Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing Operations; Amendment to the Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan, 55523-55524 [2024-14279]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
example the bubble wrap is the
redundant single-use plastic packaging.
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GENERAL SERVICES
ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Part 502
[GSAR Case 2022–G517, Docket No. GSA–
GSAR–2023–0028; Sequence No. 1]
RIN 3090–AK60
General Services Administration
Acquisition Regulation; Reduction of
Single-Use Plastic Packaging;
Correction
Office of Acquisition Policy,
General Services Administration (GSA).
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
AGENCY:
GSA is issuing a correction to
GSAR Case 2022–G517, ‘‘Reduction of
Single-use Plastic Packaging,’’ which
published in the Federal Register on
June 6, 2024. This correction makes an
update to the definition ‘‘Packaging’’.
DATES: Effective July 8, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Adina Torberntsson,
adina.torberntsson@gsa.gov or call (720)
475–0568. Please cite GSAR Case 2022–
G517; Correction.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Correction
In rule FR Doc. 2024–12192,
published in the Federal Register at 89
FR 48330, on June 6, 2024, on page
48336, in the second column,
amendatory instruction 2, section
502.101, correct paragraph 3 of the
definition of Packaging to read as
follows:
■
502.101
[Corrected]
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
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Packaging * * *
(3) Shipping packaging means
packaging that serves as protection for
the goods to ensure safe transport to the
end customer, including:
(i) Ancillary packaging or transport
packaging or tertiary packaging means
packaging intended to secure the
product, such as packing peanuts,
wrapping materials, or molded
materials. Ancillary packaging (or all
shipping packaging) is typically outside
of brand packaging.
(ii) Redundant packaging or
unnecessary packaging means packaging
that does not add any measurable
protection to the supply being shipped,
such as multiple layers of bubble wrap
to an already durable product that is
encased in a cardboard box. An example
of this is a home testing kit with all
plastic components already packaged in
a cardboard box with cardboard inserts
to absorb shock, that is then shipped in
multiple layers of bubble wrap. In this
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:39 Jul 03, 2024
Jkt 262001
Jeffrey A. Koses,
Senior Procurement Executive, Office of
Acquisition Policy, Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration.
[FR Doc. 2024–14683 Filed 7–3–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820–61–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 229
[Docket No. 240624–0175]
RIN 0648–BN14
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental
to Commercial Fishing Operations;
Amendment to the Atlantic Pelagic
Longline Take Reduction Plan
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective
date.
AGENCY:
We, NMFS, are delaying the
effective date of terminal gear
requirements that amend the Pelagic
Longline Take Reduction Plan (PLTRP)
regulations in a final rule that published
on June 6, 2023.
DATES: The effective date of the
regulatory requirements contained in 50
CFR 229.36(d) that was published in a
final rule at 88 FR 36965 on June 6,
2023, is delayed until January 1, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin
Fougères, NMFS, Southeast Region, at
727–824–5312 or erin.fougeres@
noaa.gov, or Kristy Long, NMFS, Office
of Protected Resources at 206–526–4792
or kristy.long@noaa.gov. Individuals
who use telecommunications devices
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service at 1–800–
877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
eastern time, Monday through Friday,
excluding Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 6,
2023, we published a final rule to
amend the PLTRP (88 FR 36965). The
PLTRP is required under section 118 of
the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA) to reduce mortality and serious
injury (M/SI) of short-finned pilot
whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
incidental to the Atlantic portion of the
Category I Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean,
Gulf of Mexico large pelagics longline
fishery. Regulatory requirements in the
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00029
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
55523
amended PLTRP were effective on July
6, 2023, except for the requirements
contained in 50 CFR 229.36(d),
implementing terminal gear restrictions,
which were to become effective on July
8, 2024 (88 FR 36965).
The terminal gear requirements
contained in 50 CFR 229.36(d) require:
(1) circle hooks must have a round wire
diameter not to exceed 4.05 millimeters
(mm; 0.159 inches (in)) if the hooks are
size 16/0, or 4.40 mm (0.173 in) if the
hooks are size 18/0, and must have a
straightening force not to exceed 300
pounds (lb; 136.08 kilograms (kg)); and
(2) monofilament leaders and branch
lines (i.e., gangions) must have a
minimum diameter of 1.8 mm (0.071 in)
and a breaking strength of at least 300
lb (136.08 kg). These requirements
apply to the U.S. exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) portions of the Northeast
Coastal (NEC), Mid-Atlantic Bight
(MAB), South Atlantic Bight (SAB), and
Florida East Coast (FEC) pelagic
longline statistical areas, which together
compose the entirety of the U.S.
Atlantic EEZ (east of the line of
demarcation between the Atlantic
Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico as
defined in 50 CFR 600.105(c)).
