Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 165 / Monday, August 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 58521 

salmon nonessential experimental 

populations identified in paragraph 

(e)(2) of this section. 

(4) Exceptions to the application of 

section 9 take prohibitions in the 

experimental population area. The 

following forms of take in the 

experimental population area identified 

in paragraph (e)(2) of this section are not 

prohibited by this section: 

(i) Any taking of experimental 

populations of Sacramento River winterrun or Central Valley spring-run 

Chinook salmon by authorized 

governmental entity personnel acting in 

compliance with § 223.203(b)(3) to aid a 

sick, injured or stranded fish; dispose of 

a dead fish; or salvage a dead fish which 

may be useful for scientific study. 

(ii) Any taking of experimental 

populations of Sacramento River winterrun or Central Valley spring-run 

Chinook salmon that is unintentional, 

not due to negligent conduct, and 

incidental to, and not the purpose of, 

the carrying out of an otherwise lawful 

activity. 

(iii) Any taking of experimental 

populations of Sacramento River winterrun or Central Valley spring-run 

Chinook salmon pursuant to a permit 

issued by NMFS under section 10 of the 

ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539) and regulations in 

part 222 of this chapter applicable to 

such a permit. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18474 Filed 8–25–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 230821–0201] 

RIN 0648–BL61 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Improvement and 

Modernization of Atlantic Surfclam and 

Ocean Quahog Vessel Reporting 

Regulations 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing 

regulation changes to integrate the 

vessel reporting requirements for the 

Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog 

fisheries with the reporting 

requirements for all other commercial 

fisheries in the Greater Atlantic Region. 

These changes are intended to simplify 

the regulations and make it easier for 

surfclam and ocean quahog vessel 

operators to submit the required fishing 

trip reports electronically. This action 

will result in improved administration 

and management of the surfclam and 

ocean quahog fisheries. 

DATES: Effective September 27, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments 

regarding the burden-hour estimates or 

other aspects of the collection-ofinformation requirements contained in 

this final rule may be submitted to the 

Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries 

Office and to https://www.reginfo.gov/ 

public/do/PRAMain. Find this 

particular information collection by 

using the search function and entering 

either the title of the collection or the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) Control Number 0648–0212. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9341, douglas.potts@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council manages the 

Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog 

fisheries under the Atlantic Surfclam 

and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP). The FMP has included a 

requirement for fishing vessels to 

maintain and submit a log of fishing 

operations since it was first 

implemented (42 FR 60438, November 

25, 1977). Over the years, other species 

also became subject to management 

under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) and additional 

fishing vessel reporting requirements 

were added to the regulations. To cover 

the reporting requirements of these 

other fisheries, a standardized fishing 

vessel trip report (VTR) form was 

developed. For a number of reasons, 

including the specific requirements of 

the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean 

Quahog Individual Transferable Quota 

(ITQ) management system, the surfclam 

and ocean quahog vessel reporting 

regulations have remained separate from 

the vessel reporting regulations that 

apply to all other commercial fisheries 

in the Greater Atlantic Region. Surfclam 

and ocean quahog vessels have used a 

form separate from the VTR, often 

referred to as the clam logbook, to report 

fishing trips that specifically target 

surfclam or ocean quahog. 

Detailed information about the 

drawbacks of separate trips reports, the 

benefits of having a single report for all 

fishing trips, and the development of 

electronic VTR (eVTR) in the Greater 

Atlantic Region was provided in the 

proposed rule for this action (88 FR 

20115, April 5, 2023) and is not 

repeated here. 

This action eliminates the 

requirement for a separate surfclam/ 

ocean quahog logbook and requires 

surfclam and ocean quahog vessel 

operators to complete the standard 

eVTR instead. When a fishing trip 

includes surfclams or ocean quahogs, 

the eVTR application will automatically 

present additional fields to collect the 

required information specific to the ITQ 

fishery, including the ITQ allocation 

number, the cage tag numbers for all 

cages being landed, and price per 

bushel. This information has previously 

been reported by the fishery on the 

surfclam/ocean quahog logbook, so 

there is no additional reporting burden 

on fishermen. Overall, the reporting 

burden would decrease because 

surfclam and ocean quahog trips that 

also land other regulated species will no 

longer be required to submit two 

reports, instead fulfilling all reporting 

requirements through a single electronic 

submission. 

Comments 

On April 5, 2023, we published a 

proposed rule (88 FR 20115) requesting 

comments on changes to the regulations 

to eliminate the separate surfclam and 

ocean quahog vessel logbook and 

require all vessels fishing for these 

species to report trips using the 

standard eVTR. The comment period 

was open through May 5, 2023. We 

received no comments on the proposed 

regulatory changes or on the impact of 

those changes on the public reporting 

burden in the existing information 

collection approved under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

There are no changes to the proposed 

regulatory updates. However, this final 

rule corrects a minor typographical error 

in the first sentence of the introductory 

text in 50 CFR 648.7(b)(1), changing the 

word ‘‘and’’ to ‘‘an.’’ 

