[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5845-5849]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01710]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

RIN 0648-BL71


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic 
Region; Amendment 34

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

ACTION: Announcement of availability of fishery management plan 
amendment; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (South Atlantic 
Council) submitted Amendment 34 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 
for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and 
Atlantic Region (CMP FMP) for review, approval, and implementation by 
NMFS. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 34 to the CMP 
FMP would revise the acceptable biological catch (ABC), the annual 
optimum yield (OY), sector allocations, the stock and sector annual 
catch limits (ACL), recreational annual catch target (ACT), and the 
recreational bag and possession limits off the east coast of Florida 
for Atlantic migratory group king mackerel (Atlantic king mackerel). 
For both Atlantic king mackerel and Atlantic migratory group Spanish 
mackerel (Atlantic Spanish mackerel), Amendment 34 would revise the 
landing fish intact provisions for the recreational sector. The purpose 
of Amendment 34 is to revise the catch limits based on a recent stock 
assessment and revise sector allocations for Atlantic king mackerel 
based on the best scientific information available, and to revise 
management measures for Atlantic king mackerel and Atlantic Spanish 
mackerel.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 31, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on Amendment 34, identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2022-0108,'' by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov 
and enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2022-0108'' in the Search box. Click the 
``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach 
your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Mary Vara, Southeast 
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
    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 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information, 
or otherwise sensitive information

[[Page 5846]]

submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS 
will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if 
you wish to remain anonymous).
    Electronic copies of Amendment 34, which includes a fishery impact 
statement and a regulatory impact review, may be obtained from the 
Southeast Regional Office website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-34-catch-level-and-allocation-adjustments-and-management-measures-atlantic-king.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Vara, telephone: 727-824-5305, or 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each regional 
fishery management council to submit any FMP or FMP amendment to the 
Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary) for review and approval, partial 
approval, or disapproval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that 
NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or amendment, publish an announcement in 
the Federal Register notifying the public that the FMP or amendment is 
available for review and comment.
    The South Atlantic Council and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council (Gulf Council) prepared the CMP FMP that is being revised by 
Amendment 34. If approved, Amendment 34 would be implemented by NMFS 
through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Background

    Under the CMP FMP, the South Atlantic and Gulf Councils jointly 
manage fishing for king mackerel and Spanish mackerel in Federal waters 
from Texas through New York (to the intersection point of Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, and New York). Atlantic king mackerel and Atlantic 
Spanish mackerel are managed under the CMP FMP in Federal waters of the 
Atlantic from New York to the Miami-Dade/Monroe County, Florida, 
boundary. The Atlantic migratory groups of king mackerel and Spanish 
mackerel are further divided into the northern and southern zones 
separated by a line extending from the North Carolina/South Carolina 
border.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires NMFS and regional fishery 
management councils prevent overfishing and achieve, on a continuing 
basis, the OY from federally managed fish stocks. These mandates are 
intended to ensure that fishery resources are managed for the greatest 
overall benefit to the nation, particularly with respect to providing 
food production and recreational opportunities, and protecting marine 
ecosystems.
    All weights in this notice are in round and eviscerated weight 
combined, unless otherwise specified.
    The most recent Southeast Data, Assessment and Review (SEDAR) stock 
assessment for Atlantic king mackerel was completed in April 2020 
(SEDAR 38 Update 2020). The fishing year for Atlantic king mackerel is 
from March through February. The assessment update incorporated 5 years 
of additional data through the 2017-2018 fishing year (March 2017 
through February 2018), and incorporated the revised estimates for 
recreational catch from the Marine Recreational Information Program 
Fishing Effort Survey (MRIP FES). The South Atlantic Council's 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) reviewed the SEDAR 38 Update 
(2020) at their April 2020 meeting and determined that the assessment 
was conducted using the best scientific information available and was 
adequate for determining stock status and supporting fishing level 
recommendations. The findings of the SEDAR 38 Update (2020) indicated 
that Atlantic king mackerel was not overfished or undergoing 
overfishing.
    Additionally, the findings of SEDAR 38 Update (2020) showed that 
recreational and commercial landings, and catch per unit effort, all 
showed an increasing trend in biomass. Based on the results of the 
SEDAR 38 Update (2020), the South Atlantic Council's SSC updated their 
Atlantic king mackerel catch level recommendations to increase harvest. 
The South Atlantic Council developed Amendment 34 in response to the 
results of SEDAR 38 Update (2020). However, as discussed further below, 
the current and proposed overfishing limits (OFL), ABCs, and ACLs, are 
not directly comparable because they are based on different assessments 
and the updated assessment includes changes in the recreational catch 
estimates based on new MRIP-FES methodology.
    The South Atlantic Council intends that Amendment 34 would ensure 
catch limits are based on the best scientific information available 
such that overfishing does not occur for Atlantic king mackerel in the 
CMP fishery, while increasing social and economic benefits through 
sustainable and profitable harvest of Atlantic king mackerel and 
Atlantic Spanish mackerel.

