[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 166 (Tuesday, August 29, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59469-59470]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18616]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 221215-0272; RTID 0648-XD279]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish 
Fishery; Quota Transfers From NJ to NC and RI

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

ACTION: Notification of quota transfers.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the State of New Jersey is transferring a 
portion of its 2023 commercial bluefish quota to the States of North 
Carolina and Rhode Island. These adjustments to the 2023 fishing year 
quotas are necessary to comply with the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery 
Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs 
the public of the revised 2023 commercial bluefish quotas for New 
Jersey, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.

DATES: Effective August 28, 2023, through December 31, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9184.

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 Sec.  648.162, and the final 2023 allocations were 
published on December 21, 2022 (87 FR 78011).
    The final rule implementing Amendment 1 to the Bluefish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP), as published in the Federal Register on July 26, 
2000 (65 FR 45844), provided a mechanism for transferring bluefish 
commercial 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 Sec.  648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii). 
The Regional Administrator must approve any such transfer based on the 
criteria in Sec.  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 Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Regional 
Administrator has determined these three criteria have been met for the 
transfers approved in this notification.
    New Jersey is transferring 45,000 pounds (lb) (20,412 kilograms 
(kg)) to North Carolina and 15,000 lb (6,804 kg) to Rhode Island, 
through mutual

[[Page 59470]]

agreements of the states. These transfers were requested to ensure that 
North Carolina and Rhode Island would not exceed their 2023 state 
quotas. The revised bluefish quotas for 2023 are: New Jersey, 563,295 
lb (255,506 kg); North Carolina, 1,474,077 lb (668,630 kg); and Rhode 
Island 366,165 lb (166,090 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: August 24, 2023.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-18616 Filed 8-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P