[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 173 (Friday, September 6, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 72758]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20137]



[[Page 72758]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 231215-0305; RTID 0648-XE259]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder 
Fishery; 2024 Commercial Quota Harvested for the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 2024 summer flounder commercial quota 
allocated to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has been harvested. 
Vessels issued a commercial Federal fisheries permit for the summer 
flounder fishery may not land summer flounder in Massachusetts for the 
remainder of calendar year 2024, unless additional quota becomes 
available through a transfer from another state. Regulations governing 
the summer flounder fishery require publication of this notification to 
advise Massachusetts that the quota has been harvested, and to advise 
vessel permit holders and dealer permit holders that no Federal 
commercial quota is available for landing summer flounder in 
Massachusetts.

DATES: Effective 0001 hours September 6, 2024, through December 31, 
2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, (978) 281-9184, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations governing the summer flounder 
fishery are found at 50 CFR 648.100 through 648.111. The regulations 
require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned 
on a percentage basis among the coastal states from Maine through North 
Carolina. The process to set the annual commercial quota and the 
percent allocated to each state is described in Sec.  648.102.
    The commercial quota for summer flounder for 2024 was set equal to 
8,789,830 pounds (lb; 3,987,000 kilograms (kg)) (88 FR 88266, December 
23, 2023). The amount allocated to vessels landing summer flounder in 
Massachusetts is 599,507 lb (271,932 kg). Massachusetts received 
commercial summer flounder quota transfers of 8,186 lb (3,713 kg) (89 
FR 15484, March 4, 2024), 490 lb (222 kg) (89 FR 53884, June 28, 2024), 
and 5,025 lb (2,279 kg) (89 FR 57794, July 16, 2024) from Virginia, and 
2,353 lb (1,067 kg) from North Carolina (89 FR 65789, August 13, 2024), 
resulting in a revised commercial summer flounder quota for 
Massachusetts of 615,561 lb (279,214 kg).
    The NMFS Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Region 
monitors the state commercial landings and determines when a state's 
commercial quota has been harvested. NMFS is required to publish 
notification in the Federal Register advising and notifying commercial 
vessels and dealer permit holders that, effective upon a specific date, 
the state's commercial quota has been harvested and no commercial quota 
is available for landing summer flounder in that state. Based on dealer 
reports and other available information, the Regional Administrator has 
determined that the available quota has been harvested. The 
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries closed the state fishery on 
August 28, 2024, and this action promotes consistency between state and 
Federal management measures.
    The regulation at 50 CFR 648.103(b) provides that Federal permit 
holders agree, as a condition of the permit, not to land summer 
flounder in any state that the Regional Administrator has determined no 
longer has commercial quota available. Therefore, effective 0001 hours 
on September 6, 2024, landings summer flounder in Massachusetts by 
vessels holding summer flounder commercial Federal fisheries permits 
are prohibited for the remainder of the 2024 calendar year, unless 
additional quota becomes available through a transfer and is announced 
in the Federal Register. Effective 0001 hours on September 6, 2024, 
federally permitted dealers are also notified that they may not 
purchase summer flounder from federally permitted vessels that land in 
Massachusetts for the remainder of the calendar year, or until 
additional quota becomes available through a transfer from another 
state.

Classification

    This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from 
review under Executive Order 12866.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the 
opportunity for public comment because it would be contrary to the 
public interest. This action closes the commercial summer flounder 
fishery for Massachusetts until January 1, 2025, under current 
regulations. The regulations at 50 CFR 648.103(b) require such action 
to ensure that summer flounder vessels do not exceed quotas allocated 
to the states. If implementation of this closure was delayed to solicit 
prior public comment, the quota for this fishing year will be exceeded, 
thereby undermining the conservation objectives of the Summer Flounder, 
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan. The Assistant 
Administrator further finds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good cause 
to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness period for the reason stated 
above.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: September 3, 2024.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-20137 Filed 9-3-24; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P