[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 241 (Monday, December 18, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 87365-87368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27714]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 231212-0300]
RIN 0648-BM73


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Greater Amberjack Emergency 
Management Measures

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

ACTION: Final temporary rule; emergency action.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final temporary rule to promulgate emergency 
measures, due to recently discovered circumstances that present serious 
conservation issues for the greater amberjack stock in the Gulf of 
Mexico (Gulf). As requested by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council (Council), NMFS issues this final temporary rule to reduce the 
Gulf greater amberjack commercial trip limit. The final temporary rule 
will be effective for 180 days unless superseded by subsequent 
rulemaking. The purpose of this emergency action is to decrease the 
likelihood of exceeding the commercial catch limits and extend the 2024 
commercial fishing season.

DATES: This temporary rule is effective January 1, 2024, through June 
15, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the documents in support of this final 
temporary rule for emergency action, which includes the Council's 
letter to NMFS requesting the emergency action may be obtained from the 
Southeast Regional Office website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/emergency-rule-implement-reduced-commercial-trip-limits-gulf-mexico-greater-amberjack.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef fish fishery of the Gulf is managed 
under the Fishery Management Plan for

[[Page 87366]]

the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). The FMP was 
prepared by the Council and approved and implemented by NMFS through 
regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 
Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the legal authority 
for the promulgation of emergency regulations (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)).

Background

    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires NMFS and regional fishery 
management councils to prevent overfishing and achieve, on a continuing 
basis, the optimum yield from federally managed fish stocks. These 
mandates are intended to ensure 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.
    Gulf greater amberjack has been under a rebuilding plan since 2003 
(68 FR 39898, July 3, 2003). However, the stock has not rebuilt as 
expected and NMFS has implemented several revisions to the rebuilding 
plan. The most recent revision occurred in response to the Southeast 
Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) 70 assessment for Gulf greater 
amberjack, which was completed in November 2020 and indicated that the 
Gulf greater amberjack stock continued to be overfished and undergoing 
overfishing, but could rebuild by end of the current rebuilding time 
(2027) with reduced yields. Therefore, the Council developed and NMFS 
approved and implemented Amendment 54 to the FMP, which substantially 
reduced the Gulf greater amberjack catch limits. NMFS published the 
final rule reducing the catch limits on June 15, 2023 (88 FR 39193). On 
June 18, 2023, NMFS prohibited further commercial harvest for the 2023 
fishing year because commercial landings had exceeded the reduced 
commercial annual catch target (ACT) and annual catch limit (ACL), 
which are 93,930 lb (42,606 kg), round weight, and 101,000 lb (45,813 
kg), round weight, respectively (88 FR 40121, June 21, 2023).
    The Gulf greater amberjack commercial accountability measures (AMs) 
require a closure of the sector when commercial landings reach or are 
projected to reach the commercial ACT (commercial quota) (50 CFR 
622.41(a)(1)). In addition, if commercial landings exceed the 
commercial ACL, NMFS is required to reduce both the commercial ACL and 
the commercial ACT for Gulf greater amberjack in the year following an 
overage of the commercial ACL, by the amount of any commercial ACL 
overage (50 CFR 622.41(a)(1)(ii)). Because 2023 commercial landings 
exceeded the newly implemented commercial ACL, NMFS reduced the 
commercial ACL and ACT for the 2024 fishing year, by the amount of the 
2023 commercial ACL overage (88 FR 80995, November 21, 2023), which was 
35,280 lb (16,003 kg), round weight.
    At its October 2023 meeting, the Council approved a framework 
action to modify the Gulf greater amberjack recreational fixed closed 
season and the commercial trip limit (Framework Action). Within the 
Framework Action, the Council recommended reducing the current 
commercial trip limit to 7 fish as a result of the substantial catch 
limit reductions implemented with Amendment 54 in order to extend the 
commercial fishing season. As described in the Framework Action, a trip 
limit of 7 fish is approximately equal to 210 lb (95 kg), gutted 
weight; 218 lb (99 kg), round weight. The current commercial trip limit 
for Gulf greater amberjack is 1,000 lb (454 kg), gutted weight; 1,040 
lb (474 kg), round weight, until 75 percent of the commercial quota 
(commercial ACT) is reached. After 75 percent of the commercial quota 
is reached or projected to be reached, the trip limit is reduced to 250 
lb (113 kg), gutted weight; 260 lb (118 kg), round weight.
    The 2024 commercial fishing season opens on January 1 and with the 
current trip limit, NMFS projects that commercial landings would reach 
the reduced commercial ACT in early February, requiring a closure for 
the remainder of the year. If the 7-fish trip limit were in place by 
January 1, 2024, NMFS projects the commercial fishing season would be 
open through the end of February when a 3-month seasonal closure 
begins, and re-open for part of June when the season reopens June 1.

