March 11, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today we filed a final rule approving and implementing the 2019 specifications for the Atlantic bluefish fishery recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council in cooperation with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The final 2019 specifications are fundamentally the same as 2018, with only minor adjustments to the final commercial quota and recreational harvest limit to account for most recent full year of recreational catch data (2017), and a 4.0 million lb of quota transferred from the recreational to the commercial sector rather than 3.5 million lb in 2018.

Table 1 (below) provides the commercial fishery state allocations for 2019 based on the final 2019 coast-wide commercial quota, and the allocated percentages defined in the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan. No states exceeded their state-allocated quota in 2018; therefore, no accountability measures need to be implemented for the 2019 fishing year.

Table 1. 2019 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations.

State	Percent Share	Quota Allocation (lb)
Maine	0.67	51,538
New Hampshire	0.41	31,956
Massachusetts	6.72	517,828
Rhode Island	6.81	524,874
Connecticut	1.27	97,626
New York	10.39	800,645
New Jersey	14.82	1,142,264
Delaware	1.88	144,801
Maryland	3.00	231,426
Virginia	11.88	915,857
North Carolina	32.06	2,471,746
South Carolina	0.04	2,714
Georgia	0.01	732
Florida	10.06	775,558
Total	100	7,709,565

For more details please read the rule as filed in the Federal Register and our permit holder bulletin.

Questions?
Fishermen: Contact Cynthia Ferrio, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9180
Media: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175