[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59002-59003]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16052]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 120404257-3325-02; RTID 0648-XE112]


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Re-Opening of Golden Tilefish for Commercial Harvest With Bottom 
Longline Gear in the South Atlantic

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; re-opening.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the re-opening of the commercial longline 
component of golden tilefish in South Atlantic Federal waters. The most 
recent landings data indicate that the commercial annual catch limit 
(ACL) of golden tilefish caught by bottom longline gear for the 2024 
fishing year has not yet been reached. Therefore, NMFS re-opens the 
commercial longline component to harvest golden tilefish in South 
Atlantic Federal waters for 8 days. The purpose of this temporary rule 
is to allow for the commercial longline ACL for golden tilefish to be 
harvested while minimizing the risk of exceeding the commercial ACL.

[[Page 59003]]


DATES: This temporary rule is effective from July 24, 2024, through 
July 31, 2024. The commercial longline component is closed from August 
1, 2024, through the end of 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Vara, NMFS Southeast Regional 
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The snapper-grouper fishery of the South 
Atlantic includes golden tilefish and is managed under the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic 
Region (FMP). The FMP was prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (Council) and NMFS, and is implemented by NMFS under 
the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by regulations at 50 CFR part 
622.
    The commercial sector for golden tilefish comprises the longline 
and hook-and-line components. The commercial golden tilefish ACL is 
allocated 75 percent to the longline component and 25 percent to the 
hook-and-line component. The total commercial ACL in 2024, which is 
equivalent to the total commercial quota, is 433,216 pounds (lb) or 
196,503 kilograms (kg) in gutted weight. The longline component quota 
for 2024 is 324,912 lb (147,378 kg) in gutted weight [50 CFR 
622.190(a)(2)(iii)(B)].
    On June 8, 2024, NMFS closed the commercial longline component for 
golden tilefish for the rest of the 2024 fishing year when NMFS 
previously determined that the commercial quota for the golden tilefish 
longline component in the South Atlantic would be reached, as required 
under 50 CFR 622.193(a)(1)(ii) (89 FR 48338, June 6, 2024). After the 
longline component quota is reached or is projected to be reached, 
golden tilefish may not be commercially fished or possessed by a vessel 
with a golden tilefish longline endorsement. However, a more recent 
estimation of golden tilefish landings harvested by longline gear 
indicates that the commercial longline ACL for golden tilefish has not 
been met.
    Consistent with regulations at 50 CFR 622.8(c), NMFS temporarily 
re-opens the commercial longline component for golden tilefish as 
specified in the DATES section. The commercial longline component will 
remain open for 8 days to allow for the commercial longline ACL to be 
reached. NMFS has determined that this re-opening will allow an 
additional opportunity to commercially harvest the golden tilefish 
longline component quota while minimizing the risk of exceeding the 
commercial ACL. The commercial longline component will again be closed 
from August 1, 2024, through the end of 2024.
    The sale or purchase of longline-caught golden tilefish taken from 
South Atlantic Federal waters is prohibited during the commercial 
longline closure. The operator of a vessel with a valid Federal 
commercial vessel permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper and a valid 
commercial longline endorsement for golden tilefish having golden 
tilefish on board must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such 
golden tilefish before the closure. The prohibition on sale or purchase 
does not apply to the sale or purchase of longline-caught golden 
tilefish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold before August 1, 
2024, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
    Also during the commercial longline closure, golden tilefish may 
still be commercially harvested using hook-and-line gear while the 
commercial hook-and-line component is open. However, a vessel with a 
golden tilefish longline endorsement is not eligible to fish for or 
possess golden tilefish using hook-and-line gear under the hook-and-
line commercial trip limit, as specified in 50 CFR 622.191(a)(2)(ii). 
The operator of a vessel issued a Federal commercial vessel permit for 
South Atlantic snapper-grouper and a commercial longline endorsement 
for golden tilefish with golden tilefish on board must have landed and 
bartered, traded, or sold such golden tilefish before the commercial 
longline closure.
    NMFS closed the recreational harvest of golden tilefish in the 
South Atlantic on March 1, 2024, because those landings reached its ACL 
for the 2024 fishing year (89 FR 14415, February 27, 2024). Therefore, 
there is no allowable harvest of golden tilefish under the recreational 
bag and possession limits, and all harvest or possession of golden 
tilefish in or from South Atlantic Federal waters is prohibited by a 
person on a vessel with a golden tilefish longline endorsement. 
Additionally, the recreational bag and possession limits and the sale 
and purchase provisions of the commercial closure apply to a person on 
a vessel with a golden tilefish longline endorsement in state or 
Federal waters, as specified in 50 CFR 622.190(c)(1).
    The 2025 fishing season for the commercial harvest of South 
Atlantic golden tilefish with bottom longline gear opens again on 
January 15, 2025 [50 CFR 622.183(b)(11)].

Classification

    NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 622.8(c), 
622.190(a)(2)(iii), and 622.193(a)(1)(ii), issued pursuant to section 
304(b), and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
    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, as notice 
and comment is unnecessary. Such procedure is unnecessary, because the 
regulations associated with the commercial quota for the longline 
component of golden tilefish and a re-opening to provide an opportunity 
for the quota to be harvested have already been subject to notice and 
public comment, and all that remains is to notify the public of the 
commercial longline component re-opening.
    For the reasons just stated, there is also good cause to waive the 
30-day delay in the effectiveness of this action under 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(3).

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

    Dated: July 17, 2024.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-16052 Filed 7-17-24; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P