On August 19, 2003, NOAA Fisheries published a final rule to implement measures contained in the Skate Fishery Management Plan. The final rule becomes effective on September 18, 2003. The intended effect of this final rule is to implement permanent management measures for the Northeast skate fisheries pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and to prevent overfishing of the skate resource.

These regulations implement the following measures: a possession limit for skate wings; a bait-only exemption to the wing possession limit restrictions; a procedure for the development, revision, and/or review of management measures on an annual, biennial, and inter-annual basis, including a framework adjustment process; open access permitting requirements for fishing vessels, operators, and dealers; new species-level reporting requirements for skate vessels and dealers; new discard reporting requirements for Federal vessels; and prohibitions on possessing smooth skates in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) Regulated Mesh Area (RMA), and thorny skates and barndoor skates throughout the management unit. This final rule also implements other measures for administration and enforcement.

Copies of the FMP, its Regulatory Impact Review, the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and the Final Environmental Impact Statement are available on the New England Fishery Management Council’s website at: http://www.nefmc.org. Copies of the final rule implementing the FMP are available from the Northeast Regional Office’s website at http://www.nero.nmfs.gov. For additional information concerning the Skate final rule contact Bonnie Van Pelt, Fishery Policy Analyst, (978) 281-9244.