Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2023 Specifications, 78011-78013 [2022-27661]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 21, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
b. Redesignate paragraph (c)(1)(vi) as
paragraph (c)(1)(vii);
■ c. Add new paragraph (c)(1)(vi); and
■ d. Revise paragraphs (c)(4)(i)
introductory text and (c)(4)(ii), (iii), (v),
and (viii).
The revisions and addition read as
follows:
■
§ 173.185
Lithium cells and batteries.
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
*
*
*
*
*
(c) * * *
(1) * * *
(iii) Except when lithium cells or
batteries are packed with or contained
in equipment in quantities not
exceeding 5 kg net weight, the outer
package that contains lithium cells or
batteries must be appropriately marked:
‘‘PRIMARY LITHIUM BATTERIES—
FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT
ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT’’,
‘‘LITHIUM METAL BATTERIES—
FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT
ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT’’,
‘‘LITHIUM ION BATTERIES—
FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT
ABOARD PASSENGER AIRCRAFT’’, or
‘‘LITHIUM BATTERIES—FORBIDDEN
FOR TRANSPORT ABOARD
PASSENGER AIRCRAFT’’, or labeled
with a ‘‘CARGO AIRCRAFT ONLY’’
label as specified in § 172.448 of this
subchapter.
(iv) For transportation by highway or
rail only, the lithium content of the cell
and battery may be increased to 5 g for
a lithium metal cell or 25 g for a lithium
metal battery and 60 Wh for a lithium
ion cell or 300 Wh for a lithium ion
battery, provided the outer package is
marked: ‘‘LITHIUM BATTERIES—
FORBIDDEN FOR TRANSPORT
ABOARD AIRCRAFT AND VESSEL.’’ A
package marked in accordance with this
paragraph does not need to display the
marking required in paragraph (c)(1)(iii)
of this section.
*
*
*
*
*
(vi) When a package marked or
labeled in accordance with paragraph
(c)(1)(iii) or (iv) of this section is placed
in an overpack, the selected marking or
label must either be clearly visible
through the overpack, or the marking or
label must also be affixed on the outside
of the overpack.
*
*
*
*
*
(4) * * *
(i) For transportation by aircraft,
lithium cells and batteries may not
exceed the limits in the following Table
1 to paragraph (c)(4)(i). The limits on
the maximum number of batteries and
maximum net quantity of batteries in
the following table may not be
combined in the same package. The
limits in the following table do not
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:59 Dec 20, 2022
Jkt 259001
apply to lithium cells and batteries
packed with, or contained in,
equipment.
*
*
*
*
*
(ii) Not more than one package
prepared in accordance with paragraph
(c)(4)(i) of this section may be placed
into an overpack.
(iii) A shipper is not permitted to offer
for transport more than one package
prepared in accordance with the
provisions of paragraph (c)(4)(i) of this
section in any single consignment.
*
*
*
*
*
(v) Packages and overpacks of lithium
batteries prepared in accordance with
paragraph (c)(4)(i) of this section must
be offered to the operator separately
from cargo which is not subject to the
requirements of this subchapter and
must not be loaded into a unit load
device before being offered to the
operator.
*
*
*
*
*
(viii) Lithium cells and batteries must
not be packed in the same outer
packaging with other hazardous
materials. Packages prepared in
accordance with paragraph (c)(4)(i) of
this section must not be placed into an
overpack with packages containing
hazardous materials and articles of Class
1 (explosives) other than Division 1.4S,
Division 2.1 (flammable gases), Class 3
(flammable liquids), Division 4.1
(flammable solids), or Division 5.1
(oxidizers).
*
*
*
*
*
Issued in Washington, DC, on December
14, 2022, under authority delegated in 49
CFR part 1.97.
Tristan H. Brown,
Deputy Administrator, Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2022–27563 Filed 12–20–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–60–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 221215–0272; RTID 0648–
XC422]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2023
Specifications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Frm 00041
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
78011
NMFS issues final
specifications for the 2023 Atlantic
bluefish fishery, as recommended by the
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council and the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission. This action is
necessary to establish allowable harvest
levels for the stock to prevent
overfishing and promote rebuilding,
while enabling optimum yield, using
the best scientific information available.
