71812 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 18, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

blistering due to the internal failure of 

the paint system. 

(6) Any soap, cleaner, or detergent 

used on vessel surfaces, such as a scum 

line of the hull, must be minimally 

toxic, phosphate-free, and 

biodegradable. 

(7) Additional standards applicable to 

discharges from hulls and associated 

niche areas when a vessel is operating 

in federally protected waters are 

contained in § 139.40(i). 

[FR Doc. 2023–22879 Filed 10–17–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

RIN 0648–BM46 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Amendment 56 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Announcement of availability of 

a fishery management plan amendment; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council) has 

submitted Amendment 56 to the Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef 

Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico 

(Gulf) for review, approval, and 

implementation by NMFS. If approved 

by the Secretary of Commerce, 

Amendment 56 would revise stock 

status determination criteria for Gulf 

gag, establish a rebuilding plan, and 

revise catch limits. Amendment 56 

would also revise the sector allocations 

of the annual catch limit, revise 

recreational accountability measures 

(AMs), and revise the recreational 

fishing season. The purpose of this 

action is to implement a rebuilding plan 

for gag and to implement revised 

management measures to end 

overfishing and rebuild the stock. 

DATES: Written comments on 

Amendment 56 must be received no 

later than December 18, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on Amendment 56 identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2023–0103’’ by either 

of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2023–0103’’ in the 

Search box. Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit all written comments 

to Dan Luers, NMFS Southeast Regional 

Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. 

Petersburg, FL 33701. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information, e.g., name, address, 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments—enter 

‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish 

to remain anonymous. 

An electronic copy of Amendment 56, 

which includes an environmental 

assessment, a fishery impact statement, 

a Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

analysis, and a regulatory impact 

review, may be obtained from the 

Southeast Regional Office website at 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

amendment-56-modifications-catchlimits-sector-allocation-andrecreational-fishing-seasons. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan 

Luers, NMFS Southeast Regional Office, 

telephone: 727–824–5305, email: 

daniel.luers@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and 

the Council manage the Gulf reef fish 

fishery, which includes gag, under the 

FMP in Federal waters of the Gulf. The 

Council prepared the FMP and NMFS 

implements the FMP through 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

Background 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

NMFS and regional fishery management 

councils to prevent overfishing and 

achieve, on a continuing basis, the 

optimum yield (OY) from federally 

managed fish stocks. These mandates 

are intended to ensure fishery resources 

are managed for the greatest overall 

benefit to the nation, particularly with 

respect to providing food production 

and recreational opportunities, and 

protecting marine ecosystems. 

Unless otherwise noted, all weights in 

this notice are in gutted weight. 

Gag in the Gulf exclusive economic 

zone (EEZ) are found primarily in the 

eastern Gulf. Juvenile gag are estuarine 

dependent and are often found in 

shallow seagrass beds. As gag mature, 

they move to deeper offshore waters to 

live and spawn. Gag is managed as a 

single stock with commercial and 

recreational catch limits. The allocation 

of the stock annual catch limit (ACL) 

between the commercial and 

recreational sectors established in 

Amendment 30B to the FMP is currently 

39 percent commercial and 61 percent 

recreational. 

Commercial fishing for gag is 

managed under the individual fishing 

quota (IFQ) program for groupers and 

tilefishes (GT–IFQ program), which 

began January 1, 2010, upon 

implementation of the final rule for 

Amendment 29 to the FMP (74 FR 

44732, August 31, 2009; 75 FR 9116, 

March 1, 2010). Under the GT–IFQ 

program, the commercial quota for gag 

is set 23 percent below the gag 

commercial ACL, and NMFS distributes 

allocation (in pounds) of gag on January 

1 each year to those who hold shares (in 

percent) of the gag total commercial 

quota. Both gag and red grouper, 

another grouper species managed under 

the GT–IFQ program, have a commercial 

multi-use provision that allows a 

portion of the gag quota to be harvested 

under the red grouper allocation, and 

vice versa. As explained further in 

Amendment 56, the multi-use provision 

is based on the difference between the 

respective red grouper and gag ACLs 

and quotas. However, if gag is under a 

rebuilding plan, as would occur under 

Amendment 56, the percentage of red 

grouper multi-use allocation is equal to 

zero. Commercial harvest of gag is also 

restricted by area closures and a 

minimum size limit. 

NMFS and the Council manage the 

recreational harvest of gag with an ACL 

an annual catch target (ACT) set 

approximately 10 percent below the 

ACL, in-season and post-season AMs, 

seasonal and area closures, a minimum 

size limit, and daily bag and possession 

limits. 

