Fisheries off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Western Pacific Pelagic Fisheries; Fishery Closure

NMFS is closing the shallow-set pelagic longline fishery north of the equator for all vessels registered under the Hawaii longline limited access program. This action is necessary to comply with regulations that govern the pelagic fisheries of the western Pacific region that establish maximum annual limits on the numbers of interactions that occur between longline fishing gear and sea turtles. The 2006 annual limit on physical interactions between longline fishing and sea turtles has been reached, so the fishery must be closed for the remainder of the calendar year.