Rule2023-27689
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2023-2024 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments; Correction
Primary source
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Published
December 29, 2023
Effective
January 1, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS published a final rule on November 29, 2023, to announce routine inseason adjustments to management measures in commercial and recreational groundfish fisheries for the 2024 fishing year. That rule is intended to allow commercial and recreational fishing vessels to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks. This action corrects the trip limits for the limited entry (LE) fixed gear and open access (OA) fleets for "Other Flatfish" (butter sole, curlfin sole, flathead sole, Pacific sanddab, rex sole, rock sole, and sand sole) south of latitude (lat.) 40[deg]10' North (N). This correction is necessary so that the implementing regulations are accurate and implement the action as intended by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). This action also corrects a final rule published on December 1, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 249 (Friday, December 29, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 249 (Friday, December 29, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 90127-90133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27689]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 660
[Docket No. 221206-0261]
RIN 0648-BM72
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States;
Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2023-2024 Biennial Specifications and
Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments; Correction
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; correction.
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SUMMARY: NMFS published a final rule on November 29, 2023, to announce
routine inseason adjustments to management measures in commercial and
recreational groundfish fisheries for the 2024 fishing year. That rule
is intended to allow commercial and recreational fishing vessels to
access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and
depleted stocks. This action corrects the trip limits for the limited
entry (LE) fixed gear and open access (OA) fleets for ``Other
Flatfish'' (butter sole, curlfin sole, flathead sole, Pacific sanddab,
rex sole, rock sole, and sand sole) south of latitude (lat.) 40[deg]10'
North (N). This correction is necessary so that the implementing
regulations are accurate and implement the action as intended by the
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council). This action also corrects
a final rule published on December 1, 2023.
DATES: The corrections are effective on January 1, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keeley Kent, phone: 206-526-4655,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#076c62626b627e294c626973476968666629606871"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="305b55555c55491e7b555e44705e5f51511e575f46">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
NMFS published the final rule to implement harvest specifications
and management measures for the 2023-2024 biennium for most species
managed under The Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan
(PCGFMP) on December 16, 2022 (87 FR 77007). The harvest specifications
and mitigation measures developed for the 2023-2024 biennium used data
through the 2021 fishing year to help various sectors of the fishery
attain, but not exceed, the catch limits for each stock. Based on
updated fisheries information
[[Page 90128]]
that was unavailable when the analysis for the current harvest
specifications was completed, Council recommended that NMFS extend the
duration of several measures implemented through an inseason action
published on October 2, 2023 (88 FR 67656), to continue the
minimization of mortality of quillback rockfish off California for the
2024 fishing season. The Council also recommended NMFS reset trip
limits for several species for the 2024 fishing season. NMFS published
a final rule on November 29, 2023 (88 FR 83354), that announces routine
inseason adjustments to management measures in commercial and
recreational groundfish fisheries for the 2024 fishing year.
Need for Correction
The November 29, 2023, final rule modified tables 2 north and south
to part 660, subpart E, and tables 3 north and south to part 660,
subpart F. NMFS implemented an area-based trip limit for LE and OA
fleets between lat. 42[deg] N and lat. 36[deg] N seaward of the non-
trawl Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) for lingcod and other flatfish
for all cumulative periods in 2024. The trip limits for other flatfish
for the LE and OA fleets south of lat. 40[deg]10' N were inadvertently
changed from those that were intended by the final rule by switching
the trip limits in areas lat. 40[deg]10' N to lat. 36[deg] N and south
of lat. 36[deg] N. The preamble to the final rule correctly notes that
by reducing the ``other flatfish'' trip limit to 0 lbs/2 months between
lat. 42[deg] N and lat. 36[deg] N inside the Non-Trawl RCA, and
maintaining the current trip limits seaward of the Non-Trawl RCA, the
inseason action would help prevent the possible interaction with
quillback rockfish within the Non-Trawl RCA.
This action changes the trip limit to what was originally intended
by correcting table 2 south to part 660, subpart E and table 3 south to
part 660, subpart F in the regulations. For LE fixed gear between lat.
42[deg] N to lat. 36[deg] N, the trip limit for other flatfish will be
0 lbs/month inside the Non-Trawl RCA and 10,000 lbs/month seaward of
the Non-Trawl RCA. For LE fixed gear south of lat. 36[deg] N, the trip
limit for other flatfish will be 10,000 lbs/month with no area
restriction. Similarly, for OA, between lat. 42[deg] N and lat. 36[deg]
N, the trip limit for other flatfish will be 0 lbs/month inside the
Non-Trawl RCA and 5,000 lbs/month seaward of the Non-Trawl RCA. For OA
south of lat. 36[deg] N, the trip limit for other flatfish will be
5,000 lbs/month with no area restriction.
