[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 149 (Friday, August 4, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 51737-51738]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16671]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 221215-0272; RTID 0648-XD196]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish 
Fishery; Quota Transfers From VA to NC and RI

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

ACTION: Notification of quota transfers.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Commonwealth of Virginia is 
transferring a portion of its 2023 commercial bluefish quota to the 
States of North Carolina and Rhode Island. These adjustments to the 
2023 fishing year quota are necessary to comply with the Atlantic 
Bluefish Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This 
announcement informs the public of the revised 2023 commercial bluefish 
quotas for Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.

DATES: Effective August 3, 2023, through December 31, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9184.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the Atlantic bluefish 
fishery are found in 50 CFR 648.160 through 648.167. These regulations 
require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned 
among the coastal states from Maine through Florida. The process to set 
the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to each state is 
described in Sec.  648.162, and the final 2023 allocations were 
published on December 21, 2022 (87 FR 78011).
    The final rule implementing Amendment 1 to the Bluefish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP), as published in the Federal Register on July 26, 
2000 (65 FR 45844), provided a mechanism for transferring bluefish 
commercial quota from one state to another. Two or more states, under 
mutual agreement and with the concurrence of the NMFS Greater Atlantic 
Regional Administrator,

[[Page 51738]]

can request approval to transfer or combine bluefish commercial quota 
under Sec.  648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii). The Regional Administrator 
must approve any such transfer based on the criteria in Sec.  
648.162(e). In evaluating requests to transfer a quota or combine 
quotas, the Regional Administrator shall consider whether: The transfer 
or combinations would preclude the overall annual quota from being 
fully harvested; the transfer addresses an unforeseen variation or 
contingency in the fishery; and the transfer is consistent with the 
objectives of the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Regional Administrator has 
determined these three criteria have been met for the transfers 
approved in this notification.
    Virginia is transferring 55,000 lb (24,948 kg) to North Carolina 
and 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) to Rhode Island through mutual agreements of 
the States. These transfers were requested to ensure that North 
Carolina and Rhode Island would not exceed their 2023 State quotas. The 
revised bluefish quotas for 2023 are: Virginia, 355,625 lb (161,309 
kg); North Carolina, 1,429,077 lb (648,218 kg); and Rhode Island, 
351,165 lb (159,286 kg).

Classification

    NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 648.162(e)(1)(i) through 
(iii), which was issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is exempted 
from review under Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: August 1, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-16671 Filed 8-3-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P