Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer From NC to NY, 34 [2023-28892]
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34
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 1 / Tuesday, January 2, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 221223–0282; RTID 0648–
XD616]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Summer Flounder Fishery;
Quota Transfer From NC to NY
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer.
AGENCY:
NMFS announces that the
State of North Carolina is transferring a
portion of its 2023 commercial summer
flounder quota to the State of New York.
This adjustment to the 2023 fishing year
quota is necessary to comply with the
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea
Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP)
quota transfer provisions. This
announcement informs the public of the
revised 2023 commercial quotas for
North Carolina and New York.
DATES: Effective December 28, 2023,
through December 31, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Laura Deighan, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281–9184.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulations governing the summer
flounder fishery are found in 50 CFR
648.100 through 648.111. These
regulations require annual specification
of a commercial quota that is
apportioned among the coastal states
from Maine through North Carolina. The
process to set the annual commercial
quota and the percent allocated to each
state is described in § 648.102 and final
2023 allocations were published on
January 3, 2023 (88 FR 11).
The final rule implementing
Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder
FMP, as published in the Federal
Register on December 17, 1993 (58 FR
65936), provided a mechanism for
transferring summer flounder
commercial quota from one state to
another. Two or more states, under
mutual agreement and with the
concurrence of the NMFS Greater
Atlantic Regional Administrator, can
transfer or combine summer flounder
commercial quota under § 648.102(c)(2).
The Regional Administrator is required
to consider three criteria in the
evaluation of requests for quota transfers
or combinations: (1) the transfer or
combinations would not preclude the
overall annual quota from being fully
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:37 Dec 29, 2023
Jkt 262001
harvested; (2) the transfer addresses an
unforeseen variation or contingency in
the fishery; and (3) the transfer is
consistent with the objectives of the
FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Regional
Administrator has determined these
three criteria have been met for the
transfer approved in this notification.
North Carolina is transferring 100,000
pounds (lb; 43,359 kilograms (kg)) to
New York through a mutual agreement
between the states. This transfer was
requested to ensure New York would
not exceed its 2023 quota. The revised
summer flounder quotas for 2023 are
North Carolina, 3,031,074 lb (1,374,872
kg), and New York, 1,537,768 lb
(697,520 kg).
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to
section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. This action is required by 50 CFR
648.102(c)(2)(i) through (iv), which was
issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is
exempted from review under Executive
Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 28, 2023.
Jon William Bell,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–28892 Filed 12–28–23; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 231221–0314; RTID 0648–
XD357]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2024
and Projected 2025 Bluefish
Specifications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final action.
AGENCY:
NMFS issues final Atlantic
bluefish specifications for the 2024
fishing year and projects specifications
for fishing year 2025, as recommended
by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council. This action is
necessary to establish allowable harvest
levels for the stock to prevent
overfishing and promote rebuilding,
using the best scientific information
available. This action also informs the
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
public of the expected specifications for
fishing year 2025.
DATES: Effective January 1 2024.
ADDRESSES: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council prepared an
environmental assessment (EA) for these
specifications that describes the action,
other considered alternatives, and
analyses of the impacts of all
alternatives. Copies of the specifications
document, including the EA, are
available on 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:
Laura Hansen, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281–9225.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (Council) and the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (Commission) jointly
manage the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery
Management Plan (FMP). The FMP
requires the specification of annual
regulatory limits for up to 3 years at a
time, including: 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. This
action implements bluefish
specifications for the 2024 fishing year,
and projects specifications for 2025,
based on Council and Commission
recommendations.
Recent research track (December
2022) and management track (June
2023) assessments for bluefish have
determined that the stock is no longer
overfished and overfishing is not
occurring. However, the spawning stock
biomass has not yet reached its target
(i.e., the stock has not fully rebuilt), so
the fishery remains under its rebuilding
plan. These specifications decrease the
2024 ABC by 43 percent from 2023,
based on recommendations from the
Council’s Scientific and Statistical
Committee (SSC), results from these
assessments, and the rebuilding plan for
the stock. No uncertainty buffers were
recommended for either the commercial
or recreational sector in 2024 or 2025,
but commercial discards are now
included in the specifications process
and are no longer considered negligible.
Although the stock is no longer
overfished, and therefore transferring
E:\FR\FM\02JAR1.SGM
02JAR1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 2, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 34]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28892]
[[Page 34]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 221223-0282; RTID 0648-XD616]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder
Fishery; Quota Transfer From NC to NY
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the State of North Carolina is
transferring a portion of its 2023 commercial summer flounder quota to
the State of New York. This adjustment to the 2023 fishing year quota
is necessary to comply with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea
Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) quota transfer provisions. This
announcement informs the public of the revised 2023 commercial quotas
for North Carolina and New York.
DATES: Effective December 28, 2023, through December 31, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9184.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder
fishery are found in 50 CFR 648.100 through 648.111. These regulations
require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned
among the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina. The process
to set the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to each
state is described in Sec. 648.102 and final 2023 allocations were
published on January 3, 2023 (88 FR 11).
The final rule implementing Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder FMP,
as published in the Federal Register on December 17, 1993 (58 FR
65936), provided a mechanism for transferring summer flounder
commercial quota from one state to another. Two or more states, under
mutual agreement and with the concurrence of the NMFS Greater Atlantic
Regional Administrator, can transfer or combine summer flounder
commercial quota under Sec. 648.102(c)(2). The Regional Administrator
is required to consider three criteria in the evaluation of requests
for quota transfers or combinations: (1) the transfer or combinations
would not preclude the overall annual quota from being fully harvested;
(2) the transfer addresses an unforeseen variation or contingency in
the fishery; and (3) the transfer is consistent with the objectives of
the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Regional Administrator has determined
these three criteria have been met for the transfer approved in this
notification.
North Carolina is transferring 100,000 pounds (lb; 43,359 kilograms
(kg)) to New York through a mutual agreement between the states. This
transfer was requested to ensure New York would not exceed its 2023
quota. The revised summer flounder quotas for 2023 are North Carolina,
3,031,074 lb (1,374,872 kg), and New York, 1,537,768 lb (697,520 kg).
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 648.102(c)(2)(i) through
(iv), which was issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is exempted from
review under Executive Order 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 28, 2023.
Jon William Bell,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-28892 Filed 12-28-23; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P