Amendment 15 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic HMS FMP

NMFS is developing a proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for Amendment 15 to the 2006 Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) pursuant to the rulemaking authority under the Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and Management Act (MSA) Section 304(g). The Amendment considers changes on two different but related topics. First, the Amendment considers ways to collect data inside areas that are currently closed to commercial pelagic longline or bottom longline fishing. These closed areas have been in place since the early 2000s, and the prohibition on fishing during all or part of the year has led to a commensurate decrease in fishery-dependent data. These data are needed to fully assess the effectiveness of the existing closed areas in meeting conservation and management goals, including preventing overfishing, reducing bycatch, protecting species listed under the Endangered Species Act and protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and maximizing U.S. fishermen’s access to fishery resources. In the Amendment, NMFS considers ways to modify the spatial and temporal aspects of four closed areas (Mid-Atlantic shark bottom longline, Charleston Bump pelagic longline, East Florida Coast pelagic longline, and DeSoto Canyon pelagic longline closed areas) to allow data collection in certain areas and times where and when risk of bycatch interactions are minimized. Second, Amendment 15 would also include cost allocation alternatives for the HMS Electronic Monitoring (EM) Program for the pelagic longline fishery. NMFS historically has paid all the costs of this EM program. In light of NMFS Policy 04-115-02 (Cost Allocation in EM Programs for Federally Managed U.S. Fisheries), Amendment 15 would consider alternatives to transition “sampling costs” (as defined in Policy 04-115-02) to industry, while the agency remains responsible for administrative costs.