50 C.F.R. Subpart J—Management Measures for the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery
Title 50 - Wildlife and Fisheries
Source: 65 FR 45852, July 26, 2000, unless otherwise noted.
The fishing year is from January 1 through December 31. (a) Annual review. On or before August 15 of each year, the Bluefish Monitoring Committee will meet to determine the total allowable level of landings (TAL) and other restrictions necessary to achieve the target fishing mortality rate (F) specified in the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Bluefish for the upcoming fishing year or the estimated F for the fishing year preceding the Council submission of the recommended specifications, whichever F is lower. In determining the TAL and other restrictions necessary to achieve the specified F, the Bluefish Monitoring Committee will review the following data, subject to availability: Commercial, recreational, and research catch data; current estimates of fishing mortality; stock status; recent estimates of recruitment; virtual population analysis results; levels of noncompliance by fishermen or individual states; impact of size/mesh regulations; sea sampling data; impact of gear other than otter trawls and gill nets on the mortality of bluefish; and any other relevant information. (b) Recommended measures. Based on the annual review and requests for research quota as described in paragraph (h) of this section, the Bluefish Monitoring Committee shall recommend to the Coastal Migratory Committee of the Council and the Commission the following measures to ensure that the F specified in paragraph (a) of this section will not be exceeded: (1) A TAL set from a range of 0 to the maximum allowed to achieve the specified F. (2) Research quota set from a range of 0 to 3 percent of TAL. (3) Commercial minimum fish size. (4) Minimum mesh size. (5) Recreational possession limit set from a range of 0 to 20 bluefish to achieve the specified F. (6) Recreational minimum fish size. (7) Recreational season. (8) Restrictions on gear other than otter trawls and gill nets. (c) Allocation of TAL—(1) Recreational harvest limit. A total of 83 percent of the TAL will be allocated to the recreational fishery as a harvest limit. If research quota is specified as described in paragraph (h) of this section, the recreational harvest limit will be based on the TAL remaining after the deduction of the research quota. (2) Commercial quota. A total of 17 percent of the TAL will be allocated to the commercial fishery as a quota. If 17 percent of the TAL is less than 10.5 million lb (4.8 million kg) and the recreational fishery is not projected to land its harvest limit for the upcoming year, the commercial fishery may be allocated up to 10.5 million lb (4.8 million kg) as its quota, provided that the combination of the projected recreational landings and the commercial quota does not exceed the TAL. If research quota is specified as described in paragraph (h) of this section, the commercial quota will be based on the TAL remaining after the deduction of the research quota. (d) Annual fishing measures. The Council's Coastal Migratory Committee shall review the recommendations of the Bluefish Monitoring Committee. Based on these recommendations and any public comment, the Coastal Migratory Committee shall recommend to the Council measures necessary to ensure that the applicable specified F will not be exceeded. The Council shall review these recommendations and, based on the recommendations and any public comment, recommend to the Regional Administrator by September 1 measures necessary to ensure that the applicable specified F will not be exceeded. The Council's recommendations must include supporting documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the recommendations. The Regional Administrator shall review these recommendations and any recommendations of the Commission. After such review, NMFS will publish a proposed rule in the (e) Distribution of annual commercial quota. (1) The annual commercial quota will be distributed to the states, based upon the following percentages: (2) All bluefish landed for sale in a state shall be applied against that state's annual commercial quota, regardless of where the bluefish were harvested. Any overages of the commercial quota landed in any state will be deducted from that state's annual quota for the following year. (f) Quota transfers and combinations. Any state implementing a state commercial quota for bluefish may request approval from the Regional Administrator to transfer part or all of its annual quota to one or more states. Two or more states implementing a state commercial quota for bluefish may request approval from the Regional Administrator to combine their quotas, or part of their quotas, into an overall regional quota. Requests for transfer or combination of commercial quotas for bluefish must be made by individual or joint letter(s) signed by the principal state official with marine fishery management responsibility and expertise, or his/her previously named designee, for each state involved. The letter(s) must certify that all pertinent state requirements have been met and identify the states involved and the amount of quota to be transferred or combined. (1) Within 10 working days following the receipt of the letter(s) from the states involved, the Regional Administrator shall notify the appropriate state officials of the disposition of the request. In evaluating requests to transfer a quota or combine quotas, the Regional Administrator shall consider whether: (i) The transfer or combination would preclude the overall annual quota from being fully harvested. (ii) The transfer addresses an unforeseen variation or contingency in the fishery. (iii) The transfer is consistent with the objectives of the Bluefish FMP and Magnuson-Stevens Act. (2) The transfer of quota or the combination of quotas will be valid only for the calendar year for which the request was made. (3) A state may not submit a request to transfer quota or combine quotas if a request to which it is party is pending before the Regional Administrator. A state may submit a new request when it receives notification that the Regional Administrator has disapproved the previous request or when notification of the approval of the transfer or combination has been published in the (4) If there is a quota overage among states involved in the combination of quotas at the end of the fishing year, the overage will be deducted from the following year's quota for each of the states involved in the combined quota. The deduction will be proportional, based on each state's relative share of the combined quota for the previous year. A transfer of quota or combination of quotas does not alter any state's percentage share of the overall quota specified in paragraph (e)(1) of this section. (g) Based upon any changes in the landings data available from the states for the base years 1981-89, the Commission and the Council may recommend to the Regional Administrator that the states' shares specified in paragraph (e)(1) of this section be revised. The Council's and the Commission's recommendation must include supporting documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental and economic impacts of the recommendation. The Regional Administrator shall review the recommendation of the Commission and the Council. After such