Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan; Fixed Gear Marking and Entanglement Risk Reduction
Published Date: 2/6/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
Fishermen using fixed gear off the West Coast will soon need to mark their gear clearly and follow new steps to reduce the chance of marine animals getting tangled. These changes aim to protect ocean life while helping identify which gear causes problems. Comments on the plan are open until March 9, 2026, so fishers and the public can weigh in before it’s final.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 1 mixed.
Buoys must carry gear-specific ID tags
If you operate non-tribal commercial pot or bottom longline gear in the Pacific coast groundfish fisheries off Washington, Oregon, or California, each surface buoy must have a durable, gear-specific tag attached showing a vessel identification number. Pot buoy tags must be orange with a ‘‘P’’ and bottom longline buoy tags must be brown with an ‘‘L’’; tags must be on board and ready to attach before leaving port.
Top 20 fathoms of vertical line must be color-coded
If you fish with pot or bottom longline gear in Pacific coast groundfish fisheries, at least the top 20 fathoms (37 meters) of each vertical line must be continuously marked in two gear-specific colors (pot: orange & blue; bottom longline: brown & blue). Temporary two-color banding (bands 18–28 inches each) is allowed for 3 years after the rule is effective; after that (beginning January 1, 2029) only manufactured line in the required two-color scheme will comply.
Surface-line limits and single-end marking option
Vessels using pot or bottom longline groundfish gear would be allowed to mark only one terminal end instead of both, at their discretion, but surface line between the first and last buoys would be limited to 60 feet (10 fathoms / 18 meters) per surface gear set. This change changes how much line you may leave on the surface and gives the option to use one buoy line rather than two.
Escape-panel placement and twine-size alignment
The rule would prohibit placing biodegrading escape panels on the bottom of pots and would change the maximum untreated cotton twine size for escape panels from 'not to exceed number 21' to 'not to exceed number 30.' This aligns Pacific coast rules with North Pacific standards and is intended to reduce the need to re-twine pots when moving between regions.
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