In Amendment 28 to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, in cooperation with our co-managers and partners, NOAA Fisheries changes some closed areas that affect commercial vessels fishing with bottom contacting gear in Federal waters off of Washington, Oregon, and California under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. NOAA Fisheries’ regulations establish new and revised areas closed to bottom trawling to: 1) conserve and protect Pacific coast groundfish essential fish habitat, and 2) re-open areas that were closed to groundfish bottom trawling to rebuild previously-overfished groundfish stocks. Combined, these two changes are anticipated to: 1) increase protections for groundfish essential fish habitat, and 2) provide additional flexibility to participants fishing with bottom trawl gear in the groundfish trawl rationalization program. NOAA Fisheries’ regulations also establish regulations that: 1) close deep-water areas off the coast of California to bottom contacting gear to protect deep-water habitats, including deep-sea corals, under fishery management plan discretionary provisions in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.