DATES: Effective on January 1, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council prepared a
Supplemental Information Report (SIR)
for these specifications that describes
the action, and any changes from the
original environmental assessment (EA)
and analyses for 2023 specifications
action. Copies of the SIR, original EA,
and other supporting documents for this
action, are available upon request from
Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800
North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
These documents are also accessible via
the internet at https://www.mafmc.org/
supporting-documents.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281–9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council and the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission
jointly manage the Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The
FMP requires the specification of annual
regulatory limits including: An
acceptable biological catch (ABC);
commercial and recreational annual
catch limits (ACL); commercial and
recreational annual catch targets (ACT);
a commercial quota; a recreational
harvest limit (RHL); and other
management measures, for up to 3 years
at a time. This action implements
adjusted bluefish specifications for the
2023 fishing year, based on the most
recent data and Council and
Commission recommendations.
Catch limits for the 2023 bluefish
fishery were previously projected in a
multi-year specifications action (87 FR
5739, February 2, 2022), based on a
2021 assessment update and
Amendment 7 to the Bluefish FMP (86
FR 66977, November 24, 2021). Those
2023 specifications would increase the
commercial quota 21 percent and the
RHL 59 percent from 2022 limits. No
changes were necessary to the majority
of those projected specifications;
however, there was a recreational catch
overage of 5.59 million lb (2,536 mt) in
E:\FR\FM\21DER1.SGM
21DER1
78012
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 21, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
2021 that is required to be paid back
pound-for-pound through accountability
measures (AM) in 2023, and updated
data indicated that the initial projection
of recreational discards was too low. To
account for this new information, the
2023 RHL has been adjusted from the
projected 22.14 million lb (10,044 mt) to
14.11 million lb (6,400 mt), which is an
increase of 1.6 percent from 2022, rather
than 59 percent. No changes were
recommended to recreational
management measures because the
adjusted RHL is only slightly higher
than the 2022 RHL, and there was no
compelling reason to change existing
measures.
The proposed rule for this action
published in the Federal Register on
November 15, 2022 (87 FR 68434), and
comments were accepted through
November 30, 2022. NMFS received five
comments from the public, and no
changes were made to the final rule
because of those comments (see
Comments and Responses for additional
detail). Additional background
information regarding the development
of these specifications was provided in
the proposed rule and is not repeated
here.
Final Specifications
This action implements the Council
and Commission’s recommended 2023
bluefish catch specifications, as
outlined in the proposed rule (Table 1).
These final specifications increase the
coastwide commercial quota by 21
percent, as previously projected, and the
RHL by 1.6 percent, rather than 59
percent as originally projected.
TABLE 1—FINAL ADJUSTED 2023 BLUEFISH SPECIFICATIONS *
Million lb
Overfishing Limit ......................................................................................................................................................
ABC ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL = Commercial ACT ......................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL = Recreational ACT ....................................................................................................................
Recreational AM ......................................................................................................................................................
Recreational Discards ..............................................................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...................................................................................................................................................
RHL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
45.17
30.62
4.29
26.34
5.59
6.64
4.29
14.11
Metric tons
20,490
13,890
1,945
11,945
2,536
3,012
1,945
6,400
* Specifications are derived from the ABC in metric tons (mt). When values are converted to millions of pounds the numbers may slightly shift
due to rounding. The conversion factor used is 1 mt = 2,204.6226 lb.
The final coastwide commercial quota
is allocated among the coastal states
from Maine to Florida based on percent
shares specified in the FMP, and the
phased-in changes to these share
allocations specified in Amendment 7 to
the FMP (86 FR 66977, November 24,
2021). The 2023 state bluefish quota
allocations (Table 2) are unchanged
from what was previously projected, as
there are no adjustments to the
commercial sector. In addition, no states
exceeded their allocated quota in 2021
or 2022; therefore, no AMs for the
commercial fishery are required for the
2023 fishing year.
TABLE 2—2023 BLUEFISH STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTA ALLOCATIONS
Percent
share
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
State
Quota
(lb)
Quota
(kg)
Maine ...........................................................................................................................................
New Hampshire ...........................................................................................................................
Massachusetts .............................................................................................................................
Rhode Island ................................................................................................................................
Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................
New York .....................................................................................................................................
New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................
Delaware ......................................................................................................................................
Maryland ......................................................................................................................................
Virginia .........................................................................................................................................
North Carolina ..............................................................................................................................
South Carolina .............................................................................................................................
