Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 2024 Red Snapper Private Angling Component Closure in Federal Waters off Texas, 71860-71861 [2024-19744]
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71860
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 4, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
(c) Supplemental Compensation for
CA-assisted IP CTS. For the period from
November 1, 2024, through June 30,
2029, Supplemental Compensation for
CA-assisted IP CTS may be paid in
accordance with this paragraph (c) to
any of the following four IP CTS
providers currently certified to provide
CA-assisted IP CTS: CaptionCall,
ClearCaptions, Hamilton, InnoCaption
(Certified Providers).
(1) Initial rate. For the period from
November 1, 2024, through June 30,
2025, the Supplemental Compensation
Rate for CA-assisted IP CTS shall be
$0.21 per minute. This rate shall be
paid, in addition to the compensation
defined in paragraph (b) of this section,
for all compensable minutes of CAassisted service provided by a Certified
Provider for which the communications
assistant producing captions was paid
an hourly wage of at least $17.20 (the
Minimum Hourly Wage).
(2) Succeeding years. (i) For each
succeeding TRS Fund Year through June
30, 2027, the per-minute Supplemental
Compensation Rate for CA-assisted IP
CTS shall be determined in accordance
with the following equation:
Equation 2 to Paragraph (c)(2)(i)
LFY = LFY–1*(1+AFFY)
Where LFY is the CA-assisted Compensation
Level for the new Fund Year, LFY–1 is the
CA-assisted Compensation Level for the
previous Fund Year, and AFFY is the
Adjustment Factor for the new Fund
Year, as defined by paragraph (b)(3) of
this section.
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
(ii) The rate in paragraph (c)(2)(i) of
this section shall be paid, in addition to
the compensation defined in paragraph
(b) of this section, for all compensable
minutes of CA-assisted service provided
by a Certified Provider for which the
communications assistant producing
captions was paid a Minimum Hourly
Wage of at least the amount determined
by the following equation:
Equation 3 to Paragraph (c)(2)(ii)
ensuring and documenting the accuracy
of its representations to the TRS Fund
administrator regarding the wages paid
to each affected CA, whether such
wages were paid by the Certified
Provider or by a subcontractor. In such
subsequent audit, if a Certified Provider
fails to produce documentation,
satisfactory to the TRS Fund
administrator, verifying the hourly rate
paid to affected CAs—whether
employed by the Certified Provider or a
subcontractor—then the administrator is
entitled to immediately reclaim any
prior payments of Supplemental
Compensation for minutes handled by
such CAs, by offsetting such prior
payments against any amounts claimed
in the provider’s next monthly
compensation request.
(d) Exogenous cost adjustments. In
addition to the applicable per-minute
Compensation Level, an IP CTS
provider shall be paid a per-minute
exogenous cost adjustment if claims for
exogenous cost recovery are submitted
by the provider and approved by the
Commission on or before June 30. Such
exogenous cost adjustment shall equal
the amount of such approved claims
divided by the provider’s projected IP
CTS minutes for the Fund Year. An
exogenous cost adjustment shall be paid
if an IP CTS provider incurs welldocumented costs that:
(1) Belong to a category of costs that
the Commission has deemed allowable;
(2) Result from new TRS requirements
or other causes beyond the provider’s
control;
(3) Are new costs that were not
factored into the applicable
compensation formula(s); and
(4) If unrecovered, would cause a
provider’s current allowable-expensesplus-allowed-operating margin to
exceed its revenues.
[FR Doc. 2024–19559 Filed 9–3–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
WFY = WFY–1*(1+AFFY)
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Where WFY is the Minimum Hourly Wage for
the new Fund Year, WFY–1 is the
Minimum Hourly Wage for the previous
Fund Year, and AFFY is the Adjustment
Factor for the new Fund Year, as defined
by paragraph (b)(3) of this section.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
(3) Verification and offset. The initial
payment of Supplemental
Compensation for CA-assisted IP CTS is
a preliminary payment only and is
conditional on subsequent verification
by audit that the CAs producing
captions for those minutes for which the
supplement was paid actually were paid
the hourly rate claimed by the provider.
