[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 43 (Monday, March 4, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15482-15484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04521]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 240228-0062; RTID 0648-XD699]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring 
Fishery; Adjustments to 2024 Specifications

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

ACTION: Temporary final rule; adjustment of specifications.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the regulations implementing the Atlantic 
Herring Fishery Management Plan, this action adjusts the 2024 harvest 
specifications for the herring fishery. Specifically, it adjusts catch 
limits in herring management areas 1A, 1B, and 2 to account for catch 
overages and an underage in those areas during 2022. This action is 
necessary to help prevent overfishing and support the harvest of 
optimum yield consistent with the requirements of the Fishery 
Management Plan.

DATES: Effective March 4, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, including the 2023-2025 
Atlantic Herring Specifications, are available from the Sustainable 
Fisheries Division, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, telephone (978) 281-9315, 
or online at: https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/herring and 
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-herring#management.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Nordeen, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9272.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Atlantic herring harvest in the United States is managed under 
the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP) developed by the New 
England Fishery Management Council and approved by NMFS. The FMP 
divides the herring annual catch limit (ACL) among three management 
areas, one of which has two sub-areas. It divides Area 1 (located in 
the Gulf of Maine (GOM)) into an inshore section (Area 1A) and an 
offshore section (Area 1B). Area 2 is located in the coastal waters 
between Massachusetts and North Carolina, and Area 3 is on Georges Bank 
(GB). The FMP considers the herring stock complex to be a single stock, 
but there are inshore (GOM) and offshore (GB) stock components. The GOM 
and GB stock components segregate during spawning and mix during 
feeding and migration. Each management area has its own sub-ACL to 
allow greater control of the fishing mortality on each stock component.
    NMFS published Amendment 4 to the FMP (76 FR 11373, March 2, 2011) 
to address ACL and accountability measure (AM) requirements. As a way 
to account for ACL/sub-ACL overages in the herring fishery, Amendment 4 
established an AM that requires NMFS to deduct any ACL/sub-ACL overages 
from the ACL and corresponding sub-ACL of the year following the catch 
overage determination. Amendment 4 also specified that NMFS will 
announce overage deductions in the Federal Register prior to the start 
of the fishing year, if possible.
    NMFS published Framework Adjustment 2 to the FMP and the 2013-2015 
specifications for the herring fishery on October 4, 2013 (78 FR 
61828). Among other measures, Framework 2 allowed for the carryover of 
unharvested catch (i.e., underages) in the year following a fishing 
year's catch accounting determination. Provided that annual total catch 
does not exceed the ACL, up to 10 percent of each sub-ACL may be 
carried over and added to the following year's sub-ACL. The carryover 
provision allows a sub-ACL increase for a management area, but it does 
not allow a corresponding increase to the ACL.
    NMFS published Framework Adjustment 9 to the FMP on July 19, 2022 
(87 FR 42962). Among other

[[Page 15483]]

measures, Framework 9 revised the catch overage provision so that only 
overages greater than 10 percent of a sub-ACL must be deducted from the 
ACL and the corresponding sub-ACL in the year following the total catch 
accounting determination. Additionally, provided total catch does not 
exceed the ACL, overage deductions equal the overage amount above the 
10-percent overage deduction threshold. For example, if the ACL is not 
exceeded, a 13-percent sub-ACL overage would require a 3-percent ACL 
and sub-ACL deduction.
    NMFS published the 2023-2025 specification for the herring fishery 
on March 23, 2023 (88 FR 17397) to initially set sub-ACLs for each of 
the four management areas in the herring fishery.

Provisions Implemented Through This Final Rule

    NMFS recently completed the catch accounting for 2022 and 
determined there were catch overages in Areas 1A, 1B, and 3 and a catch 
underage in Area 2. To account for the overages, this action implements 
allowable deductions for catch overages in Areas 1A and 1B from the 
Area 1A and 1B 2024 sub-ACLs and from the ACL. Catch in 2022 exceeded 
the 10-percent overage deduction threshold for Area 1A (12 percent); 
therefore, this action deducts 2 percent (42 metric tons (mt)) of the 
2022 Area 1A overage from the 2024 Area 1A sub-ACL and ACL. Because the 
2022 sub-ACL for Area 1B was zero, the full amount of the 2022 overage 
(6 mt) is deducted from the 2024 Area 1B sub-ACL and ACL. The overage 
in Area 3 (1 mt) is less than the overage deduction threshold (greater 
than 10 percent of the sub-ACL or 182 mt); therefore, this action makes 
no deductions to the 2024 Area 3 sub-ACL. To account for the underage, 
this action carries over unharvested 2022 Area 2 catch to the 2024 Area 
2 sub-ACL but does not increase the ACL. Allowable carryover for Area 2 
is up to 10 percent of 2022 sub-ACL (114 mt); therefore, this action 
carries over 114 mt of the 1,221 mt unharvested Area 2 catch to the 
2024 Area 2 sub-ACL. Table 1 provides catch details for 2022 and the 
corresponding adjustments for the 2024 sub-ACLs. The ACL is reduced by 
overage deductions, but not increased by carryover; therefore, this 
action reduces the 2024 ACL by 48 mt for overages in Areas 1A and 1B 
that occurred in 2022.

