Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Blackspotted and Rougheye Rockfish in the Central Aleutian and Western Aleutian Districts of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 679 [Docket No. 260305-0066; RTID 0648-XF984] AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting retention of blackspotted and rougheye rockfish in the Central Aleutian and Western Aleutian districts (CAI/WAI) of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the 2026 blackspotted and rougheye rockfish total allowable catch (TAC) in the CAI/WAI of the BSAI will soon be or has been reached. DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), September 9, 2026, through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 2026. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Whitney, 907-206-6783. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS manages the groundfish fishery in the BSAI according to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP) prepared and recommended by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). Regulations governing fishing by U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 and 50 CFR part 679 . The 2026 blackspotted and rougheye rockfish TAC in the CAI/WAI of the BSAI is 325 metric tons as established by the final 2026 and 2027 harvest specifications for …