Actions Contained in Amendment 34

    For Atlantic king mackerel, Amendment 34 would revise the OFL, ABC, 
OY, stock ACL, sector ACLs, and the recreational ACT. Amendment 34 
would also revise the recreational bag and possession limits for 
Atlantic king mackerel in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the 
east coast of Florida. In addition, Amendment 34 would modify the 
recreational requirement for Atlantic king mackerel and Atlantic 
Spanish mackerel to be landed with heads and fins intact.

Atlantic King Mackerel OFL and ABC

    As implemented through Amendment 26 to the CMP FMP (82 FR 17387, 
May 11, 2017), the current OFL and ABC for Atlantic king mackerel are 
15,200,000 lb (6,894,604 kg) and 12,700,000 lb (5,760,623 kg), 
respectively. The South Atlantic Council's choice of these catch limits 
are based on the recommendations of their SSC from the SEDAR 38 stock 
assessment (2014). The recreational landings estimates used in SEDAR 38 
(2014) were generated using the Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics 
Survey (MRFSS) estimation methods and the MRIP-Coastal Household 
Telephone Survey (CHTS).
    In April 2020, the South Atlantic Council's SSC reviewed the latest 
stock assessment SEDAR 38 Update (2020) and recommended new OFL and ABC 
levels based on the SEDAR 38 Update (2020). The assessment and 
associated OFL and ABC recommendations from the SSC incorporated the 
revised estimates for recreational catch and effort from the MRIP 
Access Point Angler Intercept Survey (APAIS) and FES. MRIP began 
incorporating a new survey design for APAIS in 2013 and replaced the 
CHTS with FES in 2018. Prior to the implementation of MRIP in 2008, 
recreational landings estimates were generated using the MRFSS. As 
explained in Amendment 34, total recreational fishing effort estimates 
generated from MRIP FES are generally higher than both the MRFSS and 
MRIP CHTS estimates. This difference in estimates is because MRIP FES 
is designed to more accurately measure fishing activity, not because 
there was a sudden increase in fishing effort. Compared to MRIP CHTS, 
MRIP FES is considered a more reliable estimate of recreational fishing 
effort and more robust by the South Atlantic Council and Gulf Councils 
(Councils), their SSCs, and NMFS. The new OFL and ABC recommendations 
within Amendment 34 also represent the best scientific information 
available as determined by the South Atlantic Council's SSC and NMFS.
    The OFL would be 33,900,000 lb (15,376,781 kg) for 2022-2023; 
29,400,000 lb (13,335,616 kg) for 2023-2024; 26,300,000 lb (11,929,479 
kg) for

[[Page 5847]]

2024-2025; 24,200,000 lb (10,976,935 kg) for 2025-2026; and 22,800,000 
lb (10,341,906 kg) for 2026-2027 and subsequent years. The ABC would be 
32,800,000 lb (14,877,830 kg) for 2022-2023; 28,400,000 lb (12,882,023 
kg) for 2023-2024; 25,400,000 lb (11,521,246 kg) for 2024-2025; 
23,300,000 lb (10,568,702 kg) for 2025-2026; and 21,800,000 lb 
(9,888,314 kg) for 2026-2027 and subsequent years.

