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If you own or operate a private recreational vessel and target blueline or golden tilefish from Virginia northward, you must be issued a Private Recreational Tilefish Permit from the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO). You must also submit an electronic vessel trip report (eVTR) within 24 hours of completing your recreational tilefish trip. These requirements extend to all vessels, whether privately-owned or rented, including vessels otherwise permitted as for-hire or commercial vessels, when those vessels are being used in a private recreational fishing capacity, even if Highly Migratory Species (HMS) species were also targeted.
Recreational Tilefish Permit
If you don’t have a 2026 Private Recreational Tilefish Permit for your vessel, visit the NOAA Fisheries’ Fish Online website to apply for a permit.
Electronic Vessel Trip Reports (eVTR)
- If the only GARFO permit your vessel has is a Private Recreational Tilefish permit (not including any HMS permit), you can report all blueline and golden tilefish you keep and discard using the eFin Logbook app. However, any required HMS reports must be submitted separately using the appropriate HMS reporting app.
- If your vessel has any other GARFO permit, including any commercial or party/charter permit, you are required to report all species caught, not just tilefish. In that case, you should not use the eFin Logbook and instead use any of the other GARFO approved eVTR reporting applications.
- Note: Trips for tilefish and HMS species can be submitted on one report for those using SAFIS eTRIPS.
- Submit key information after each trip such as:
- Number of anglers
- Time spent fishing
- Number of tilefish kept/discarded
- Note for trips targeting tilefish and HMS species:
- For private recreational trips that include both tilefish and HMS, tilefish and HMS catch must be reported separately using the eFin Logbook and the applicable HMS reporting app.
- For those vessel operators who also hold a commercial or for-hire permit, a single private recreational eVTR covering all species may be submitted through SAFIS eTRIPS.
- Submit reports within 24 hours of returning from any trip on which tilefish were targeted, including trips where tilefish were caught, discarded, or targeted but not caught. A report is required even if no tilefish were caught or retained.
Visit the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Recreational Tilefish Permitting and Reporting page to learn more.
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