Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Mid-Atlantic Blueline Tilefish and Golden Tilefish Fisheries; 2024 Specifications, 77944-77947 [2023-25064]
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77944
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 14, 2023 / Proposed Rules
facilities. EPA is placing the data
received in response to the proposed
rule in the docket for the present NODA
and is soliciting public comment on
these data in connection with this
rulemaking.
EPA is specifically soliciting
supplementary comments, data, or
sources of information on the location,
presence, condition, history, and risk
associated with any of the potential
legacy CCR surface impoundments or
any of the potential CCRMU within the
docket, including any information
regarding the presence of water,
distance to surface water bodies,
proximity to floodplains, unit size, CCR
volume, depth to groundwater, date of
CCR placement, closure status, any
corrective action associated with the
unit, and any groundwater monitoring
data. In addition to information
regarding the docket items for this
NODA, EPA also requests comment on
the accuracy of the information that was
submitted regarding potential legacy
CCR surface impoundments or potential
CCRMU. Furthermore, EPA is seeking
similar information on any other
potential legacy CCR surface
impoundments or potential CCRMU of
which EPA may not be aware or for
which we may have incomplete
information. In all instances, it is
important that commenters on this
NODA provide verifiable sourcing
information for data that is provided, as
EPA may not consider information
without a verifiable source in
developing a final rule.
The information included in the
docket for this NODA is in PDFs and
Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. While
some of the information in the PDFs and
the Microsoft Excel spreadsheets is
duplicative, the docket items contain
distinct data.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
V. Request for Comment and Additional
Information
EPA is seeking comment on all
questions and topics described in this
NODA, including the issues identified
in Unit IV of this document, and
requests that you submit any
information, that you believe is
important for EPA to consider in
connection with these questions and
topics. At the same time, EPA will not
consider comments that are beyond the
scope of the questions and topics
described in this NODA.
Instructions for providing written
comments are provided under
ADDRESSES, including how to submit
any comments that contain CBI.
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16:09 Nov 13, 2023
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List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 257
Environmental protection, Coal
combustion products, Coal combustion
residuals, Coal combustion waste,
Disposal, Hazardous waste, Landfill,
Surface impoundment.
Michael S. Regan,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2023–24941 Filed 11–13–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
49 CFR Part 675
[Docket No. FTA–2023–0018]
RIN 2132–AB46
Transit Worker Hours of Service and
Fatigue Risk Management Virtual
Listening Session
Federal Transit Administration
(FTA), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Proposed rule; public meeting.
AGENCY:
The Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) will hold a virtual
public listening session concerning the
topics of hours of service and fatigue
risk management for transit workers on
December 5, 2023. On October 30, 2023,
FTA published an Advance Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking
public input on those topics. The virtual
listening session will allow all
interested persons an opportunity to
present comments, views, and relevant
research on those topics in addition to
providing written comments to the
docket. A transcript will be placed in
the rulemaking docket for public
inspection.
SUMMARY:
The webinar will be held on
December 5, 2023, from 2:30 p.m. to
3:45 p.m. ET.
ADDRESSES: The listening session will
be held virtually. Interested parties
should register in advance at https://
usdot.zoomgov.com/j/
1608968545?pwd=c0tVNlJ3OTR
PUmxYTHN4STFZczNYQT09.
Access information and codes will be
provided to those groups and interested
members of the public who register for
the event. The total number of
participants in the virtual listening
session will be limited to the maximum
allowed by the live webcast platform.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information on the listening session,
contact Valerie Beck, Office of Transit
Safety and Oversight, FTA, telephone at
DATES:
PO 00000
Frm 00039
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
(202) 366–9178 or valerie.beck@dot.gov.
Office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On October 30, 2023, FTA published
in the Federal Register (Docket No.
FTA–2023–0018, 88 FR 74107) an
Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public
input in two areas: (1) hours of service;
and (2) fatigue risk management
programs. At present, there are no
Federal minimum standards for hours of
service and fatigue risk management
programs in the transit industry. FTA
held an in-person listening session on
October 8, 2023, in Orlando, Florida.
The virtual listening session will allow
additional interested persons to present
comments, views, and relevant research
on those topics. FTA seeks information
to better understand current industry
practices, priorities, requirements, and
the costs and benefits of Federal
requirements.
