Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 203 / Monday, October 23, 2017 / Proposed Rules 48967 

[FR Doc. 2017–22771 Filed 10–20–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 160229159–7990–01] 

RIN 0648–BF85 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Framework 2 to the Tilefish 

Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to 

implement Framework Adjustment 2 to 

the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. 

Framework Adjustment 2 was 

developed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council to improve and 

simplify the administration of the 

golden tilefish fishery. These changes 

include removing an outdated reporting 

requirement, proscribing allowed gear 

for the recreational fishery, modifying 

the commercial incidental possession 

limit, requiring commercial golden 

tilefish be landed with the head and fins 

attached, and revising how assumed 

discards are accounted for when setting 

harvest limits. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 7, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2016–0024, 

by either of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2016- 

0024, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: John K. Bullard, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic 

Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great 

Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Mark the outside of the envelope: 

‘‘Comments on Tilefish Framework 2.’’ 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are part of the public record 

and will generally be posted to 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information 

(e.g., name, address, etc.) voluntarily 

submitted by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

confidential business information or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments. Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted 

via Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, 

WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats 

only. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden-hour estimates or other aspects 

of the collection-of-information 

requirements contained in this proposed 

rule may be submitted to the Greater 

Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office and 

by email to OIRA_Submission@

omb.eop.gov, or fax to (202) 395–7285. 

Copies of Framework 2, and of the 

draft Environmental Assessment and 

preliminary Regulatory Impact Review 

(EA/RIR), are available from the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council, 

800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, 

DE 19901. The EA/RIR is also accessible 

via the Internet at: 

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

978–281–9341, Douglas.Potts@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This action proposes regulations to 

implement Framework Adjustment 2 to 

the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council developed this 

framework to improve and simplify 

management measures for the golden 

tilefish fishery in Federal waters north 

of the Virginia/North Carolina border, 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The proposed 

management measures contained in 

Framework 2 are summarized below, 

with additional information and 

analysis are provided in the EA (see 

ADDRESSES). 

The Council’s original FMP for the 

golden tilefish fishery became effective 

in 2001 (66 FR 49136; September 26, 

2001). The FMP established Total 

Allowable Landings (TAL) as the 

primary control on fishing mortality, 

and implemented a limited entry 

program with a tiered commercial quota 

allocation of the TAL. Amendment 1 to 

the FMP replaced the previous 

management system with an individual 

fishing quota (IFQ) system that allocated 

the TAL to individual quota 

shareholders rather than different 

permit categories (74 FR 42580; August 

24, 2009). The Council developed this 

action to address several minor issues 

and inefficiencies that have been 

identified since the implementation of 

the IFQ system. 

Proposed Framework Adjustment 2 

Measures 

Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) 

Reporting Requirement Removal 

Commercial fishing vessels that land 

golden tilefish under the IFQ system are 

currently required to report each trip 

within 48 hours of landing through our 

IVR system. The Council originally 

created this reporting requirement when 

the fishery was managed under three 

permit categories, each with a sectorspecific annual landings limit. The IVR 

system provided timely landing reports 

to track quota use and allowed managers 

to close a permit category if the annual 

landings cap was reached. When the 

Council changed the management of the 

fishery to an IFQ system, it retained the 

IVR system to allow additional 

monitoring of landings. Improvements 

in electronic dealer-reported landings 

and other data streams have rendered 

this IVR report redundant, and the data 

are no longer used to monitor quotas. 

We propose to eliminate this 

unnecessary reporting requirement. 

Recreational Fishing Gear Limit 

In recent years, there have been 

reports of recreational fishermen using 

‘‘mini-longline’’ gear with a large 

number of hooks to target tilefish. The 

Council is concerned the use of this gear 

could result in dead discards if 

fishermen catch more than the eight-fish 

per person bag limit using this type of 

gear setup. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

list of authorized gear types at 50 CFR 

600.75(v) already restricts the 

recreational fishery to rod and reel and 

spear gear. However, to avoid any 

potential confusion and clarify the 

amount of gear allowed, the Council has 

recommended and we propose that rod 

and reel with a maximum of five hooks 

per rod should be the only authorized 

recreational tilefish gear for use in the 

Mid-Atlantic. Anglers could use either a 

manual or electric reel. 