Classification 

NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. Pursuant to that section, this action 

is necessary to carry out the provisions 

of the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean 

Quahog FMP because the initial 

reporting provisions adopted in 1977 

have become inconsistent with other 

reporting requirements in the Greater 

Atlantic Region. This inconsistency has 

led to an unnecessary additional 

reporting burden on the fishing 

industry. The NMFS Assistant 


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58522 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 165 / Monday, August 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

Administrator has determined that this 

final rule is consistent with the Atlantic 

Surfclam and Ocean Quahog FMP, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law, subject to 

further consideration after public 

comment. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification. As a result, a 

regulatory flexibility analysis was not 

required and none was prepared. 

This final rule contains a collectionof-information requirement subject to 

review and approval by OMB under the 

PRA. This rule revises the existing 

requirements for the collection of 

information under the following OMB 

Control Number: 0648–0212, Greater 

Atlantic Region Logbook Family of 

Forms, by eliminating the shellfish log 

(NOAA Form 88–140). All respondents 

and responses that would have used this 

form would use the Fishing Vessel Trip 

Report (NOAA Form 88–30) instead. 

This form takes less time to complete 

and is submitted electronically, 

resulting in a small decrease in 

estimated time burden and the 

elimination of postage costs. Public 

reporting burden for the Fishing Vessel 

Trip Report is estimated to average five 

minutes, including the time taken to 

review the instructions, search existing 

data sources, gather and maintain the 

data needed, and to complete and 

review the information collected. 

We invite the general public and other 

Federal agencies to comment on 

proposed and continuing information 

collections, which helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. Written comments 

and recommendations for this 

information collection should be 

submitted on the following website: 

https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by using the 

search function and entering either the 

title of the collection or the OMB 

Control Number 0648–0212. 

Notwithstanding any other provisions 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: August 22, 2023. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part 

648 as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 648.7, revise paragraphs (b)(1) 

introductory text, (b)(1)(i) introductory 

text, and (b)(1)(iii) to read as follows: 

§ 648.7 Recordkeeping and reporting 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(1) Fishing Vessel Trip Reports. The 

owner or operator of any vessel issued 

a valid permit or eligible to renew a 

limited access permit under this part 

must maintain on board the vessel and 

submit an accurate fishing log report for 

each fishing trip, regardless of species 

fished for or taken, by electronic means. 

This report must be entered into and 

submitted through a software 

application approved by NMFS. 

(i) Vessel owners or operators. At least 

the following information as applicable 

and any other information required by 

the Regional Administrator must be 

provided: 

* * * * * 

(iii) Surfclam and ocean quahog 

owners or operators. In addition to the 

information listed under paragraph 

(b)(1)(i) of this section, the owner or 

operator of any vessel conducting any 

surfclam or ocean quahog fishing 

operations in the ITQ program must 

provide at least the following 

information and any other information 

required by the Regional Administrator: 

(A) Total amount in bushels of 

surfclams and/or ocean quahogs taken; 

(B) Price per bushel; 

(C) Tag numbers from cages used; and 

(D) Allocation permit number. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–18414 Filed 8–25–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 230508–0124; RTID 0648– 

XD191] 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Modification of the West Coast Salmon 

Fisheries; Inseason Action #18 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Inseason modification of 2023 

management measures. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces one 

inseason action for the 2023–2024 ocean 

salmon fishing season. This inseason 

action modifies the commercial salmon 

fisheries in the area from the U.S./ 

Canada border to Cape Falcon, Oregon. 

DATES: The effective date for this 

inseason action is set out in this 

document under the heading ‘‘Inseason 

Action’’ and the action remains in effect 

until superseded or modified. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shannon Penna, 562–980–4239, 

Shannon.Penna@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The annual management measures for 

the 2023 and early 2024 ocean salmon 

fisheries (88 FR 30235, May 11, 2023) 

govern the commercial and recreational 

fisheries in the area from the U.S./ 

Canada border to the U.S./Mexico 

border, effective from 0001 hours Pacific 

Daylight Time (PDT), May 16, 2023, 

until the effective date of the 2024 

management measures, as published in 

the Federal Register. NMFS is 

authorized to implement inseason 

management actions to modify fishing 

seasons and quotas as necessary to 

provide fishing opportunity while 

meeting management objectives for the 

affected species (50 CFR 660.409). 

Inseason actions in the salmon fishery 

may be taken directly by NMFS (50 CFR 

660.409(a)—Fixed inseason 

management provisions) or upon 

consultation with the Chairman of the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council), and the appropriate State 

Directors (50 CFR 660.409(b)—Flexible 

inseason management provisions). 

Management of the salmon fisheries is 

divided into two geographic areas: north 

of Cape Falcon (NOF) (U.S./Canada 

border to Cape Falcon, OR), and south 

of Cape Falcon (SOF) (Cape Falcon, OR, 


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