The Certified Provider is responsible for
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:03 Sep 03, 2024
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50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 200124–0029; RTID 0648–
XE221]
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish
Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 2024
Red Snapper Private Angling
Component Closure in Federal Waters
off Texas
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
AGENCY:
PO 00000
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Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
NMFS announces a closure
for the 2024 fishing season for the red
snapper private angling component in
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off
Texas in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf)
through this temporary rule. The red
snapper recreational private angling
component in the Gulf EEZ off Texas
closes on September 7, 2024, until 12:01
a.m., local time, on January 1, 2025.
This closure is necessary to prevent the
private angling component from
exceeding the Texas regional
management area annual catch limit
(ACL) and to prevent overfishing of the
Gulf red snapper resource.
DATES: This closure is effective from
12:01 a.m., local time, on September 7,
2024, until 12:01 a.m., local time, on
January 1, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Daniel Luers, NMFS Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: 727–824–5305, email:
daniel.luers@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf
reef fish fishery, which includes red
snapper, is managed under the Fishery
Management Plan for the Reef Fish
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP).
The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council,
approved by the Secretary of Commerce,
and is implemented by NMFS under the
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by
regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
The final rule implementing
Amendment 40 to the FMP established
two components within the recreational
sector fishing for Gulf red snapper: the
private angling component, and the
Federal for-hire component (80 FR
22422, April 22, 2015). Amendment 40
also allocated the red snapper
recreational ACL (recreational quota)
between the components and
established separate seasonal closures
for the two components. On February 6,
2020, NMFS implemented Amendments
50 A–F to the FMP, which delegated
authority to the Gulf states (Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and
Texas) to establish specific management
measures for the harvest of red snapper
in Federal waters of the Gulf by the
private angling component of the
recreational sector (85 FR 6819,
February 6, 2020). These amendments
allocated a portion of the private angling
ACL to each state, and each state is
required to constrain landings to its
allocation.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\04SER1.SGM
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ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 4, 2024 / Rules and Regulations
As described at 50 CFR 622.23(c), a
Gulf state with an active delegation may
request that NMFS close all, or an area
of, Federal waters off that state to the
harvest and possession of red snapper
by private anglers. The state is required
to request the closure by letter to NMFS,
providing dates and geographic
coordinates for the closure. If the
request is within the scope of the
analysis in Amendment 50A, NMFS
publishes a notice in the Federal
Register implementing the closure for
the fishing year. Based on the analysis
in Amendment 50A, Texas may request
a closure of all Federal waters off the
state to allow a year-round fishing
season in state waters. As described at
50 CFR 622.2, ‘‘off Texas’’ is defined as
the waters in the Gulf west of a rhumb
line from 29°32.1′ N lat., 93°47.7′ W
long. to 26°11.4′ N lat., 92°53′ W long.,
which line is an extension of the
boundary between Louisiana and Texas.
On November 8, 2023, NMFS received
a request from the Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department (TPWD) to close
the EEZ off Texas to the red snapper
private angling component for the first
part of the 2024 fishing year. Texas
requested that the closure be effective
from January 1, 2024, until June 1, 2024.
NMFS determined that the TPWD
request was within the scope of analysis
contained within Amendment 50A, and
subsequently published a temporary
rule in the Federal Register
implementing that closure request (88
FR 83041, November 28, 2023). In that
temporary rule, NMFS noted that TPWD
would monitor private recreational
landings, and if necessary, request that
NMFS again close the EEZ in 2024 to
ensure the Texas regional management
area ACL is not exceeded.
On August 26, 2024, NMFS received
a new request from the TPWD to close
the EEZ off Texas to the red snapper
private angling component for the
remainder of the 2024 fishing year.
