68498 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

revised recreational ACL. Accordingly, 

the harvest and possession of South 

Atlantic gag for the recreational sector is 

closed effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern 

time on October 23, 2023, through 

December 31, 2023. During the 

recreational closure, the bag and 

possession limits for gag in or from the 

South Atlantic EEZ are zero. 

Additionally, the revised recreational 

AM at 50 CFR 622.193(c)(2)(ii) as 

implemented through the final rule to 

implement Amendment 53 to the FMP 

(88 FR 65135, September 21, 2023), 

specifies that if the recreational ACL is 

exceeded, then NMFS will reduce the 

recreational fishing season in the 

following fishing year to prevent the 

recreational ACL from being exceeded, 

and NMFS will use the best scientific 

information available to determine if 

reducing the length of the recreational 

season is necessary. Therefore, once the 

2023 recreational landings information 

has been finalized, NMFS will evaluate 

if it is necessary for the 2024 

recreational fishing season to be 

reduced based on 2023 landings. If a 

fishing season reduction is necessary, 

NMFS will publish a notice for any 

2024 recreational fishing season 

reduction or associated recreational 

fishing season closure in the Federal 

Register. 

January Through April Gag Seasonal 

Closure 

Additionally, a seasonal closure is in 

place for the commercial and 

recreational sectors for gag and 

associated grouper species from January 

through April each fishing year as 

specified in 50 CFR 622.183(b)(1). 

During this seasonal closure for the 

recreational and commercial sectors for 

gag from January through April each 

fishing year, no person may fish for, 

harvest, or possess any gag in or from 

the South Atlantic EEZ. Therefore, the 

commercial and recreational harvest of 

gag will not commence until May 1, 

2024. 

Classification 

NMFS issues these actions pursuant 

to section 305(d) of the MagnusonStevens Act. These actions are required 

by 50 CFR 622.193(c)(1)(i) and the 

revised measures at 50 CFR 

622.193(c)(2)(i) as implemented through 

the final rule to implement Amendment 

53 to the FMP (88 FR 65135, September 

21, 2023), which were issued pursuant 

to section 304(b) of the MagnusonStevens Act, and are exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

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

is good cause to waive prior notice and 

an opportunity for public comment on 

these actions, as notice and comment 

are unnecessary and contrary to the 

public interest. Such procedures are 

unnecessary because the regulations 

associated with the closures of the gag 

commercial sector and the gag 

recreational sector have already been 

subject to notice and public comment, 

and all that remains is to notify the 

public of the sector closures. Prior 

notice and opportunity for public 

comment are contrary to the public 

interest because there is a need to 

implement these actions as soon as 

possible to protect gag, because the 

capacity of the fishing fleet allows for 

rapid harvest of the commercial and 

recreational ACLs. Prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment would 

require time and would potentially 

result in continued harvest in excess of 

the established commercial and 

recreational ACLs. Given the large 

reductions in the commercial and 

recreational harvest levels resulting 

from the implementation of Amendment 

53, NMFS wants to provide as much 

notice of these sector closures as 

possible to allow fishers time to prepare 

for changes to their fishing seasons. 

For the reasons stated earlier, the 

Assistant Administrator also finds good 

cause to waive the 30-day delay in the 

effectiveness of this action under 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

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

Dated: September 28, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21914 Filed 9–29–23; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 221215–0272; RTID 0648– 

XD447] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 

Quota Transfers From VA and DE to 

NC 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of quota transfers. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Commonwealth of Virginia and the 

State of Delaware are transferring a 

portion of their 2023 commercial 

bluefish quota to the State of North 

Carolina. 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 Virginia, 

Delaware, and North Carolina. 

DATES: Effective September 29, 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 § 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 § 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 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. 

Virginia is transferring 50,000 pounds 

(lb) (22,680 kilograms (kg)) and 

Delaware is transferring 40,000 lb 

(18,144 kg) to North Carolina, through 

mutual agreements of the States. These 

transfers were requested to ensure that 

North Carolina would not exceed its 

2023 State quota. The revised bluefish 

quotas for 2023 are: Virginia, 305,625 lb 

(138,629 kg); Delaware, 23,572 lb 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 68499 

(10,692 kg); and North Carolina, 

1,564,077 lb (709,453 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: September 29, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22092 Filed 9–29–23; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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