Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 237 / Wednesday, December 9, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 79139 

swordfish retention limit from the 

default levels would result in minimal 

risk of exceeding the ICCAT-allocated 

quota. 

Delays in temporarily increasing these 

retention limits caused by the time 

required to publish a proposed rule and 

accept public comment would adversely 

and unnecessarily affect those 

Swordfish General Commercial permit 

holders and HMS Charter/Headboat 

permit holders with a commercial 

endorsement (when on a non-for-hire 

trip) that would otherwise have an 

opportunity to harvest more than the 

otherwise applicable lower default 

retention limits of three swordfish per 

vessel per trip in the Northwest Atlantic 

and Gulf of Mexico regions, and two 

swordfish per vessel per trip in the U.S. 

Caribbean region. Limiting 

opportunities to harvest available 

directed swordfish quota may have 

negative social and economic impacts 

for U.S. fishermen. Adjustment of the 

retention limits needs to be effective on 

January 1, 2021, to allow Swordfish 

General Commercial permit holders and 

HMS Charter/Headboat permit holders 

with a commercial endorsement (when 

on a non-for-hire trip) to benefit from 

the adjustment during the relevant time 

period, which could pass by for some 

fishermen who have access to the 

fishery during a short time period 

because of seasonal fish migration, if the 

action is delayed for notice and public 

comment. Furthermore, the public was 

given an opportunity to comment on the 

underlying rulemakings, including the 

adoption of the North Atlantic 

swordfish U.S. quota, and the retention 

limit adjustments in this action would 

not have any additional effects or 

impacts since the retention limit does 

not affect the overall quota. Thus, there 

would be little opportunity for 

meaningful input and review with 

public comment on this action. 

Therefore, the AA finds good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior 

notice and the opportunity for public 

comment. For all of the above reasons, 

there is also good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d) to waive the 30-day delay in 

effectiveness. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 

et seq. 

Dated: December 1, 2020. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26796 Filed 12–8–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No.200623–0167; RTID 0648– 

XA697] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 

Quota Transfer From MA to RI 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification; quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts is 

transferring a portion of its 2020 

commercial bluefish quota to the State 

of Rhode Island. This quota adjustment 

is necessary to comply with the Atlantic 

Bluefish Fishery Management Plan 

quota transfer provisions. This 

announcement informs the public of the 

revised commercial bluefish quotas for 

Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 

DATES: Effective December 4, 2020, 

through December 31, 2020. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Hansen, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9225. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the Atlantic 

bluefish fishery are found in 50 CFR 

648.160 through 648.167. These 

regulations require annual specification 

of a commercial quota that is 

apportioned among the coastal states 

from Maine through Florida. The 

process to set the annual commercial 

quota and the percent allocated to each 

state is described in § 648.162, and the 

final 2020 allocations were published 

on June 29, 2020 (85 FR 38794). 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 1 to the Bluefish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) published in 

the Federal Register on July 26, 2000 

(65 FR 45844), and provided a 

mechanism for transferring bluefish 

quota from one state to another. Two or 

more states, under mutual agreement 

and with the concurrence of the NMFS 

Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator, 

can request approval to transfer or 

combine bluefish commercial quota 

under § 648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii). 

The Regional Administrator must 

approve any such transfer based on the 

criteria in § 648.162(e). In evaluating 

requests to transfer a quota or combine 

quotas, the Regional Administrator shall 

consider whether: The transfer or 

combinations would preclude the 

overall annual quota from being fully 

harvested; the transfer addresses an 

unforeseen variation or contingency in 

the fishery; and the transfer is consistent 

with the objectives of the FMP and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Massachusetts is transferring 15,000 

lb (6,804 kg) of bluefish commercial 

quota to Rhode Island through mutual 

agreement of the states. This transfer 

was requested to ensure that Rhode 

Island would not exceed its 2020 state 

quota. The revised bluefish quotas for 

2020 are: Massachusetts, 170,838 lb 

(77,491 kg); and Rhode Island, 313,366 

lb (142,140 kg). 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii), which was 

issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is 

exempted from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

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

Dated: December 4, 2020. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27044 Filed 12–4–20; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 200604–0152] 

RIN 0648–BJ35 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone off Alaska; Modifying Seasonal 

