Pacific Island Fisheries; Annual Catch Limit and Accountability Measures; Main Hawaiian Islands Deep 7 Bottomfish

This final rule establishes an annual catch limit (ACL) of 492,000 lb for Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) for each of the three fishing years 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. If NMFS projects that the fishery will reach the ACL in any given fishing year, NMFS would close the commercial and non-commercial fisheries for MHI Deep 7 bottomfish in Federal waters for the remainder of that fishing year as an accountability measure (AM). This rule also makes housekeeping changes to the Federal bottomfish fishing regulations. This rule supports the long-term sustainability of Deep 7 bottomfish.