Georgia ........................................................................................................................................
Florida ..........................................................................................................................................
0.51
0.36
7.69
7.61
1.22
13.06
14.54
1.48
2.69
10.16
32.05
0.05
0.04
8.55
21,807
15,331
329,578
326,165
52,094
560,031
623,295
63,572
115,409
435,625
1,374,077
2,344
1,544
366,585
9,892
6,954
149,494
147,946
23,629
254,026
282,722
28,836
52,349
197,596
623,271
1,063
700
166,280
Total ......................................................................................................................................
100.01
4,287,109
1,944,600
As previously mentioned, this action
makes no changes to recreational
management measures, including the
recreational daily bag limit of three fish
per person for private anglers and five
fish per person for for-hire (charter/
party) vessels.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:59 Dec 20, 2022
Jkt 259001
Comments and Responses
The public comment period for the
proposed rule ended on November 15,
2022, and NMFS received five
comments from the public. No changes
were made to final rule as a result of
these comments.
Comment 1: Three comments
expressed similar opposition to the
current recreational bag limits for
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
bluefish; specifically that private anglers
are held to a limit of three fish per
person, while party/charter boats are
allowed five fish per person.
Response: This action does not
change or affect the bluefish recreational
management measures, including bag
limits. That said, the issue of
recreational bag limits was discussed at
length following the overfished
E:\FR\FM\21DER1.SGM
21DER1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 244 / Wednesday, December 21, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
determination of the stock in 2019, and
in the development of specifications for
fishing years 2020 and 2021. There is a
possibility that these limits will be
revisited for the 2024 fishing year
following the next assessment, but no
changes are considered in this
specifications action for 2023.
Comment 2: Another commenter
noted that any additional restriction of
the recreational bluefish fishery is
unnecessary and would cause economic
burden.
Response: NMFS understands the
concern expressed for the recreational
sector; however, this action does not
add any restrictions to the bluefish
fishery. Even though the RHL is
increasing less than previously
projected, it is still increasing 1.6
percent from 2022.
Comment 3: The final commenter
simply voiced support for the action
and encouraged implementation as soon
as possible.
Response: NMFS agrees and is
implementing this rule in a timely
manner.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
There are no substantive changes from
the proposed rule.
Classification
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the
Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (MagnusonStevens Act), the NMFS Assistant
Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region,
has determined that these final
specifications are necessary for the
conservation and management of the
Atlantic bluefish fishery, and that they
are consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:59 Dec 20, 2022
Jkt 259001
FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and
other applicable law.
The Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the
30-day delay in effective date for this
rule to ensure that the final
specifications are in place as close as
practicable to the start of the bluefish
fishing year on January 1, 2023. This
action establishes the final
specifications (i.e., catch limits) for the
2023 bluefish fishery. A delay in
effectiveness well beyond the start of
this fishing year would be contrary to
the public interest as it could create
confusion in the bluefish industry, and
compromise the effectiveness of the
increased quota allocations both to
fishery sectors, and commercially
among the states. State agencies also use
commercially-allocated quotas to set
annual state management measures, so
the longer these specifications are
delayed, the longer it will take for some
states to implement their respective
regulations. Additionally, because catch
limits are increasing, a further delay
into the new fishing year could also
cause potential economic harm to the
fishery through lost opportunity to fish
under the higher limits.
Furthermore, regulated parties do not
require any additional time to come into
compliance with this rule, and thus, a
30-day delay before the final rule
becomes effective does not provide any
benefit. Unlike actions that require an
adjustment period, bluefish fishery
participants will not have to purchase
new equipment or otherwise expend
time or money to comply with these
management measures. Rather,
complying with this final rule simply
means adhering to the new catch limits
PO 00000
Frm 00043
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 9990
78013
set for the 2023 fishing year. Fishery
stakeholders have also been involved in
the development of this action and are
anticipating this rule. For these reasons,
NMFS finds that a 30-day delay in
effectiveness would be contrary to the
public interest, and therefore, waives
the requirement consistent with 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3).
This final rule is not subject to review
under Executive Order 12866 because
the action contains no implementing
regulations.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration during
the proposed rule stage that this action
would not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for the
certification was published in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here.
No comments were received regarding
this certification, and the initial
certification remains unchanged. As a
result, a final regulatory flexibility
analysis is not required and none was
prepared.
