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AGENCY:
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION:
Temporary rule; closure.
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 Laura.Deighan@noaa.gov.
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 § 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