The most recent stock assessment for 

gag was completed in 2021 through 

Southeast Data, Assessment, and 

Review 72 (SEDAR 72), and concluded 

that the gag stock is overfished is 

undergoing overfishing as of 2019. 

Compared to the previous assessment 

for gag, SEDAR 72 used several 

improved data sources, including 

corrections for the potential 

misidentification between black grouper 

and gag, which are similar looking 

species, to better quantify estimates of 

commercial discards. SEDAR 72 also 

utilized updated recreational catch and 

effort data from the Marine Recreational 


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Information Program (MRIP) Access 

Point Angler Intercept Survey and 

Fishing Effort Survey (FES) through 

2019. MRIP–FES replaced the MRIP 

Coastal Household Telephone Survey 

(CHTS) in 2018. Prior to the 

implementation of MRIP in 2008, 

recreational landings estimates were 

generated using the Marine Recreational 

Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS). 

Because MRIP–FES is designed to more 

accurately measure fishing activity, total 

recreational fishing effort estimates 

generated from MRIP–FES are generally 

higher than both the MRFSS and MRIP– 

CHTS estimates. Prior to SEDAR 72, the 

most recent stock assessment for gag 

was SEDAR 33 Update (2016), which 

indicated that gag was not subject to 

overfishing and was not overfished. The 

SEDAR 33 Update included recreational 

catch and effort data generated by the 

MRIP–CHTS. 

SEDAR 72 also accounted for 

observations of red tide mortality 

directly within the stock assessment 

model. Gag is vulnerable to red tide 

events and was negatively affected by 

these disturbances in 2005, 2014, 2018, 

and projected for 2021. Modeling 

changes were also made in SEDAR 72 to 

improve size estimates of gag retained 

by commercial and for-hire (charter 

vessels and headboats) fishermen, and 

private anglers. 

The Council’s Scientific and 

Statistical Committee (SSC) reviewed 

the results of SEDAR 72 in November 

2021 and concluded that the assessment 

was consistent with the best scientific 

information available and suitable for 

informing fisheries management. On 

January 26, 2022, NMFS notified the 

Council that gag was overfished and 

undergoing overfishing. The MagnusonStevens Act requires that a rebuilding 

plan be developed and implemented 

within 2 years from when NMFS 

notifies the appropriate fishery 

management council that a stock is 

overfished. The Council developed 

Amendment 56 to comply with this 

mandate. 

At its January 2022 meeting, the 

Council requested that the NMFS 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center 

update the SEDAR 72 base model by 

replacing MRIP–FES calibrated landing 

estimates with private mode 

recreational landings estimates 

calibrated to the Florida Fish and 

Wildlife Commission’s State Reef Fish 

Survey (SRFS). Historically, SRFS 

estimates a slightly larger harvest of gag 

by private anglers and state charter 

vessels (in Florida) than MRIP–CHTS, 

but estimates a substantially smaller 

harvest of gag by private anglers and 

state charter vessels than MRIP–FES. 

This alternative model run of SEDAR 72 

(‘‘SRFS Run’’) also used MRIP–FES data 

for the federal permitted charter vessel 

and shore modes, and Southeast Region 

Headboat Survey (SRHS) data for 

federally permitted headboats. 

The results of the SRFS Run were 

presented to the Council’s SSC at its 

July 2022 meeting. The SSC found the 

SEDAR 72 SRFS Run to be consistent 

with the best scientific information 

available. The SSC determined that 

SRFS is a comprehensive survey for the 

gag private angling component of the 

recreational sector given that greater 

than 95 percent of private angling 

landings of gag are captured by the 

SRFS sampling frame and that the SRFS 

program’s collection protocol had been 

certified by NMFS as scientifically 

rigorous. NMFS worked in conjunction 

with the State of Florida to develop a 

calibration model to adjust historic 

effort estimates so that they could be 

compared to new estimates from SRFS. 

The calibration of SRFS to historical gag 

landings was reviewed and approved by 

peer-review through the NOAA Office of 

Science and Technology in May 2022. 

Information about the calibration and 

the SSC’s review of the SEDAR 72 SRFS 

Run can be found here: https://

gulfcouncil.org/meetings/scientific-andstatistical-meetings/july-2022/. The 

results of the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run were 

consistent with the results of the SEDAR 

72 base model in that both concluded 

that the gag stock is overfished and is 

undergoing overfishing. 

Because Amendment 56 would not 

likely be implemented until 2024, and 

the Council recognized that maintaining 

the 2023 catch limits for gag would 

continue to allow overfishing, the 

Council sent a letter to NMFS, dated 

July 18, 2022 (Appendix A in 

Amendment 56), requesting interim 

measures that would reduce the gag 

stock ACL from 3.12 million lb (1.415 

million kg) to 661,901 lb (300,233 kg). 

