Amendment No. 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico.

This Amendment of the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico responds to the requirement of the NMFS guidelines for FMPs that interpretatively addressed the Magnuson Act National Standards. These guidelines require each FMP to include a scientifically measurable definition of overfishing and an action plan to arrest overfishing should it occur. The FMP did not have enough flexibility to adjust the cooperative closure of federal waters to accommodate this change. The Amendment also defines overfishing for Gulf brown, pink, and royal red shrimp and provides for measures to restore overfished stocks if overfishing should occur. Seabobs and rock shrimp are deleted from the management unit. This duration of the seasonal closure to shrimping off Texas is adjusted to conform with the changes in state regulations.