In the proposed rule to amend the
PLTRP, we sought comments on the
length of time necessary for
manufacturers and industry to
implement the new terminal gear
regulations. Two commenters noted that
manufacturers may need time to
produce new hooks, but were concerned
about additional delays to implementing
regulations. Two additional commenters
suggested that at least 1 full year was
needed to plan and implement the hook
design and allow fishermen time to
work through existing inventories of
hooks that would not meet the new
regulatory requirements. These same
commenters recommended that the
fishery be given no less than 18 months
following the publication of the final
rule to implement the new hook
requirements. In an effort to balance the
conservation needs for the species and
the practical and economic needs of the
pelagic longline industry, we decided to
delay the implementation of these
terminal gear requirements by 12
months. Our final rule, which was
published on June 6, 2023, and became
effective on July 6, 2023, specified an
effective date for the new terminal gear
requirements of July 8, 2024.
Currently, some hooks that meet the
specifications contained in 50 CFR
229.36(d) are available, although they
are available in limited quantities and
are not preferred broadly across the
fishery. A primary hook manufacturer
for the Atlantic pelagic longline fishing
E:\FR\FM\05JYR1.SGM
05JYR1
55524
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 129 / Friday, July 5, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
industry, did not have a 16/0 or 18/0
circle hook that met the hook
regulations required by the PLTRP
amendments and, thus, needed to
design, test, and manufacture new,
compliant hooks. Although that process
began at the time of publication of the
final rule, as of May 31, 2024, those
new, compliant hooks remain
unavailable for purchase due to
manufacturing delays. Compliant hooks
are projected to be available for sale in
sufficient quantities to meet the Atlantic
pelagic longline fishery’s needs shortly
prior to the original July 8, 2024
effective date. However, we have
determined that fishermen will not have
sufficient time to phase out old hooks
and implement new hooks before July 8,
2024, as intended by the final rule.
Fishermen could purchase the new,
compliant hooks if they become
available before July 8, 2024, but
changing them over and replacing noncompliant hooks would be labor
intensive and costly. Therefore, we are
delaying the effective date of the
terminal gear requirements contained in
50 CFR part 229.36(d) until January 1,
2025, to allow fishermen to purchase
new, compliant hooks, once they
become available, and to phase in their
use as older hooks need to be replaced,
as originally intended by the final rule.
We expect that the impact of delaying
the marine mammal protections
afforded by the terminal gear
requirements until January 1, 2025, will
be minor. Based on data from 2015
through 2019, the Potential Biological
Removal (PBR) for the western North
Atlantic stock of short-finned pilot
whales is 236 and the average annual
M/SI incidental to the Atlantic pelagic
longline fishery was 136 animals (Hayes
et al., 2022). Therefore, the western
North Atlantic stock is not a strategic
stock under the MMPA because the
mean annual human-caused M/SI does
not exceed PBR. More recently, NMFS
confirmed that there were 15 observed
hooked or entangled short-finned pilot
whales in the Atlantic pelagic longline
fishery in 2022, and 17 observed hooked
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:39 Jul 03, 2024
Jkt 262001
or entangled short-finned pilot whale in
2023. Serious injury determinations for
these have not been completed or been
extrapolated to overall bycatch
estimates yet; however, they are lower
than the observed hooked or entangled
short-finned pilot whales in 2021 and
2020, despite consistent observer
coverage in 2022 and 2023. Therefore,
although delaying the effective date of
the terminal gear requirements by an
additional 6 months will delay
protections afforded by the regulations,
M/SI of the western north Atlantic
short-finned pilot whale stock is not
expected to exceed PBR and is not
expected to suffer serious adverse
effects. In addition, although the
effective date will be delayed by
approximately 6 months until January 1,
2025, we anticipate that fishermen will
begin to purchase and utilize the new
hooks once they become available, to
replace older hooks that are lost, bent or
broken. Therefore, some of the
protections afforded by the regulations
to short-finned pilot whales are likely to
occur before January 1, 2025.
In summary, we are delaying the
effective date for the terminal gear
requirements contained in 50 CFR part
229.36(d) in the amended PLTRP
published on June 6, 2023 (88 FR 36965)
for 6 months, until January 1, 2025, due
to hook manufacturing delays. This
delay in effective date will allow pelagic
longline fishermen to purchase
compliant hooks, once available, and to
phase in their use. Although delaying
the effective date will delay marine
mammal protections afforded by the
regulation, the impact is expected to be
minor. We intend to provide no further
extensions of the effective date beyond
January 1, 2025.
