Proposed Rule2026-00498
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 25 (Revised) to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan; Atlantic Cod Stocks in Need of Conservation and Management
Primary source
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Published
January 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council (Council) has transmitted Amendment 25 (Revised) to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, Amendment 25 would revise the stocks of Atlantic cod managed in the FMP and include measures in the FMP necessary to manage four stocks of Atlantic cod in U.S. waters. The Council has deemed this action necessary to incorporate the best scientific information available from the most recent Research Track Assessment of Atlantic Cod and establish associated management measures under the FMP. This notice is intended to alert the public to this action and provide an opportunity for comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 13, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1257-1259]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00498]
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Proposed Rules
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 8 / Tuesday, January 13, 2026 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 1257]]
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
RIN 0648-BO26
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 25
(Revised) to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan;
Atlantic Cod Stocks in Need of Conservation and Management
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment;
request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council
(Council) has transmitted Amendment 25 (Revised) to the Northeast
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to the Secretary of Commerce
for review. If approved, Amendment 25 would revise the stocks of
Atlantic cod managed in the FMP and include measures in the FMP
necessary to manage four stocks of Atlantic cod in U.S. waters. The
Council has deemed this action necessary to incorporate the best
scientific information available from the most recent Research Track
Assessment of Atlantic Cod and establish associated management measures
under the FMP. This notice is intended to alert the public to this
action and provide an opportunity for comment.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 25 must be received on or before March 16,
2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2025-1230, by the following method:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and enter NOAA-NMFS-2025-1230 in the Search box.
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
Electronic copies of Amendment 25 may be obtained from <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and the New England Fishery Management Council
website at https://www. <a href="https://www.nefmc.org/library/northeast-multispecies-groundfish-amendment-25">https://www.nefmc.org/library/northeast-multispecies-groundfish-amendment-25</a>. Electronic copies of the 2023
Research Track Assessment of Atlantic Cod may be obtained from <a href="https://apps-nefsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/saw/sasi.php">https://apps-nefsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/saw/sasi.php</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Nelson, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-281-9334, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#dbb3bebaafb3bea9f5b5beb7a8b4b59bb5b4babaf5bcb4ad"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="85ede0e4f1ede0f7abebe0e9f6eaebc5ebeae4e4abe2eaf3">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council manages the groundfish fishery
under the Northeast Multispecies FMP. Since its creation in 1985, the
FMP has been based on scientific information indicating that Atlantic
cod consist of two biological stock units: Gulf of Maine cod and
Georges Bank cod. Recent scientific information indicating that
Atlantic cod is more appropriately considered to consist of four
biological stocks was explored in the 2023 Research Track Assessment of
Atlantic Cod (See ADDRESSES). A peer review of the research track stock
assessment approved the outcomes of the assessment, including a four-
stock structure for Atlantic cod determination. A copy of the Summary
Report of the Atlantic Cod Research Track Stock Assessment Peer Review
is available at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3//2023-08/PanelSummaryReportoftheAtlanticCodRTPeerReviewAugust172023-mlt-508-8-23-23ajd-508gw.pdf">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/s3//2023-08/PanelSummaryReportoftheAtlanticCodRTPeerReviewAugust172023-mlt-508-8-23-23ajd-508gw.pdf</a>.
In April of 2024, the Council began development of Amendment 25 to
revise the FMP to reflect four stocks of Atlantic cod defined in the
2023 Research Track Assessment of Atlantic Cod. The Council also
initiated an action at that time, Framework Adjustment 69 to the FMP
(Framework 69), to address implementing measures for those four stocks
that would be necessary to prevent overfishing and ensure
accountability as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including
maximum sustainable yield, optimum yield, status determination
criteria, and accountability measures. The Council developed Framework
69 in connection with, and dependent on, Amendment 25. After the
transmittal of Amendment 25 from the Council, NMFS published a Notice
of Availability on March 5, 2025, in the Federal Register (90 FR
11246), with a comment period that closed on May 5, 2025. On May 15,
2025, NMFS disapproved Amendment 25. NMFS disapproved Amendment 25 for
several reasons, including that the procedural approach to using
Framework 69 as a companion trailing action to Amendment 25 did not
fully address the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. On May 19,
2025, the Regional Administrator sent a letter notifying the Council of
the disapproval and the reasons for disapproval of Amendment 25. As
required by section 304(a)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the letter
provided recommendations for actions that could be taken by the Council
to resolve the issues that led to the disapproval. Specifically, NMFS
explained that the Council could revise Amendment 25 or develop a new
amendment for Secretarial review after addressing the relevant legal
requirements. The letter also described the extent and nature of the
public comments, which, among other things, expressed a need for
further supporting analysis regarding the allocation of four cod
stocks.