Atlantic King Mackerel Annual OY and Stock ACL

    As implemented through Amendment 26 to the CMP FMP (82 FR 17387, 
May 11, 2017), the current stock ACL (total ACL) and OY for Atlantic 
king mackerel are equal to the ABC of 12,700,000 lb (5,760,623 kg). In 
Amendment 34, the South Atlantic Council chose to specify OY for 
Atlantic king mackerel on an annual basis and set it equal to the stock 
ACL, in accordance with the guidance provided in the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act National Standard 1 Guidelines at 50 CFR 600.310(f)(4)(iv), and set 
these values equal to 95 percent of the ABC.
    The revised annual OY and stock ACL would be 31,160,000 lb 
(14,133,938 kg) for the 2022-2023 fishing year; 26,980,000 lb 
(12,237,922 kg) for the 2023-2024 fishing year; 24,130,000 lb 
(10,945,184 kg) for the 2024-2025 fishing year; 22,135,000 lb 
(10,040,267 kg) for the 2025-2026 fishing year; and 20,710,000 lb 
(9,393,898 kg) for the 2026-2027 fishing year and subsequent fishing 
years.

Atlantic King Mackerel Sector Allocations and ACLs

    Amendment 34 would revise the recreational and commercial 
allocations for Atlantic king mackerel. The Atlantic king mackerel 
stock ACL is allocated at 62.9 percent to the recreational sector and 
37.1 percent to the commercial sector. This allocation was established 
in 1985 through Amendment 1 to the CMP FMP, using the average 
proportion of landings for the longest time series where both 
recreational and commercial landings data were available (50 FR 34840, 
August 28, 1985). Applying this allocation to the current stock ACL for 
Atlantic king mackerel of 12,700,000 lb (5,760,623 kg) results in 
8,000,000 lb (3,628,739 kg) to the recreational sector (recreational 
ACL) and 4,700,000 lb (2,131,884 kg) to the commercial sector 
(commercial ACL). In Amendment 34, the South Atlantic Council decided 
to retain the same sector allocation percentages of 62.9 percent for 
the recreational sector and 37.1 percent for the commercial sector and 
apply this allocation to the new stock ACL, which incorporates the 
revised MRIP-FES estimates for recreational catch. The Council 
determined that this allocation would be fair and equitable to both the 
recreational and commercial sectors because it would allow both sectors 
room to expand their harvest without risking either sector meeting or 
exceeding their sector annual catch limit.
    Amendment 34 would revise the recreational ACLs to be 19,599,640 lb 
(8,890,247 kg) for the 2022-2023 fishing year; 16,970,420 lb (7,697,653 
kg) for the 2023-2024 fishing year; 15,177,770 lb (6,884,521 kg) for 
the 2024-2025 fishing year; 13,922,915 lb (6,315,328 kg) for the 2025-
2026 fishing year; and 13,026,590 lb (5,908,762 kg) for the 2026-2027 
fishing year and subsequent fishing years. The South Atlantic Council 
acknowledged that the recreational sector has not met their quota in 
recent years but determined that the increase in poundage for the 
recreational sector may result in positive social benefits associated 
with the potential for increased harvest. The recreational sector does 
not have in-season accountability measures (AMs) in place but does have 
post-season AMs to address any overages of the recreational ACL. 
However, based on the new MRIP-FES recreational landings, none of the 
proposed recreational ACLs are expected to be reached.
    Amendment 34 would revise the commercial ACLs to be 11,560,360 lb 
(5,243,691 kg) for the 2022-2023 fishing year; 10,009,580 lb (4,540,269 
kg) for the 2023-2024 fishing year; 8,952,230 lb (4,060,663 kg) for the 
2024-2025 fishing year; 8,212,085 lb (3,724,939 kg) for the 2025-2026 
fishing year; and 7,683,410 lb (3,485,136 kg) for the 2026-2027 fishing 
year and subsequent fishing years. Similar to the recreational sector, 
the commercial sector has not met their quota in recent years. The 
South Atlantic Council determined that the increase in poundage for the 
commercial sector may also result in positive social benefits 
associated with the potential for increased harvest. The commercial 
sector for Atlantic king mackerel has in-season AMs in place to prevent 
the commercial ACL from being exceeded and post-season AMs, based on 
stock status, to implement a commercial quota reduction in the event 
the stock ACL is exceeded. However, based on commercial landings for 
the fishing years of 2015-2016 through 2019-2020, none of the proposed 
commercial ACLs are expected to be reached.

