Pacific Island Fisheries; Annual Catch Limit and Accountability Measures for Mariana Bottomfish Management Unit Species in the Guam Management Subarea
Key claim: NOAA is raising Guam’s Mariana bottomfish catch limit from 31,000 to 34,500 pounds and replacing in-season closures with a three-year post-season overage adjustment.
Abstract
(Rule · Commerce Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) NMFS is modifying the annual catch limit (ACL) and accountability measures (AM) for Mariana bottomfish management unit species (MUS) in the Guam Management Subarea (the fishery). The rule increases the ACL from 31,000 pounds (lb) (14,061 kilograms (kg)) to 34,500 lb (15,649 kg), replaces the in-season AM with a post-season overage adjustment if the average catch from the most recent 3 years exceeds the ACL, and removes the higher performance standard that closes the fishery in Federal waters for any overage. The rule is based on the best available scientific, commercial, and other information about the fishery, and supports rebuilding of the fishery.
Why this matters
This incremental NOAA rule modestly expands commercial and non-commercial harvest opportunity for Guam’s small bottomfish fleet while shifting the accountability mechanism from reactive closures to a smoothed post-season adjustment, reducing mid-year disruption. The change has negligible effect on mainland consumers or food prices but matters locally for Guam fishery participants and territorial seafood supply.