[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 81 (Thursday, April 27, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 25557-25558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08877]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 230316-0077]
RTID 0648-XC789


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring 
Fishery; 2023 River Herring and Shad Catch Cap Reached for Midwater 
Trawl Vessels in the Cape Cod Catch Cap Area

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; possession limit adjustment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing a 2,000-lb (907.2-kg) Atlantic herring 
possession limit for herring vessels fishing with midwater trawl gear 
in the Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure Area. This is required because NMFS 
projects that midwater trawl herring vessels will catch 95 percent of 
the river herring and shad catch cap allocated to the Cape Cod Catch 
Cap Area before the end of the fishing year. This action is intended to 
prevent overharvest of river herring and shad.

DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, April 26, 2023, through December 
31, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria Fenton, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9196.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Regional Administrator of the Greater 
Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office monitors river herring and shad 
catch by Atlantic herring vessels. River herring and shad catch caps 
are allocated to the herring fishery by area and gear type. The four 
river herring and shad catch caps that are currently allocated to the 
herring fishery are:
     Gulf of Maine Midwater Trawl Catch Cap;
     Cape Cod Midwater Trawl Catch Cap;
     Southern New England Bottom Trawl Catch Cap; and
     Southern New England Midwater Trawl Catch Cap.
    Catch from all trips that land more than 6,600 lb (2,994 kg) of 
herring is counted towards the applicable river herring and shad catch 
cap. Regulations at 50 CFR 648.201(a)(4)(ii) require NMFS to implement 
a 2,000-lb (907.2-kg) herring possession limit for vessels fishing with 
the specified gear in a specified catch cap closure area beginning on 
the date that catch is projected to reach 95 percent of the river 
herring and shad catch cap for that area.
    Based on vessel reports, dealer reports, and other available 
information, the Regional Administrator estimates that midwater trawl 
herring vessels will have caught 96 percent of the 2023 river herring 
and shad catch cap allocated to the Cape Cod Catch Cap Area by April 
20, 2023. Therefore, effective 0001 hr local time April 26, 2023, 
through 2400 hr local time on December 31, 2023, midwater trawl vessels 
may not attempt or do any of the following: Fish for, possess, 
transfer, receive, land, or sell more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of 
herring from the Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure Area per trip; or land 
herring from the Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure Area more than once per 
calendar day. Also effective 0001 hr local time, April 26, 2023, 
through 2400 hr local time, December 31, 2023, federally permitted 
dealers may not attempt or do any of the following: Purchase; receive; 
possess; have custody or control of; sell; barter; trade; or transfer 
more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring per trip or calendar day from 
a midwater trawl vessel fishing in the Cape Cod Catch Cap Closure Area, 
unless it is from a vessel that enters port before 0001 hr local

[[Page 25558]]

time on April 26, 2023, and catch is landed in accordance with State 
management measures.
    Midwater trawl vessels may transit through or land in the Cape Cod 
Catch Cap Closure Area with more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring on 
board, provided that: The herring were caught in an area not subject to 
a 2,000-lb (907.2-kg) limit; all fishing gear is stowed and not 
available for immediate use as defined by Sec.  648.2; and the vessel 
is issued a permit appropriate to the amount of herring on board and 
the area where the herring was harvested.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    NMFS finds good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) to waive 
prior notice and the opportunity for public comment because it would be 
impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public interest. Data 
only recently became available indicating that midwater trawl herring 
vessels will catch 95 percent of the river herring and shad catch cap 
allocated to the Cape Cod Catch Cap Area before the end of the fishing 
year. High-volume catch and landings in the herring fishery can 
increase river herring and shad catch relative to catch caps quickly. 
If implementation of this action is delayed to solicit prior public 
comment, the 2023 river herring and shad catch cap allocated to the 
Cape Cod Catch Cap Area will likely be exceeded; thereby undermining 
the conservation objectives of the Herring Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP). Additionally, the regulations at Sec.  648.201(a)(4)(ii) are 
designed to be implemented as quickly as possible to prevent catch from 
exceeding river herring and shad catch caps and NMFS is acting in 
accordance with those regulations to carry out the fishery management 
plan under the authority provided in section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. These regulations were 
subject to public notice and opportunity to comment when they were 
first adopted in 2014. Further, herring fishing industry participants 
monitor catch closely and anticipate potential possession limit 
adjustments as catch totals approach river herring and shad catch caps, 
and they expect these actions to occur in a timely way consistent with 
the FMP's objectives. For the reasons stated above, NMFS also finds 
good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness in accordance with 
5 U.S.C 553(d)(3).

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

    Dated: April 24, 2023.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-08877 Filed 4-24-23; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P