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2024 Golden and Blueline Tilefish Fishery Specifications

March 19, 2024

NOAA Fisheries announces the final 2024 quota specifications for the golden tilefish and blueline tilefish fisheries north of the Virginia/North Carolina border. This rule also shifts the recreational season for blueline tilefish by two weeks.

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.