[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 5, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 84243-84248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26655]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 231129-0282; RTID 0648-XD485]


Adjustment to Sector Annual Catch Entitlements Under the 
Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan

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

ACTION: Temporary final rule; adjustment to specifications.

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SUMMARY: This final rule announces allocation carryover from fishing 
year 2022 into fishing year 2023 for the Northeast Multispecies sectors 
program. This action is necessary to distribute carryover quota to 
sectors. The carryover adjustments in this rule are routine and 
formulaic, and industry expects them each year.

DATES: Effective January 4, 2024, through April 30, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liz Sullivan, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 282-8493.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 18, 2023, NMFS published a final 
rule approving Framework Adjustment 65 to the Northeast Multispecies 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (88 FR 56527), which revised the 
rebuilding plan for Gulf of Maine cod, set annual catch limits (ACL) 
for 16 of the 20 groundfish stocks and 2023 ACLs for 3 shared U.S./
Canada stocks, and made a temporary modification to the accountability 
measures for Georges Bank cod. This rule distributes unused sector 
quota carried over from fishing year 2022 to fishing year 2023.

Sector Carryover Allocations From Fishing Year 2022

    Carryover regulations at 50 CFR 648.87(b)(1)(i)(C) allow each 
groundfish sector to carry over an amount of unused annual catch 
entitlement (ACE) up to 10 percent of the sector's original ACE for 
each stock (except for Georges Bank (GB) yellowtail flounder) that is 
unused at the end of the fishing year into the following fishing year. 
NMFS is required to adjust ACE carryover to ensure that the total 
unused ACE combined with the overall sub-ACL does not exceed the 
acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the fishing year in which the 
carryover may be harvested. NMFS completed the 2022 fishing year data 
reconciliation with sectors and determined final 2022 fishing year 
sector catch and the amount of allocation that sectors may carry over 
from the 2022 to the 2023 fishing year. Accordingly, the available 
carryover of unused ACE from fishing year 2022 to fishing year 2023 has 
been reduced for the following stocks: GB cod; GB haddock; Gulf of 
Maine (GOM) haddock; Cape Cod/GOM yellowtail flounder; witch flounder; 
GB winter flounder; Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) winter 
flounder; redfish; white hake; and pollock. The stocks for which 
carryover is the full 10 percent of the original quota allocation from 
fishing year 2022 are GOM cod, SNE/MA yellowtail flounder, plaice, and 
GOM winter flounder. Complete details on carryover reduction 
percentages can be found at: https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/ro/fso/reports/h/groundfish_catch_accounting.
    Table 1 includes the maximum amount of allocation that sectors may 
carry over from the 2022 to the 2023 fishing year. Table 2 includes the 
de minimis amount of carryover for each sector for the 2023 fishing 
year. If the overall ACL for any allocated stock is exceeded for the 
2023 fishing year, the allowed carryover harvested by a sector, minus 
the pounds in the sector's de minimis amount, will be counted against 
its allocation to determine whether an overage subject to an 
accountability measure occurred. Tables 3 and 4 list the final ACE 
available to sectors for the 2023 fishing year, including finalized 
carryover amounts for each sector, as adjusted down when necessary to 
equal each stock's ABC.
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Classification

    NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), which provides 
specific authority for implementing this action.

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Section 305(d) authorizes NMFS to take action to carry out provisions 
in FMPs and of the MSA. In a previous action taken pursuant to section 
304(b), NMFS approved the Council designed provisions in the FMP to 
authorize NMFS to annually adjust and distribute sector carryover 
consistent with MSA requirements to prevent overfishing and achieve 
optimum yield. See Sec.  648.87(b)(1)(i)(C). The NMFS Assistant 
Administrator has determined that this final rule is consistent with 
the Northeast Multispecies FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and other applicable 
laws.
    This final rule is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), NMFS finds good cause to waive 
prior public notice and opportunity for public comment on the 
allocation adjustments because allowing time for notice and comment is 
impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public interest.
    Notice and comment would be impracticable, unnecessary, and 
contrary to the public interest, as the distribution of unused quota 
carried over from the previous fishing year is an annual adjustment 
action that is expected by industry. These adjustments increase 
available catch, and sector vessels will be able to fish for this 
additional catch as soon as this action is in effect, which will 
provide increased operational flexibility and ability to catch its 
available allocation. They are routine, formulaic, and authorized by 
regulation. The public had prior notice and opportunity to participate 
in the development of and comment on the regulations implementing this 
process and expects this adjustment each year. Delaying these 
adjustments would result in a delay in the distribution of unused 
carryover to sectors, and could negate or reduce the intended economic 
benefits and increased operational flexibility provided by these 
adjustments. Carryover from 2022 was only recently finalized because it 
is based on data that was not available until the fall upon the 
conclusion of the catch accounting process for fishing year 2022.
    Also, because advanced notice and the opportunity for public 
comment are not required for this action under the Administrative 
Procedure Act, or any other law, the analytical requirements of the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601, et seq., do not apply to this 
rule. Therefore, no final regulatory flexibility analysis is required 
and none has been prepared.
    This final rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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

    Dated: November 30, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-26655 Filed 12-4-23; 8:45 am]
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