Commercial Golden Tilefish Landing 

Condition 

The commercial tilefish fishery 

typically lands fish in a head-on, gutted 

condition. However, quotas and 

possession limits are in whole (round) 

weight. This requires the fishing 

industry to use a conversion factor to 

change landed weight to whole weight 

to comply with incidental possession 

limits and IFQ allocations. We proposed 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
48968 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 203 / Monday, October 23, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

to require commercially caught golden 

tilefish to be landed with the head and 

fins attached, although they could be 

gutted. By requiring this, we can more 

reliably specify and monitor landing 

limits and quotas without requiring any 

conversion. This would simplify catch 

accounting and improve compliance for 

individuals participating in the 

commercial tilefish fishery. 

Commercial Golden Tilefish Possession 

Limit 

When the Council created the tilefish 

IFQ system, it allocated a separate quota 

and commercial possession limit of 500 

pounds (lb) (227 kilograms (kg)) to allow 

small landings of tilefish caught by nonIFQ vessels targeting other species. In 

recent years, there have been increasing 

reports of non-IFQ vessels specifically 

targeting golden tilefish to land the 

maximum commercial incidental 

possession limit. In an effort to ensure 

that the incidental fishery functions as 

originally intended, the Council 

approved changes to the commercial 

possession limit to ensure that vessels 

are targeting species other than golden 

tilefish. Through this action, we propose 

to modify the commercial golden 

tilefish landing limit to 500 lb (227 kg) 

or 50 percent, by weight, of all fish on 

board the vessel, whichever is less. 

Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) 

Authorized Vessels 

Tilefish IFQ allocation holders may 

authorize one or more vessels to land 

tilefish under their allocation. All 

golden tilefish landed by those vessels 

are then deducted from that allocation. 

We do not currently have a mechanism 

for a vessel to attribute golden tilefish 

landings from a single trip to more than 

one IFQ allocation. To create such a 

system would increase reporting burden 

on vessels and dealers, and add 

complexity to the IFQ accounting and 

cost recovery systems. In order to 

maintain simple and efficient 

administration of the IFQ fishery, we 

propose prohibiting a vessel from being 

authorized to land tilefish under 

multiple IFQ allocations on the same 

trip. A vessel could still change IFQ 

allocations over the course of the year 

while only being authorized by one IFQ 

allocation at a time. In addition, IFQ 

allocation holders could lease quota to 

maintain flexibility in harvesting their 

allocation. 

Assumed Discards in Quota-Setting 

Process 

The current process for setting annual 

specifications for the golden tilefish 

fishery deducts assumed discards of 

golden tilefish from the Annual Catch 

Target (ACT) to generate the TALs. The 

incidental sector is then allocated 5 

percent of the TAL and the remaining 

95 percent of the TAL is divided among 

the IFQ shareholders based on their 

individual quota holdings. However, 

discarding golden tilefish is prohibited 

in the IFQ fishery. As a result, observed 

discards are almost entirely from the 

incidental sector of the fishery. We 

propose to adjust the specification 

process to allocate the ACT between the 

incidental and IFQ sectors of the fishery 

using the 5- and 95-percent split. Sectorspecific assumed discards would then 

be deducted to establish sector-specific 

TALs. The IFQ TAL would be allocated 

to the individual IFQ shareholders. This 

change would likely result in a lower 

TAL for the incidental fishery compared 

to the current system. However, the 

amount of golden tilefish discards is 

small and the incidental fishery 

typically lands 40 to 50 percent of the 

TAL. Therefore, this proposed change is 

not expected to negatively impact the 

incidental fishery. 

Pursuant to section 303(c) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Council has 

deemed that this proposed rule is 

necessary and appropriate for the 

purpose of implementing Framework 2. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the Tilefish FMP, other provisions 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

that this proposed rule, if adopted, 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The Council prepared an 

analysis of the potential economic 

impacts of the action, which is included 

in the draft EA for this action and 

supplemented by information contained 

in the preamble of this proposed rule. 

For Regulatory Flexibility Act 

purposes, the NMFS has established a 

size standard for small businesses, 

including their affiliated operations, 

whose primary industry is commercial 

fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business 

primarily engaged in commercial fishing 

(NAICS code 11411) is classified as 

small if it is independently owned and 

operated, is not dominant in its field of 

operation (including its affiliates), and 

has combined annual receipts not in 

excess of $11 million for all its affiliated 

operations worldwide. The SBA has 

established size standards for all other 

major industry sectors in the U.S., 

including defining for-hire fishing firms 

(NAICS code 487210) as small when 

their receipts are less than $7.5 million. 