Atlantic King Mackerel Commercial Zone ACLs

    In addition to sector allocations, the commercial sector is divided 
into a northern and southern zone, with the commercial ACL further 
allocated between the two zones. The South Atlantic Council decided not 
to modify those zone allocations in Amendment 34 for Atlantic king 
mackerel, based on recommendations from their Mackerel Cobia Advisory 
Panel (AP) that the current zone allocations are functioning well. The 
northern zone (from the New York/Connecticut/Rhode Island line to the 
North Carolina/South Carolina line) is allocated 23.04 percent of the 
commercial ACL and the southern zone (North Carolina/South Carolina 
line to the Miami-Dade/Monroe County line, Florida) is allocated 76.96 
percent of the commercial ACL. In addition, there is an allowed 
incidental commercial harvest of Atlantic king mackerel by purse seine 
gear that is limited to 0.40 million lb (0.18 million kg) per fishing 
year. The current commercial sector ACL zone allocations and the purse 
seine allocation were not changed in Amendment 34.
    The current northern zone commercial quota for king mackerel is 
1,082,880 lb (491,186 kg). Based on the revised stock and commercial 
ACLs in Amendment 34, the commercial northern zone ACL (quota) would be 
2,663,507 lb (1,208,146 kg) for the 2022-2023 fishing year; 2,306,207 
lb (1,046,078 kg) for the 2023-2024 fishing year; 2,062,594 lb (935,577 
kg) for the 2024-2025 fishing year; 1,892,064 lb (858,226 kg) for the 
2025-2026 fishing year; and 1,770,258 lb (802,976 kg) for the 2026-2027 
and subsequent fishing years.
    The current southern zone commercial ACL (quota) is 3,617,120 lb 
(1,640,698 kg). The southern zone commercial ACL (quota) in Amendment 
34 would be 8,896,853 lb (4,035,545 kg) for the 2022-2023 fishing year; 
7,703,373 lb (3,494,191 kg) for the 2023-2024 fishing year; 6,889,636 
lb (3,125,086 kg) for the 2024-2025 fishing year; 6,320,021 lb 
(2,866,713 kg) for the 2025-2026 fishing year; and 5,913,152 lb 
(2,682,161 kg) for the 2026-2027 and subsequent fishing years. The 
proposed revised commercial northern and southern zone ACLs for 
Atlantic king mackerel are all greater than the observed landings in 
recent years. Based on the average commercial landings from 2015-2016 
through 2019-2020, future landings would be expected to continue to be 
less than the proposed commercial zone ACLs, and are not

[[Page 5848]]

expected to be constraining on harvest or alter fishing activity.

