NOAA Fisheries Proposes Amendment 21 to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, the Summer Flounder Commercial Issues Amendment

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has submitted, and we are proposing, Amendment 21 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. Amendment 21 proposes revisions to the summer flounder commercial state quota allocations, and revises the fishery management plan goals and objectives.

Amendment 21 would change the state-by-state commercial quota allocations when the coastwide quota exceeds 9.55 million lb. When the coastwide quota is 9.55 million lb or less, the quota would be distributed according to the current allocations. In years when the coastwide quota exceeds 9.55 million lb, any additional quota, beyond this threshold, would be distributed in equal shares to all states except Maine, Delaware, and New Hampshire, which would split 1 percent of the additional quota.

State	Allocation of baseline quota ≤ 9.55 mil lb	Allocation of additional quota beyond 9.55 mil lb
ME	0.04756%	0.333%
NH	0.00046%	0.333%
MA	6.82046%	12.375%
RI	15.68298%	12.375%
CT	2.25708%	12.375%
NY	7.64699%	12.375%
NJ	16.72499%	12.375%
DE	0.01779%	0.333%
MD	2.03910%	12.375%
VA	21.31676%	12.375%
NC	27.44584%	12.375%
Total	100%	100%

Read the proposed rule [lnks.gd]as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal [lnks.gd]. The comments due date is 09-11-2020.