II. Meeting Participation
The listening session is open to the
public.
III. Registration
The session will be held virtually.
Interested parties should register in
advance at https://usdot.zoomgov.com/
j/1608968545?pwd=c0tVNlJ3OT
RPUmxYTHN4STFZczNYQT09.
(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 5329; 49 CFR 1.91)
Joseph P. DeLorenzo,
Associate Administrator for Transit Safety
and Oversight.
[FR Doc. 2023–25052 Filed 11–13–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–57–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 231107–0264]
RIN 0648–BM55
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Mid-Atlantic Blueline Tilefish
and Golden Tilefish Fisheries; 2024
Specifications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 14, 2023 / Proposed Rules
In this action, NMFS proposes
to maintain status quo harvest limits for
the 2024 golden tilefish and blueline
tilefish fisheries north of the North
Carolina/Virginia border, to shift the
recreational season for blueline tilefish
to May 15 through November 14, and to
modify regulations to reflect the January
1 start date of the golden tilefish fishing
year. The proposed action is necessary
to establish allowable harvest levels and
other management measures to prevent
overfishing while allowing optimum
yield, consistent with the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act and the Tilefish
Fishery Management Plan.
DATES: Comments must be received on
December 14, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2023–0121, by any of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and enter
NOAA–NMFS–2023–0121 in the Search
box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period, may not be
considered by NMFS. All comments
SUMMARY:
received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on https://www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter
‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish
to remain anonymous).
Copies of the supporting documents
for these proposed specifications are
available from Dr. Christopher M.
Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council, 800 North
State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901.
These documents are also accessible via
the internet at https://www.mafmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Douglas Potts, douglas.potts@noaa.gov,
978–281–9241.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
acceptable biological catch (ABC),
annual catch limit (ACL), annual catch
target (ACT), total allowable landings
(TAL), and other management measures
for the commercial and recreational
sectors of the fisheries. The Council’s
Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC) provides ABC recommendations
for both species to the Council to derive
these catch limits. The Council makes
recommendations to NMFS that cannot
exceed the recommendation of its SSC.
The Council’s recommendations must
include supporting documentation
concerning the environmental,
economic, and social impacts of the
recommendations. We are responsible
for reviewing these recommendations to
ensure that they achieve the FMP
objectives and are consistent with all
applicable laws. Following review,
NMFS publishes the final specifications
in the Federal Register.
Background
The proposed 2024 specifications for
blueline and golden tilefish are detailed
in Tables 1 and 2. These values are
status quo from 2023 and are unchanged
from the projected 2024 specifications
we previously announced in the final
rule for the 2022–2024 Blueline Tilefish
Specifications (87 FR 66245, November
3, 2022) and the final rule for
Framework Adjustment 7 to the Tilefish
FMP (87 FR 67830, November 10, 2022).
The golden tilefish and blueline
tilefish fisheries north of the North
Carolina/Virginia border are managed
by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (the Council)
under the Tilefish Fishery Management
Plan (FMP), which outlines the
Council’s process for establishing
annual specifications. The Tilefish FMP
requires the Council to recommend
Proposed Specifications
TABLE 1—PROPOSED BLUELINE TILEFISH 2024 SPECIFICATIONS
ABC—North of NC/VA line ..................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL/ACT ........................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL/ACT .........................................................................................................................................................
Recreational TAL .................................................................................................................................................................
Commercial TAL ..................................................................................................................................................................
100,520
73,380
27,140
71,912
26,869
lb
lb
lb
lb
lb
(45.6
(33.3
(12.3
(32.6
(12.2
mt).
mt).
mt).
mt).
mt).
1,964,319 lb (891
1,964,319 lb (891
1,763,478 lb (800
92,815 lb (42
1,763,478 lb (800
75,410 lb (42
mt).
mt).
mt).
mt).
mt).
mt).
TABLE 2—PROPOSED GOLDEN TILEFISH 2024 SPECIFICATIONS
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ABC ......................................................................................................................................................................................
ACL ......................................................................................................................................................................................
IFQ fishery ACT ...................................................................................................................................................................
Incidental fishery ACT .........................................................................................................................................................
IFQ fishery TAL = IFQ ACT (no discards permitted in fishery) ..........................................................................................
