Important notice:

For details, readers should contact the Council, or refer to the comprehensive amendment or the final rule.  Any discrepancies between this documents, bulletin and the final rule as published in the Federal Register will be resolved in favor of the Federal Register.

* See SFA - Comprehensive Amendment to the Fishery Management Plans of the U.S. Caribbean

Southeast Regional Office - SFA, public bulletin

FINAL RULE - Federal Register/Vol. 70, No. 208/ Friday, October 28, 2005/ Rules and Regulations

Most recent regulations 50 CFR PART 622

Fishery Management Plan, Regulatory Impact Review, and Final Environmental Impact Statement for Coral of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands

Permit Required

Extraction, possession, and transportation of any coral, alive or dead (including live-rock) is PROHIBITED unless a permit is obtained from the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Government of Puerto Rico or the Federal Government.

Gear Restrictions

Use of chemicals, plants or plant-derived toxins and explosives to harvest coral is PROHIBITED.

*Use of pots/traps, gill/trammel nets, and bottom longlines on coral or hard bottom year-round in the existing seasonally closed areas and Grammanik Bank in the EEZ is PROHIBITED.

* See Federal Register/Vol. 70, No. 208/ Friday, October 28, 2005/ Rules and Regulations

Remarks

*The final rule moves aquarium trade species of Caribbean coral and reef fish from a management to data collection only category.

Interested persons must obtain a permit from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources of the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources or the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service.

Amendment Number 1 to the Fishery Management Plan for Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands establishes a marine conservation district (MCD) in the exclusive economic zone in an area known as the Hind Bank, southwest of St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Within the MCD, fishing for any species and anchoring by fishing vessels is PROHIBITED.

Disclaimer

The present Guide has the purpose of providing appropriate information to fishers about regulations and helping in the recovery of the stocks and the sustainable use of marine fishery resources in the Caribbean.

This Guide is for general information purposes.  Fishery Regulations are subject to changes. 

For more information on fishery regulations you may visit the Federal Register.