Rule2024-19211
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Scup Fishery; Adjustment to the 2024 Winter II Quota
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 28, 2024
Effective
October 1, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS adjusts the 2024 Winter II commercial scup quota and per- trip Federal landing limit. This action is necessary to comply with regulations implementing Framework Adjustment 3 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan that established the rollover of unused commercial scup quota from the Winter I to the Winter II period. This notification informs the public of the quota and trip limit changes.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68785-68786]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19211]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 231215-0305; RTID 0648-XE241]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Scup Fishery;
Adjustment to the 2024 Winter II Quota
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; in-season adjustment.
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SUMMARY: NMFS adjusts the 2024 Winter II commercial scup quota and per-
trip Federal landing limit. This action is necessary to comply with
regulations implementing Framework Adjustment 3 to the Summer Flounder,
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan that established the
rollover of unused commercial scup quota from the Winter I to the
Winter II period. This notification informs the public of the quota and
trip limit changes.
DATES: Effective October 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9184; or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#400c213532216e0425292728212e002e2f21216e272f36"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="81cde0f4f3e0afc5e4e8e6e9e0efc1efeee0e0afe6eef7">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS published a final rule for Framework
Adjustment 3 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery
Management Plan in the Federal Register on November 3, 2003 (68 FR
62250), implementing a process to increase the Winter II (October 1
through December 31) commercial scup quota by the amount of the Winter
I (January 1 through April 30) under-harvest and to adjust the Winter
II possession limits consistent with the amount of the quota increase,
based on the possession limits established through the annual
specifications-setting process.
For 2024, the initial Winter II quota is 3,370,790 pounds (lb;
1,528,965 kilograms (kg)). The best available landings information
through August 12, 2024, indicates that 1,703,229 lb (772,572 kg)
remain of the 9,539,294 lb (4,326,951 kg) Winter I quota. Consistent
with Framework 3, the full amount of unused 2024 Winter I quota is
being transferred to Winter II, resulting in a revised 2024 Winter II
quota 5,074,019 lb (2,301,536 kg). Because the amount transferred is
between 1.5 and 2 million lb (680,389 and 907,184 kg), the Federal per-
trip possession limit will increase from 12,000 lb (5,443 kg) to 16,500
lb (7,484 kg), as outlined in the final rule that established the
possession limit and quota rollover procedures for this year, published
on December 21, 2023 (88 FR 88266). The new possession limit will be
effective October 1 through December 31, 2024. The Winter II possession
limit will revert to 12,000 lb (5,443 kg) at the start of the next
fishing year, which begins January 1, 2025.
Classification
NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 648.122(d), which was
issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is exempted 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 would be contrary to the public interest. This action
transfers unused quota from the Winter I Period to the Winter II Period
to make it accessible to the commercial scup fishery and increase
fishing opportunities. If the implementation of this in-season action
is delayed to solicit prior public comment, the objective of the
fishery
[[Page 68786]]
management plan to achieve the optimum yield from the fishery could be
compromised. Deteriorating weather conditions during the latter part of
the fishing year may reduce fishing effort, and could also prevent the
annual quota from being fully harvested. If this action is delayed, it
would reduce the amount of time vessels have to realize the benefits of
this quota increase, which would result in negative economic impacts on
vessels permitted to fish in this fishery. Moreover, the rollover
process being applied here is routine and formulaic and was the subject
of notice and comment rulemaking, and the range of potential trip limit
changes were outlined in the final 2024 scup specifications that were
published on December 21, 2023, which were developed through public
notice and comment. The benefit of soliciting additional public comment
on this formulaic adjustment would not outweigh the benefits of making
this additional quota available to the fishery as quickly as possible.
Based on these considerations, there is good cause under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness period for the
reasons stated above.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 22, 2024.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-19211 Filed 8-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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