Atlantic King Mackerel Commercial Southern Zone Seasonal Quotas

    The commercial fishing year for Atlantic king mackerel is March 
through February, and the commercial ACL for the southern zone is 
divided between two seasons. Season 1 is March 1 through September 30, 
and Season 2 is October 1 through the end of February. Season 1 is 
allocated 60 percent of the Atlantic king mackerel commercial ACL for 
the southern zone and Season 2 is allocated 40 percent. The current 
quota for Season 1 is 2,170,272 lb (984,419 kg) and the quota for 
Season 2 is 1,446,848 lb (656,279 kg).
    Based on the revised stock, commercial, and commercial southern 
zone ACLs in Amendment 34, the Atlantic king mackerel commercial 
southern zone quota for Season 1 would be 5,338,112 lb (2,421,327 kg) 
for the 2022-2023 fishing year; 4,622,024 lb (2,096,515 kg) for the 
2023-2024 fishing year; 4,133,782 lb (1,875,052 kg) for the 2024-2025 
fishing year; 3,792,012 lb (1,720,028 kg) for the 2025-2026 fishing 
year; and 3,547,891 lb (1,609,296 kg) for the 2026-2027 fishing year 
and subsequent fishing years. The commercial southern zone quota for 
Season 2 would be 3,558,741 lb (1,614,218 kg) for the 2022-2023 fishing 
year; 3,081,349 lb (1,397,676 kg) for the 2023-2024 fishing year; 
2,755,854 lb (1,250,034 kg) for the 2024-2025 fishing year; 2,528,008 
lb (1,146,685 kg) for the 2025-2026 fishing year; and 2,365,261 lb 
(1,072,864 kg) for the 2026-2027 fishing year and subsequent fishing 
years. The proposed commercial southern zone seasonal quotas for 
Atlantic king mackerel are all greater than the observed landings in 
recent years. Based on the average landings from 2015-2016 through 
2019-2020, landings would be expected to continue to be less than the 
proposed commercial southern zone seasonal quotas, and are not expected 
to be constraining on harvest or alter fishing activity.

Atlantic King Mackerel Recreational ACTs

    The Atlantic king mackerel recreational ACT was first established 
in Amendment 18 to the CMP FMP (76 FR 82057, December 29, 2011) using 
the equation recreational ACL*[(1-Proportional Standard Error (PSE)) or 
0.5, whichever is greater]. Recreational ACTs for Atlantic king 
mackerel are utilized in triggering the post-season recreational AMs. 
For the Atlantic king mackerel post-season AM, if recreational landings 
exceed the ACL, and the sum of the commercial and recreational landings 
exceed the stock ACL, a reduced bag limit would be implemented the 
following fishing year by the amount necessary to ensure the 
recreational landings may achieve the recreational ACT, but do not 
exceed the recreational ACL. Additionally, if the sum of the commercial 
and recreational landings exceeds the stock ACL and Atlantic king 
mackerel are overfished, the recreational ACL and ACT may be reduced 
for the following year by the amount of any recreational sector overage 
in the prior fishing year. Because the post-season recreational AM has 
not been triggered in the past, and the SEDAR 38 Update (2020) 
indicates that the Atlantic king mackerel is not overfished, sector 
ACLs and the recreational ACT can be increased without having negative 
effects on the sustainability of the stock and are not expected to 
trigger post-season recreational AMs. In Amendment 18 and past CMP 
amendments, the South Atlantic Council has chosen to use the 5-year 
average PSE because it better represents the precision of recent catch 
estimates than the 3-year average. The current recreational ACT of 
7,400,000 lb (3,356,584 kg) is derived from the current ABC and 
recreational ACL. Amendment 34 would maintain the formula for 
determining the recreational ACTs, but the PSE values used in the 
formula have been updated to reflect the revised recreational landings 
that are based on the MRIP's newer FES method, and the revised stock 
ACL and recreational ACL. The 5-year average PSE for the recreational 
data was 0.137. Using the current formula to calculate the recreational 
ACT, the resulting recreational ACT would be equal to the recreational 
ACL multiplied by (1-0.137), or 0.863, setting the recreational ACT at 
86.3 percent of the recreational ACL.
    Based on the revised stock and recreational ACLs, Amendment 34 
would revise the recreational ACT to be 16,914,489 lb (7,672,283 kg) 
for the 2022-2023 fishing year; 14,645,472 lb (6,643,074 kg) for the 
2023-2024 fishing year; 13,098,416 lb (5,941,342 kg) for the 2024-2025 
fishing year; 12,015,476 lb (5,450,128 kg) for the 2025-2026 fishing 
year; and 11,241,947 lb (5,099,261 kg) for the 2026-2027 fishing year 
and subsequent fishing years.

