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On January 18, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted summary judgment to the conservation group Oceana, in litigation over management of Northern Anchovy off the West Coast under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Oceana, Inc. v. Ross). Specifically, the court vacated all currently existing management reference points (i.e., Annual Catch Limit, Overfishing Limit, Acceptable Biological Catch) for the central subpopulation of Northern Anchovy (CSNA). This was followed by a separate court order requiring NMFS to establish a new Overfishing Limit (OFL), Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC), and Annual Catch Limit (ACL) no later than April 18, 2019. This action is the result of these court orders and would establish a new OFL, ABC, and ACL for the CSNA. NMFS originally intended to issue a final rule without advance public notice and comment to ensure a rule was in place before the court-ordered deadline. The Court rejected this plan and ordered NMFS to publish a proposed rule with opportunity for public comment followed by a final rule.