View Rule

In response to the joint recommendation from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission this rule would propose management measures such as recreational possession limits, minimum fish sizes, and seasonal closures to achieve the 2023 recreational harvest targets for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass.  For summer flounder, and black sea bass the Regional Administrator must implement coastwide measures or approve conservation equivalent measures per 50 CFR 648.102(d) as soon as possible following the Council and Commission’s recommendation.  This action proposes establishing conservation equivalency (i.e., waiving Federal measures in lieu of appropriate state water measures) for the recreational summer flounder and black sea bass fisheries in 2023 and proposes non-preferred coastwide measures to be effective in Federal waters if, ultimately, we are unable to approve conservation equivalency.  This action also proposes minor changes recreational management measures for the Federal scup fishery.