§648.24. Fishery closures and accountability measures.

50 C.F.R. § 648.24

(a)

Fishery closure procedures—

(1)

Longfin squid. NMFS shall close the directed fishery in the EEZ for longfin squid when the Regional Administrator projects that 90 percent of the longfin squid quota is harvested before April 15 of Trimester I and/or August 15 of Trimester II, and when 95 percent of the longfin squid DAH has been harvested in Trimester III. On or after April 15 of Trimester I and/or August 15 of Trimester II, NMFS shall close the directed fishery in the EEZ for longfin squid when the Regional Administrator projects that 95 percent of the longfin squid quota is harvested. The closure of the directed fishery shall be in effect for the remainder of that fishing period, with incidental catches allowed as specified at § 648.26.

(2)

Illex. NMFS shall close the directed Illex fishery in the EEZ when the Regional Administrator projects that 96 percent of the Illex DAH is harvested. The closure of the directed fishery shall be in effect for the remainder of that fishing period, with incidental catches allowed as specified at § 648.26.

(b)

Atlantic Mackerel AMs— Possession Limit Adjustments—(i) Possession Limit Adjustment—Phase 2. When the Regional Administrator projects that 1,100 mt of the Atlantic mackerel DAH is remaining, NMFS will reduce the commercial Atlantic mackerel possession limits as specified in § 648.26(a)(2) for the remainder of the fishing year.

(ii)

Possession Limit Adjustment—Phase 3. When the Regional Administrator projects that 220 mt of the Atlantic mackerel DAH is remaining, NMFS will reduce the commercial mackerel possession limits as specified in § 648.26(a)(3) for the remainder of the fishing year.

(iii)

Regional Administrator discretion. NMFS has the discretion to not implement measures outlined in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section during November and December if the Regional Administrator projects that commercial Atlantic mackerel landings will not exceed the DAH during the remainder of the fishing year.

(2)

Atlantic mackerel commercial landings overage repayment. If the Atlantic mackerel ACL is exceeded and commercial fishery landings are responsible for the overage, then landings in excess of the DAH will be deducted from the DAH as a single-year adjustment as soon as possible in a subsequent year.

(3)

Non-landing AMs. In the event that the Atlantic mackerel ACL is exceeded, and that the overage has not been accommodated through the landing-based AM described in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, but is attributable to the commercial sector, then the exact amount, in pounds, by which the commercial Atlantic mackerel ACT was exceeded will be deducted from the commercial Atlantic mackerel ACT as a single-year adjustment as soon as possible in a subsequent year.

(4)

Atlantic mackerel recreational AMs. If the Atlantic mackerel ACL is exceeded and recreational fishery catch is responsible for the overage, then adjustments to the recreational management measures, taking into account the performance of the measures and conditions that precipitated the overage, will be made as soon as possible in a subsequent year.

(5)

Atlantic mackerel ACL overage evaluation. The Atlantic mackerel ACL will be evaluated based on a single-year examination of total catch (landings and discards). Both landings and dead discards will be evaluated in determining if the Atlantic mackerel ACL has been exceeded. NMFS shall make determinations about overages and implement any changes to the Atlantic mackerel specifications necessary to account for the ACL overage as a single-year adjustment, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, through notification in the Federal Register.

(6)

River herring and shad catch cap. The river herring and shad cap on the Atlantic mackerel fishery applies to all trips that land more than 20,000 lb (9.07 mt) of Atlantic mackerel. NMFS shall close the limited access Atlantic mackerel fishery in the EEZ when the Regional Administrator projects that 95 percent of the river herring/shad catch cap has been harvested. Following closures of the limited access Atlantic mackerel fishery, vessels must adhere to the possession restrictions specified in § 648.26.

(c)

Butterfish AMs—

(1)

Directed butterfish fishery closure. When the butterfish catch reaches the butterfish closure threshold as determined in the annual specifications, NMFS shall implement a 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) possession limit for vessels issued a butterfish moratorium permit that are fishing with a minimum mesh size of 3-inch (7.62-cm) diamond mesh or greater than 2 5/8-inch (6.67-cm) square mesh. When NMFS projects that the butterfish catch has reached the butterfish DAH, as determined in the annual specifications, NMFS shall implement a 600 lb (272 kg) possession limit for all vessels issued a longfin squid or butterfish moratorium permit, or a squid/butterfish incidental catch permit.

(2)

Butterfish ACL overage repayment. If the butterfish ACL is exceeded, then catch in excess of the ACL will be deducted from the ACL as a single-year adjustment as soon as possible in a subsequent year.

