NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service has filed a final rule combining gear markings and entanglement-risk measures for portions of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. It is scheduled for publication October 13. The mandatory and voluntary measures do different jobs and do not all start together.
The gear covered
The rule concerns groundfish pot and bottom longline gear fished in federal waters off Washington, Oregon and California. It is not a marking rule for every fishery or gear type.
The agency says marks should help identify the fishery and gear involved when a marine animal becomes entangled. The rule requires marking all surface buoys and the top 20 fathoms, or 120 feet, of vertical line used with the covered gear.
The designated schemes use brown and blue for bottom longline gear, orange and blue for pot gear, and white as the core color. Buoys receive gear-specific tags or direct marks: GP for pot and GL for bottom longline. Vessel identification also extends to the other buoys used with the covered gear.
A voluntary reduction in lines
The rule removes the requirement to use surface gear at both ends of covered gear sets, allowing vessels to reduce vertical lines. That permission is distinct from mandatory identification marks.
NMFS expects fewer vertical lines to reduce the likelihood of entanglement. This report establishes the measure, not a demonstrated reduction after implementation. The rule leaves the requirement to attend the gear at sea at least every seven days unchanged.
Three dates to distinguish
The inspection copy brackets the main effective date at 90 days after publication: January 11, 2027 by this desk's count from October 13, also listed in the Register metadata. Sections 660.219(a)(1) and 660.319(a)(1) instead become effective on publication.
Temporary line-marking methods are permitted initially. The PDF separately prints January 11, 2030 as the compliance date for sections 660.219(b)(2) and 660.319(b)(2). That later date does not postpone every requirement in the rule.