Instructions for Submitting Public Comments
To submit a public comment to a rule that NOAA Fisheries has published in the Federal Register, which has an open public comment period, you have two options:
- Submit comments electronically:
- Go to www.regulations.gov.
- Search for the identifying number in the Federal Register notice (in a format such as NOAA-NMFS-YEAR-####) or for a key word.
- Once you find the rule you would like to comment on click the Comment Now! icon on the right.
- Fill out the web form or upload your letter and submit.
- Submit comments by mail by addressing your letter to the address found in the Federal Register notice. Remember to note attention to a person or subject as specified in the Federal Register notice.
We also solicit comments for proposed Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs). To submit a public comment on an EFP, please email us at NMFS.GAR.EFP@noaa.gov and include the title of the research project in the subject line of the email.
You can find Federal Register notices for the Greater Atlantic Region below or for specific species on the relevant Managed Species page on our website under the Announcements tab. You can also find Federal Register notices at FederalRegister.gov, the U.S. Government Printing Office, or at Regulations.gov.
2015 Federal Register Actions
January
- 01/29/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Draft 2014 Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Reports
- 01/21/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request For Comments; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Omnibus Amendment
- 01/20/2015
- Temporary Rule; Inseason Trip Limit Adjustment; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Trip Limit Adjustment for the Common Pool Fishery
- 01/15/2015
- Proposed Revisions to National Standard Guidelines
- 01/15/2015
- American Lobster Fishery; Final Rule; Measures developed by the ASMFC in Addenda XVII and XVIII to Amendment 3 to the Interstate FMP for American Lobster
- 01/15/2015
- Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 52; Final Rule
February
- 02/26/2015
- Atlantic Herring Fishery; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement; Amendment 8 Scoping Process; Request for Comments
- 02/20/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request for Comments; Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale
- 02/19/2015
- Notice; Request for Comment; Application for Fishing Year 2014 Sector Exemption; Gulf of Maine Cod Interim Management Measures
- 02/18/2015
- Notice; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Approved Monitoring Service Providers
- 02/12/2015
- Temporary Final Rule; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Adjustments to 2015 Annual Catch Limits
- 02/02/2015
- Notification Of U.S. Fishing Opportunities; Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area
March
- 03/27/2015
- Notice; Request For Information; Endangered and Threatened Species; 90-Day Finding on Two Petitions To List Porbeagle Sharks
- 03/26/2015
- Notice Of Intent To Prepare An Environmental Impact Statement; Notice Of Initiation Of Scoping Process; Notice Of Public Scoping Meetings; Request For Comments; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish; Squid Capacity Amendment
- 03/25/2015
- Final Rule; Black Sea Bass Fishery; Framework Adjustment 8
- 03/23/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; NFI 2014 Incidental Discard Mortality EFP
- 03/23/2015
- Notice Of Public Scoping Meetings; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Scoping Process
- 03/23/2015
- Proposed Rule; 12 Month Petition Finding; Request For Comments; Notice Of Public Hearing; List 11 DPSs of Green Sea Turtles
- 03/20/2015
- Final Rule; 2015 Atlantic Mackerel, 2015-2017 Squid, and 2015-2017 Butterfish Fisheries; Specifications and Management Measures
- 03/19/2015
- Final Rule; 2015 Annual Determination To Implement the Sea Turtle Observer Requirement
- 03/19/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request For Comments; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing Operations; Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan Regulations
- 03/17/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request For Comments; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery and Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 26; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Sea Turtle Conservation
- 03/10/2015
- Notice; Determination of Overfishing or an Overfished Condition; Gulf of Maine Cod
- 03/09/2015
- Notice; Final Grant Of Regulatory Exemptions; Application for Fishing Year 2014 Groundfish Sector Exemption
- 03/09/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request for Comments; Northeast Groundfish Fishery; Framework Adjustment 53
- 03/09/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request for Comments; 2015 and 2016 Sector Operations Plans and 2015 Contracts and Allocation of NE Multispecies Annual Catch Entitlements
- 03/05/2015
- Temporary Rule; Summer Flounder Fishery; NC Quota Transfer to MA
- 03/04/2015
- Notice; Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Reporting of Sea Turtle Incidental Take in Virginia Chesapeake Bay Pound Net Operations
- 03/03/2015
- Temporary Rule; Quota Transfer; Summer Flounder Fishery; NC Quota Transfer to VA and NJ
- 03/03/2015
- Temporary Rule, Correcting Amendment; Northeast Groundfish Fishery; Fishing Year 2014; Interim Gulf of Maine Cod Management Measures; Correction
April
- 04/27/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; CFF Research Sampling EFP
- 04/27/2015
- Proposed Specifications; Request For Comments; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2015 Atlantic Bluefish Specifications
- 04/21/2015
- Proposed Rule; 12 Month Findings; Endangered and Threatened Species; Identification of 14 Distinct Population Segments of the Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)
- 04/21/2015
- Final Rule; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery and Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 26; Endangered and Threatened Wildlife; Sea Turtle Conservation
- 04/16/2015
- Temporary Rule; Summer Flounder Fishery; NC to VA Quota Transfe
- 04/13/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request For Comments; International Affairs; High Seas Fishing Compliance Act; Permitting and Monitoring of U.S. High Seas Fishing Vessels
- 04/08/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; Exploratory Closed Area Fishing EFP
- 04/08/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request For Comments; Small-Mesh Multispecies Specifications