(3)

Butterfish discard cap on the longfin squid fishery. NMFS shall close the directed fishery in the EEZ for longfin squid when the Regional Administrator projects that 95 percent of each Trimester's butterfish discard cap allocation has been harvested.

(4)

Butterfish ACL overage evaluation. The ACL will be evaluated based on a single-year examination of total catch (landings and discards). Both landings and dead discards will be evaluated in determining if the ACL has been exceeded. NMFS shall make determinations about overages and implement any changes to the ACL as a single-year adjustment, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, through notification in the Federal Register, as soon as possible in a subsequent year.

(5)

Butterfish allocation transfer. NMFS may transfer up to 50 percent of any unused butterfish allocation from the butterfish DAH to the butterfish discard cap on the longfin squid fishery if the butterfish catch in the longfin squid fishery is likely to result in a closure of the longfin squid fishery, and provided the transfer does not increase the likelihood of closing the directed butterfish fishery. NMFS may instead transfer up to 50 percent of the unused butterfish catch from the butterfish discard cap allocation to the butterfish DAH if harvest of butterfish in the directed butterfish fishery is likely to exceed the butterfish DAH, and provided the transfer of butterfish allocation from the butterfish discard cap allocation does not increase the likelihood of closing the longfin squid fishery due to harvest of the butterfish discard cap. NMFS would make this transfer on or about November 15 each fishing year, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

(d)

Notification. Upon determining that a closure or trip limit reduction is necessary, the Regional Administrator will notify, in advance of the closure, the Executive Directors of the MAFMC, NEFMC, and SAFMC; mail notification of the closure or trip limit reduction to all holders of Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, and butterfish fishery permits at least 72 hr before the effective date of the closure; provide adequate notice of the closure or trip limit reduction to recreational participants in the fishery; and publish notification of the closure or trip limit reduction in the Federal Register.

(e)

Atlantic Chub Mackerel AMs—

(1)

Commercial fishery closures.

(i)

When the Regional Administrator projects that 90 percent of the Atlantic chub mackerel TAL will be landed, the Regional Administrator will reduce the Atlantic chub mackerel possession limit as specified in § 648.26(e)(2)(i) through notification in the Federal Register.

(ii)

When the Regional Administrator projects that 100 percent of the Atlantic chub mackerel TAL will be landed, the Regional Administrator will reduce the Atlantic chub mackerel possession limit as specified in § 648.26(e)(2)(ii) for the remainder of the fishing year (December 31) through notification in the Federal Register.

(2)

Overage repayment. The Regional Administrator will evaluate both landings and dead discards in a single year to determine if the Atlantic chub mackerel ACL specified in § 648.22(b)(5) has been exceeded. If the Atlantic chub mackerel ACL has been exceeded, then catch in excess of the Atlantic chub mackerel ACT will be deducted from the Atlantic chub mackerel ACT as a single-year adjustment as soon as possible in a subsequent year. The Regional Administrator shall implement any changes to the Atlantic chub mackerel ACT, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, through notification in the Federal Register.

(3)

Transiting. Any vessel issued a valid commercial Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, longfin squid, or butterfish permit in accordance with § 648.4 may transit the Atlantic Chub Mackerel Management Unit with an amount of Atlantic chub mackerel on board that exceeds the possession limits specified in this section to land in a port that is within the Atlantic Chub Mackerel Management Unit, provided that all Atlantic chub mackerel was harvested outside of the Atlantic Chub Mackerel Management Unit and that all gear is stowed and not available for immediate use as defined in § 648.2.

Notes, amendments, and revision history

Amendments

[76 FR 60619, Sept. 29, 2011, as amended at 76 FR 68656, Nov. 7, 2011; 77 FR 16480, Mar. 21, 2012; 77 FR 3354, Jan. 16, 2013; 78 FR 76762, Dec. 19, 2013; 79 FR 18843, Apr. 4, 2014; 79 FR 18481, Apr. 2, 2014; 80 FR 14874, Mar. 20, 2015; 80 FR 48248, Aug. 12, 2015; 83 FR 65314, Dec. 20, 2018; 83 FR 64268, Dec. 14, 2018; 84 FR 58058, Oct. 30, 2019; 85 FR 47115, Aug. 4, 2020; 86 FR 38588, July 22, 2021; 87 FR 48448, Aug. 9, 2022; 88 FR 6670, Feb. 1, 2023; 88 FR 48392, July 27, 2023; 89 FR 25821, Apr. 12, 2024; 90 FR 45677, Sept. 23, 2025; 91 FR 22464, Apr. 27, 2026]

§648.24. Fishery closures and accountability measures.

Amendments

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