Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fisheries; Annual Specifications; 2026-2027 Annual Specifications and Management Measures for Pacific Sardine
Built by the Tribune's code from the Federal Register. No AI wrote this page. Published in the Federal Register Oct. 2, 2026. Document 2026-20234. Updated Nov. 5, 2026.
- What it does
NMFS is implementing annual harvest specifications and management measures for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine (hereafter, Pacific sardine), for the fishing year from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. This rule prohibits most directed commercial fishing for Pacific sardine off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. Pacific sardine harvest is allowed for use only as live bait, in minor directed fisheries, as incidental catch in other fisheries, or as authorized under exempted fishing permits (EFPs). The incidental harvest of Pacific sardine will be limited to 20 percent by weight of all fish per trip when caught with other stocks managed under the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP), or up to 2 metric tons (mt) per trip when caught with non-CPS stocks. The harvest specifications for 2026-2027 include an overfishing limit (OFL) of 4,645 mt, an acceptable biological catch (ABC) of 3,613 mt, an annual catch limit (ACL) of 2,200 mt, and an annual catch target (ACT) of 2,100 mt. This final rule is intended to conserve, manage, and rebuild the Pacific sardine stock off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's summary, as published in the Federal Register.
- What changed in the regulation
1 part of Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations:
Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).
- Compared with
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published 185 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 184 in all of 2025.
Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.
- What happens next and when
Effective October 2, 2026.
The agency's dates, word for word.
The record as published
| Document number | 2026-20234 |
|---|---|
| Action | Final rule. |
| Agencies | Commerce Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| Published | Oct. 2, 2026 |
| Effective date | Oct. 2, 2026 |
| Docket | NOAA-NMFS-2026-1123 |
Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register