This final rule does not duplicate,
conflict, or overlap with any existing
Federal rules.
This action contains no information
collection requirements under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 15, 2022.
Andrew James Strelcheck,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022–27661 Filed 12–20–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\21DER1.SGM
21DER1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 78011-78013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27661]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 221215-0272; RTID 0648-XC422]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery; 2023 Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS issues final specifications for the 2023 Atlantic
bluefish fishery, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. This
action is necessary to establish allowable harvest levels for the stock
to prevent overfishing and promote rebuilding, while enabling optimum
yield, using the best scientific information available.
DATES: Effective on January 1, 2023.
ADDRESSES: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council prepared a
Supplemental Information Report (SIR) for these specifications that
describes the action, and any changes from the original environmental
assessment (EA) and analyses for 2023 specifications action. Copies of
the SIR, original EA, and other supporting documents for this action,
are available upon request from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North
State Street, Dover, DE 19901. These documents are also accessible via
the internet at https://www.mafmc.org/supporting-documents.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission jointly manage the Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP requires the specification of
annual regulatory limits including: An acceptable biological catch
(ABC); commercial and recreational annual catch limits (ACL);
commercial and recreational annual catch targets (ACT); a commercial
quota; a recreational harvest limit (RHL); and other management
measures, for up to 3 years at a time. This action implements adjusted
bluefish specifications for the 2023 fishing year, based on the most
recent data and Council and Commission recommendations.
Catch limits for the 2023 bluefish fishery were previously
projected in a multi-year specifications action (87 FR 5739, February
2, 2022), based on a 2021 assessment update and Amendment 7 to the
Bluefish FMP (86 FR 66977, November 24, 2021). Those 2023
specifications would increase the commercial quota 21 percent and the
RHL 59 percent from 2022 limits. No changes were necessary to the
majority of those projected specifications; however, there was a
recreational catch overage of 5.59 million lb (2,536 mt) in
[[Page 78012]]
2021 that is required to be paid back pound-for-pound through
accountability measures (AM) in 2023, and updated data indicated that
the initial projection of recreational discards was too low. To account
for this new information, the 2023 RHL has been adjusted from the
projected 22.14 million lb (10,044 mt) to 14.11 million lb (6,400 mt),
which is an increase of 1.6 percent from 2022, rather than 59 percent.
No changes were recommended to recreational management measures because
the adjusted RHL is only slightly higher than the 2022 RHL, and there
was no compelling reason to change existing measures.
The proposed rule for this action published in the Federal Register
on November 15, 2022 (87 FR 68434), and comments were accepted through
November 30, 2022. NMFS received five comments from the public, and no
changes were made to the final rule because of those comments (see
Comments and Responses for additional detail). Additional background
information regarding the development of these specifications was
provided in the proposed rule and is not repeated here.
Final Specifications
This action implements the Council and Commission's recommended
2023 bluefish catch specifications, as outlined in the proposed rule
(Table 1). These final specifications increase the coastwide commercial
quota by 21 percent, as previously projected, and the RHL by 1.6
percent, rather than 59 percent as originally projected.
Table 1--Final Adjusted 2023 Bluefish Specifications *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Million lb Metric tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overfishing Limit....................... 45.17 20,490
ABC..................................... 30.62 13,890
Commercial ACL = Commercial ACT......... 4.29 1,945
Recreational ACL = Recreational ACT..... 26.34 11,945
Recreational AM......................... 5.59 2,536
Recreational Discards................... 6.64 3,012
Commercial Quota........................ 4.29 1,945
RHL..................................... 14.11 6,400
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Specifications are derived from the ABC in metric tons (mt). When
values are converted to millions of pounds the numbers may slightly
shift due to rounding. The conversion factor used is 1 mt = 2,204.6226
lb.
The final coastwide commercial quota is allocated among the coastal
states from Maine to Florida based on percent shares specified in the
FMP, and the phased-in changes to these share allocations specified in
Amendment 7 to the FMP (86 FR 66977, November 24, 2021). The 2023 state
bluefish quota allocations (Table 2) are unchanged from what was
previously projected, as there are no adjustments to the commercial
sector. In addition, no states exceeded their allocated quota in 2021
or 2022; therefore, no AMs for the commercial fishery are required for
the 2023 fishing year.