The Council determined, and NMFS 

agreed, that for this short-term reduction 

in harvest it was appropriate to 

maintain the current sector allocations 

of 39 percent commercial and 61 

percent recreational, and the availability 

of red grouper multi-use and gag multiuse under the IFQ program. In addition 

to the reduction in the catch limits, the 

Council requested that the recreational 

fishing season for 2023 begin on 

September 1 and close on November 10, 

rather than the existing open season of 

June 1 through December 31. NMFS 

implemented these interim measures 

through a temporary rule effective on 

May 3, 2023 (88 FR 27701, May 3, 

2023). The measures in the temporary 

rule are effective for 180 days (through 

October 30, 2023), and NMFS expects to 

extend them for up to 186 additional 

days while NMFS reviews public 

comments on this proposed rule and 

Amendment 56, and prepares any final 

regulations. Because the SSC’s review of 

the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run occurred after 

the Council’s request for interim 

measures for gag, the recreational catch 

limits in the temporary rule are 

consistent with MRIP–FES calibrated 

landings and are not directly 

comparable to the catch limits in 

Amendment 56. Based on the results of 

the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run and the SSC 

recommendations, the Council is 

recommending management changes for 

gag through Amendment 56. 

Actions Contained in Amendment 56 

If approved by the Secretary of 

Commerce, Amendment 56 would make 

several changes to the management of 

gag in the Gulf: 

• Revise the maximum sustainable 

yield (MSY) proxy, OY, and stock status 

determination criteria (SDC); 

• Establish a rebuilding plan for the 

stock, and revise the overfishing limit 

(OFL), acceptable biological catch 

(ABC), and stock ACL consistent with 

the rebuilding plan; 

• Revise the commercial and 

recreational allocation of the stock ACL 

and set new commercial and 

recreational sector ACLs, sector ACTs 

and commercial quota; 

• Modify the recreational AMs; and 

• Modify the recreational fishing 

season. 

Status Determination Criteria 

Based on the results of SEDAR 72, 

Amendment 56 would revise the SDC, 

which can be used to determine 

whether overfishing is occurring or the 

stock is overfished. The proxy for 

maximum sustainable yield (MSY) 

would be defined as the yield when 

fishing at the fishing mortality rate (F) 

associated with a 40 percent spawning 

potential ratio (SPR), where SPR is the 

ratio of the spawning stock biomass to 

its unfished state. The maximum fishing 

mortality threshold (MFMT) would be 

equal to F40%SPR. The minimum stock 

size threshold (MSST) would be defined 

as 50 percent of the biomass at the new 

MSY proxy. The OY would be 

conditional on the rebuilding plan, such 

that if the stock is under a rebuilding 

plan, OY would be equal to the stock 

ACL; and if the stock is not under a 

rebuilding plan, OY would be equal to 

90 percent of MSY or its proxy. 

Currently, MSY is defined in the FMP 

as F assuming the maximum yield per 

recruit (FMAX), and the MFMT is FMAX. 

The MSST is defined as 50 percent of 


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the biomass at FMAX. The OY is defined 

as 75 percent of the yield at FMAX. The 

proposed change in SDC represents a 

more conservative approach to 

management that would rebuild the gag 

stock to a more robust size, which 

should be more resilient to episodic 

mortality from red tide, harmful algal 

blooms, and sustainable levels of fishing 

mortality. 

Stock Rebuilding Plan Timeline, Sector 

Allocations, and Catch Limits 

Amendment 56 would set the 

rebuilding timeline for gag at 18 years 

based on the amount of time the stock 

is expected to take to rebuild if fished 

at 75 percent of the MSY proxy (yield 

at F40%SPR). The OFLs and ABCs for 

2024 through 2028 are based on the 

yield when fishing at F40%SPR and the 

yield when fishing at 75 percent of 

F40%SPR, respectively. 

Amendment 56 evaluated two other 

rebuilding times: 11 years, which is the 

minimum time to rebuild in the absence 

of fishing mortality; and 22 years, which 

is twice the minimum time. In addition, 

the Council initially considered an 

alternative rebuilding time of 19 years, 

which is based on the minimum 

rebuilding time plus one generation 

time (8 years for gag). Because this 

option resulted in a rebuilding time 

similar to fishing at 75 percent of the 

MSY proxy, the Council moved this 

alternative Considered but Rejected 

(Appendix C in Amendment 56). The 

Council also discussed whether to 

consider in more detail a rebuilding 

time between 11 years and 18 years. The 

Council decided not to add an 

additional alternative because a slightly 

shorter rebuilding time would provide 

minimal benefits to the stock but 

increase the negative impacts to fishing 

communities. 

