Temporary Closure of the 2019 Hawaii Shallow-set Pelagic Longline Fishery

This final rule closes the Hawaii shallow-set pelagic longline fishery north of the Equator for all vessels registered under the Hawaii longline limited access program. The shallow-set fishery has reached the annual limit of 17 physical interactions with North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles, so NOAA Fisheries must close the fishery for the remainder of the calendar year, or until further notice. This action is necessary to comply with regulations that establish maximum annual limits on the numbers of interactions that occur between longline fishing gear and sea turtles. The compliance date for this rule is March 19, 2019.