Rule2025-17988
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery; 2025 Commercial Atlantic Mackerel Fishery Closure
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 17, 2025
Effective
September 16, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS is closing the commercial Atlantic mackerel fishery through December 31, 2025. This closure is required by regulation because NMFS projects that 80 percent of the mackerel domestic annual harvest has been harvested. This action is necessary to comply with the regulations implementing the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan and is intended to prevent overharvest of Atlantic mackerel.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 178 (Wednesday, September 17, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 178 (Wednesday, September 17, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 44784-44785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17988]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 240405-0100; RTID 0648-XF181]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Mackerel, Squid, and
Butterfish Fishery; 2025 Commercial Atlantic Mackerel Fishery Closure
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; reduction of possession limit.
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SUMMARY: NMFS is closing the commercial Atlantic mackerel fishery
through December 31, 2025. This closure is required by regulation
because NMFS projects that 80 percent of the mackerel domestic annual
harvest has been harvested. This action is necessary to comply with the
regulations implementing the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery
Management Plan and is intended to prevent overharvest of Atlantic
mackerel.
DATES: Effective 0001 hours (hr) local time, September 16, 2025,
through 2400 hr local time on December 31, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria Fenton, Fishery Policy Analyst,
978-281-9196.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The procedures for setting initial annual
specifications for the species managed under the Mackerel, Squid, and
Butterfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) are described at 50 CFR part
648.22. The regulations at Sec. 648.22(a)(3) require annual catch
limits, commercial annual catch targets (including research set-aside,
domestic annual harvest (DAH), Tier 3 landings caps, and domestic
annual processing), joint venture processing, total allowable levels of
foreign fishing, and recreational annual catch targets (including
research set-aside) to be specified for the Atlantic mackerel fishery
for a period of up to 3 years.
The Regional Administrator monitors mackerel fishery catch based on
dealer reports and other available information. When the Regional
Administrator projects that 80 percent of the DAH is harvested, the
regulations at Sec. 648.24(b)(1)(i) require NMFS to close the
commercial mackerel fishery in Federal waters for the remainder of the
fishing year. During November and December, NMFS has the discretion to
not close the commercial mackerel fishery if there is a determination
that landings projected for the remainder of the fishing year will not
exceed the DAH. The regulations at Sec. 648.26(a)(2)(i) state that
while such a closure is in effect, vessels issued a Tier 1, 2, or 3
limited access mackerel permit are prohibited from taking and
retaining, possessing, or landing more than 10,000 lb (4.54 mt) of
mackerel per trip at any time, and from landing mackerel more than once
per calendar day. Additionally, the regulations at Sec.
648.26(a)(2)(ii) state that while such a closure is in effect, vessels
issued an open access mackerel permit are prohibited from taking and
retaining, possessing, or landing more than 2,500 lb (1.13 mt) of
mackerel per trip at any time, and from landing mackerel more than once
per calendar day. The regulations at Sec. 648.24(d) require that upon
determining that a closure is necessary, NMFS must: Notify the
Executive Directors of the relevant Fishery Management Councils; notify
permit holders at least 72 hrs before the effective date of the
closure; provide adequate notice of the closure to recreational
participants in the fishery; and publish notification of the closure in
the Federal Register.
Based on dealer reports and other available information, the
Regional Administrator projects that 80 percent of the mackerel DAH has
been harvested as of September 4, 2025. The projected landings for the
remainder of the fishing year 2025 are expected to exceed the DAH
without reductions to trip limits. Therefore, effective 0001 hr local
time on September 16, 2025, limited access mackerel vessels may not
take and retain, possess, or land more than 10,000 lb (4.54 mt) of
mackerel per trip at any time, and may only land mackerel once per
calendar day, through 2400 hr local time on December 31, 2025. Limited
access mackerel vessels that enter port before 0001 hr local time on
September 16, 2025, may land and sell more than 10,000 lb (4.54 mt) of
mackerel from that trip, consistent with possession restrictions at
Sec. 648.26(a)(1)(i). Additionally, effective 0001 hr local time on
September 16, 2025, open access mackerel vessels may not take and
retain, possess, or land more than 2,500 lb (1.13 mt) of mackerel per
trip at any time, and may only land mackerel once per calendar day,
through 2400 hr local time on December 31, 2025. Open access mackerel
vessels that enter port before 0001 hr local time on September 16,
2025, may land and sell more than 2,500 lb (1.13 mt) of mackerel from
that trip, consistent with possession restrictions at 648.26(a)(1)(ii).
Also, effective 0001 hr local time on September 16, 2025, through
2400 hr local time on December 31, 2025, federally permitted dealers
may not purchase more than 10,000 lb (4.54 mt) of mackerel from a
limited access mackerel vessel unless the vessel enters port before
0001 hr local time on September 16, 2025. Federally permitted dealers
may not purchase more than 2,500 lb (1.13 mt) of mackerel from an open
access mackerel vessel unless the vessel enters port before 0001 hr
local time on September 16, 2025. The possession limits for the
mackerel fishery will reset to the amounts outlined at Sec. Sec.
648.26(a)(1)(i) and (ii) on January 1, 2026.
Regulations at Sec. 648.22(d)(1) state that if annual mackerel
specifications are not published in the Federal Register prior to the
start of the fishing year, the previous year's annual specifications
(excluding specifications of total allowable level of foreign fishing)
will remain in effect. The previous year's specifications will be
superseded as of the effective date of the final rule implementing the
current year's annual specifications. On May 13, 2025, NMFS proposed
reaffirming projected 2025 mackerel specifications which, if they
become final, would remain unchanged from 2024 (90 FR 20265). The
mackerel fishery has been operating under 2024 specifications since the
start of the fishing year on January 1, 2025. Because the projected
2025 DAH is identical to the 2024 DAH, this commercial fishery closure
would remain in effect if and when the 2025 specifications are
finalized because the closure trigger (i.e., 80 percent of the DAH
harvested)
[[Page 44785]]
would still be met. The possession limits for the mackerel fishery will
reset to the amounts outlined at Sec. Sec. 648.26(a)(1)(i) and (ii) on
January 1, 2026.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
NMFS finds good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior
notice and the opportunity for public comment because it would be
contrary to the public interest and impracticable. The 2025 mackerel
fishing year began in January 1, 2025. Data and other information
indicating that 80 percent of the mackerel DAH has been harvested have
only recently become available. Landings data are updated on a weekly
basis, and NMFS monitors catch data on a daily basis as catch increases
toward the limit. Further, high-volume catch and landings in this
fishery increase total catch relative to the DAH quickly. Atlantic
mackerel is currently being managed under a rebuilding plan, and
exceeding the DAH may harm the stock's rebuilding progress. The
regulations at Sec. 648.24(b)(1)(i) require NMFS to implement this
action to ensure that mackerel vessels do not exceed the DAH. If
implementation of this action is delayed to solicit prior public
comment, the mackerel DAH may be exceeded, thereby undermining the
conservation objectives of the FMP. Furthermore, the public had prior
notice and full opportunity to comment on this process when these
provisions were put in place. Based on these considerations, NMFS
further finds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good cause to waive the
30-day delayed effectiveness period for the reasons stated above.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 15, 2025.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-17988 Filed 9-15-25; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 17, 2025.
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