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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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 165 / Monday, August 28, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 58523 

to the U.S./Mexico border). The actions 

described in this document affect the 

NOF commercial salmon troll fisheries, 

as set out under the heading Inseason 

Action below. 

Consultation with the Council 

Chairperson on this inseason action 

occurred on July 19, 2023. This 

consultation included representatives 

from NMFS, Washington Department of 

Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department 

of Fish and Wildlife, and California 

Department of Fish and Wildlife. 

Representatives from the Salmon 

Advisory Subpanel and Salmon 

Technical Team were also present. 

This inseason action was announced 

on NMFS’ telephone hotline and U.S. 

Coast Guard radio broadcast on the date 

of the consultations (50 CFR 

660.411(a)(2)). 

Inseason Action 

Inseason Action #18 

Description of the action: Inseason 

action #18 modifies the NOF ocean 

salmon troll commercial fishery. 

Effective dates: Inseason action #18 

takes effect for the following areas and 

dates, and remains in effect until 

superseded. 

• Effective July 20, 2023, at 12:01 

a.m., through Wednesday, July 26, 2023, 

at 11:59 p.m., in the area between the 

U.S./Canada border and Cape Falcon, 

the landing possession limit is 

decreased from 35 Chinook salmon and 

150 adipose marked coho salmon per 

vessel per landing week to 30 Chinook 

salmon and 150 adipose marked coho 

salmon per vessel per landing week 

(Thursday–Wednesday). 

• Effective July 27, 2023, at 12:01 

a.m., through August 2, 2023, at 11:59 

p.m., in the area between the U.S./ 

Canada border and Cape Falcon, the 

landing and possession limit is 

decreased from 30 Chinook salmon and 

150 adipose marked coho salmon per 

vessel per landing week to 20 Chinook 

salmon and 150 adipose marked coho 

salmon per vessel per landing week 

(Thursday–Wednesday). 

• Effective August 3, 2023, at 12:01 

a.m., the area between the U.S./Canada 

border and Cape Falcon is closed. 

Reason and authorization for the 

action: Inseason action #18 was 

necessary to progressively slow the rate 

of Chinook salmon catch in order to 

preserve the length of the salmon 

fishing season by setting lower landing 

and possession limits. The NMFS West 

Coast Regional Administrator (RA) 

determined that this inseason action is 

necessary to meet management and 

conservation goals for the 2023–2024 

management measures after considering 

the best available information on the 

2023 abundance forecasts for Chinook 

salmon stocks, landings and effort 

patterns to date, anticipated fishery 

effort and projected catch, the timing of 

the action relative to the length of the 

season, and the other factors and 

considerations set forth in 50 CFR 

660.409. This inseason action modified 

quotas and/or fishing seasons under 50 

CFR 660.409(b)(1)(i). 

All other restrictions and regulations 

remain in effect as announced for the 

2023 ocean salmon fisheries (88 FR 

30235, May 11, 2023; 88 FR 44737, July 

13, 2023, 88 FR 51250, August 3, 2023; 

88 FR 53813, August 9, 2023) except as 

previously modified by inseason 

actions. 

The states and tribes manage the 

fisheries in state waters adjacent to the 

areas of the U.S. exclusive economic 

zone (3–200 nautical miles; 5.6–370.4 

kilometers) off the coasts of the States of 

Washington, Oregon, and California 

consistent with these Federal actions. 

As provided by the inseason notice 

procedures at 50 CFR 660.411, actual 

notice of the described regulatory 

actions was given, prior to the time the 

actions became effective, by telephone 

hotline numbers 206–526–6667 and 

800–662–9825, and by U.S. Coast Guard 

Notice to Mariners broadcasts on 

Channel 16 VHF–FM and 2182 kHz. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (MSA). This action is authorized by 

50 CFR 660.409, which was issued 

pursuant to section 304(b) of the MSA, 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), 

there is good cause to waive prior notice 

and an opportunity for public comment 

on this action, as notice and comment 

would be impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest. Prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment on this 

action was impracticable because NMFS 

had insufficient time to provide for 

prior notice and the opportunity for 

public comment between the time 

Chinook and coho salmon abundance, 

catch, and effort information were 

developed and fisheries impacts were 

calculated, and the time the fishery 

modifications had to be implemented in 

order to ensure that fisheries are 

managed based on the best scientific 

information available. As previously 

noted, actual notice of the regulatory 

action was provided to fishers through 

telephone hotlines and radio 

notifications. These actions comply 

with the requirements of the annual 

management measures for ocean salmon 

fisheries (88 FR 30235, May 11, 2023), 

the Pacific Salmon Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP), and regulations 

implementing the FMP under 50 CFR 

660.409 and 660.411. 

There is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in 

effective date, as a delay in effectiveness 

of this action would allow fishing at 

levels inconsistent with the goals of the 

FMP and the current management 

measures. 

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

Dated: August 23, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–18512 Filed 8–25–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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