Using these definitions, during the 

2013–2015 period, there are 4 large and 

158 small commercial fishing entities 

that landed golden tilefish, and 210 

small recreational for-hire firms that had 

a tilefish charter/party permit. 

During 2013–2015, the 158 small 

commercial fishing entities had average 

annual receipts of $871,966, while their 

golden tilefish revenues averaged 

$35,068. Over the same period, the 210 

small recreational for-hire firms had 

average annual receipts of $138,380 

from all charter/party fishing activity for 

all species combined. Revenue data 

were not available by species, so it is 

not possible to determine how much is 

attributable to golden tilefish verses the 

numerous other fish species those 

recreational for-hire vessels may target. 

The proposed management measures 

are not expected to change the amount 

of fishing effort or the spatial and/or 

temporal distribution of fishing effort in 

the tilefish fishery. These proposed 

changes would improve the 

management of the fishery, but have 

limited impact on the operation of the 

fishery. Some of the proposed measures 

would codify how the fishery already 

operates, including landing commercial 

tilefish with the head attached, limiting 

IFQ vessels to fish for one IFQ 

allocation at a time, and limiting 

recreational fishing to rod and reel gear. 

The proposed change to the incidental 

commercial possession limit could 

reduce landings for some vessels. 

Analysis of data from 2011–2015 

shows that for fishing trips that landed 

golden tilefish under the incidental 

possession limit, the tilefish comprised 

just 0.3 percent of the weight and 0.8 

percent of the value of the total landings 

on those trips. The incidental landings 

of golden tilefish were approximately 

34,000 lb (15,400 kg) worth $82,000 per 

year. If this proposed measure had been 

in place during that time, it would have 

prevented the landing of approximately 

6,000 lb (2,700 kg) of golden tilefish 

worth $21,600 per year from trips where 

golden tilefish was more than 50 

percent of the total catch. This 

reduction would have been spread over 

28 fishing vessels that landed those 

trips, resulting in an average impact of 

less than $1,000 per vessel per year. 

Vessels potentially affected by this 

proposed measure may be able to offset 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 203 / Monday, October 23, 2017 / Proposed Rules 48969 

some of this impact by participating in 

another fishery. 

Given the low number of small 

entities involved in the tilefish fishery, 

and the small potential economic 

impact of the management measures 

proposed, this action will not have a 

‘‘significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities.’’ 

As a result, an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required and 

none has been prepared. 

This proposed rule would reduce a 

collection-of-information requirement 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act 

(PRA), which has been approved by 

OMB under control number 0648–0590. 

Public reporting burden for the IVR 

reporting requirement is estimated to 

average 2 minutes for each IVR 

response, including the time for 

reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. The proposed change 

would remove this reporting burden. 

Send comments regarding this burden 

estimate, or any other aspect of this data 

collection, including suggestions for 

reducing the burden, to NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES) and by email to OIRA_

Submission@omb.eop.gov, or fax to 

(202) 395–7285. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, and no person shall be 

subject to penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: October 16, 2017. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. 

§ 648.7 [Amended] 

■ 2. In § 648.7, paragraph (a)(2)(ii), is 

removed and reserved. 

■ 3. In § 648.14, paragraphs (u)(2)(vi) 

and (viii) are revised and paragraph 

(u)(2)(ix) is added to read as follows: 

§ 648.14 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(u) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(vi) Land or possess golden tilefish in 

or from the Tilefish Management Unit, 

on a vessel issued a valid tilefish permit 

under this part, after the incidental 

golden tilefish fishery is closed 

pursuant to § 648.295(a)(3), unless 

fishing under a valid tilefish IFQ 

allocation permit as specified in 

§ 648.294(a), or engaged in recreational 

fishing. 

* * * * * 

(viii) Land or possess golden or 

blueline tilefish in or from the Tilefish 

Management Unit, on a vessel issued a 

valid commercial tilefish permit under 

this part, that do not have the head and 

fins naturally attached to the fish. 

(ix) Engage in recreational fishing for 

golden tilefish with fishing gear that is 

not compliant with the gear restrictions 

specified at § 648.296. 

■ 4. In § 648.291, paragraph (a) 

introductory text and paragraph (a)(1) 

are revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.291 Tilefish Annual Catch Targets 

(ACT). 

