69098 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 192 / Thursday, October 5, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

* * * * * 

Janine Velasco, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–21477 Filed 10–4–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–C 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 220801–0167; RTID 0648– 

XD342] 

Inseason Action for 2023–2024 

Commercial Pacific Bluefin Tuna 

Biennial Catch Limit in the Eastern 

Pacific Ocean 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Inseason announcement of 

2023–2024 catch limit. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is announcing that the 

Pacific bluefin tuna (PBF) 2023–2024 

biennial catch limit for U.S. commercial 

fishing vessels in the eastern Pacific 

Ocean (EPO) is 1,054 metric tons (mt). 

DATES: The rule is effective 12 a.m. local 

time November 3, 2023, through 11:59 

p.m. local time December 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tyler Lawson, NMFS West Coast 

Region, 503–230–5421. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

United States is a member of the InterAmerican Tropical Tuna Commission 

(IATTC), which was established under 

the Convention for the Establishment of 

an IATTC signed in 1949 (1949 

Convention). The 1949 Convention 

provides an international agreement to 

ensure the effective international 

conservation and management of highly 

migratory species of fish in the IATTC 

Convention Area. In 2003, the IATTC 

updated the 1949 Convention through 

the adoption of the Convention for the 

Strengthening of the IATTC Established 

by the 1949 Convention between the 

United States of America and the 

Republic of Costa Rica (Antigua 

Convention). The IATTC Convention 

Area, as amended by the Antigua 

Convention, includes the waters of the 

EPO bounded by the coast of the 

Americas, the 50° N and 50° S parallels, 

and the 150° W meridian. 

Fishing for PBF in the EPO is 

managed, in part, under the Tuna 

Conventions Act of 1950, as amended 

(Act), 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq. Under the 

Act, NMFS must publish regulations to 

carry out recommendations and 

decisions of the IATTC in consultation 

with the Department of State. 

Regulations implementing conservation 

and management measures for tuna and 

tuna-like species in the EPO appear at 

50 CFR part 300, subpart C. 

On August 5, 2022, the NMFS 

published a final rule (87 FR 47939) 

implementing IATTC Resolution C–21– 

05 (Measures for the Conservation and 

Management of Pacific Bluefin Tuna in 

the Eastern Pacific Ocean). That rule 

established an initial combined catch 

limit for 2023–2024 of 1,017 mt. Under 

50 CFR 300.25(g)(2), that initial catch 

limit is then either increased by the 

amount of catch remaining from, or 

decreased by the amount of catch in 

excess of, the 2021–2022 biennial catch 

limit, which was 739 mt. Any increase 

to the initial 2023–2024 catch limit 

cannot exceed 37 mt (see 

§ 300.25(g)(2)(i)). 

Based on landings data and other 

information available as of August 22, 

2023, 587 mt of PBF were caught by 

U.S. commercial vessels during the 

2021–2022 biennial management period 

(217 mt in 2021 and 370 mt in 2022). 

Therefore, in 2023–2024, the catch limit 

may be increased by 37 mt. Specifically, 

the 2023–2024 limit is increased from 

1,017 to 1,054 mt. During the 2023–2024 

biennial management period, the 1 year 

maximum of 720 mt remains unchanged 

for 2023. The annual catch limit for 

2024 will be announced at the 

beginning of that year. 

Notice of this inseason action that 

announces the biennial limit has also 

been posted on the NMFS website: 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/westcoast/sustainable-fisheries/pacificbluefin-tuna-commercial-harvest-status. 

Classification 

There is good cause to waive prior 

notice and an opportunity for public 

comment on this action under 5 U.S.C. 

553(b)(B), as notice and comment would 

be impracticable, unnecessary, and 

contrary to the public interest. Under 

§ 300.25(g)(2), NMFS determines the 

biennial catch limit for 2023–2024 by 

adjusting the initial catch limit of 1,017 

mt to account for any over-harvest or 

under-harvest from the 2021–2022 

biennial catch limit. The regulation 

provides NMFS with no discretion in 

setting the 2023–2024 biennial catch 

limit; therefore, public comment on this 

action is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest. 

Moreover, prior notice and an 

opportunity for public comment was 

provided when NMFS promulgated the 

regulation for determining the 2023– 

2024 biennial catch limit being 

implemented here. As previously noted, 

notification of the 2023–2024 biennial 

catch limit was also provided to the 

public through posting on the NMFS 

website. 

This action is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq. 

Dated: October 2, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22219 Filed 10–4–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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