# PUBLIC COMMENT ON PROPOSED REGULATIONS: Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone; Amendment 57 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP); Crab FMP Housekeeping

**Submitted by the Center for Federal Accountability (CFA)**  
**Document Number:** 2026-02068

## Executive Summary

The Center for Federal Accountability submits this draft comment to support timely public record participation while full model-backed legal analysis is queued. This draft identifies baseline accountability concerns and preserves key issues for agency consideration before the close of comments.

## Table of Authorities (to be finalized)

- Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 551 et seq.)
- Agency enabling statute and implementing regulations (rule-specific citations to be finalized)

## Key Concerns

- The agency should clearly identify statutory authority for each material requirement in the proposal.
- The agency should provide transparent cost, burden, and implementation assumptions with reproducible methodology.
- The agency should address foreseeable operational risks and unintended consequences for regulated parties and the public.

## Preliminary Analysis

This preliminary draft is generated from the available Federal Register text excerpt below and is intended to preserve issues for the rulemaking record. A full model-backed CFA legal analysis can be substituted in a subsequent revision.

> Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 21 (Monday, February 2, 2026) [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 21 (Monday, February 2, 2026)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 4492-4493] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] [FR Doc No: 2026-02068] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 680 [Docket No. RTID 0648-XE123] Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone; Amendment 57 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP); Crab FMP Housekeeping AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Notice of availability of fishery management plan amendment; request for comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) submitted amendment 57 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/ Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs (Crab FMP), to the Secretary of Commerce for review. If approved, amendment 57 would make a number of non-substantive, administrative changes to the Crab FMP including updates to informational content on the status of crab stocks, fisheries, and communities, as well as reorganizing the structure for clarity and logical sequence. These ``housekeeping'' changes would not change the management of any fisheries. The proposed amendment is intended to promote the goals and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Crab FMP, and other applicable laws. NMFS will consider public comments in deciding whether to approve, disapprove, or partially approve amendment 57. DATES: Submit comments on or before April 3, 2026. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2025-0054, by any of the following methods: Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit https://www.regulations.gov and type NOAA-NMFS-2025-0054 in the Search box. Click on the ``Comment'' icon,…

## CFA Recommendations

1. Publish a clear crosswalk from each proposed requirement to its statutory basis.
2. Expand and disclose the quantitative assumptions used in cost-benefit analysis.
3. Provide implementation alternatives and phase-in options to reduce compliance risk.
4. Extend or reopen comment if substantial updates are made after publication.

## CFA Contact

Center for Federal Accountability (CFA)  
8401 Mayland Dr # 7387  
Richmond, VA 23294  
policy@federalaccountability.com | https://www.federalaccountability.com/

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_Generated via cursor provider fallback at 2026-03-23T20:58:36.871940+00:00._