Incidental fishery TAL = Incidental fishery ACT—discards .................................................................................................
This action would not change the
landing limits for the commercial
fisheries. A vessel fishing under a
Federal commercial tilefish vessel
permit would continue to be prohibited
from possessing more than 500 pounds
(lb) (227 kilograms (kg)) of gutted golden
tilefish at any time, or 50 percent, by
weight, of the total of all species,
including golden tilefish, being landed
(whichever is less). This landing limit
does not apply to a vessel authorized to
land golden tilefish under a Tilefish IFQ
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permit. A vessel fishing under a
commercial tilefish permit would also
continue to be prohibited from
possessing more than 500 lb (227 kg) of
gutted blueline tilefish per trip. If 70
percent of the blueline tilefish
commercial TAL is landed, the Regional
Administrator may reduce the blueline
tilefish possession limit to 300 lb (136
kg).
This action would not change the
recreational management measures for
golden or blueline tilefish, other than
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Sfmt 4702
the season change discussed below. Any
vessel used to fish recreationally for
golden or blueline tilefish must have the
appropriate Federal vessel permit. Boats
used to take anglers for hire must have
the Charter/Party Tilefish Permit while
private recreational vessels need to have
the Private Recreational Tilefish Permit.
Both permit types require the
submission of vessel trip reports.
Additional information about permitting
and reporting requirements is available
from the Greater Atlantic Regional
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 14, 2023 / Proposed Rules
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Fisheries Office’s Permits Office at (978)
282–8438 or NMFS.GAR.Permits@
noaa.gov.
The golden tilefish recreational
possession limit for charter/party and
private recreational anglers is 8 golden
tilefish per angler per trip. Anglers may
not retain golden tilefish unless
exclusively using rod and reel fishing
gear with a maximum limit of 5 hooks
per rod. The blueline tilefish
recreational possession limit depends
on the type of fishing vessel. Anglers
fishing from a private vessel that has
been issued a valid Federal Tilefish
Private Recreational Permit are allowed
to keep up to 3 blueline tilefish per
person per trip. Anglers fishing from a
for-hire vessel that has been issued a
valid Federal Tilefish Party/Charter
Permit but does not have a current U.S.
Coast Guard safety inspection sticker
can retain up to 5 blueline tilefish per
person per trip. Finally, anglers on forhire vessels that have both a valid
Federal Tilefish Party/Charter Permit
and a current U.S. Coast Guard safety
inspection sticker can retain up to 7
blueline tilefish per person per trip.
The 2024 fishing year for golden
tilefish and blueline tilefish will begin
on January 1, 2024. The regulations
include rollover provisions for both
species that would allow the fisheries to
operate under status quo specifications
if this action is not finalized before then.
Blueline Tilefish Recreational Season
At its June 2023 meeting, the MAFMC
voted to recommend changing the
recreational season for blueline tilefish
from May 1 through October 31 to May
15 through November 14. The Council
had received feedback from participants
in this fishery suggesting the
recreational blueline tilefish season be
shifted forward by about 2 weeks to
better match the recreational black sea
bass season in most states. In some
areas, anglers report it is common to
catch black sea bass when targeting
blueline tilefish or to stop and target
black sea bass on their way out to
blueline tilefish fishing grounds.
Therefore, the recommendation was
intended to better align the blueline
tilefish season with the black sea bass
season in most states in an effort to
minimize regulatory black sea bass
discards as well as to help control
temporal efforts on both fisheries. A
review of both angler feedback as well
as vessel trip report data from for-hire
vessels suggests shifting the recreational
blueline tilefish season to May 15 to
November 14 would help reduce black
sea bass discards with minimal impact
on the blueline tilefish recreational
fishery and would result in no change
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to the number of days of the current
blueline tilefish recreational season.
Corrections
The final rule to implement
Framework Adjustment 7 to the Tilefish
FMP (87 FR 67830, November 10, 2022)
moved the start of the fishing year for
golden tilefish from November 1 to
January 1. However, the rule did not
change the following ancillary dates in
the regulations that derive from the start
of the fishing year, including: the date
by which an Individual Fishing Quota
(IFQ) permit application must be
submitted to ensure the IFQ permit is
issued before the start of the fishing
year; the date when an IFQ permit
ceases to be valid (i.e., the last day of
the fishing year); and the cut-off date for
submitting an IFQ transfer application
for the current fishing year. This rule
proposes to adjust those dates in the
regulations based on January 1 being the
start of the fishing year.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (MagnusonStevens Act), the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this
proposed rule is consistent with the
Tilefish FMP, other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable law, subject to further
consideration after public comment.
