The Division of Marine Fisheries (MarineFisheries) is providing this notice that the commercial possession limit for scup will decrease from 30,000-lbs. to 1,000-lbs. effective 0001 hours on March 16, 2008. As noted in the January 24 th notice of annual specifications for the Winter I period commercial scup fishery, the possession limit drops once 80% of the Winter I period commercial scup quota has been harvested. On March 12 th, NOAA Fisheries notified MarineFisheries that 80% of this quota is projected to have been harvested.

NOAA Fisheries manages the Winter I commercial scup fishery under a coastwide quota. To ensure consistent management, MarineFisheries finalized annual specifications that complement federal regulations for the Winter I period. The Winter I commercial scup fishery remains open through April 2008 or until the federal coastwide quota is fully harvested, whichever comes first. The 2008 Winter I commercial scup quota allocated to vessels landing scup from Maine through North Carolina is 2,388,611 pounds.

The Summer period commercial scup fishery is set to open May 1. MarineFisheries is finalizing regulations for the 2008 summer period. Notification of final regulations will be provided via the MarineFisheries Listserv and website. MarineFisheries administers a state-specific commercial scup quota during the summer period, which is managed through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.