"At their August 2011 meeting, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved Regulatory Amendment 11 for review by the Secretary of Commerce by a unanimous vote. The proposed action in Regulatory Amendment 11 is the elimination of a possession prohibition for six deepwater snapper-grouper species (snowy grouper, blueline tilefish, yellowedge grouper, misty grouper, queen snapper, and silk snapper) harvested in depths greater than 240 feet (40 fathoms) in the South Atlantic EEZ. The closure was implemented on January 31, 2011, through Amendment 17B to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 17B). The purpose of the harvest prohibition approved in Amendment 17B is to reduce discards of speckled hind and warsaw grouper. However, there is evidence, from both public comments and new analysis of data, that the prohibition is not effective at its stated purpose and comes at a higher economic cost to fishermen than originally anticipated. A new analysis of landings data following the implementation of the prohibition indicates that different measures would be more appropriate to reduce discards of speckled hind and warsaw grouper than those implemented through Amendment 17B. Therefore, the Council has developed Regulatory Amendment 11 to remove the harvest prohibition implemented through Amendment 178. The Council intends to approve a new amendment with more effective measures to reduce discards of speckled hind and warsaw grouper at its December 2012 meeting"--Cover letter; Portfolio comprised of three related PDF documents digitized and organized by: NOAA Office of Program Planning and Integration (PPI) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) staff.