Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Tilefish Fishery; Reinstatement of Permit Requirements for the Tilefish Fishery

NMFS reinstates the permit requirements for commercial tilefish vessels. These permit requirements were set aside in a recent Federal Court Order (Court Order) on the grounds that the limited access program contained in the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) violated National Standard 2 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Court found that there was insufficient support for the various limited access permit criteria in the administrative record for the FMP. NMFS is reinstating these permit requirements based on additional information in the form of a supplemental administrative record to the FMP (supplemental record) provided by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) that supports and explains the basis for the limited access permit criteria contained in the FMP. This action also allocates the remainder of the fishing year 2004 (November 1, 2003 - October 31, 2004) tilefish total allowable landings (TAL) to the various limited access permit categories according to the regulations, based upon a projection of tilefish landings through the effective date of this rule, and using dealer reports. This action will enable NMFS to manage the tilefish fishery in accordance with the provisions of the Magnuson- Stevens Act by preventing overfishing, and ensuring that the stock rebuilding objective of the FMP is achieved.