This proposed rule has been
determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration (SBA)
that this proposed rule, if adopted,
would not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
The 2024 harvest quotas in this rule
are status quo and were previously
certified not to have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act during the
rulemaking for the 2022–2024
Specifications for the Blueline Tilefish
Fishery (87 FR 66245, November 3,
2022) and Framework Adjustment 7 to
the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan
(87 FR 67830, November 10, 2022). No
comments were received that would
change those previous certifications.
The new management measures
proposed by this action apply to vessel
owners participating in the recreational
blueline tilefish fishery. A total of 535
affiliates had a federal party/charter
permit for tilefish during 2020–2022.
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Sfmt 4702
For Regulatory Flexibility Act
purposes, NOAA’s National Marine
Fisheries Service has established a size
standard for small businesses, including
their affiliated operations, whose
primary industry is commercial fishing
(see 50 CFR 200.2). A business primarily
engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS
code 11411) is classified as small if it is
independently owned and operated, is
not dominant in its field of operation
(including its affiliates), and has
combined annual receipts not in excess
of $11.0 million for all its affiliated
operations worldwide. The Small
Business Administration has established
size standards for all other major
industry sectors in the U.S., including
defining for-hire fishing firms (NAICS
code 487210) as small when their
receipts are less than or equal to $8
million. All of the 535 affiliates with
Federal party/charter permits were
categorized as small businesses based
on their average 2018–2022 revenues. Of
these, 249 affiliates reported that the
majority of their revenues in 2022 came
from for-hire fishing.
The proposed recreational season for
blueline tilefish would not result in a
change to the number of fishing days
and is unlikely to significantly affect the
timing of when anglers can fish for this
species. The proposed change would
not likely result in a change in the
number of for-hire trips, for-hire
revenues, or overall impacts to
recreational for-hire businesses,
assuming all other factors which affect
revenues remain unchanged, and, as a
result, this action will not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. As
a result, an initial regulatory flexibility
analysis is not required and none has
been prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: November 7, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50
CFR part 648 as follows:
PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE
NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
1. The authority citation for part 648
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In § 648.294, revise paragraphs
(b)(1)(ii), (b)(2) and (3), and (e)(4) to read
as follows:
■
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 218 / Tuesday, November 14, 2023 / Proposed Rules
§ 648.294 Golden tilefish individual fishing
quota (IFQ) program.
*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(ii) Renewal applications.
Applications to renew an IFQ allocation
permit must be received by November
15 to be processed in time for the
January 1 start of the next fishing year.
Renewal applications received after this
date may not be approved, and a new
permit may not be issued before the
start of the next fishing year. An IFQ
allocation permit holder must renew
his/her IFQ allocation permit on an
annual basis by submitting an
application for such permit prior to the
end of the fishing year for which the
permit is required. Failure to renew an
IFQ allocation permit in any fishing
year will result in any IFQ quota share
held by that IFQ allocation permit
holder to be considered abandoned and
relinquished.
(2) Issuance. Except as provided in
subpart D of 15 CFR part 904, and
provided an application for such permit
is submitted by November 15, as
specified in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this
section, NMFS shall issue annual IFQ
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*
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allocation permits on or before
December 31 to those who hold IFQ
quota share as of November 1 of the
current fishing year. From November 1
through December 31, permanent
transfer of IFQ quota share is not
permitted, as described in paragraph
(e)(4) of this section.
(3) Duration. An annual IFQ
allocation permit is valid until
December 31 of each fishing year unless
it is suspended, modified, or revoked
pursuant to 15 CFR part 904; revised
due to a transfer of all or part of the IFQ
quota share or annual IFQ allocation
under paragraph (e) of this section; or
suspended for non-payment of the cost
recovery fee as described in paragraph
(h)(4) of this section.
*
*
*
*
*
(e) * * *
(4) Application for an IFQ allocation
transfer. Any IFQ allocation permit
holder applying for either permanent
transfer of IFQ quota share or temporary
transfer of annual IFQ allocation must
submit a completed IFQ Allocation
Transfer Form, available from NMFS.
