The Pelagics FEP was approved in 2009 and codified in 2010.

Click on the links for PDFs for Pelagics FEP and Final Rule.

Click here for Appendix 1 – Essential Fish Habitat Descriptions for Pacific Pelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan Management Unit Species

The Council adopted a living document approach to organizing the Pelagic FEP at its October 2015 meeting, and adopted revised goals and objectives for the Pelagic FEP at its March 2016 meeting. This amendment is currently under development.

Amendments

AmendmentAmendment TypeFederal Register Notice / Publication dateDescription of Action
12FEP5/07/24
89 FR 37984		Omnibus amendment to update data collection mechanisms identified as standardized bycatch reporting methodologies (SBRM) and to revise descriptions of SBRM for consistency with the 2017 NMFS regulations
11FEPIn development
10FEP9/17/20
85 FR 57988		Revised the Hawaii shallow-set longline fishery leatherback sea turtle fleet-wide hard cap to 16, removed the loggerhead sea turtle fleet-wide hard cap, and established individual trip interaction limits for loggerhead and leatherback turtles.
9FEP10/07/21
86 FR 55743		Modifies the American Samoa longline fishery limited entry program to consolidate vessel class sizes, modify permit eligibility requirements, and reduce the minimum harvest requirements for small vessels.
8FEPIn development
7FEP10/28/14
79 FR 64097		Catch and effort limits for the US Participating Territories; Specification of annual bigeye tuna catch limits for the US Participating Territories.
6FEP6/03/13
78 FR 32996		Establishes management measures for non-commercial and recreational fishing within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and Rose Atoll Marine National Monument; prohibits commercial fishing within monument
5FEP8/24/11
76 FR 52888		American Samoa longline gear configuration modifications to reduce sea turtle interactions.
4FEPDisapproval:
7/11/11
76 FR 40764		Establishes a purse seine area closure in American Samoa. The purse seine area closure was disapproved.
3FEP6/27/11
76 FR 37285		Omnibus amendment that establishes a mechanism for specifying annual catch limits.
2FEP6/27/11
76 FR 37287		Establishes a purse seine area closure and longline area closure in CNMI. The final rule only approved the longline closure.
1FEP09/03/10
75 FR 54044		Establishes eligibility requirements and procedures for reviewing and approving community development plans. The intent is to promote participation of island communities in fisheries that they traditionally depend on, but may not have the capabilities to support continued and substantial participation.

Regulatory Amendments

Regulatory
Amendment		Federal Register Notice / Effective dateDescription of Action
64/01/2024
89 FR 15062		Modifies the seabird interaction mitigation measures to require Hawaii deep-set longline vessels that set fishing gear from the stern to use a tori line in place of thawed, blue-dyed bait and strategic offal discharge when fishing above latitude 23°N
54/28/2022
85 FR 71577		Prohibits the use of wire leaders in the Hawaii deep-set longline fishery, and requires the removal of fishing gear from any oceanic whitetip shark caught in all of the region’s domestic longline fisheries.
408/05/2021
86 FR 42744
Requires the use of electronic logbooks in the Hawaii pelagic longline fisheries and on Class C and D vessels in the American Samoa pelagic longline fishery.
311/10/2020
85 FR 71577		Removes the swordfish retention limit in the American Samoa deep-set longline fishery. The intent of this rule is to eliminate wasteful regulatory discards of marketable seafood, increasing efficiency and benefits to the local community and the Nation.
22/3/2016
81 FR 5619		Exempted longline vessels greater than 50 meters in length from the 2002 Large Vessel Prohibited Area between 12 and 50 nautical miles around Swains, Tutuila, and the Manua Islands in American Samoa.
18/27/2012
77 FR 43721		Revises the limits on the number of swordfish that fishermen may possess or land during any given Hawaii deep-set longline trip. The intent of this rule is to reduce regulatory discards and optimize the yield of swordfish.