(a) Golden tilefish. The Tilefish 

Monitoring Committee shall identify 

and review the relevant sources of 

management uncertainty to recommend 

ACTs for the individual fishing quota 

(IFQ) and incidental sectors of the 

fishery as part of the golden tilefish 

specification process. The Tilefish 

Monitoring Committee 

recommendations shall identify the 

specific sources of management 

uncertainty that were considered, 

technical approaches to mitigating these 

sources of uncertainty, and any 

additional relevant information 

considered in the ACT recommendation 

process. 

(1) ACT Allocation. (i) The ACT shall 

be less than or equal to the ACL. 

(ii) The Tilefish Monitoring 

Committee shall include the fishing 

mortality associated with the 

recreational fishery in its ACT 

recommendations only if this source of 

mortality has not already been 

accounted for in the ABC recommended 

by the SSC. 

(iii) The Tilefish Monitoring 

Committee shall allocate 5 percent of 

the ACT to the incidental sector of the 

fishery and the remaining 95 percent to 

the individual fishing quota (IFQ) 

sector. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 648.292, paragraphs (a) through 

(d), are revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.292 Tilefish specifications. 

(a) Annual specification process. The 

Tilefish Monitoring Committee shall 

review the ABC recommendation of the 

SSC, golden tilefish landings and 

discards information, and any other 

relevant available data to determine if 

the golden tilefish ACL, ACT, or total 

allowable landings (TAL) for the IFQ 

and/or incidental sectors of the fishery 

require modification to respond to any 

changes to the golden tilefish stock’s 

biological reference points or to ensure 

any applicable rebuilding schedule is 

maintained. The Monitoring Committee 

will consider whether any additional 

management measures or revisions to 

existing measures are necessary to 

ensure that the IFQ and/or incidental 

TAL will not be exceeded. Based on that 

review, the Monitoring Committee will 

recommend golden tilefish ACL, ACTs, 

and TALs to the Tilefish Committee of 

the MAFMC. Based on these 

recommendations and any public 

comment received, the Tilefish 

Committee shall recommend to the 

MAFMC the appropriate golden tilefish 

ACL, ACT, TAL, and other management 

measures for both the IFQ and the 

incidental sectors of the fishery for a 

single fishing year or up to 3 years. The 

MAFMC shall review these 

recommendations and any public 

comments received, and recommend to 

the Regional Administrator, at least 120 

days prior to the beginning of the next 

fishing year, the appropriate golden 

tilefish ACL, ACT, TAL, the percentage 

of TAL allocated to research quota, and 

any management measures to ensure 

that the TAL will not be exceeded, for 

both the IFQ and the incidental sectors 

of the fishery, for the next fishing year, 

or up to 3 fishing years. The MAFMC’s 

recommendations must include 

supporting documentation, as 

appropriate, concerning the 

environmental and economic impacts of 

the recommendations. The Regional 

Administrator shall review these 

recommendations, and after such 

review, NMFS will publish a proposed 

rule in the Federal Register specifying 

the annual golden tilefish ACL, ACT, 

TAL and any management measures to 

ensure that the TAL will not be 

exceeded for the upcoming fishing year 

or years for both the IFQ and the 

incidental sectors of the fishery. After 

considering public comments, NMFS 

will publish a final rule in the Federal 

Register to implement the golden 

tilefish ACL, ACTs, TALs and any 

management measures. The previous 

year’s specifications will remain 

effective unless revised through the 

specification process and/or the 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
48970 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 203 / Monday, October 23, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

research quota process described in 

paragraph (a)(5) of this section. NMFS 

will issue notification in the Federal 

Register if the previous year’s 

specifications will not be changed. 

(b) Total Allowable Landings (TAL). 

(1) The TALs for both the IFQ and the 

incidental sectors of the fishery for each 

fishing year will be specified pursuant 

to paragraph (a)(1) of this section. 

(2) The sum of the sector-specific TAL 

and the estimated sector-specific 

discards shall be less than or equal to 

the ACT for that sector of the fishery. 

(c) TAL allocation. For each fishing 

year, up to 3 percent of the incidental 

and IFQ TALs may be set aside for the 

purpose of funding research. The 

remaining IFQ TAL will be allocated to 

the individual IFQ permit holders as 

described in § 648.294(a). 

(d) Adjustments to the quota. If the 

incidental harvest exceeds the 

incidental TAL for a given fishing year, 

the incidental trip limit specified at 

§ 648.295(a)(2) may be reduced in the 

following fishing year. If an adjustment 

is required, a notification of adjustment 

of the quota will be published in the 

Federal Register. 