Administrative Procedure Act
The Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries (AA) finds that there is good
cause to waive the requirements to
provide prior notice and opportunity for
public comment pursuant to the
authority set forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B),
because prior notice and opportunity for
PO 00000
Frm 00030
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 9990
public comment on this temporary
delay is unnecessary and contrary to the
public interest. Such procedures are
unnecessary because the rule that
published at 88 FR 36965 on June 6,
2023, has already been subject to notice
and comment, and all that remains is to
notify the public of this delay in the
effective date of the previously noticed
regulations. Providing additional prior
notice and opportunity for public
comment is contrary to the public
interest because there is a need to
immediately implement this action to
delay the July 8, 2024, the effective date
of the terminal gear requirements
contained in 50 CFR 229.36(d) and to
provide notice of the delay to affected
fishery participants. Failure to extend
the effective date risks inflicting
potentially serious economic costs on
the fishing industry, which were not
intended or analyzed when the final
rule was published, in the form of
missed fishing opportunities and higher
gear transition costs. We are temporarily
delaying the effective date (see DATES
section) of the regulatory requirements
contained in 50 CFR 229.36(d) to
provide fishers with additional time to
obtain and incorporate newly
manufactured hooks that meet the
regulatory specifications.
For these same reasons, the AA also
finds good cause to waive the 30-day
delay in the effectiveness of this action
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
References
Hayes, S.A., Josephson, E., Maze-Foley, K.,
Rosel, P.E., and Wallace, J. 2022. U.S.
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Marine
Mammal Stock Assessments 2021.
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS–
NE–288.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.
Dated: June 25, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–14279 Filed 7–3–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\05JYR1.SGM
05JYR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 55523-55524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14279]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 229
[Docket No. 240624-0175]
RIN 0648-BN14
Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing
Operations; Amendment to the Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction
Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective date.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, NMFS, are delaying the effective date of terminal gear
requirements that amend the Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan
(PLTRP) regulations in a final rule that published on June 6, 2023.
DATES: The effective date of the regulatory requirements contained in
50 CFR 229.36(d) that was published in a final rule at 88 FR 36965 on
June 6, 2023, is delayed until January 1, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Foug[egrave]res, NMFS, Southeast
Region, at 727-824-5312 or [email protected], or Kristy Long,
NMFS, Office of Protected Resources at 206-526-4792 or
[email protected]. Individuals who use telecommunications devices
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-
800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through
Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 6, 2023, we published a final rule
to amend the PLTRP (88 FR 36965). The PLTRP is required under section
118 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to reduce mortality and
serious injury (M/SI) of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala
macrorhynchus) incidental to the Atlantic portion of the Category I
Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico large pelagics longline
fishery. Regulatory requirements in the amended PLTRP were effective on
July 6, 2023, except for the requirements contained in 50 CFR
229.36(d), implementing terminal gear restrictions, which were to
become effective on July 8, 2024 (88 FR 36965).
The terminal gear requirements contained in 50 CFR 229.36(d)
require: (1) circle hooks must have a round wire diameter not to exceed
4.05 millimeters (mm; 0.159 inches (in)) if the hooks are size 16/0, or
4.40 mm (0.173 in) if the hooks are size 18/0, and must have a
straightening force not to exceed 300 pounds (lb; 136.08 kilograms
(kg)); and (2) monofilament leaders and branch lines (i.e., gangions)
must have a minimum diameter of 1.8 mm (0.071 in) and a breaking
strength of at least 300 lb (136.08 kg). These requirements apply to
the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) portions of the Northeast
Coastal (NEC), Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB), South Atlantic Bight (SAB),
and Florida East Coast (FEC) pelagic longline statistical areas, which
together compose the entirety of the U.S. Atlantic EEZ (east of the
line of demarcation between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico
as defined in 50 CFR 600.105(c)).
In the proposed rule to amend the PLTRP, we sought comments on the
length of time necessary for manufacturers and industry to implement
the new terminal gear regulations. Two commenters noted that
manufacturers may need time to produce new hooks, but were concerned
about additional delays to implementing regulations. Two additional
commenters suggested that at least 1 full year was needed to plan and
implement the hook design and allow fishermen time to work through
existing inventories of hooks that would not meet the new regulatory
requirements. These same commenters recommended that the fishery be
given no less than 18 months following the publication of the final
rule to implement the new hook requirements. In an effort to balance
the conservation needs for the species and the practical and economic
needs of the pelagic longline industry, we decided to delay the
implementation of these terminal gear requirements by 12 months. Our
final rule, which was published on June 6, 2023, and became effective
on July 6, 2023, specified an effective date for the new terminal gear
requirements of July 8, 2024.