review, NMFS will publish a proposed rule in the (h) Research quota. See §648.21(g). [65 FR 45852, July 26, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 42162, Aug. 10, 2001; 70 FR 53970, Sept. 13, 2005] (a) EEZ closure. NMFS shall close the EEZ to fishing for bluefish by commercial vessels for the remainder of the calendar year by publishing notification in the (b) State quotas. The Regional Administrator will monitor state commercial quotas based on dealer reports and other available information and shall determine the date when a state commercial quota will be harvested. NMFS shall publish notification in the If the Council determines through its annual review or framework adjustment process that minimum fish sizes are necessary to assure that the fishing mortality rate is not exceeded, or to attain other FMP objective, such measures will be enacted through the procedure specified in §648.160(d) or 648.165. If the Council determines through its annual review or framework adjustment process that gear restrictions are necessary to assure that the fishing mortality rate is not exceeded, or to attain other FMP objectives, such measures will be enacted through the procedure specified in §§648.160(d) or 648.165. (a) No person shall possess more than 15 bluefish in, or harvested from, the EEZ unless that person is the owner or operator of a fishing vessel issued a bluefish commercial permit or is issued a bluefish dealer permit. Persons aboard a vessel that is not issued a bluefish commercial permit are subject to this possession limit. The owner, operator, and crew of a charter or party boat issued a bluefish commercial permit are not subject to the possession limit when not carrying passengers for hire and when the crew size does not exceed five for a party boat and three for a charter boat. (b) Bluefish harvested by vessels subject to the possession limit with more than one person on board may be pooled in one or more containers. Compliance with the daily possession limit will be determined by dividing the number of bluefish on board by the number of persons on board, other than the captain and the crew. If there is a violation of the possession limit on board a vessel carrying more than one person, the violation shall be deemed to have been committed by the owner and operator. [65 FR 45852, July 26, 2000, as amended at 66 FR 23627, May 9, 2001] (a) Within season management action. The Council may, at any time, initiate action to add or adjust management measures if it finds that action is necessary to meet or be consistent with the goals and objectives of the Bluefish FMP. (1) Adjustment process. After a management action has been initiated, the Council shall develop and analyze appropriate management actions over the span of at least two Council meetings. The Council shall provide the public with advance notice of the availability of both the proposals and the analysis and the opportunity to comment on them prior to and at the second Council meeting. The Council's recommendation on adjustments or additions to management measures must come from one or more of the following categories: Minimum fish size, maximum fish size, gear restrictions, gear requirements or prohibitions, permitting restrictions, recreational possession limit, recreational season, closed areas, commercial season, description and identification of essential fish habitat (EFH), fishing gear management measures to protect EFH, designation of habitat areas of particular concern within EFH, and any other management measures currently included in the FMP. (2) Council recommendation. After developing management actions and receiving public testimony, the Council shall make a recommendation to the Regional Administrator. The Council's recommendation must include supporting rationale and, if management measures are recommended, an analysis of impacts and a recommendation to the Regional Administrator on whether to issue the management measures as a final rule. If the Council recommends that the management measures should be issued as a final rule, the Council must consider at least the following factors and provide support and analysis for each factor considered: (i) Whether the availability of data on which the recommended management measures are based allows for adequate time to publish a proposed rule, and whether regulations have to be in place for an entire harvest/fishing season; (ii) Whether there has been adequate notice and opportunity for participation by the public and members of the affected industry in the development of the Council's recommended management measures; (iii) Whether there is an immediate need to protect the resource; and (iv) Whether there will be a continuing evaluation of management measures adopted following their implementation as a final rule. (3) Action by NMFS. If the Council's recommendation includes adjustments or additions to management measures and, after reviewing the Council's recommendation and supporting information: (i) If NMFS concurs with the Council's recommended management measures and determines that the recommended management measures should be issued as a final rule based on the factors specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, the measures will be issued as a final rule in the (ii) If NMFS concurs with the Council's recommendation and determines that the recommended management measures should be published first as a proposed rule, the measures will be published as a proposed rule in the (iii) If NMFS does not concur, the Council will be notified in writing of the reasons for the non-concurrence. (b) Emergency action. Nothing in this section is meant to derogate from the authority of the Secretary to take emergency action under section 305(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries
PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
Subpart J—Management Measures for the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery
§ 648.160 Catch quotas and other restrictions.
Annual Commercial Quota Shares------------------------------------------------------------------------ State Percentage------------------------------------------------------------------------ME................................................... 0.6685NH................................................... 0.4145MA................................................... 6.7167RI................................................... 6.8081CT................................................... 1.2663NY................................................... 10.3851NJ................................................... 14.8162DE................................................... 1.8782MD................................................... 3.0018VA................................................... 11.8795NC................................................... 32.0608SC................................................... 0.0352GA................................................... 0.0095FL................................................... 10.0597TOTAL................................................ 100.0000------------------------------------------------------------------------Note: The ``Total'' does not actually add up to 100.0000 because of rounding error.
§ 648.161 Closures.
§ 648.162 Minimum fish sizes.
§ 648.163 Gear restrictions.
§ 648.164 Possession restrictions.
§ 648.165 Framework specifications.