Texas requested that the closure be
effective on September 7, 2024, through
the end of the 2024 fishing year. NMFS
has determined that this request is
within the scope of analysis contained
within Amendment 50A, which
analyzed the potential impacts of a
closure of all Federal waters off Texas
when a portion of the Texas quota has
been landed. As explained in
Amendment 50A, Texas intends to
maintain a year-round fishing season in
state waters, during which the
remaining part of Texas’ ACL could be
caught.
Therefore, the red snapper
recreational private angling component
in the Gulf EEZ off Texas will close
from 12:01 a.m., local time, on
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:03 Sep 03, 2024
Jkt 262001
September 7, 2024, until 12:01 a.m.,
local time, on January 1, 2025. This
closure applies to all private-anglers
(those on board vessels that have not
been issued a valid charter vessel/
headboat permit for Gulf reef fish)
regardless of which state they are from
or where they intend to land.
On and after the effective dates of the
closure in the EEZ off Texas, the harvest
and possession of red snapper in the
EEZ off Texas by the private angling
component is prohibited and the bag
and possession limits for the red
snapper private angling component in
the closed area is zero.
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to
section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. This action is required by 50 CFR
622.23(c), which was issued pursuant to
section 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and is exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there
is good cause to waive prior notice and
an opportunity for public comment on
this action, as notice and comment are
unnecessary and contrary to the public
interest.
Such procedures are unnecessary
because the rule implementing the area
closure authority and the state-specific
private angling ACLs has already been
subject to notice and comment, and all
that remains is to notify the public of
the closure. Such procedures are
contrary to the public interest because a
failure to implement the closure
immediately would be inconsistent with
Texas’s state management plan and may
result in less access to red snapper in
state waters.
For the aforementioned reasons, there
is good cause to waive the 30-day delay
in the effectiveness of this action under
5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 28, 2024.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–19744 Filed 8–29–24; 4:15 pm]
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71861
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 240304–0068; RTID 0648–
XE227]
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod in the
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; modification of
a closure; request for comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS is opening directed
fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels
less than 60 feet (18.3 meters) length
overall (LOA) using hook-and-line or
pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian
Islands Management Area (BSAI). This
action is necessary to fully use the 2024
total allowable catch of Pacific cod
allocated to catcher vessels less than 60
feet (18.3 meters) LOA using hook-andline or pot gear in the BSAI.
DATES: Effective date: Effective 1200
hours, Alaska local time (A.l.t.),
September 1, 2024, through 2400 hours,
A.l.t., December 31, 2024.
Comments due date: Comments must
be received at the following address no
later than 4:30 p.m., A.l.t., September
19, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by docket
number NOAA–NMFS–2023–0124, 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–2023–0124 in the Search
box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and enter
or attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to
Gretchen Harrington, Assistant Regional
Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries
Division, Alaska Region NMFS. Mail
comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau,
AK 99802–1668.
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
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\04SER1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 4, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 71860-71861]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19744]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 200124-0029; RTID 0648-XE221]
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 2024 Red Snapper Private
Angling Component Closure in Federal Waters off Texas
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces a closure for the 2024 fishing season for the
red snapper private angling component in the exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) off Texas in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) through this temporary
rule. The red snapper recreational private angling component in the
Gulf EEZ off Texas closes on September 7, 2024, until 12:01 a.m., local
time, on January 1, 2025. This closure is necessary to prevent the
private angling component from exceeding the Texas regional management
area annual catch limit (ACL) and to prevent overfishing of the Gulf
red snapper resource.