Currently, some hooks that meet the specifications contained in 50
CFR 229.36(d) are available, although they are available in limited
quantities and are not preferred broadly across the fishery. A primary
hook manufacturer for the Atlantic pelagic longline fishing
[[Page 55524]]
industry, did not have a 16/0 or 18/0 circle hook that met the hook
regulations required by the PLTRP amendments and, thus, needed to
design, test, and manufacture new, compliant hooks. Although that
process began at the time of publication of the final rule, as of May
31, 2024, those new, compliant hooks remain unavailable for purchase
due to manufacturing delays. Compliant hooks are projected to be
available for sale in sufficient quantities to meet the Atlantic
pelagic longline fishery's needs shortly prior to the original July 8,
2024 effective date. However, we have determined that fishermen will
not have sufficient time to phase out old hooks and implement new hooks
before July 8, 2024, as intended by the final rule. Fishermen could
purchase the new, compliant hooks if they become available before July
8, 2024, but changing them over and replacing non-compliant hooks would
be labor intensive and costly. Therefore, we are delaying the effective
date of the terminal gear requirements contained in 50 CFR part
229.36(d) until January 1, 2025, to allow fishermen to purchase new,
compliant hooks, once they become available, and to phase in their use
as older hooks need to be replaced, as originally intended by the final
rule.
We expect that the impact of delaying the marine mammal protections
afforded by the terminal gear requirements until January 1, 2025, will
be minor. Based on data from 2015 through 2019, the Potential
Biological Removal (PBR) for the western North Atlantic stock of short-
finned pilot whales is 236 and the average annual M/SI incidental to
the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery was 136 animals (Hayes et al.,
2022). Therefore, the western North Atlantic stock is not a strategic
stock under the MMPA because the mean annual human-caused M/SI does not
exceed PBR. More recently, NMFS confirmed that there were 15 observed
hooked or entangled short-finned pilot whales in the Atlantic pelagic
longline fishery in 2022, and 17 observed hooked or entangled short-
finned pilot whale in 2023. Serious injury determinations for these
have not been completed or been extrapolated to overall bycatch
estimates yet; however, they are lower than the observed hooked or
entangled short-finned pilot whales in 2021 and 2020, despite
consistent observer coverage in 2022 and 2023. Therefore, although
delaying the effective date of the terminal gear requirements by an
additional 6 months will delay protections afforded by the regulations,
M/SI of the western north Atlantic short-finned pilot whale stock is
not expected to exceed PBR and is not expected to suffer serious
adverse effects. In addition, although the effective date will be
delayed by approximately 6 months until January 1, 2025, we anticipate
that fishermen will begin to purchase and utilize the new hooks once
they become available, to replace older hooks that are lost, bent or
broken. Therefore, some of the protections afforded by the regulations
to short-finned pilot whales are likely to occur before January 1,
2025.
In summary, we are delaying the effective date for the terminal
gear requirements contained in 50 CFR part 229.36(d) in the amended
PLTRP published on June 6, 2023 (88 FR 36965) for 6 months, until
January 1, 2025, due to hook manufacturing delays. This delay in
effective date will allow pelagic longline fishermen to purchase
compliant hooks, once available, and to phase in their use. Although
delaying the effective date will delay marine mammal protections
afforded by the regulation, the impact is expected to be minor. We
intend to provide no further extensions of the effective date beyond
January 1, 2025.
Administrative Procedure Act
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (AA) finds that there is
good cause to waive the requirements to provide prior notice and
opportunity for public comment pursuant to the authority set forth in 5
U.S.C. 553(b)(B), because prior notice and opportunity for public
comment on this temporary delay is unnecessary and contrary to the
public interest. Such procedures are unnecessary because the rule that
published at 88 FR 36965 on June 6, 2023, has already been subject to
notice and comment, and all that remains is to notify the public of
this delay in the effective date of the previously noticed regulations.
Providing additional prior notice and opportunity for public comment is
contrary to the public interest because there is a need to immediately
implement this action to delay the July 8, 2024, the effective date of
the terminal gear requirements contained in 50 CFR 229.36(d) and to
provide notice of the delay to affected fishery participants. Failure
to extend the effective date risks inflicting potentially serious
economic costs on the fishing industry, which were not intended or
analyzed when the final rule was published, in the form of missed
fishing opportunities and higher gear transition costs. We are
temporarily delaying the effective date (see DATES section) of the
regulatory requirements contained in 50 CFR 229.36(d) to provide
fishers with additional time to obtain and incorporate newly
manufactured hooks that meet the regulatory specifications.
For these same reasons, the AA also finds good cause to waive the
30-day delay in the effectiveness of this action under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3).
References
Hayes, S.A., Josephson, E., Maze-Foley, K., Rosel, P.E., and
Wallace, J. 2022. U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Marine Mammal
Stock Assessments 2021. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-NE-288.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.
Dated: June 25, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-14279 Filed 7-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
