Today, NOAA Fisheries announced the final 2024 quota specifications for the golden tilefish and blueline tilefish fisheries north of the Virginia/North Carolina border. We closed the 2023 commercial blueline tilefish fishery on September 5, 2023, because we projected 100 percent of the quota was landed. Total commercial blueline tilefish landings in 2023 were 31,339 lb, which exceeded the 2023 commercial ACL by 4,470 lb. The regulations require that we deduct that overage from the 2024 commercial ACL.
Table 1. Blueline Tilefish 2024 Specifications
|
ABC – North of NC/VA line |
100,520 lb |
|
Recreational ACL / ACT |
73,380 lb |
|
Commercial ACL / ACT |
27,140 lb |
|
2023 Overage Adjustment |
-4,470 lb |
|
Adjusted Commercial ACL |
22,670 lb |
|
Recreational TAL |
71,912 lb) |
|
Commercial TAL |
22,399 lb |
Table 2. Golden Tilefish 2024 Specifications
|
ABC |
1,964,319 lb |
|
ACL |
1,964,319 lb |
|
IFQ fishery ACT |
1,763,478 lb |
|
Incidental fishery ACT |
92,815 lb |
|
IFQ fishery TAL = IFQ ACT (no discards permitted in fishery) |
1,763,478 lb |
|
Incidental fishery TAL = Incidental fishery ACT - discards |
75,410 lb |
The rule shifts the recreational season for blueline tilefish by two weeks. The new recreational season will be May 15 through November 14.
The rule also adjusts some ancillary dates in the regulations that derive from the start of the fishing year, but were not updated when the start of golden tilefish fishing year was changed to January 1.
This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.