The IFQ Allocation Transfer Form must
be submitted to the NMFS Greater
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77947
Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office at
least 30 days before the date on which
the applicant desires to have the IFQ
allocation transfer effective. The
Regional Administrator shall notify the
applicants of any deficiency in the
application pursuant to this section.
Applications for permanent IFQ quota
share allocation transfers must be
received by November 1 to be processed
and effective before annual IFQ
allocations are issued for the next
fishing year. Applications for temporary
IFQ allocation transfers must be
received by December 10 to be
processed for the current fishing year.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 3. In § 648.296, revise paragraph (b)
introductory text to read as follows:
§ 648.296 Tilefish recreational possession
limits and gear restrictions.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) Blueline tilefish. The recreational
blueline tilefish fishery is open May 15
through November 14, and closed
November 15 through May 14.
*
*
*
*
*
[FR Doc. 2023–25064 Filed 11–13–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 218 (Tuesday, November 14, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77944-77947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25064]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 231107-0264]
RIN 0648-BM55
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Mid-Atlantic
Blueline Tilefish and Golden Tilefish Fisheries; 2024 Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 77945]]
SUMMARY: In this action, NMFS proposes to maintain status quo harvest
limits for the 2024 golden tilefish and blueline tilefish fisheries
north of the North Carolina/Virginia border, to shift the recreational
season for blueline tilefish to May 15 through November 14, and to
modify regulations to reflect the January 1 start date of the golden
tilefish fishing year. The proposed action is necessary to establish
allowable harvest levels and other management measures to prevent
overfishing while allowing optimum yield, consistent with the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Tilefish
Fishery Management Plan.
DATES: Comments must be received on December 14, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0121, by any of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2023-0121 in the Search box.
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
Copies of the supporting documents for these proposed
specifications are available from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State
Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901. These documents are also accessible
via the internet at https://www.mafmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Potts, [email protected],
978-281-9241.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The golden tilefish and blueline tilefish fisheries north of the
North Carolina/Virginia border are managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (the Council) under the Tilefish Fishery Management
Plan (FMP), which outlines the Council's process for establishing
annual specifications. The Tilefish FMP requires the Council to
recommend acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limit (ACL),
annual catch target (ACT), total allowable landings (TAL), and other
management measures for the commercial and recreational sectors of the
fisheries. The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC)
provides ABC recommendations for both species to the Council to derive
these catch limits. The Council makes recommendations to NMFS that
cannot exceed the recommendation of its SSC. The Council's
recommendations must include supporting documentation concerning the
environmental, economic, and social impacts of the recommendations. We
are responsible for reviewing these recommendations to ensure that they
achieve the FMP objectives and are consistent with all applicable laws.
Following review, NMFS publishes the final specifications in the
Federal Register.
Proposed Specifications
The proposed 2024 specifications for blueline and golden tilefish
are detailed in Tables 1 and 2. These values are status quo from 2023
and are unchanged from the projected 2024 specifications we previously
announced in the final rule for the 2022-2024 Blueline Tilefish
Specifications (87 FR 66245, November 3, 2022) and the final rule for
Framework Adjustment 7 to the Tilefish FMP (87 FR 67830, November 10,
2022).
Table 1--Proposed Blueline Tilefish 2024 Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC--North of NC/VA line....................... 100,520 lb (45.6 mt).
Recreational ACL/ACT........................... 73,380 lb (33.3 mt).
Commercial ACL/ACT............................. 27,140 lb (12.3 mt).
Recreational TAL............................... 71,912 lb (32.6 mt).
Commercial TAL................................. 26,869 lb (12.2 mt).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 2--Proposed Golden Tilefish 2024 Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC............................................ 1,964,319 lb (891 mt).
ACL............................................ 1,964,319 lb (891 mt).
IFQ fishery ACT................................ 1,763,478 lb (800 mt).
Incidental fishery ACT......................... 92,815 lb (42 mt).
IFQ fishery TAL = IFQ ACT (no discards 1,763,478 lb (800 mt).
permitted in fishery).........................
Incidental fishery TAL = Incidental fishery 75,410 lb (42 mt).