The Council has subsequently revised Amendment 25 to incorporate
management measures that were previously separated into Framework 69
and address the reasons for disapproval. At its September 2025 meeting,
the Council voted to adopt and resubmit the revised Amendment 25 to
NMFS for review and approval. To support the
[[Page 1258]]
Council's decision-making and to provide a transparent analysis of the
potential allocation impacts of four cod stocks, the Council developed
Appendix III and included it in the revised Amendment 25 document.
After reviewing the National Standard guidelines implementing the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and NMFS's recommendations in its May 15, 2025,
letter, the Council recommended in the revised Amendment 25 that the
four new Atlantic cod stocks in the FMP be:
<bullet> A new stock unit of Eastern Gulf of Maine (EGOM) cod;
<bullet> A new stock unit of Western Gulf of Maine (WGOM) cod;
<bullet> A revised stock unit of Georges Bank (GB) cod; and
<bullet> A new stock unit of Southern New England (SNE) cod.
The overall geographic area managed under Amendment 25 would remain
unchanged and would continue to encompass all Atlantic cod in U.S.
waters (see table 1 and figure 1).
Table 1--Statistical Reporting Areas (SRA) Comprising the Stock Areas
for the Four New Atlantic Cod Stock Units as Determined by the 2023
Atlantic Cod Research Track Assessment
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Stock SRAs
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EGOM cod.......................... 465, 467, 511, 512.
WGOM cod.......................... 513, 514, 515, 521, 526, 541.
GB cod............................ 464, 522, 525, 542, 543, 551, 552,
561, 562.
SNE cod........................... 533, 534, 537, 538, 539, 611, 612,
613, 614, 615, 616, 621, 622, 623,
624, 625, 626, 627, 628, 629, 631,
632, 633, 634, 635, 636, 637, 638,
639.
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[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TP13JA26.012
Figure 1--Stock Areas for the Four New Atlantic Cod Stock Units and the
Current Two Atlantic Cod Stock Units
The Council also recommended status determination criteria,
reference points, and implementing regulations for four stocks of
Atlantic cod intended to achieve optimum yield, prevent overfishing,
and ensure accountability. These are:
<bullet> Regulatory definitions for the stock areas for each of the
four cod stocks;
<bullet> Status Determination Criteria for the four cod stocks;
<bullet> Specifications for the four cod stocks for fishing year
2026;
<bullet> An apportionment method for setting the WGOM cod
commercial sub-annual catch limit;
<bullet> Management uncertainty buffers for the four cod stocks;
<bullet> Recreational sub-annual catch limits for WGOM and SNE cod;
<bullet> Common pool trimester total allowable catch (TAC)
distributions, TAC closure areas, and baseline common pool trip limits
for the four cod stocks;
<bullet> Recreational measures for SNE cod; and
<bullet> A regulatory process for the Regional Administrator to set
recreational measures for GB and EGOM cod for fishing year 2026.
The FMP specifies the management measures for 13 groundfish species
(cod, haddock, yellowtail flounder, pollock, plaice, witch flounder,
white hake, windowpane flounder, Atlantic halibut, winter flounder,
redfish, ocean pout, and Atlantic wolffish) off the New England and
Mid-Atlantic coasts. Some of these species (cod, haddock, yellowtail
flounder, winter flounder, and windowpane flounder) are further sub-
divided into individual stocks that are attributed to different
geographic areas.
Section 301 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)
requires any FMP or amendment to be consistent with 10 National
Standards. In developing Amendment 25, the Council considered the
National Standard guidelines, including the guidance for adding or
removing a stock from an FMP (see ADDRESSES). The National Standard
guidelines at 50 CFR 600.305(c)(7) state that councils should
periodically review FMPs and the best scientific information available
(Sec. 600.315(a)) to determine if the stocks are appropriately
defined. The guidelines at Sec. 600.305(c) state that any stock that
is predominately caught in Federal waters and is overfished or subject
to overfishing, or likely to become overfished or subject to
overfishing, is considered to require
[[Page 1259]]
conservation and management. In the same paragraph, the guidelines also
include a non-exhaustive list of factors that a council should consider
when deciding whether stocks require conservation and management. In
Amendment 25, the Council included an analysis of those factors as the
basis for determining that four cod stocks, as defined by the 2023
Research Track Assessment of Atlantic Cod, each require conservation
and management.
NMFS welcomes comments on the proposed FMP amendment through the
end of the 60-day comment period. For public comments to be considered
in the approval or disapproval decision on Amendment 25, those comments
must be received by the last day of the comment period on Amendment 25.
All comments received by the end of the Amendment 25 comment period
will be considered in the approval or disapproval decision.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: January 8, 2026.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-00498 Filed 1-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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