Council Emergency Action Request

    At its October 2023 meeting, the Council discussed concerns raised 
by its Reef Fish Advisory Panel about the impact of the required 
reduction to the 2024 commercial catch limits as a result of landings 
exceeding the ACL in 2023. The Council expressed concern about NMFS' 
ability to constrain landings to the reduced catch limits when the 
commercial season opens in January and the potential for additional 
commercial overages in 2024 further reducing harvest for 2025. The 
reduced commercial trip limit in the Framework Action, if implemented, 
would not be effective until spring of 2024. Therefore, the Council 
requested that NMFS implement an emergency action to reduce the Gulf 
greater amberjack commercial trip limit to 7 fish effective January 1, 
2024. The Council and NMFS expect this lower trip limit to benefit the 
greater amberjack stock by increasing the duration of the open season, 
which is expected to result in fewer regulatory discards (i.e., 
discards required after the quota has been reached). The reduced trip 
limit is also expected to shift the commercial greater amberjack 
harvest to an incidental catch only fishery for fishermen who currently 
target Gulf greater amberjack commercially under a higher trip limit, 
reducing the likelihood of race-to-fish (derby) fishing, which will 
allow NMFS to better determine when the commercial ACT will be reached 
and prohibit further harvest during the fishing year.

Criteria and Justification for Emergency Action

    NMFS' Policy Guidelines for the Use of Emergency Rules (62 FR 
44421, August 21, 1997) list three criteria for determining whether an 
emergency exists. Specifically, NMFS' policy guidelines require that an 
emergency: ``(1) Result from recent, unforeseen events or recently 
discovered circumstances; and (2) Present serious conservation or 
management problems in the fishery; and (3) Can be addressed through 
emergency regulations for which the immediate benefits outweigh the 
value of advance notice, public comment, and deliberative consideration 
of the impacts on participants to the same extent as would be expected 
under the normal rulemaking process.'' NMFS issues this emergency 
action in compliance with these guidelines to prevent serious 
conservation issues to the stock that would increase the probability of 
not meeting the rebuilding timeline of 2027.
    With respect to the first criterion, the recently discovered 
circumstance is the extent of the overage of the commercial ACL in 2023 
and the impact the required commercial ACT overage adjustment (payback) 
will have on the 2024 season. The Gulf greater amberjack stock has been 
under a rebuilding plan since 2003. The recent change to the rebuilding 
plan in Amendment 54 was implemented in June 2023 and resulted in a 
significant reduction in the catch limits. This reduction caused the 
commercial ACL to be exceeded earlier in the 2023 fishing year, thus 
requiring a commercial ACL and ACT payback and lower commercial catch 
levels in 2024. At the time of the Council's request for the emergency 
action, it

[[Page 87367]]

appeared that the required reduction in the commercial catch limits 
would result in a 2024 commercial season as short as 2 weeks. After 
further review, NMFS determined that if no change were made to the trip 
limit, the commercial season would likely close at the end of January 
or beginning of February. However, there is substantial uncertainty in 
the projections because it is unclear whether the shorter season will 
induce fishermen to increase effort. NMFS expects the reduced trip 
limit implemented though the emergency action to slow harvest by 
lowering the financial incentive to target greater amberjack and engage 
in derby fishing, and increase the length of the 2024 commercial 
fishing season by 4-5 weeks. In combination with the fixed seasonal 
closure, which occurs March through May, commercial fishing could occur 
from January through February and then into June.
    The second criterion, which requires a serious conservation or 
management problem in the fishery, is satisfied because the uncertainty 
associated with projecting when to close fishing under the current trip 
limit increases the likelihood of exceeding the reduced ACT and ACL, 
which were required to account for the excess commercial harvest in 
2023. The Gulf greater amberjack stock has been overfished since the 
first assessment in 2000 and various plans that have been implemented 
to rebuild the stock have not been successful. Amendment 54 
significantly reduced catch levels to rebuild the stock by the end of 
the current rebuilding period in 2027. Harvest in excess of these catch 
limits increases the probability of not meeting the established 
rebuilding time. NMFS expects the reduced commercial trip limit to 
eliminate trips targeting greater amberjack because those trips would 
be economically infeasible. This will discourage derby fishing and 
increase the length of the fishing season, which would decrease 
regulatory discards and allow NMFS more time to determine when to 
prohibit further harvest in 2024 so as to not exceed the catch limits.
    To address the third criterion, NMFS has determined that because 
the next commercial fishing season opens January 1, 2024, the immediate 
benefits of reducing the trip limit through an emergency action 
outweigh the value of advance notice and public comment. By foregoing 
the notice and comment rulemaking, this emergency action will be able 
to fulfill its intent by slowing commercial harvest, eliminating the 
incentive to engage in derby fishing, which can result in unsafe 
fishing conditions, and reducing the likelihood of exceeding the 
reduced catch limits.

