Amendment No. 10 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Spiny Lobster Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic.

This Amendment to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Spiny Lobster fishery in the U.S. Fishery Conservation Zone (FCZ) of the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic under the Jurisdiction of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council establishes annual catch limits and accountability measures for Caribbean spiny lobster; removes other species from the fishery management unit (smoothtail spiny lobster, spotted spiny lobster, Spanish slipper lobster, ridged slipper lobster); defines maximum sustainable yield; sets annual catch limits and accountability measures; considers sector allocations; updates the protocol for enhanced cooperative management; modifies the regulations regarding the use of undersized lobster as bait as well as tailing permit requirements; and addresses the removal of abandoned traps in Florida waters. Revision of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act in 2006 require that fishery management plans contain annual catch limits and accountability measures for all managed species to prevent overfishing. Annual catch limits must be set at levels that prevent overfishing and do not exceed the recommendations of the respective Councils’ Scientific and Statistical Committees for acceptable biological catch. Species in a fishery management plan not subject to overfishing should have annual catch limits and accountability measures effective in 2011. No species in the spiny lobster fishery management unit are known to be undergoing overfishing.