Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hardbottom Habitats of the South Atlantic and the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region; Amendments 11/12

Open for public comment until Dec. 14, 2026. Comment on Regulations.gov

What it does

NMFS issues this proposed rule to implement Amendment 11 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hardbottom Habitats of the South Atlantic (Coral FMP) and to implement Amendment 12 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Shrimp FMP) (jointly Amendments 11/12), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). If implemented, this proposed rule would establish a shrimp fishery access area (SFAA) along the eastern boundary of the northern extension of the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC) where trawling for rock shrimp is currently prohibited. The purpose of this proposed rule is to reinstate access to historic rock shrimp fishing grounds, achieve optimum yield (OY) in the rock shrimp fishery, while minimizing impacts to deep-water corals in the OHAPC.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's summary, as published in the Federal Register.

What it would change

1 part of Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

50 CFR 622

Before this

1 earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 0648-BN92 since Jan. 1, 2025.

• Sept. 18, 2026 Announcement of availability of fishery management plan amendments; request for comments. Coral, Coral Reefs, and Live/Hardbottom Habitats of the South Atlantic and the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region; Amendments 11/12

What happens next and when

Written comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before December 14, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket NOAA-NMFS-2026-1750 on Regulations.gov
• Title 50 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register