NOAA Fisheries announces final 2024 and projected 2025 specifications for the Atlantic bluefish fishery (shown below), based on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s recommendations, 2023 stock assessment, and bluefish rebuilding plan. The 2024 specifications decrease the commercial quota by 43 percent, and the recreational harvest limit (RHL) by 15 percent from 2023, but all catch limits are projected to increase by at least 25 percent in 2025.
2024-2025 Bluefish Fishery Specifications, in millions of pounds.*
|
|
2024 |
2025 (Projected) |
|
Overfishing Limit |
25.87 |
27.49 |
|
Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) = Fishery Annual Catch Limit (ACL) |
17.48 |
21.83 |
|
Commercial ACL = ACT |
2.45 |
3.06 |
|
Recreational ACL = ACT |
15.03 |
18.78 |
|
Commercial Discards |
0.02 |
0.02 |
|
Recreational Accountability Measures |
0 |
0 |
|
Recreational Discards |
3.08 |
3.08 |
|
Commercial Total Allowable Landings (TAL) |
2.42 |
3.03 |
|
Recreational TAL |
11.96 |
15.70 |
|
Sector Transfer |
0 |
0 |
|
Commercial Quota |
2.42 |
3.03 |
|
RHL |
11.96 |
15.70 |
*Specifications are derived from the ABC in metric tons (mt). When values are converted to millions of pounds the numbers may slightly shift due to rounding. The conversion factor used is 1 mt = 2204.6226 lb.
The commercial fishery state allocations are based on the final coast-wide commercial quota and the phased-in changes to the allocated percentages to the states defined in the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan specified in Amendment 7. No states exceeded their state allocated quota in 2022 or are projected to do so in 2023, so no adjustments are necessary for the 2024 commercial fishery at this time.
2024-2025 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations
|
|
2024 (Final) |
2025 (Projected) |
||
|
State |
Percent Share |
Quota (pounds) |
Percent Share |
Quota (pounds) |
|
Maine |
0.43 |
10,388 |
0.35 |
10,575 |
|
New Hampshire |
0.33 |
7,975 |
0.30 |
9,116 |
|
Massachusetts |
8.17 |
198,025 |
8.66 |
262,473 |
|
Rhode Island |
8.01 |
194,025 |
8.41 |
254,876 |
|
Connecticut |
1.19 |
28,821 |
1.16 |
35,284 |
|
New York |
14.40 |
348,947 |
15.74 |
477,171 |
|
New Jersey |
14.40 |
348,898 |
14.26 |
432,316 |
|
Delaware |
1.29 |
31,139 |
1.09 |
32,966 |
|
Maryland |
2.54 |
61,471 |
2.38 |
72,213 |
|
Virginia |
9.30 |
225,380 |
8.44 |
255,939 |
|
North Carolina |
32.05 |
776,452 |
32.04 |
971,305 |
|
South Carolina |
0.06 |
1,561 |
0.07 |
2,248 |
|
Georgia |
0.05 |
1,194 |
0.06 |
1,895 |
|
Florida |
7.80 |
188,899 |
7.04 |
213,469 |
|
Total |
100 |
2,422,880 |
100 |
3,031,356 |
All other management measures and requirements, including the recreational daily bag limit of three fish per person for private anglers and five fish per person for for-hire (charter/party) vessels, remain unchanged.
This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.