                                         Table 1--Herring Catch Limits, Catch, Overage Deductions, and Carryover
                                                          [All values are in metric tons (mt)]
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                                                                        2022 Overages
                                                  Final 2022    2022   (+) underages (-    Allowable       Allowable      Initial 2024    Adjusted 2024
                                                   sub-ACLs    Catch          )          deductions *     carryover **      sub-ACLs         sub-ACLs
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Area 1A........................................        2,075    2,325             +250              42               NA           5,546            5,504
Area 1B........................................            0        6               +6               6               NA             825              819
Area 2.........................................        1,300       79           -1,221              NA              114           5,335            5,449
Area 3.........................................        1,824    1,825               +1               0               NA           7,484            7,484
ACL ***........................................        4,813    4,234               NA              48               NA          19,189           19,141
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* Allowable deductions are overage amounts exceeding 10 percent of the final 2022 sub-ACLs.
** Allowable carryover is limited to 10 percent of the initial 2022 sub-ACL. The initial sub-ACL for Area 2 was 1,139 mt before it was adjusted in-
  season to 1,300 mt.
*** The 2024 ACL is reduced by overage deductions from Areas 1A and 1B, but it is not increased by carryover.

    NMFS calculated the amount of herring landings in 2022 based on 
dealer reports (Federal and state) of herring purchases, supplemented 
by vessel trip reports (VTR) and vessel monitoring system (VMS) reports 
(Federal and states of Maine and Massachusetts) of herring landings. 
NMFS generally uses dealer reports to estimate herring landings; 
however, if the amount of herring reported via VTR exceeds the amount 
of herring reported by the dealer by 10 percent or more, NMFS assumes 
the dealer report for that trip was in error and uses the VTR report 
instead. NMFS assigns herring landings to individual herring management 
areas using VMS reports or latitude and longitude coordinates from VTR 
reports when a VMS report is not available. NMFS uses recent fishing 
activity to assign landings to a management area if dealer reports do 
not have a corresponding VTR or VMS catch report.
    NMFS estimates herring discards by extrapolating discards from 
herring trips observed by the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program to 
all herring trips (observed and unobserved) according to gear and 
herring management area. Because research set-aside (RSA) is removed 
from management area sub-ACLs at the beginning of the fishery year, 
when appropriate, NMFS tracks RSA catch but does not count it towards 
the herring sub-ACLs. No RSA was specified for 2022 or is specified for 
2024.

Classification

    The NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this final 
rule is consistent with the FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and other applicable 
law.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior 
notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action. Notice and 
comment are impracticable, unnecessary, and contrary to the public 
interest because a delay would potentially impair achievement of the 
management plan's objectives of preventing overfishing and achieving 
optimum yield by impairing a vessels' ability to harvest available 
catch allocations. Allowing for prior notice and public comment on this 
adjustment is also impracticable because the adjustments need to be 
implemented as close to the January 1 start of the fishing year as 
possible. Further, prior notice and public comment is also unnecessary 
because this is a nondiscretionary action required by provisions of 
Amendment 4 and Frameworks 2, 6, 8, and 9 which were previously subject 
to public notice and comment. The adjustments required by these 
regulations are formulaic. This action simply effectuates these 
mandatory calculations. The proposed and final rules for Frameworks 2, 
6, 9 and Amendment 4 explained the need and likelihood for adjustments 
to the sub-ACLs based on final catch and were subject to notice and 
opportunity to comment. Frameworks 2 and 8, specifically, provided 
prior notice of the need to distribute carryover catch. These actions 
provided a full opportunity for the public to comment on the substance 
and process of this action.
    For the same reasons as noted above, there is good cause under 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effective date and make 
the rule effective upon publication in the Federal Register. To prevent 
confusion and potential overharvests, it will be in the best interest 
of the fleet and the herring resource to adjust the specifications as 
close to the start of the fishing year as possible. Management

[[Page 15484]]

Areas 1B and 2 open on January 1 and Area 1A opens on June 1. The 
adjustments in this action reduce catch in Areas 1A and 1B and increase 
catch in Area 2. Putting in place the adjusted specifications as soon 
as possible will provide the fleet with an opportunity to develop their 
business plans in sufficient time to avoid an overharvest in Areas 1A 
and 1B and facilitate the harvest of additional catch in Area 2.
    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648, subpart K and is exempt 
from review under Executive Order 12866.
    This final rule does not contain a collection-of-information 
requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not 
required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the 
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq., are inapplicable.

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

    Dated: February 28, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-04521 Filed 3-1-24; 8:45 am]
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