These corrections are consistent with the Council's recommendation
for the inseason adjustments to the 2024 fishing year harvest
specifications and are minor corrections necessary to correctly
implement the Council intent in their final action from November 2023.
This rule also removes amendatory instructions published in the
final rule for Amendment 32 to the Groundfish FMP (December 1, 2023; 88
FR 83830). The amendatory instructions created erroneous and incorrect
table headings for tables 2 north and south to part 660, subpart E, and
tables 3 north and south to part 660, subpart F.
Classification
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries (AA) finds there is good cause to waive prior notice and an
opportunity for public comment on this action, as notice and comment
would be unnecessary and contrary to public interest. Notice and
comment are unnecessary and contrary to the public interest because
this action corrects inadvertent errors in the November 29, 2023, final
rule. Immediate notice of the errors and correction is necessary to
prevent confusion among participants in the fishery that could result
in issues with enforcement of area management. To effectively correct
the errors, the changes in this action must be effective on January 1,
2024, which is the effective date of the November 29, 2023, final rule.
Thus, there is not sufficient time for notice and comment due to the
imminent effective date of the November 29, 2023, final rule. In
addition, notice and comment is unnecessary because this notice makes
only minor changes to correct the final rule and is consistent with the
expectation of the public. These corrections will not affect the
results of analyses conducted to support management decisions in the
Pacific coast groundfish fishery.
For the same reasons stated above, the AA has determined that good
cause exists to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 553(d). This document makes only minor corrections to the final
rule which will be effective January 1, 2024. Delaying effectiveness of
these corrections would result in conflicts in the regulations and
confusion among fishery participants. Because prior notice and an
opportunity for public comment are not required to be provided for this
rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the analytical requirements of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., are not
applicable. Accordingly, no Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is required
for this rule and none has been prepared.
This final rule is not significant under Executive Order 12866.
Corrections
Effective January 1, 2024, in FR Doc. 2023-26018 at 88 FR 83354 in
the issue of November 29, 2023:
Table 2 (North) to Part 660, Subpart E--[Corrected]
0
1. On page 83359, in amendatory instruction 2, ``Table 2 (North) to
Part 660, Subpart E--Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas and Trip
Limits for Limited Entry Fixed Gear North of 40[deg]10' N Lat.'' Is
corrected to read as follows:
Table 2 (North) to Part 660, Subpart E--Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation
Areas and Trip Limits for Limited Entry Fixed Gear North of 40[deg]10'
N Lat.
[[Page 90129]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR29DE23.065
Table 2 (South) to Part 660, Subpart E--[Corrected]
0
2. On page 83360, in amendatory instruction 3, ``Table 2 (South) to
Part 660, Subpart E--Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas and Trip
Limits for Limited Entry Fixed Gear South of 40[deg]10' N Lat.'' Is
corrected to read as follows:
Table 2 (South) to Part 660, Subpart E--Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation
Areas and Trip Limits for Limited Entry Fixed Gear South of 40[deg]10'
N Lat.
[[Page 90130]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR29DE23.066
Table 3 (North) to Part 660, Subpart F--[Corrected]
0
3. On page 83361, in amendatory instruction 4, ``Table 3 (North) to
Part 660, Subpart F--Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas and Trip
Limits for Open Access Gears North of 40[deg]10' N Lat.'' Is corrected
to read as follows:
Table 3 (North) to Part 660, Subpart F--Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation
Areas and Trip Limits for Open Access Gears North of 40[deg]10' N Lat.
[[Page 90131]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR29DE23.067
Table 3 (South) to Part 660, Subpart F--[Corrected]
0
4. On page 83362, in amendatory instruction 5, ``Table 3 (South) to
Part 660, Subpart F--Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation Areas and Trip
Limits for Open Access Gears South of 40[deg]10' N Lat.'' is corrected
to read as follows:
Table 3 (South) to Part 660, Subpart F--Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation
Areas and Trip Limits for Open Access Gears South of 40[deg]10' N Lat.
[[Page 90132]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR29DE23.068
[[Page 90133]]
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR29DE23.069
Effective January 1, 2024, in FR Doc. 2023-25905 at 88 FR 83830 in
the issue of December 1, 2023:
Subpart E of Part 660--[Corrected]
0
5. On page 83850, remove amendatory instruction 19 and the accompanying
regulatory text revising table 2 (North) and table 2 (South) to part
660, subpart E, and redesignate amendatory instructions 20 through 22
as amendatory instructions 19 through 21.
Subpart F of Part 660--[Corrected]
0
6. On page 83855, remove amendatory instruction 23 and the accompanying
regulatory text revising table 3 (North) and table 3 (South) to part
660, subpart F, and redesignate amendatory instructions 24 and 25 as
amendatory instructions 22 and 23.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 12, 2023.
Everett Wayne Baxter,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-27689 Filed 12-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 29, 2023.
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