The closure will be observed until August 31.
The Scientific and Statistical Committee during their meeting on Monday, recommended that MHI be allowed to land 254,050 pounds of seven deepwater species for the 2009-2010 fishing season.
The next fishing season will start in September.
Fishes such as Silver jaw jobfish, squirrelfish snapper, longtail snapper, Pink snapper, “kalekale” snapper, “gindai” snapper and sea bass are among the bottomfishes included in the TAC.
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) which is under a separate TAC remains open.
However, SSC recommends an additional six years to the closure of Hancock Seamount-a seamount in the northernmost part of NWHI.
The moratorium for the Hancock seamount is expected to end next year.
SSC is inviting the fishermen and the public to the meeting currently held at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. During the meeting, there will be a discussion and a forum where the public could provide their testimonies.
The SSC is under the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC).
WPRFMC was established by the U.S. Congress to manage fisheries in the exclusive economic zone around Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the US Pacific remote island areas.