- 04/07/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request For Comments; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing Operations; Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan Regulations; Correction
May
- 05/28/2015
- Final Rule; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Small-Mesh Multispecies Specifications
- 05/28/2015
- Final Rule; Takes of Marine Mammals: Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan
- 05/22/2015
- Notice; Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Northeast Multispecies Amendment 16N
- 05/21/2015
- Notice Of Intent To Prepare An Environmental Impact Statement; Notice Of Initiation Of Scoping Process; Notice Of Public Scoping Meetings; Request For Comments; Blueline Tilefish Scoping Process
- 05/19/2015
- Proposed Rule, Request For Comments; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Framework Adjustment 9
- 05/18/2015
- Notice Of Availability Of Fishery Management Plan Amendment; Request For Comments; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Omnibus Amendment To Simplify Vessel Baselines
- 05/13/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Application for Exempted Fishing Permit; NEFSC Study Fleet EFP
- 05/05/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request For Comments; Recreational Management Measures for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; Fishing Year 2015
- 05/01/2015
- Final Rule; Request for Comments; Northeast Groundfish Fishery; Framework Adjustment 53
- 05/01/2015
- Final Rule; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; 2015 and 2016 Sector Operations Plans and 2015 Contracts and Allocation of Northeast Multispecies Annual Catch Entitlements
- 05/01/2015
- Interim Final Rule; Request for Comments; Northeast Groundfish Fishery; Fishing Year 2015; Recreational Management Measures
June
- 06/30/2015
- Temporary Rule; Summer Flounder Fishery; NC to VA Quota Transfer
- 06/26/2015
- Final Rule; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology Omnibus Amendment
- 06/24/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; URI Bycatch Study EFP
- 06/23/2015
- Temporary Rule; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area Closures for the Common Pool Fishery and Trip and Possession Limit Adjustment
- 06/19/2015
- Final Rule; Recreational Management Measures for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; Fishing Year 2015
- 06/18/2015
- Temporary Rule; Inseason Adjustment; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Possession Limit Adjustments for the Common Pool Fishery
- 06/09/2015
- Notice; American Lobster Fishery; Trap Transfer Program Implementation
- 06/09/2015
- Final Rule; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Special Management Zones for Delaware Artificial Reefs
- 06/09/2015
- Temporary Rule; Closure; 2015 Recreational Accountability Measure and Closure for Blueline Tilefish in the South Atlantic Region
- 06/05/2015
- Notice; Vessel Monitoring System; Enhanced Mobile Transceiver Unit Type-Approvals; Three VMS Units No longer Approved For Use
- 06/04/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; MA DMF Lobster Study EFP
- 06/03/2015
- Temporary Rule; Blueline Tilefish Fishery; Secretarial Emergency Action
- 06/03/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; DA15-036 CFF Dredge Speed on Bycatch Reduction Study EFP
- 06/02/2015
- Advance Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking; Request For Comments; Jonah Crab Fishery; Control Date for Jonah Crab Fishery
- 06/02/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request For Comments; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Omnibus Amendment To Simplify Vessel Baselines
July
- 08/04/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing and Seafood Fraud Action Plan
- 07/31/2015
- Temporary Rule; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; Closure of the Mid-Atlantic Access Area to General Category Individual Fishing Quota Scallop Vessels
- 07/29/2015
- Temporary Rule; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Trimester Total Allowable Catch Area Closure for the Common Pool Fishery
- 07/28/2015
- Announcement Of Federal Funding Opportunity; 2016-2018 Atlantic Herring Research Set Aside
- 07/23/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; CFRF Lobster EFP
- 07/20/2015
- Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Information Collection Program Requirements
- 07/15/2015
- Northeast Multispecies Amendment 18 Draft Environmental Impact Statement Public Comment Period
- 07/10/2015
- Notice Of Agency Decision; Northeast Groundfish Fishery; Denial of Petition for Rulemaking for Gulf of Maine Cod
- 07/01/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; CFF Georges Bank Optimization Study EFP
August
- 08/27/2015
- Proposed Rule, Request for Comments; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Framework Adjustment 4
- 08/26/2015
- Final Rule; Approves the Omnibus Amendment to the Fishery Management Plans of the NE United States and implements the amendment’s approved management measures to simplify vessel baselines
- 08/25/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; Cornell Small Mesh Windowpane Bycatch EFP
- 08/24/2015
- Temporary Rule; Inseason Adjustment; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Small-Mesh Multispecies Fishery; Adjustment to the Northern Red Hake Inseason Possession Limit
- 08/21/2015
- Notice; Request for Comments; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Supplemental Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement; Scoping Process
- 08/17/2015
- Temporary Final Rule; Revisions to Framework Adjustment 53 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan and Sector Annual Catch Entitlements: Updated Annual Catch Limits for Sectors and the Common Pool for Fishing Year 2015
- 08/12/2015
- Temporary Rule; Inseason Adjustment; Small-Mesh Multispecies Fishery; Adjustment to the Northern Red Hake Inseason Possession Limit
- 08/11/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request For Comments; Fish and Fish Product Import Provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
- 08/11/2015
- Final Rule; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Framework Adjustment 9
- 08/10/2015
- Notice; Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Surfclam/Ocean Quahog Individual Transferable Quota Administration
- 08/06/2015
- Final Rule: NMFS is implementing final specifications for the 2015 Atlantic bluefish fishery, including catch restrictions for commercial and recreational fisheries.