Allocations of Pollock and Pacific Cod 

for Trawl Catcher Vessels in the 

Central and Western Gulf of Alaska; 

Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; correction. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is correcting a final 

rule that published in the Federal 

Register on June 25, 2020, 

implementing Amendment 109 to the 

Fishery Management Plan for 

Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA 

FMP) and a regulatory amendment to 

the regulations governing pollock 

fishing in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). The 

final rule’s intent as to Pacific cod was 

to change the seasonal apportionments 

of Pacific cod for the trawl catcher 


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79140 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 237 / Wednesday, December 9, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 

vessel (CV) sector. However, in 

changing the seasonal apportionments, 

the final rule’s regulatory text 

inadvertently affected the jig sector such 

that it became unclear if the new, 

overall seasonal apportionments apply 

to the jig sector. This correction is 

necessary to clarify seasonal 

apportionments of Pacific cod for the jig 

sector. 

DATES: This rule is effective on January 

1, 2021. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kelly Cates, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Need for Correction 

NMFS published Amendment 109 to 

the GOA FMP and a regulatory 

amendment to the regulations governing 

pollock fishing in the GOA in the 

Federal Register on June 25, 2020 (85 

FR 38093), which will be referred to in 

this correction collectively as 

Amendment 109. The final rule 

addresses operational and management 

inefficiencies in the trawl CV pollock 

and Pacific cod fisheries in the Central 

Regulatory Area (CGOA) and the 

Western Regulatory Area (WGOA) of the 

GOA. This correction does not affect the 

pollock seasons and allocations as 

revised by Amendment 109. 

The final rule to implement 

Amendment 109 is effective on January 

1, 2021, and, in part, revises 

§ 679.20(a)(12)(i) to specify the new 

seasonal apportionments of Pacific cod 

total allowable catch (TAC) for the trawl 

CV sector in the CGOA and the WGOA. 

The trawl CV sector is one of several 

sectors for which the regulations 

allocate the Pacific cod TAC in the 

WGOA and CGOA and apportion those 

allocations seasonally (among gear and 

operation types) between the A and B 

seasons (§ 679.20(a)(12)(i)(A) and (B)). 

The final rule to implement 

Amendment 109 changes the trawl CV 

sector’s seasonal apportionments in the 

CGOA and WGOA: The A seasonal 

apportionment increases by 

approximately 4 percent, while the B 

seasonal apportionment decreases by 

approximately 4 percent. Because the 

final rule shifts one sector’s seasonal 

apportionment between the A and B 

seasons, the overall seasonal 

apportionment across all sectors in the 

CGOA and WGOA also shifts between 

the A and B seasons. The final rule to 

implement Amendment 109 therefore 

changes the WGOA and CGOA Pacific 

cod overall seasonal apportionments 

from 60 percent (A season) and 40 

percent (B season) as follows: 63.84 

percent of the WGOA TAC apportioned 

to the A season and 36.16 percent of the 

WGOA TAC apportioned to the B 

season, and 64.16 percent of the CGOA 

TAC apportioned to the A season and 

35.84 percent of the CGOA TAC 

apportioned to the B season. 

In changing these seasonal 

apportionments, however, the final rule 

for Amendment 109 inadvertently 

affected the jig sector: Because the 

regulations do not specify the jig sector 

seasonal apportionment, unlike the A 

and B season apportionments for all 

other sectors and gear and operation 

types in the CGOA and WGOA, it 

became ambiguous if the new, overall 

Pacific cod seasonal apportionments 

should be applied to the jig sector. To 

remove any ambiguity, NMFS is 

correcting the final rule to implement 

Amendment 109 to specify that the 

CGOA and WGOA Pacific cod TACs 

will be seasonally apportioned to the jig 

sector such that 60 percent of the TAC 

is apportioned to the A season and 40 

percent of the TAC is apportioned to the 

B season. 

In implementing the final rule for 

Amendment 109, the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

and NMFS were clear that they did not 

intend for Amendment 109 to affect any 

sectors other than the trawl CV sector. 

In the preambles to both the proposed 

rule (85 FR 11939, February 28, 2020) 

and final rule (85 FR 38093, June 25, 

2020) to implement Amendment 109, 

NMFS specified that although the 

overall ratio of A and B seasonal 

apportionments of Pacific cod for the 

trawl CV sector is changing, the rule 

does not affect the seasonal 

apportionments of Pacific cod to any 

other sectors. The preambles further 

clarified that the seasonal 

apportionment of Pacific cod remains 

unchanged for all other sectors in the 

CGOA and the WGOA. 

