Pacific Island Fisheries; Annual Catch Limit and Accountability Measures; Main Hawaiian Islands Deep 7 Bottomfish for Fishing Years 2021-2024

In this final rule, NMFS implements an annual catch limit (ACL) of 492,000 lb (223,167 kg) for Deep 7 bottomfish in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) for each of the three fishing years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24. As an in-season accountability measure (AM), if NMFS projects that the fishery will reach the ACL in any given fishing year, we would close the commercial and non-commercial fisheries in Federal waters for the remainder of the fishing year. As a post-season AM, if NMFS determines that the catch exceeded the ACL in a fishing year, we would reduce the ACL for the following fishing year by the amount of the overage. This rule supports the long-term sustainability of Deep 7 bottomfish.