50 CFR § 300.109 - Initiating a new fishery.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t50/s300.109"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "50 CFR § 300.109 - Initiating a new fishery."
title_number: 50
title_name: "Wildlife and Fisheries"
section_number: "300.109"
section_name: "Initiating a new fishery."
chapter_name: "INTERNATIONAL FISHING AND RELATED ACTIVITIES"
part_number: "300"
part_name: "INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES REGULATIONS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "16 U.S.C. 951  16 U.S.C. 1801  16 U.S.C. 5501  16 U.S.C. 2431  31 U.S.C. 9701"
regulatory_source: "61 FR 35550, July 5, 1996, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "300"
---


# 300.109 Initiating a new fishery.

(a) A new fishery, for purposes of this section, is a fishery that uses bottom trawls on the high seas of the Convention Area or a fishery for a species, using a particular method, in a statistical subarea or division for which:

(1) Information on distribution, abundance, demography, potential yield and stock identity from comprehensive research/surveys or exploratory fishing has not been submitted to CCAMLR;

(2) Catch and effort data have never been submitted to CCAMLR; or

(3) Catch and effort data from the two most recent seasons in which fishing occurred have not been submitted to CCAMLR.

(b) Persons intending to develop a new fishery shall notify the Assistant Administrator no later than April 1 for the fishing season that will commence on or after December 1 and shall not initiate the fishery pending NMFS and CCAMLR review or until a vessel permit has been used under this subpart.

(c) The notification shall be accompanied by a complete vessel permit application required under § 300.107 and information on:

(1) The nature of the proposed fishery, including target species, methods of fishing, proposed region and maximum catch levels proposed for the forthcoming season;

(2) Biological information on the target species from comprehensive research/survey cruises, such as distribution, abundance, demographic data and information on stock identity;

(3) Details of dependent and related species and the likelihood of them being affected by the proposed fishery;

(4) Information from other fisheries in the region or similar fisheries elsewhere that may assist in the evaluation of potential yield; and

(5) If the proposed fishery will be undertaken using bottom trawl gear, the known and anticipated impacts of this gear on vulnerable marine ecosystems, including benthos and benthic communities.