Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder Fishery; Quota Transfer From MA to RI, 284-285 [2023-28936]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
(9) No person who has been issued or
should have been issued a permit under
§ 635.4 of this part may retain, possess,
or land scalloped, smooth, or great
hammerhead sharks in or from the
Caribbean, as defined at § 622.2 of this
chapter.
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■ 3. In § In 635.24, revise paragraphs
(a)(4)(iv) and (a)(9), and add paragraph
(a)(11) to read as follows:
§ 635.24 Commercial retention limits for
sharks, swordfish, and BAYS tunas.
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(a) * * *
(4) * * *
(iv) A person who owns, operates, or
is aboard a vessel that has been issued
an HMS Commercial Caribbean Small
Boat permit may retain, possess, land, or
sell any blacktip, bull, lemon, nurse,
spinner, tiger, Atlantic sharpnose,
bonnethead, finetooth, and
smoothhound shark, subject to the HMS
Commercial Caribbean Small Boat
permit shark retention limit. A person
who owns, operates, or is aboard a
vessel that has been issued an HMS
Commercial Caribbean Small Boat
permit may not retain, possess, land, or
sell any hammerhead, blacknose, silky,
sandbar, blue, thresher, shortfin mako,
or prohibited shark, including parts or
pieces of these sharks. The shark
retention limit for a person who owns,
operates, or is aboard a vessel issued an
HMS Commercial Caribbean Small Boat
permit will range from zero to three
sharks per vessel per trip. At the start of
each fishing year, the default shark trip
limit will apply. During the fishing year,
NMFS may adjust the default shark trip
limit per the inseason trip limit
adjustment criteria listed in paragraph
(a)(8) of this section. The default shark
retention limit for the HMS Commercial
Caribbean Small Boat permit is three
sharks per vessel per trip.
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(9) Notwithstanding other provisions
in this subsection, possession, retention,
transshipment, landing, sale, or storage
of silky sharks, and scalloped, smooth,
and great hammerhead sharks is
prohibited on vessels issued a permit
under this part that have pelagic
longline gear on board or on vessels
issued both an HMS Charter/Headboat
permit and a commercial shark permit
when tuna, swordfish or billfish are on
board the vessel, offloaded from the
vessel, or being offloaded from the
vessel.
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(11) No person who has been issued
or should have been issued a permit
under § 635.4 of this part may retain,
possess, or land scalloped, smooth, or
great hammerhead sharks in or from the
Caribbean, as defined at § 622.2 of this
chapter.
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■ 4. In Table 1 of Appendix A to Part
635, remove the term ‘‘Oceanic
whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus’’
under heading C and add the term
‘‘Oceanic whitetip, Carcharhinus
longimanus’’ under heading D in
alphabetical order.
The addition reads as follows:
Appendix A to Part 635—Species
Tables
TABLE 1 OF APPENDIX A TO PART
635—OCEANIC SHARKS
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D. Prohibited Sharks
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Oceanic whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus
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Appendix A to Part 635 [Amended]
5. In Table 2 of Appendix A to Part
635, remove the entry for ‘‘Oceanic
whitetip shark, Carcharhinus
longimanus.’’
■
[FR Doc. 2023–28900 Filed 1–2–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 221223–0282; RTID 0648–
XD611]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Summer Flounder Fishery;
Quota Transfer From MA to RI
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer.
AGENCY:
NMFS announces that the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts is
transferring a portion of its 2023
commercial summer flounder quota to
the State of Rhode Island. This
SUMMARY:
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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
Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
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
Fishery 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
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.
Massachusetts is transferring 25,000
pounds (lb; 11,340 kilograms (kg)) to
Rhode Island through a mutual
agreement between the states. This
transfer was requested to ensure Rhode
Island would not exceed its 2023 quota.
The revised summer flounder quotas for
2023 are Massachusetts, 1,334,363 lb
(605,257 kg), and Rhode Island,
2,255,478 lb (1,023,068 kg).
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
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 27, 2023.
Jon William Bell,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023–28936 Filed 12–28–23; 4:15 pm]
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 284-285]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28936]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 221223-0282; RTID 0648-XD611]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder
Fishery; Quota Transfer From MA to RI
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is
transferring a portion of its 2023 commercial summer flounder quota to
the State of Rhode Island. 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 Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
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
Fishery 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.
Massachusetts is transferring 25,000 pounds (lb; 11,340 kilograms
(kg)) to Rhode Island through a mutual agreement between the states.
This transfer was requested to ensure Rhode Island would not exceed its
2023 quota. The revised summer flounder quotas for 2023 are
Massachusetts, 1,334,363 lb (605,257 kg), and Rhode Island, 2,255,478
lb (1,023,068 kg).
[[Page 285]]
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 27, 2023.
Jon William Bell,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-28936 Filed 12-28-23; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
