Request for Comments: Proposed Rule for Amendment 4 to the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan (Rainbow Runner Reclassification)

Para español, por favor haga clic aquí

Key Message:

NOAA Fisheries requests your comments on a proposed rule to implement Amendment 4 to the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan (Amendment 4). Amendment 4 and implementing regulations would reclassify the rainbow runner, Elagatis bipinnulata , from a reef fish to a pelagic fish under the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan. This change is intended to align federal management with the species' natural life history and fishing patterns.

Comments on this proposed rule are due by August 7, 2026.

Summary of Proposed Rule Changes:

Regulations implementing Amendment 4 would update management by:

• Excluding rainbow runner from specific harvest constraints applicable to Reef Fish, including the Bajo de Sico fishing prohibition in western Puerto Rico and the aggregate recreational bag limit.
• Establishing an annual catch target for each fishing sector (commercial and recreational) consistent with management of the Pelagic Fish group;
• Modifying rainbow runner accountability measures to be consistent with those applied to the Pelagic Fish group under the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan.

These changes would increase flexibility and expand harvest opportunities for the commercial and recreational sectors.

The purpose of Amendment 4 and the proposed rule is to ensure that rainbow runner is managed consistent with its life history characteristics, fishing patterns, and the Caribbean Fishery Management Council's management of other pelagic species.

How to Comment on the Proposed Rule:

The comment period on the proposed rule is open now through August 7, 2026. The Notice of Availability for Amendment 4 published on May 21, 2026, and the comment period on the Amendment will end on July 20, 2026. Comments on both the amendment and proposed rule will be considered in the final rule. You may submit comments by electronic submission or by postal mail. Comments sent by any other method (such as e-mail), to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NOAA Fisheries.

Formal Federal Register Number: 91 FR 42158, published July 8, 2026.

Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.

1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov/document/NOAA-NMFS-2025-0471-0005

2. Click the "Comment" icon and complete the required fields.

3. Enter or attach your comments.

Mail: Submit written comments to Maria Lopez-Mercer, Southeast Regional Office, NOAA Fisheries, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701.

Why are changes being proposed for the rainbow runner under the Puerto Rico Fishery Management Plan (FMP)?

• When the Puerto Rico FMP was implemented in 2022, the rainbow runner was newly added to federal management and classified as a reef fish, along with two other jack species. As such, regulations that pertain to managed reef fish apply to rainbow runner in federal waters around Puerto Rico. Federal waters around Puerto Rico extend 9-200 nautical miles from the shoreline to the outer boundary of the EEZ around Puerto Rico.
• To better reflect its biological behavior and harvest patterns, the Caribbean Fishery Management Council developed this amendment to reclassify the rainbow runner as a pelagic fish under the Puerto Rico FMP instead of as a reef fish. As described in Amendment 4, rainbow runner behaves as a pelagic species and has been historically targeted by Puerto Rico commercial and recreational fishermen consistent with other pelagic species.

What action is considered in Amendment 4?

This action would reclassify rainbow runner from a reef fish to a pelagic fish under the Puerto Rico FMP definitions. The reclassification would apply Federal regulations for pelagic fish under the Puerto Rico FMP to rainbow runner and exclude the species from Federal regulations applicable to reef fish. Specifically, a recreational bag and possession limit and a seasonal closure in the Bajo de Sico area off western Puerto Rico would not apply to rainbow runner as a pelagic fish. The action would also retain the current sector annual catch limits for rainbow runner, establish sector annual catch targets, and apply pelagic fish accountability measures consistent with management of pelagic fish.

Sign Up For Text Message Alerts - Find Out About Immediate Openings and Closures

NOAA's Text Message Alert Program allows you to receive important fishery-related alerts via text message. Standard message & data rates may apply. You may opt-out at any time. Text alerts you may receive include immediate fishery openings and closures and any significant changes to fishing regulations that happen quickly.

Sign up for one or more of the fisheries-related alerts below by texting the following to 888777:

• Gulf Recreational: Text GULFRECFISH
• Gulf Commercial: Text GULFCOMMFISH
• South Atlantic Recreational: Text SATLRECFISH
• South Atlantic Commercial: Text SATLCOMMFISH
• Caribbean: Text CARIBFISH

Quick Glance Contact List for the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office

Other contacts:
Media: Allison Garrett, 727-551-5750
NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Recreational Fishing Coordinator: Sean Meehan, 727-385-5202