In addition, the Council and NMFS 

have clearly indicated their intention 

regarding the jig sector’s seasonal 

apportionment on two fronts. First, the 

rulemaking to implement Amendment 

83 to the GOA FMP (76 FR 74670, 

December 1, 2011) specified that the jig 

sector seasonal apportionment would be 

60 percent for the A season and 40 

percent for the B season in the CGOA 

and the WGOA (76 FR 44700, July 26, 

2011). Second, NMFS has implemented 

the same apportionment in the annual 

GOA groundfish harvest specifications 

since the approval of Amendment 83. 

However, the regulatory text at 

§ 679.20(a)(12)(i) does not specify the 

jig sector seasonal apportionment (like 

the A and B season apportionments are 

for all other sectors and gear and 

operation types in the CGOA and 

WGOA). 

In order to clarify the seasonal 

apportionment to the jig sector for 

Pacific cod in the WGOA and CGOA, 

the final rule for Amendment 109 will 

be revised to expressly state the A and 

B season apportionments of Pacific cod 

to the jig sector. As revised, the 

regulations now will provide that a 

portion of the annual Pacific cod TAC, 

pursuant to § 679.20(a)(12)(i)(A) and 

(B), will be allocated to vessels with a 

Federal Fishing Permit that use jig gear, 

before TAC is apportioned among other 

non-jig sectors. This portion of the 

CGOA and WGOA Pacific cod TACs 

will be seasonally apportioned to the jig 

sector such that 60 percent of the TAC 

is apportioned to the A season and 40 

percent of the TAC is apportioned to the 

B season, as specified in § 679.23(d)(3). 

Once the TAC for Pacific cod is 

apportioned to the jig sector, the 

remainder of the WGOA and CGOA 

Pacific cod TACs will be seasonally 

apportioned among the non-jig sectors 

such that 63.84 percent of the WGOA 

TAC is apportioned to the A season and 

36.16 percent of the WGOA TAC is 

apportioned to the B season, and 64.16 

percent of the CGOA TAC is 

apportioned to the A season and 35.84 

percent of the CGOA TAC is 

apportioned to the B season, as 

specified in § 679.23(d)(3). This 

correction makes these clarifications in 

§ 679.20(a)(12)(i). 

This correction to the final rule to 

implement Amendment 109 will ensure 

that the new seasonal allocations of 

Pacific cod are available at the start of 

the fishing year. The purposes of 

Amendment 109 are to allow the 

fisheries to more fully harvest the 

Pacific cod and pollock TACs in the 

WGOA and CGOA, increase 

management flexibility, and, 

potentially, decrease the prohibited 

species catch, while not redistributing 

fishing opportunities between 

management areas or harvest sectors. 

Correction 

Effective January 1, 2021, in rule 

document 2020–12453 at 85 FR 38093 

in the issue of June 25, 2020, on page 

38100, in the third column, in 

amendatory instruction 2, paragraph 

(a)(12)(i) introductory text is corrected 

to read as follows: 

§ 679.20 [Corrected] 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(12) * * * 

(i) Seasonal allowances by sector. The 

Western and Central GOA Pacific cod 

TACs will be seasonally apportioned to 

the jig sector such that 60 percent of the 

TAC is apportioned to the A season and 


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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 237 / Wednesday, December 9, 2020 / Rules and Regulations 79141 

40 percent of the TAC is apportioned to 

the B season, as specified in 

§ 679.23(d)(3), before TAC is 

apportioned among other non-jig 

sectors. The Western and Central GOA 

Pacific cod TACs will be seasonally 

apportioned among the non-jig sectors 

such that 63.84 percent of the Western 

GOA TAC is apportioned to the A 

season and 36.16 percent of the Western 

GOA TAC is apportioned to the B 

season, and 64.16 percent of the Central 

GOA TAC is apportioned to the A 

season and 35.84 percent of the Central 

GOA TAC is apportioned to the B 

season, as specified in § 679.23(d)(3). 

* * * * * 

Dated: December 2, 2020. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2020–26954 Filed 12–8–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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