Final Rule to Remove Effort Control Measures for the American Lobster Fishery: Small Entity Compliance Guide

NOAA Fisheries is removing recently implemented ownership caps for Lobster Conservation Management Areas 2 and 3 and a maximum trap cap reduction implemented for Area 3. This action is being taken because the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has withdrawn these measures from its Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster and recommended that we remove these measures from federal regulation.

Mandatory electronic harvester reporting requirements using the federal electronic vessel trip report (eVTR) for all federal lobster permit holders remain unchanged, and were required beginning April 1, 2024.

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.