DATES: This closure is effective from 12:01 a.m., local time, on
September 7, 2024, until 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Luers, NMFS Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf reef fish fishery, which includes
red snapper, is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef
Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). The FMP was prepared by the
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, approved by the Secretary of
Commerce, and is implemented by NMFS under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) by regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
The final rule implementing Amendment 40 to the FMP established two
components within the recreational sector fishing for Gulf red snapper:
the private angling component, and the Federal for-hire component (80
FR 22422, April 22, 2015). Amendment 40 also allocated the red snapper
recreational ACL (recreational quota) between the components and
established separate seasonal closures for the two components. On
February 6, 2020, NMFS implemented Amendments 50 A-F to the FMP, which
delegated authority to the Gulf states (Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, Florida, and Texas) to establish specific management measures
for the harvest of red snapper in Federal waters of the Gulf by the
private angling component of the recreational sector (85 FR 6819,
February 6, 2020). These amendments allocated a portion of the private
angling ACL to each state, and each state is required to constrain
landings to its allocation.
[[Page 71861]]
As described at 50 CFR 622.23(c), a Gulf state with an active
delegation may request that NMFS close all, or an area of, Federal
waters off that state to the harvest and possession of red snapper by
private anglers. The state is required to request the closure by letter
to NMFS, providing dates and geographic coordinates for the closure. If
the request is within the scope of the analysis in Amendment 50A, NMFS
publishes a notice in the Federal Register implementing the closure for
the fishing year. Based on the analysis in Amendment 50A, Texas may
request a closure of all Federal waters off the state to allow a year-
round fishing season in state waters. As described at 50 CFR 622.2,
``off Texas'' is defined as the waters in the Gulf west of a rhumb line
from 29[deg]32.1' N lat., 93[deg]47.7' W long. to 26[deg]11.4' N lat.,
92[deg]53' W long., which line is an extension of the boundary between
Louisiana and Texas.
On November 8, 2023, NMFS received a request from the Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to close the EEZ off Texas to the red
snapper private angling component for the first part of the 2024
fishing year. Texas requested that the closure be effective from
January 1, 2024, until June 1, 2024. NMFS determined that the TPWD
request was within the scope of analysis contained within Amendment
50A, and subsequently published a temporary rule in the Federal
Register implementing that closure request (88 FR 83041, November 28,
2023). In that temporary rule, NMFS noted that TPWD would monitor
private recreational landings, and if necessary, request that NMFS
again close the EEZ in 2024 to ensure the Texas regional management
area ACL is not exceeded.
On August 26, 2024, NMFS received a new request from the TPWD to
close the EEZ off Texas to the red snapper private angling component
for the remainder of the 2024 fishing year. Texas requested that the
closure be effective on September 7, 2024, through the end of the 2024
fishing year. NMFS has determined that this request is within the scope
of analysis contained within Amendment 50A, which analyzed the
potential impacts of a closure of all Federal waters off Texas when a
portion of the Texas quota has been landed. As explained in Amendment
50A, Texas intends to maintain a year-round fishing season in state
waters, during which the remaining part of Texas' ACL could be caught.
Therefore, the red snapper recreational private angling component
in the Gulf EEZ off Texas will close from 12:01 a.m., local time, on
September 7, 2024, until 12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 2025.
This closure applies to all private-anglers (those on board vessels
that have not been issued a valid charter vessel/headboat permit for
Gulf reef fish) regardless of which state they are from or where they
intend to land.
On and after the effective dates of the closure in the EEZ off
Texas, the harvest and possession of red snapper in the EEZ off Texas
by the private angling component is prohibited and the bag and
possession limits for the red snapper private angling component in the
closed area is zero.
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 622.23(c), which was
issued pursuant to section 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and is
exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior
notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as notice
and comment are unnecessary and contrary to the public interest.
Such procedures are unnecessary because the rule implementing the
area closure authority and the state-specific private angling ACLs has
already been subject to notice and comment, and all that remains is to
notify the public of the closure. Such procedures are contrary to the
public interest because a failure to implement the closure immediately
would be inconsistent with Texas's state management plan and may result
in less access to red snapper in state waters.
For the aforementioned reasons, there is good cause to waive the
30-day delay in the effectiveness of this action under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 28, 2024.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-19744 Filed 8-29-24; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
