COMMERCIAL FISHERY FOR TILEFISHES CLOSED TO VESSELS FISHING IN THE GULF OF MEXICO FEDERAL WATERS

COMMERCIAL FISHERY FOR TILEFISHES CLOSED TO VESSELS

FISHING IN THE GULF OF MEXICO FEDERAL WATERS

The commercial fishery for tilefishes in the Gulf of Mexico is closed, effective 12:01 a.m. (local time) May 10, 2008, through December 31, 2008. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service has determined the 2008 commercial quota of 440,000 pounds of tilefishes will be reached by this date. During the closure period, no person aboard a vessel for which a commercial permit for reef fish has been issued may commercially fish for tilefishes in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico .

Closure of the commercial fishery for tilefishes in the Gulf of Mexico complies with regulations implementing the Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and is necessary to protect the Gulf reef fish resource.

The operator of a vessel with a valid reef fish permit having tilefishes aboard must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such tilefishes prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, May 10, 2008. The prohibition on sale or purchase does not apply to sale or purchase of tilefishes that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, May 10, 2008, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.

The fishery will remain closed until 12:01 a.m., January 1, 2009. During the closure, vessels with commercial quantities of other Gulf reef fish on board are prohibited from retaining a recreational bag limit of tilefish.

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This bulletin provides only a summary of the information regarding the existing regulations. Any discrepancies between this bulletin and the regulations as published in the Federal Register will be resolved in favor of the Federal Register .