- 08/06/2015
- Final Rule: NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is transferring a portion of its 2015 commercial Atlantic bluefish quota to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- 08/05/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request for Comments; American Lobster Fishery; Modify the Lobster Conservation Management Area 4 Seasonal Closure
- 08/05/2015
- Proposed Rule; Request for Comments; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; Maine State Waters Exemption
September
- 09/23/2015
- Notice Of Determination Of Non Compliance; Declaration Of A Moratorium; Delaware American Eel Fishery
- 09/22/2015
- Temporary Rule; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; ME to RI Quota Transfer
- 09/21/2015
- Temporary Rule: Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Permit Holders Specification of 2016 Quotas and Surfclam Minimum Size Suspension
- 09/18/2015
- Temporary Rule; Inseason Adjustment; Scup Fishery; Adjustment to the 2015 Winter II Quota
- 09/16/2015
- Announcement Of Federal Funding Opportunity; 2016 Monkfish Research Set-Aside
- 09/16/2015
- Temporary Rule; Inseason Adjustment; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Trip Limit Adjustment for the Common Pool Fishery
- 09/16/2015
- Temporary Rule; Closures; Bluefish Fishery and Summer Flounder Fishery; Commercial Quota Harvested for Massachusetts
- 09/11/2015
- Temporary Rule; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; VA to MA Quota Transfer
- 09/10/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; DA15-065 CFF Dredge Design Study EFP
- 09/02/2015
- Temporary Rule; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; NC and VA to RI Quota Transfer
- 09/02/2015
- Announcement Of Federal Funding Opportunity; 2016/2017 Atlantic Scallop Research Set-Aside
October
- 10/29/2015
- Temporary Rule; Closure; Atlantic Herring Fishery; 2015 Management Area 1A Seasonal Annual Catch Limit Harvested
- 10/23/2015
- Notice; 90–Day Finding on Petition to List Thorny Skate as Threatened or Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act
- 10/23/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; DA15-063 CFF SNE Essential Fish Habitat Study EFP
- 10/20/2015
- Notice; Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Greater Atlantic Region Logbook Family of Forms
- 10/20/2015
- Temporary Rule; Closure; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Georges Bank Haddock Catch Cap Harvested
- 10/16/2015
- Final Rule; International Affairs; High Seas Fishing Compliance Act; Permitting and Monitoring of U.S. High Seas Fishing Vessels
- 10/15/2015
- Notice Of Vendor To Provide Fishing Year 2016 Cage Tags; Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fisheries; Notice That Vendor Will Provide 2016 Cage Tags
- 10/15/2015
- Temporary Rule; Summer Flounder Fishery: Commercial Quota Available for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- 10/07/2015
- Notification Of A Proposal To Conduct Exempted Fishing; Request For Comments; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; Horseshoe Crabs; Application for Exempted Fishing Permit, 2015
- 10/07/2015
- Final Rule; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States: Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; State Waters Exemption
November
- 11/30/2015
- Blueline Tilefish Fishery; Secretarial Emergency Action; Temporary Rule; Emergency Action Extended
- 11/09/2015
- Final Rule; American Lobster Area 4 Seasonal Closure Modification
- 11/09/2015
- Proposed Specifications; Request for Comments; Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2016-2018 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications
December
- 12/28/2015
- Final Rule; 2016-2018 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications
- 12/24/2015
- Notice; 2016 Annual Determination To Implement the Sea Turtle Observer Requirement
- 12/18/2015
- Notice; National Saltwater Angler Registry Program; Annual fee of twenty-nine dollars ($29.00) for registration of anglers, spear fishers and for-hire fishing vessels
- 12/15/2015
- Notice; Request For Comments; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits; 2016/2018 Atlantic Herring RSA EFP
- 12/11/2015
- Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comment; Control Date for the Blueline Tilefish Fishery in Waters North of the Virginia/North Carolina Border
- 12/01/2015
- Temporary Rule; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; NC to NY Quota Transfer
Click Below for Past Federal Register Actions & Public Comments:
| 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 |
Disclaimer
"This information is provided by the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office for the use and convenience of interested persons. The information available on this site may change over time. Official sources of information, such as the Federal Register, control in the event of any discrepancy appearing on NMFS Home Pages."
