Fisheries Off West Coast States; the Highly Migratory Species Fishery; Pacific Loggerhead Conservation Area Closure
§ 01 Summary
NMFS closes the Pacific Loggerhead Conservation Area off southern California to large-mesh drift gillnet fishing from June 1 through August 31, 2026. The closure applies east of 120° W longitude and is triggered by warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures and elevated El Niño probability, to reduce interactions with ESA-listed North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles.
§ 02 Why this matters
The rule creates a time-limited but direct prohibition on fishing with large-mesh drift gillnet gear in a defined offshore area from June 1 to August 31, 2026. Operators using that gear must avoid the closure area or cease covered fishing during the period.
§ 03 Topics
§ 04 Affected entities
- agency: NMFS
- agency: NOAA
- industry: west-coast-large-mesh-drift-gillnet-fishery
- jurisdiction: California
- statute: Endangered Species Act
§ 05 Matching feeds
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§ 06 Source document
Read the full Federal Register entry on federalregister.gov.
Show classifier input (what GPT-5.5 saw)
Type: Rule Agencies: Commerce Department; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Citation: 91 FR 32907 Title: Fisheries Off West Coast States; the Highly Migratory Species Fishery; Pacific Loggerhead Conservation Area Closure Abstract: NMFS is prohibiting fishing with large-mesh drift gillnet (DGN) gear (>=14 inches mesh) off the coast of southern California east of 120[deg] W meridian from June 1, 2026, through August 31, 2026. This prohibition is based on the fact that the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has indicated that the sea surface temperature off the coast of southern California for March and April is warmer than normal and there is an 82 percent probability that El Ni[ntilde]o conditions may occur between May-July. This action protects Endangered Species Act-listed loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), specifically the endangered North Pacific Ocean Distinct Population Segment.
Classified Jun 2, 2026 by gpt-5.5. Fetched Jun 2, 2026.
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