70606 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 196 / Thursday, October 12, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

category (88 FR 67654, September 28, 

2023). 

Under § 635.28(a)(1), NMFS files a 

closure action with the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication when a 

BFT quota (or subquota) is reached or is 

projected to be reached. Retaining, 

possessing, or landing BFT under that 

quota category is prohibited on or after 

the effective date and time of a closure 

notice for that category until the 

opening of the relevant subsequent 

quota period or until such date as 

specified. 

Closure of the October Through 

November 2023 General Category 

Fishery 

To date, reported landings for the 

General category October through 

November time period total 

approximately 60.1 mt. Based on these 

landings, NMFS has determined that the 

adjusted October through November 

time period subquota of 117.4 mt is 

projected to be reached and exceeded 

shortly. Therefore, retaining, possessing, 

or landing large medium or giant (i.e., 

measuring 73 inches (185 cm) curved 

fork length or greater) BFT by persons 

aboard vessels permitted in the Atlantic 

Tunas General category and HMS 

Charter/Headboat permitted vessels 

(while fishing commercially) must cease 

at 11:30 p.m. local time on October 9, 

2023. This action applies to Atlantic 

Tunas General category (commercial) 

permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permitted vessels with a 

commercial sale endorsement when 

fishing commercially for BFT and is 

taken consistent with the regulations at 

§ 635.28(a)(1). The General category will 

automatically reopen December 1, 2023, 

for the December 2023 time period with 

a retention limit of one large medium or 

giant BFT per vessel per day/trip. 

Adjustment of Daily Retention Limit for 

Selected Dates 

On May 25, 2023 (88 FR 33839), 

NMFS published a final rule 

implementing RFDs every Tuesday, 

Friday, and Saturday from July 1 

through November 30, 2023. Since the 

fishery will be closed for the remainder 

of the October through November time 

period, NMFS waives the previouslyscheduled RFDs for the remainder of 

that time period. 

With the RFDs waived during the 

closure, consistent with § 635.23(a)(4), 

fishermen aboard General category 

permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permitted vessels may tag and 

release BFT of all sizes, subject to the 

requirements of the catch-and-release 

and tag-and-release programs at 

§ 635.26. All BFT that are released must 

be handled in a manner that will 

maximize their survival, and without 

removing the fish from the water, 

consistent with requirements at 

§ 635.21(a)(1). For additional 

information on safe handling, see the 

‘‘Careful Catch and Release’’ brochure 

available at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/ 

outreach-and-education/careful-catchand-release-brochure/. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to monitor the 

BFT fisheries closely. Dealers are 

required to submit landing reports 

within 24 hours of a dealer receiving 

BFT. Late reporting by dealers 

compromises NMFS’ ability to timely 

implement actions such as quota and 

retention limit adjustments, as well as 

closures, and may result in enforcement 

actions. Additionally, and separate from 

the dealer reporting requirement, 

General and HMS Charter/Headboat 

category vessel owners are required to 

report the catch of all BFT retained or 

discarded dead within 24 hours of the 

landing(s) or end of each trip, by 

accessing https://

www.hmspermits.noaa.gov, using the 

HMS Catch Reporting app, or calling 

888–872–8862 (Monday through Friday 

from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.). 

After the fishery reopens on December 

1, depending on the level of fishing 

effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS 

may determine that additional 

adjustments are necessary to ensure 

available subquotas are not exceeded or 

to enhance scientific data collection 

from, and fishing opportunities in, all 

geographic areas. If needed, subsequent 

adjustments will be published in the 

Federal Register. In addition, fishermen 

may access https://

www.hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates 

on quota monitoring and inseason 

adjustments. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and regulations at 50 CFR part 635 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

NMFS (AA) finds that pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to 

waive prior notice and opportunity to 

provide comment on this action, as 

notice and comment would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest for the following reasons. 

Specifically, the regulations 

implementing the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and amendments provide for 

inseason retention limit adjustments 

and fishery closures to respond to the 

unpredictable nature of BFT availability 

on the fishing grounds, the migratory 

nature of this species, and the regional 

variations in the BFT fishery. Providing 

for prior notice and an opportunity to 

comment is impracticable and contrary 

to the public interest as this fishery is 

currently underway and, based on 

landings information, the available time 

period subquota is projected to be 

reached shortly. Delaying this action 

could result in BFT landings exceeding 

the October through November time 

period subquota. Taking this action does 

not raise conservation or management 

concerns. NMFS notes that the public 

had an opportunity to comment on the 

underlying rulemakings that established 

the U.S. BFT quota and the inseason 

adjustment criteria. 

For all of the above reasons, the AA 

also finds that pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(d), there is good cause to waive the 

30-day delay in effective date. 

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

1801 et seq. 

Dated: October 6, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22563 Filed 10–6–23; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 230810–0190; RTID 0648– 

XD416] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery; Gulf of Maine Cod Possession 

and Trip Limit Adjustment for the 

Common Pool Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; in-season 

adjustment. 

SUMMARY: This action decreases the 

possession and trip limits for Gulf of 

Maine (GOM) cod for Northeast 

multispecies common pool vessels for 

the remainder of the 2023 fishing year, 

through April 30, 2024. The National 

Marine Fisheries Service projects that, 

at its current trajectory, the common 

pool will exceed its 2023 sub-Annual 

Catch Limit for GOM cod. This decrease 

in the possession and trip limit for Gulf 

of Maine cod is intended to prevent the 

common pool fishery from exceeding its 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 196 / Thursday, October 12, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 70607 

allocation for this stock prior to the end 

of the fishing year. 

