Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Fisheries; Regulatory Amendment to Reconcile State and Federal Commercial Fishing Vessel Permit Programs

NMFS is implementing regulations to modify the permitting and vessel replacement provisions for Federal limited access permit programs of the Northeastern United States, excluding American lobster. This action is intended to prevent fishing effort beyond what is accounted for in the fishery management plans (FMPs) for each fishery and to reinforce efforts undertaken by state fishery management agencies at targeting regulations specifically for vessels that participate wholly in state water fisheries. These measures are necessary to meet the conservation and management requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson- Stevens Act).