NOAA Fisheries Announces Closure of Limited Access Longfin Squid Trimester II

Effective at 0001 hour on August 5, 2022, limited access longfin squid vessels are prohibited from fishing for or landing more than 250 lb of longfin squid per trip in or from federal waters through August 31, 2022. Vessels may not land longfin squid more than once per calendar day.

Landings information analyzed by NOAA Fisheries projects the longfin squid fishery will meet 90 percent of the Trimester II quota for the 2022 fishing year on August 5, 2022.

If you have started a trip prior to August 5, 2022, you may offload and sell more than 250 lb of longfin squid from that trip, as long as the vessel entered port before 0001 hr on August 5, 2022.

Tier 1 or 2 Longfin Squid Moratorium vessels on directed Illex squid fishing trips (i.e., are allowed to possess more than 10,000 lb of Illex) that are in the Illex Squid Exemption Area (see map and coordinates below) may possess up to 15,000 lb of longfin squid for a Tier 1 permit, and 5,000 lb of longfin squid for a Tier 2 permit. Once landward of coordinates outlined on the map, vessels must stow all fishing gear, and render it not available for immediate use in order to possess more than 250 lb of longfin squid.

Illex exemption area. 

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Illex squid exemption area coordinates.

For more information, please read the notice as filed in the Federal Register.

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.