Atlantic King Mackerel Recreational Bag and Possession Limits

    Amendment 34 would revise the recreational bag and possession 
limits in the EEZ off the east coast of Florida. The current 
recreational daily bag limit for Atlantic king mackerel in both Federal 
and state waters off the east coast of Florida is two fish per person. 
However, the recreational daily bag limit is three fish per person in 
the rest of the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Mid-Atlantic 
Federal waters. Fishermen and Mackerel Cobia AP members have requested 
that the Councils increase the bag limit for Federal waters off of the 
Florida east coast to three fish per person, to the match bag limit 
within the rest of the management area. Increasing the bag limit in 
Federal waters off the east coast of Florida would allow recreational 
fishermen throughout the South Atlantic Council's management 
jurisdiction the opportunity to harvest the same amount of Atlantic 
king mackerel. Additionally, the recreational sector has not been 
reaching their ACL, and the South Atlantic Council anticipates that an 
increased recreational ACL combined with an increased bag limit will 
help increase harvest.

Recreational Atlantic King Mackerel and Spanish Mackerel Landing Fish 
Intact

    Currently, Atlantic king and Spanish mackerel recreational 
fishermen must land recreationally harvested fish with the head and 
fins intact. As described at 50 CFR 622.381(b), commercial Atlantic 
king and Spanish mackerel fisherman are allowed to land these fish 
without the head and fins intact (cut-off/damaged) provided the 
remaining portion of the fish complies with the minimum size limit. The 
commercial provision for cut-off fish was implemented through Amendment 
9 to the CMP FMP (65 FR 16336, March 28, 2000) because of increasing 
interactions with sharks or barracudas resulting in Atlantic king 
mackerel and Atlantic Spanish mackerel having their tails bitten off 
before they could be landed. In response to similar concerns from the 
recreational sector about interactions with sharks or barracudas 
resulting in Atlantic king mackerel and Atlantic Spanish mackerel 
having their tails bitten off before they could be landed, the Councils 
considered revising the landing fish intact requirements in Amendment 
34. The Councils decided that allowing possession of damaged Atlantic 
king mackerel or Atlantic Spanish mackerel could be expected to 
minimally increase recreational harvest, while reducing the number of 
discarded fish.
    Amendment 34 would allow cut-off (damaged) Atlantic king mackerel 
and Atlantic Spanish mackerel caught under the recreational bag limit 
and that comply with the minimum size limits to be possessed and 
offloaded ashore.

[[Page 5849]]

Additionally, Amendment 34 revises the definition of ``damaged fish'' 
to refer to king or Spanish mackerel that are damaged only through 
natural predation.

Proposed Rule for Amendment 34

    A proposed rule to implement Amendment 34 has been drafted. In 
accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the 
proposed rule for Amendment 34 to determine whether it is consistent 
with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law. If 
that determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish the proposed rule 
in the Federal Register for public review and comment.

Consideration of Public Comments

    The South Atlantic Council has submitted Amendment 34 for 
Secretarial review, approval, and implementation. Comments on Amendment 
34 must be received by March 31, 2023. Comments received during the 
respective comment periods, whether specifically directed to Amendment 
34 or the proposed rule, will be considered by NMFS in the decision to 
approve, partially approve, or disapprove, Amendment 34. All comments 
received by NMFS on the amendment or the proposed rule during their 
respective comment periods will be addressed in the final rule.

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

    Dated: January 24, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-01710 Filed 1-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P