[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 215 (Monday, November 10, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50743-50744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-19837]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 250623-0112; RTID 0648-XF223]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Blueline Tilefish
Fishery; 2025 Blueline Tilefish Commercial Quota Harvested
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure of the blueline tilefish commercial
fishery.
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SUMMARY: Effective at 0001 hours on November 10, 2025, Federal
commercial tilefish permit holders are prohibited from fishing for,
catching, possessing, transferring or landing blueline tilefish in the
Tilefish Management Unit for the remainder of the 2025 fishing year.
This action is required because NMFS has projected that 100 percent of
the 2025 total allowable landings will have been caught. This action is
intended to prevent over-harvest of blueline tilefish for the fishing
year.
DATES: Effective November 10, 2025 through December 31, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Rigdon, Fishery Management
Specialist, [email protected], 978-281-9336.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations for the blueline tilefish
fishery are at 50 CFR part 648. The regulations at Sec.
648.295(b)(2)(ii) require that when NMFS projects that blueline
tilefish catch will reach 100 percent of the total allowable landings
(TAL), the Regional Administrator must close the commercial blueline
tilefish fishery for the remainder of the fishing year. No vessel may
retain or land blueline tilefish in or from the Tilefish Management
Unit after the announced closure date. NMFS monitors the blueline
tilefish fishery catch based on dealer reports, state data, and other
available information. NMFS must publish a notice in the Federal
Register notifying blueline tilefish vessel and dealer permit holders
of the closure date when 100 percent of the TAL is projected to be
landed.
The Regional Administrator has determined, based on dealer reports
and other available information, that the blueline tilefish commercial
fishery has caught 100 percent of the 2025 TAL. Effective 0001 hours,
November 10, 2025, vessels may not retain or land blueline tilefish in
or from the Tilefish Management Unit through December 31, 2025.
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. This action is
required by 50 CFR part 648, which was issued pursuant to section
304(b), and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
NMFS finds good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) and 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3) to waive prior notice and the opportunity for public comment
and the delayed effectiveness period because it would be contrary to
the public interest and impracticable. Data and other information
indicating the blueline tilefish commercial fishery will have landed
100 percent of the TAL have only recently become available.
[[Page 50744]]
Landings data are updated by dealer reports on a weekly basis, and NMFS
monitors data as catch increases toward the limit. This action is
routine and formulaic. The regulations at Sec. 648.295(b)(2)(ii)
require such action to ensure that blueline tilefish commercial vessels
do not exceed the 2025 TAL. If implementation of this action is
delayed, the Annual Catch Limit for the 2025 fishing year may be
exceeded, thereby undermining the conservation objectives of the
Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. Also, the public had prior notice and
full opportunity to comment on this process when the provisions
regarding closures and the 2025 quota levels were put in place.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 6, 2025.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-19837 Filed 11-7-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P