Table 2--2023 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Percent share Quota (lb) Quota (kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine........................................................... 0.51 21,807 9,892
New Hampshire................................................... 0.36 15,331 6,954
Massachusetts................................................... 7.69 329,578 149,494
Rhode Island.................................................... 7.61 326,165 147,946
Connecticut..................................................... 1.22 52,094 23,629
New York........................................................ 13.06 560,031 254,026
New Jersey...................................................... 14.54 623,295 282,722
Delaware........................................................ 1.48 63,572 28,836
Maryland........................................................ 2.69 115,409 52,349
Virginia........................................................ 10.16 435,625 197,596
North Carolina.................................................. 32.05 1,374,077 623,271
South Carolina.................................................. 0.05 2,344 1,063
Georgia......................................................... 0.04 1,544 700
Florida......................................................... 8.55 366,585 166,280
-----------------------------------------------
Total....................................................... 100.01 4,287,109 1,944,600
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As previously mentioned, this action makes no changes to
recreational management measures, including the recreational daily bag
limit of three fish per person for private anglers and five fish per
person for for-hire (charter/party) vessels.
Comments and Responses
The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on November
15, 2022, and NMFS received five comments from the public. No changes
were made to final rule as a result of these comments.
Comment 1: Three comments expressed similar opposition to the
current recreational bag limits for bluefish; specifically that private
anglers are held to a limit of three fish per person, while party/
charter boats are allowed five fish per person.
Response: This action does not change or affect the bluefish
recreational management measures, including bag limits. That said, the
issue of recreational bag limits was discussed at length following the
overfished
[[Page 78013]]
determination of the stock in 2019, and in the development of
specifications for fishing years 2020 and 2021. There is a possibility
that these limits will be revisited for the 2024 fishing year following
the next assessment, but no changes are considered in this
specifications action for 2023.
Comment 2: Another commenter noted that any additional restriction
of the recreational bluefish fishery is unnecessary and would cause
economic burden.
Response: NMFS understands the concern expressed for the
recreational sector; however, this action does not add any restrictions
to the bluefish fishery. Even though the RHL is increasing less than
previously projected, it is still increasing 1.6 percent from 2022.
Comment 3: The final commenter simply voiced support for the action
and encouraged implementation as soon as possible.
Response: NMFS agrees and is implementing this rule in a timely
manner.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
There are no substantive changes from the proposed rule.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS
Assistant Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region, has determined that
these final specifications are necessary for the conservation and
management of the Atlantic bluefish fishery, and that they are
consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act,
and other applicable law.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effective date
for this rule to ensure that the final specifications are in place as
close as practicable to the start of the bluefish fishing year on
January 1, 2023. This action establishes the final specifications
(i.e., catch limits) for the 2023 bluefish fishery. A delay in
effectiveness well beyond the start of this fishing year would be
contrary to the public interest as it could create confusion in the
bluefish industry, and compromise the effectiveness of the increased
quota allocations both to fishery sectors, and commercially among the
states. State agencies also use commercially-allocated quotas to set
annual state management measures, so the longer these specifications
are delayed, the longer it will take for some states to implement their
respective regulations. Additionally, because catch limits are
increasing, a further delay into the new fishing year could also cause
potential economic harm to the fishery through lost opportunity to fish
under the higher limits.
Furthermore, regulated parties do not require any additional time
to come into compliance with this rule, and thus, a 30-day delay before
the final rule becomes effective does not provide any benefit. Unlike
actions that require an adjustment period, bluefish fishery
participants will not have to purchase new equipment or otherwise
expend time or money to comply with these management measures. Rather,
complying with this final rule simply means adhering to the new catch
limits set for the 2023 fishing year. Fishery stakeholders have also
been involved in the development of this action and are anticipating
this rule. For these reasons, NMFS finds that a 30-day delay in
effectiveness would be contrary to the public interest, and therefore,
waives the requirement consistent with 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
This final rule is not subject to review under Executive Order
12866 because the action contains no implementing regulations.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received
regarding this certification, and the initial certification remains
unchanged. As a result, a final regulatory flexibility analysis is not
required and none was prepared.
This final rule does not duplicate, conflict, or overlap with any
existing Federal rules.
This action contains no information collection requirements under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 15, 2022.
Andrew James Strelcheck,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-27661 Filed 12-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