■ 6. In § 648.293, paragraph (a)(1), is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.293 Tilefish accountability 

measures. 

(a) Golden tilefish. (1) Commercial 

incidental fishery closure. See 

§ 648.295(a)(3). 

(2) Commercial ACL overage 

evaluation. If the golden tilefish ACL is 

exceeded, the amount of the ACL 

overage that cannot be directly 

attributed to IFQ allocation holders 

having exceeded their IFQ allocation 

will be deducted from the golden 

tilefish ACL in the following fishing 

year. All overages directly attributable 

to IFQ allocation holders will be 

deducted from the appropriate IFQ 

allocation(s) in the subsequent fishing 

year, as required by § 648.294(f). 

■ 7. In § 648.294, paragraph (b)(4), is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.294 Golden tilefish individual fishing 

quota (IFQ) program. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) IFQ Vessel. (i) All Federal vessel 

permit numbers listed on the IFQ 

allocation permit are authorized to 

possess golden tilefish pursuant to the 

IFQ allocation permit. 

(ii) An IFQ allocation permit holder 

who wishes to authorize an additional 

vessel(s) to possess golden tilefish 

pursuant to the IFQ allocation permit 

must send written notification to NMFS. 

This notification must include: 

(A) The vessel name and permit 

number, and 

(B) The dates on which the IFQ 

allocation permit holder desires the 

vessel to be authorized to land golden 

tilefish pursuant to the IFQ allocation 

permit. 

(iii) A vessel listed on the IFQ 

allocation permit is authorized to 

possess golden tilefish pursuant to the 

subject permit, until the end of the 

fishing year or until NMFS receives 

written notification from the IFQ 

allocation permit holder to remove the 

vessel. 

(iv) A single vessel may not be listed 

on more than one IFQ allocation permit 

at the same time. 

(v) A copy of the IFQ allocation 

permit must be carried on board each 

vessel so authorized to possess IFQ 

golden tilefish. 

§ 648.295 [Amended] 

■ 8. Section 648.295 is amended by: 

■ a. Revising the section heading; 

■ b. Revising paragraphs (a) and (b); and 

■ c. Adding paragraph (c). 

The addition and revisions to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.295 Tilefish commercial trip limits 

and landing condition. 

(a) Golden tilefish. (1) IFQ landings. 

Any golden tilefish landed by a vessel 

fishing under an IFQ allocation permit 

as specified at § 648.294(a), on a given 

fishing trip, count as landings under the 

IFQ allocation permit. 

(2) Incidental trip limit for vessels not 

fishing under an IFQ allocation. Any 

vessel of the United States fishing under 

a tilefish vessel permit, as described at 

§ 648.4(a)(12), unless the vessel is 

fishing under a tilefish IFQ allocation 

permit, is prohibited from possessing 

more than: 

(i) 500 lb (226.8 kg) of golden tilefish 

at any time, or 

(ii) 50 percent, by weight, of the total 

of all species being landed; whichever is 

less. 

(3) In-season closure of the incidental 

fishery. The Regional Administrator will 

monitor the harvest of the golden 

tilefish incidental TAL based on dealer 

reports and other available information, 

and shall determine the date when the 

incidental golden tilefish TAL has been 

landed. The Regional Administrator 

shall publish a notice in the Federal 

Register notifying vessel and dealer 

permit holders that, effective upon a 

specific date, the incidental golden 

tilefish fishery is closed for the 

remainder of the fishing year. 

(b) Blueline tilefish. [Reserved] 

(c) Landing condition. Commercial 

golden or blueline tilefish must be 

landed with head and fins naturally 

attached, but may be gutted. 

■ 9. In § 648.296, the section heading 

and paragraph (a) are revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.296 Tilefish recreational possession 

limits and gear restrictions. 

(a) Golden Tilefish. (1) Any person 

fishing from a vessel that is not fishing 

under a tilefish commercial vessel 

permit issued pursuant to § 648.4(a)(12), 

may land up to eight golden tilefish per 

trip. Anglers fishing onboard a charter/ 

party vessel shall observe the 

recreational possession limit. 

(2) Any vessel engaged in recreational 

fishing may not retain golden tilefish, 

unless exclusively using rod and reel 

fishing gear, with a maximum limit of 

five hooks per rod. Anglers may use 

either a manual or electric reel. 

[FR Doc. 2017–22750 Filed 10–20–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


jstallworth on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with PROPOSALS