Pacific Halibut Fisheries of the West Coast; Management Measures for the Area 2A Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

Proposed rule; request for comments.

NMFS is proposing annual management measures for the 2025 non-Tribal directed commercial Pacific halibut fishery that operates south of Point Chehalis, WA, (lat. 46°53.30′ N) in the International Pacific Halibut Commission's (IPHC) regulatory Area 2A off Washington, Oregon, and California. Annual management measures include fishing periods and fishing period limits. NMFS is also proposing to modify permit deadlines for all Area 2A non-Tribal commercial fisheries and modify inseason action announcement procedures for the Area 2A non-Tribal directed commercial fishery. These actions are intended to conserve Pacific halibut and provide fishing opportunity where available.

Comments must be received by May 8, 2025.

A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available at https://www.regulations.gov/​docket/​NOAA-NMFS-2025-0014. You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2025-0014, by any of the following methods:

• Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and type NOAA-NMFS-2025-0014 in the Search box. Click on the “Comment” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.

Instructions: Comments sent by any other method or received after the end of the comment period may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying information ( e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter “N/A” in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).

Docket: This proposed rule is accessible at the Office of the Federal Register website at https://www.federalregister.gov. Background information and documents are available at the NMFS West Coast Region Pacific Halibut Directed Commercial Fishery website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/​action/​2025-pacific-halibut-directed-commercial-fishery and at the Council's website at https://www.pcouncil.org. Other comments received may be accessed through https://www.regulations.gov.