[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 26, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 11254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05599]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 679

RIN 0648-XF559


Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Essential 
Fish Habitat Amendments; Correction

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Fishery management plan amendments; notification of correction.

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SUMMARY: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is announcing the 
correction of Amendment 115 to the fishery management plan (FMP) for 
Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI 
Groundfish FMP). NMFS is correcting the numbering of the sections in 
Amendment 115 describing species-specific essential fish habitat (EFH).

DATES: The correction to Amendment 115 is effective March 26, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The corrected FMP may be obtained at https://www.npfmc.org/wp-content/PDFdocuments/fmp/BSAI/BSAIfmp.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Megan Mackey, 907-586-7228.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Need for Correction

    On July 5, 2018, NMFS announced the final approval of EFH 
amendments to five of its six FMPs, including the BSAI Groundfish FMP 
(83 FR 31340), in effect as of May 31, 2018 (July 2018 notification) 
and published availability information for the amendments. These 
amendments updated the description and identification of EFH based on 
the best scientific information available to comply with the regulatory 
requirement to review and update EFH every five years. Species-specific 
EFH sections are numbered in Section 4.2.2 of the BSAI Groundfish FMP; 
however, a number for the dusky rockfish section was inadvertently left 
out. This correction provides a number for the dusky rockfish section, 
and renumbers subsequent species sections sequentially. No regulations 
were promulgated as part of the July 2018 notification, therefore no 
regulatory changes are needed to effect this correction.

Classification

    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, NOAA (AA) finds there is good cause to waive prior notice 
and opportunity for public comment on this correction, as notice and 
comment would be unnecessary and contrary to public interest. This 
notification announces the correction of the unintentional omission of 
a number for the dusky rockfish EFH section, as described above, and 
does not change operating practices in the fisheries. Therefore, in 
order to avoid any negative consequences that could result from this 
error, the AA finds good cause to waive the requirement to provide 
prior notice and opportunity for public comment.
    The AA also finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the 
effective date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). This correction 
notification makes only minor change to the numbers of the species-
specific EFH sections and does not change the operating practices in 
the fisheries. For these reasons, the AA finds good cause to waive the 
30-day delay in the effective date of this action.

Description of Correction

    In the BSAI Groundfish FMP Amendment 115, described in the July 
2018 notification (see ADDRESSES for availability), the section for 
dusky rockfish on page 10 is numbered as follows:
4.2.2.2.20 Dusky Rockfish
    Species-specific EFH sections following dusky rockfish are 
corrected to be numbered sequentially up to the last species section 
numbered 4.2.2.2.30 for yellow Irish lord, which was numbered 
4.2.2.2.29 in the text described in the July 2018 notification.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: March 19, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-05599 Filed 3-25-19; 8:45 am]
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