This action increases monkfish day-at sea allocations and landing limits, allows vessels issued a limited access monkfish Category H permit to fish throughout the Southern Fishery Management Area, and enables vessels to use an allocated monkfish-only day at-sea at any time throughout the fishing year.
It also revises biological reference points for the monkfish stocks in the Northern and Southern Fishery Management Areas based on an updated stock assessment. The approved measures are intended to increase monkfish landings and better achieve optimum yield in each fishery management area, increase operational flexibility to maximize the value of available fishing opportunities, and ensure that management measures are based on the best scientific information available.