DATES: This action is effective October 

12, 2023, through April 30, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Spencer Talmage, Fishery Policy 

Analyst, (978) 281–9232. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

regulations at § 648.86 (o) provide that 

NMFS may adjust the possession and 

trip limits for common pool vessels in 

order to help prevent the overharvest or 

underharvest of the common pool 

quotas. The fishing year 2023 common 

pool sub-annual catch limit (ACL) for 

Gulf of Maine GOM cod is 10.6 metric 

tons (mt). Catch through Trimester 1, 

which ended on August 31, 2023, was 

8.5 mt, or 80.2 percent of the sub-ACL. 

As a result, as of September 1, 2023, 2.1 

mt remained of the common pool subACL of GOM cod. Common pool catch 

of GOM cod triggered a closure of the 

Trimester 1 Total Allowable Catch Area 

for the stock on July 27, 2023 (88 FR 

50065), which was effective through 

August 31, 2023, the end of Trimester 1. 

An analysis was conducted to project 

common pool catch from the start of 

Trimester 2 on September 1, 2023, 

through the end of the fishing year on 

April 30, 2024. Fishing history during 

this time period from fishing years 2020, 

2021, and 2022 was used to estimate 

common pool catch under a range of 

different trip limit options, including 

the 150-pound (lb) (68-kilogram (kg)) 

per Day-at-Sea (DAS)/300-lb (136.1-kg) 

per trip limit currently in place. The 

resulting estimates were compared to 

the amount of quota remaining in the 

common pool sub-ACL of GOM cod on 

September 1, 2023. 

Based on this analysis, NMFS projects 

that, at the current trip limit of 150 lb 

(68 kg) per DAS/300 lb (136.1 kg) per 

trip, the common pool will exceed its 

fishing year 2023 sub-ACL. If this 

occurs, regulations require that the 

overage must be deducted from the 

common pool’s fishing year 2024 subACL for GOM cod, which would have 

a negative economic impact on common 

pool vessels. Therefore, we are 

implementing a decrease to the 

possession and trip limits for GOM cod 

to help prevent the common pool 

fishery from exceeding its fishing year 

2023 sub-ACL for GOM cod. 

Effective October 12, 2023, the GOM 

cod possession and trip limits are 

decreased to 50 lb (22.7 kg) per DAS, up 

to 100 lb (45.4 kg) per trip, as 

summarized in Table 1 below. 

TABLE 1—NEW POSSESSION AND TRIP LIMITS FOR GOM COD

Permit type Current possession/trip limits New possession/trip limits 

Days-At-Sea (A DAS) .......... 150 lb (68 kg) per DAS, up to 300 lb (136.1 kg) per trip 50 lb (22.7 kg) per DAS, up to 100 lb (45.4 kg) per trip. 

Handgear A .......................... 150 lb (68 kg) per trip ..................................................... 50 lb (22.7 kg) per trip. 

Handgear B .......................... 25 lb (11.3 kg) per trip .................................................... Unchanged. 

Small Vessel Category ........ 150 lb (11.3 kg) per trip, within combined 300 lb (136.1 

kg) trip limit for cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder.

50 lb (22.7 kg) per trip, within combined 300 lb (136.1 

kg) trip limit for cod, haddock, and yellowtail flounder. 

Since the analysis on which this 

action was based was conducted, 

additional catch has been landed. Catch 

data reported through September 12, 

2023, showed that the common pool has 

now caught 8.7 mt of GOM cod, 82.5 

percent of the sub-ACL, leaving 1.9 mt 

of catch available from that date until 

the sub-ACL is achieved. 

Weekly quota monitoring reports for 

the common pool fishery are on our 

website at: https://

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

ro/fso/reports/h/nemultispecies.html. 

We will continue to monitor common 

pool catch through vessel trip reports, 

dealer-reported landings, Vessel 

Monitoring System (VMS) catch reports, 

and other available information and, if 

necessary, will make additional 

adjustments to common pool 

management measures. 

Common pool groundfish vessels that 

have declared their trip through the 

VMS or the interactive voice response 

system, and crossed the VMS 

demarcation line prior to October 12, 

2023, are not subject to the new 

possession and trip limits for that trip. 

Classification 

This action is authorized 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) and 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive prior notice 

and the opportunity for public comment 

and the 30-day delayed effectiveness 

period because it would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. 

Regulations at § 648.86 (o) provide 

that NMFS may adjust the Northeast 

multispecies possession and trip limits 

for common pool vessels in order to 

prevent the overharvest or underharvest of the pertinent common pool 

quotas. We have projected that the 150- 

lb (68-kg) per DAS, up to 300-lb (136.1- 

kg) per trip limits for GOM cod will 

result in the common pool exceeding its 

fishing year 2023 sub-ACL for this stock. 

This action reduces these trip limits to 

help prevent the common pool 

exceeding its fishing year 2023 subACL. 

The time necessary to provide for 

prior notice and comment, and a 30-day 

delay in effectiveness, would prevent 

these reductions from being 

implemented in a timely manner. This 

action could not have taken place 

sooner because the catch data and 

analysis used as the basis for this action 

have only recently become available on 

September 21, 2023. Delays in 

implementation increase the probability 

of an overage of the common pool subACL for this stock, which would 

undermine the conservation objectives 

of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery 

Management Plan and trigger the 

implementation of accountability 

measures that would require deduction 

of the overage from common pool’s 

quota for the next fishing year. These 

deductions would have negative 

economic impacts to the common pool 

fishery. The regulations authorizing this 

action have been in effect for many 

years, and the fishing industry expects 

NMFS to take timely in-season action to 

prevent overages and their payback 

requirements. 

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

Dated: October 6, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22589 Filed 10–11–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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