ACT--discards.................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This action would not change the landing limits for the commercial
fisheries. A vessel fishing under a Federal commercial tilefish vessel
permit would continue to be prohibited from possessing more than 500
pounds (lb) (227 kilograms (kg)) of gutted golden tilefish at any time,
or 50 percent, by weight, of the total of all species, including golden
tilefish, being landed (whichever is less). This landing limit does not
apply to a vessel authorized to land golden tilefish under a Tilefish
IFQ permit. A vessel fishing under a commercial tilefish permit would
also continue to be prohibited from possessing more than 500 lb (227
kg) of gutted blueline tilefish per trip. If 70 percent of the blueline
tilefish commercial TAL is landed, the Regional Administrator may
reduce the blueline tilefish possession limit to 300 lb (136 kg).
This action would not change the recreational management measures
for golden or blueline tilefish, other than the season change discussed
below. Any vessel used to fish recreationally for golden or blueline
tilefish must have the appropriate Federal vessel permit. Boats used to
take anglers for hire must have the Charter/Party Tilefish Permit while
private recreational vessels need to have the Private Recreational
Tilefish Permit. Both permit types require the submission of vessel
trip reports. Additional information about permitting and reporting
requirements is available from the Greater Atlantic Regional
[[Page 77946]]
Fisheries Office's Permits Office at (978) 282-8438 or
[email protected].
The golden tilefish recreational possession limit for charter/party
and private recreational anglers is 8 golden tilefish per angler per
trip. Anglers may not retain golden tilefish unless exclusively using
rod and reel fishing gear with a maximum limit of 5 hooks per rod. The
blueline tilefish recreational possession limit depends on the type of
fishing vessel. Anglers fishing from a private vessel that has been
issued a valid Federal Tilefish Private Recreational Permit are allowed
to keep up to 3 blueline tilefish per person per trip. Anglers fishing
from a for-hire vessel that has been issued a valid Federal Tilefish
Party/Charter Permit but does not have a current U.S. Coast Guard
safety inspection sticker can retain up to 5 blueline tilefish per
person per trip. Finally, anglers on for-hire vessels that have both a
valid Federal Tilefish Party/Charter Permit and a current U.S. Coast
Guard safety inspection sticker can retain up to 7 blueline tilefish
per person per trip.
The 2024 fishing year for golden tilefish and blueline tilefish
will begin on January 1, 2024. The regulations include rollover
provisions for both species that would allow the fisheries to operate
under status quo specifications if this action is not finalized before
then.
Blueline Tilefish Recreational Season
At its June 2023 meeting, the MAFMC voted to recommend changing the
recreational season for blueline tilefish from May 1 through October 31
to May 15 through November 14. The Council had received feedback from
participants in this fishery suggesting the recreational blueline
tilefish season be shifted forward by about 2 weeks to better match the
recreational black sea bass season in most states. In some areas,
anglers report it is common to catch black sea bass when targeting
blueline tilefish or to stop and target black sea bass on their way out
to blueline tilefish fishing grounds. Therefore, the recommendation was
intended to better align the blueline tilefish season with the black
sea bass season in most states in an effort to minimize regulatory
black sea bass discards as well as to help control temporal efforts on
both fisheries. A review of both angler feedback as well as vessel trip
report data from for-hire vessels suggests shifting the recreational
blueline tilefish season to May 15 to November 14 would help reduce
black sea bass discards with minimal impact on the blueline tilefish
recreational fishery and would result in no change to the number of
days of the current blueline tilefish recreational season.
Corrections
The final rule to implement Framework Adjustment 7 to the Tilefish
FMP (87 FR 67830, November 10, 2022) moved the start of the fishing
year for golden tilefish from November 1 to January 1. However, the
rule did not change the following ancillary dates in the regulations
that derive from the start of the fishing year, including: the date by
which an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) permit application must be
submitted to ensure the IFQ permit is issued before the start of the
fishing year; the date when an IFQ permit ceases to be valid (i.e., the
last day of the fishing year); and the cut-off date for submitting an
IFQ transfer application for the current fishing year. This rule
proposes to adjust those dates in the regulations based on January 1
being the start of the fishing year.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Tilefish FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration
after public comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration (SBA) that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
The 2024 harvest quotas in this rule are status quo and were
previously certified not to have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility
Act during the rulemaking for the 2022-2024 Specifications for the
Blueline Tilefish Fishery (87 FR 66245, November 3, 2022) and Framework
Adjustment 7 to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan (87 FR 67830,
November 10, 2022). No comments were received that would change those
previous certifications.
