Rule2024-25412
Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fisheries; 2025 Fishing Quotas for Atlantic Surfclams and Ocean Quahogs; and Suspension of Atlantic Surfclam Minimum Size Limit
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
November 1, 2024
Effective
January 1, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces that the quotas for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries for 2025 will remain status quo. NMFS also suspends the minimum size limit for Atlantic surfclams for the 2025 fishing year. Regulations for these fisheries require NMFS to notify the public of the allowable harvest levels for Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs from the Exclusive Economic Zone even if the previous year's quota specifications remain unchanged. The 2025 quotas were previously announced as projected values. This action confirms the final quotas are unchanged from those projections. This action would not result in harm to these fisheries.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 212 (Friday, November 1, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 212 (Friday, November 1, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 87309-87310]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25412]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 241028-0280; RTID 0648-XE301]
Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fisheries; 2025 Fishing Quotas
for Atlantic Surfclams and Ocean Quahogs; and Suspension of Atlantic
Surfclam Minimum Size Limit
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the quotas for the Atlantic surfclam and
ocean quahog fisheries for 2025 will remain status quo. NMFS also
suspends the minimum size limit for Atlantic surfclams for the 2025
fishing year. Regulations for these fisheries require NMFS to notify
the public of the allowable harvest levels for Atlantic surfclams and
ocean quahogs from the Exclusive Economic Zone even if the previous
year's quota specifications remain unchanged. The 2025 quotas were
previously announced as projected values. This action confirms the
final quotas are unchanged from those projections. This action would
not result in harm to these fisheries.
DATES: Effective January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst,
978-281-9341.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) requires that NMFS issue notice in the
Federal Register of the upcoming year's quota, even if the quota
remains unchanged from the previous year. At its August 2024 meeting,
the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) recommended no
change to the quota specifications for Atlantic surfclams and ocean
quahogs for the 2025 fishing year. We are announcing 2025 quota levels
of 3.4 million bushels
[[Page 87310]]
(bu) (181 million L) for Atlantic surfclams, 5.36 million bu (285
million L) for ocean quahogs, and 100,000 Maine bu (3.52 million L) for
Maine ocean quahogs. These quotas were published as projected 2025
limits in the Federal Register on May 13, 2021 (86 FR 26186). This rule
establishes these quotas as unchanged from 2021 and final.
In addition, the regulations at 50 CFR 648.75(b)(3) allow the
Regional Administrator to annually suspend the minimum size limit for
Atlantic surfclams unless discard, catch, and biological sampling data
indicate that 30 percent or more of the Atlantic surfclams have a shell
length less than 4.75 inches (121 mm) and the overall reduced size is
not attributable to harvest from beds where growth of the individual
clams has been reduced because of density-dependent factors. The
default minimum size limit is intended to prevent the fishery from
harvesting too many small clams such that it could harm the overall
population. The size limit is unnecessary if small clams are not a
significant portion of overall catch. At its August 2024 meeting, the
Council reviewed recent developments in the fishery and recommended the
Regional Administrator once again suspend the minimum size limit for
Atlantic surfclams for the 2025 fishing year. Commercial surfclam data
for 2024 indicated that 8.4 percent of the overall commercial landings
were composed of surfclams that were less than the 4.75-inch (121-mm)
default minimum size.
Based on the information available, the Regional Administrator
concurs with the Council's recommendation and is suspending the minimum
size limit for Atlantic surfclams for the upcoming fishing year
(January 1 through December 31, 2025).
Classification
NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to section 305(d) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. In a previous action taken pursuant to section
304(b), the FMP authorized NMFS to take this action pursuant to MSA
section 305(d). See 50 CFR 648.72. The Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA, has determined that this rule is consistent with the
Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog FMP, other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
This action does not introduce any new reporting, recordkeeping, or
other compliance requirements. This rule does not duplicate, overlap,
or conflict with other Federal rules.
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 unnecessary and contrary to the public interest.
This rule is routine and formulaic. The public was given the
opportunity to comment on the proposed rule for the 2021-2026
specifications (86 FR 9901, February 17, 2021), including the projected
2025 specifications, which remain unchanged. Delaying this action would
prolong public uncertainty about the final quotas for the 2025 fishing
year, and could delay issuance of 2025 Individual Transferable Quota
cage tags to quota shareholders. The public and industry participants
expect this action because we previously alerted the public that we
would conduct this review in interim years of the multi-year
specifications and announce the final quotas before or as close as
possible to the January 1 start of the fishing year. This rule could
not be published earlier because of the time necessary to collect data
and conduct the analysis to support suspending the minimum size limit
for Atlantic surfclams.
This rule is exempt from the requirements of Executive Order 12866
because it contains no implementing regulations.
Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not
required 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 inapplicable. Accordingly, no Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis is required and none has been prepared.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 28, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-25412 Filed 10-31-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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