Emergency Measures

    This final temporary rule revises the commercial trip limit for 
Gulf greater amberjack. It reduces the Gulf greater amberjack 
commercial trip limit to 7 fish from the current trip limit of 1,000 lb 
(454 kg), gutted weight, 1,040 lb (472 kg), round weight, with a step 
down in the trip limit to 250 lb (113 kg), gutted weight, 260 lb (118 
kg), round weight, when 75 percent of the commercial ACT has been 
landed. The commercial trip limit will be effective for 180 days after 
publication in the Federal Register, as authorized by section 305(c) of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, or until superseded by another Federal 
action. This temporary final rule for emergency action will not be 
extended because NMFS expects the commercial ACT to be reached and the 
2024 commercial season to be closed prior to the expiration of this 
rule. If this temporary rule were to expire prior to the commercial 
closure, fishing that could occur until the quota was reached would be 
under the reduced limit (stepdown) of 250 lb (113 kg), gutted weight, 
per trip (equivalent of approximately 8 fish). Therefore, an extension 
of this temporary final rule will be unnecessary.

Classification

    This action is issued pursuant to section 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1855(c). The Assistant Administrator (AA) for 
Fisheries, NOAA has determined that this emergency action is consistent 
with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the FMP, and other applicable law. This 
action is being taken pursuant to the emergency provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and is exempt from Office of Management and Budget 
review.
    The AA finds good cause to waive the requirements to provide prior 
notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to the authority set 
forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B). Providing prior notice and opportunity for 
public comment on this action would be contrary to the public interest.
    In June 2023, NMFS implemented Amendment 54, which significantly 
reduced the Gulf greater amberjack catch levels in order to rebuild the 
stock. Commercial landings exceeded the 2023 commercial ACL, requiring 
a reduction of the commercial ACT and ACL for the 2024 fishing year. In 
October 2023, the Council voted to request that NMFS implement this 
emergency action to reduce the commercial trip limit as of January 1, 
2024, consistent with its recommendation in the Framework Action 
approved at that same meeting. NMFS received the Council's request for 
emergency action on November 3, 2023, and therefore could not have 
acted sooner.
    This change in the commercial trip limit requires immediate 
implementation. If NMFS were to provide prior notice and comment, NMFS 
would be unable to implement the change by January 1, 2024, which would 
increase the likelihood of exceeding the reduced catch limits that are 
necessary to rebuild the Gulf greater amberjack stock.
    Maintaining the current 1,000 lb (454 kg), gutted weight, trip 
limit for the 2024 fishing year may induce fishermen who still target 
Gulf greater amberjack to increase their rate of harvest when the 
commercial season opens on January 1, 2024. This would increase the 
uncertainty for NMFS in projecting when to prohibit further commercial 
harvest and result in commercial landings in excess of the 2024 catch 
limits, which increases the probability of not meeting the established 
rebuilding time. The shorter open season that would occur under the 
1,000 lb (454 kg), gutted weight, trip limit, would also increase the 
number of days fishermen who incidentally catch Gulf greater amberjack 
must discard the fish. Therefore, the reduced commercial trip limit 
must be implemented immediately and prior notice and opportunity for 
public comment would be contrary to the public interest.
    The need to implement these measures immediately for the reasons 
stated above also constitutes good cause under authority contained in 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness of the 
rule.
    This final temporary rule for emergency action is exempt from the 
procedures of the Regulatory Flexibility Act because the rule is issued 
without opportunity for prior notice and opportunity for public comment 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or other law. Accordingly, no regulatory 
flexibility analysis is required and none has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Commercial, Fisheries, Fishing season, Greater amberjack, Gulf of 
Mexico, Reef fish.

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


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    Dated: December 12, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part 
622 as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH 
ATLANTIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:

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

0
2. In Sec.  622.43:
0
a. Suspend paragraphs (a)(1) and (2); and
0
b. Add paragraph (a)(3).
    The addition reads as follows:


Sec.  622.43   Commercial trip limits.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (3) Until the commercial quota specified in Sec.  622.39(a)(1)(v) 
is reached--7 fish. See Sec.  622.39(b) for the limitations regarding 
greater amberjack after the quota is reached.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-27714 Filed 12-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P