The new management measures proposed by this action apply to vessel
owners participating in the recreational blueline tilefish fishery. A
total of 535 affiliates had a federal party/charter permit for tilefish
during 2020-2022.
For Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes, NOAA's National Marine
Fisheries Service has established a size standard for small businesses,
including their affiliated operations, whose primary industry is
commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business primarily engaged in
commercial fishing (NAICS code 11411) is classified as small if it is
independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of
operation (including its affiliates), and has combined annual receipts
not in excess of $11.0 million for all its affiliated operations
worldwide. The Small Business Administration has established size
standards for all other major industry sectors in the U.S., including
defining for-hire fishing firms (NAICS code 487210) as small when their
receipts are less than or equal to $8 million. All of the 535
affiliates with Federal party/charter permits were categorized as small
businesses based on their average 2018-2022 revenues. Of these, 249
affiliates reported that the majority of their revenues in 2022 came
from for-hire fishing.
The proposed recreational season for blueline tilefish would not
result in a change to the number of fishing days and is unlikely to
significantly affect the timing of when anglers can fish for this
species. The proposed change would not likely result in a change in the
number of for-hire trips, for-hire revenues, or overall impacts to
recreational for-hire businesses, assuming all other factors which
affect revenues remain unchanged, and, as a result, this action will
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is
not required and none has been prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: November 7, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50
CFR part 648 as follows:
PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 648.294, revise paragraphs (b)(1)(ii), (b)(2) and (3), and
(e)(4) to read as follows:
[[Page 77947]]
Sec. 648.294 Golden tilefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) program.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(ii) Renewal applications. Applications to renew an IFQ allocation
permit must be received by November 15 to be processed in time for the
January 1 start of the next fishing year. Renewal applications received
after this date may not be approved, and a new permit may not be issued
before the start of the next fishing year. An IFQ allocation permit
holder must renew his/her IFQ allocation permit on an annual basis by
submitting an application for such permit prior to the end of the
fishing year for which the permit is required. Failure to renew an IFQ
allocation permit in any fishing year will result in any IFQ quota
share held by that IFQ allocation permit holder to be considered
abandoned and relinquished.
(2) Issuance. Except as provided in subpart D of 15 CFR part 904,
and provided an application for such permit is submitted by November
15, as specified in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section, NMFS shall
issue annual IFQ allocation permits on or before December 31 to those
who hold IFQ quota share as of November 1 of the current fishing year.
From November 1 through December 31, permanent transfer of IFQ quota
share is not permitted, as described in paragraph (e)(4) of this
section.
(3) Duration. An annual IFQ allocation permit is valid until
December 31 of each fishing year unless it is suspended, modified, or
revoked pursuant to 15 CFR part 904; revised due to a transfer of all
or part of the IFQ quota share or annual IFQ allocation under paragraph
(e) of this section; or suspended for non-payment of the cost recovery
fee as described in paragraph (h)(4) of this section.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(4) Application for an IFQ allocation transfer. Any IFQ allocation
permit holder applying for either permanent transfer of IFQ quota share
or temporary transfer of annual IFQ allocation must submit a completed
IFQ Allocation Transfer Form, available from NMFS. The IFQ Allocation
Transfer Form must be submitted to the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional
Fisheries Office at least 30 days before the date on which the
applicant desires to have the IFQ allocation transfer effective. The
Regional Administrator shall notify the applicants of any deficiency in
the application pursuant to this section. Applications for permanent
IFQ quota share allocation transfers must be received by November 1 to
be processed and effective before annual IFQ allocations are issued for
the next fishing year. Applications for temporary IFQ allocation
transfers must be received by December 10 to be processed for the
current fishing year.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 648.296, revise paragraph (b) introductory text to read as
follows:
Sec. 648.296 Tilefish recreational possession limits and gear
restrictions.
* * * * *
(b) Blueline tilefish. The recreational blueline tilefish fishery
is open May 15 through November 14, and closed November 15 through May
14.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-25064 Filed 11-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
