Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Amendment 36; Limited Entry Fixed Gear Follow-On Actions

Document 2026-07537 is a Proposed Rule published by the Department of Commerce in the Federal Register on April 17, 2026. NMFS issues these proposed regulations to implement amendment 36 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (Groundfish FMP). The proposed regulations include management measures that would apply to vessels registered to limited entry fixed gear (LEFG) endorsed permits and LEFG permit owners in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. Specifically, NMFS proposes to add flexibility to the LEFG permits' gear endorsements, remove the base permit designation of LEFG permits, remove the start and end times (i.e., hours of the day) for the open dates of the primary sablefish season, and develop a cost recovery program for the LEFG primary sablefish fishery. The purpose of this action is to provide increased flexibility to LEFG participants while reducing administrative burdens and to develop a cost recovery program to meet the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). View the original at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/17/2026-07537/magnuson-stevens-act-provisions-fisheries-off-west-coast-states-pacific-coast-groundfish-fishery.

No. Document 2026-07537 is not classified as economically significant under Executive Order 12866. Economically significant rules require OIRA review and are estimated to have impacts of $100 million or more per year.