FMP; Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP; Amendment 10 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP; and Amendment 7 to the American Lobster FMP. These amendments implement regulations to achieve regulatory consistency on vessel permitting for FMPs which have limited access permits issued by the Northeast Region of the NMFS. The regulations are intended to facilitate transactions such as buying, selling, replacing or upgrading commercial fishing vessels issued limited access permits. Consistency among these regulations is especially important for vessels which have limited access permits in more than one fishery in the Northeast Region.