In addition, Amendment 56 would 

revise sector allocations of the stock 

ACL from 39 percent commercial and 61 

percent recreational to 35 percent 

commercial and 65 percent recreational, 

using recreational data from the SEDAR 

72 SRFS Run. The Council considered 

two alternatives to allocate the stock 

ACL to the commercial and recreational 

sectors: (1) maintain the current 

allocation of 39 percent commercial and 

61 percent recreational, which was 

based on MRFSS data from 1986 

through 2005, and (2) update historical 

recreational landings using the SEDAR 

72 SRFS Run calibrated data from the 

same 1986 through 2005 period, which 

would result in an allocation of the 

stock ACL of 35 percent to the 

commercial sector and 65 percent to the 

recreational sector. During the 

development of these two allocation 

alternatives, the Council also reviewed 

allocation options based on five 

additional historical reference periods 

from 1986 to 2019. These options 

differed by less than 1 percent up to less 

than 4 percent. Because the options 

were so similar, the Council decided to 

move forward with detailed analysis of 

only the two alternatives described 

above. The Council determined that the 

second option would best represent the 

historic landings for each sector while 

accounting for the change from MRFSS 

to SRFS Run data in the recreational 

sector. 

The commercial-recreational sector 

allocation impacts the catch level 

projections produced by SEDAR 72. As 

more of the stock ACL is allocated to the 

recreational sector, the proportion of 

recreational discards and associated 

mortality increases. Recreational discard 

mortality rates are assumed to be less 

than commercial discard mortality rates 

but the total amount of recreational 

discards is considerably greater than 

commercial discards. Generally, a gag 

caught and released by a recreational 

fisherman has a greater likelihood of 

survival than by a commercial 

fisherman because of how and where 

they fish. However, because of the much 

higher numbers of gag that are released 

by the recreational sector compared to 

the commercial sector, the total number 

of discarded fish that die from 

recreational fishing exceeds dead 

discards from commercial fishing. This 

results in additional mortality for the 

stock and a lower projected annual 

yield, which means a lower OFL, ABC, 

and stock ACL. However, the higher 

number of dead discards is not due to 

any change in how the recreational 

sector prosecutes the fishery but occurs 

because the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run data 

estimates greater fishing effort, and 

consequently a greater number of fish 

being caught, which includes discards 

and the associated mortality of 

discarded fish. 

Consistent with the Councils’ 

recommended rebuilding time and 

commercial-recreational allocation, 

Amendment 56 would revise the OFL 

and ABC. The Council also 

recommended the stock ACL be set 

equal to the ABC. The current OFL and 

ABC, and the OFLs and ABCs for 2024 

through 2028, which increase over the 

time series as projected for the 

rebuilding plan, are shown in Table 1. 

However, the current OLF and ABC are 

not directly comparable to the proposed 

OFLs and ABCs because they are based, 

in part, on recreational landings 

estimates produced by the different 

surveys discussed above. Note that in 

Amendment 56, all of the catch levels 

were rounded down to the nearest 

thousand pounds. Values in 2028 would 

continue for subsequent fishing years 

unless modified through another action. 

TABLE 1—CURRENT AND PROPOSED OFLS AND ABCS FOR GAG

Year OFL in pounds 

(kg) 

ABC in pounds 

(kg) 

2023 ..................................................................................................................................... 4,180,000 (1,896,016) 3,120,000 (1,415,208) 

2024 ..................................................................................................................................... 591,000 (268,073) 444,000 (201,395) 

2025 ..................................................................................................................................... 805,000 (365,142) 615,000 (278,959) 

2026 ..................................................................................................................................... 991,000 (449,510) 769,000 (348,813) 

2027 ..................................................................................................................................... 1,200,000 (544,311) 943,000 (427,738) 

2028 ..................................................................................................................................... 1,454,000 (659,523) 1,156,000 (524,353) 

Note: Values are displayed in gutted weight. Kg is kilograms. 

Prior to the implementation of the 

2023 temporary rule, the stock ACL was 

3.120 million lb (1.415 million kg) and 

was allocated 39 percent to the 

commercial sector and 61 percent to the 

recreational sector. The resulting 

commercial ACL and quota were 1.217 

million lb (0.552 million kg) and 0.939 

million lb (0.426 million kg) 

respectively, and the recreational ACL 

and ACT were 1.903 million lb (0.863 

million kg) and 1.708 million lb (0.775 

million kg) respectively. The 

commercial ACT is not codified. These 

catch limits are based on the results of 

the 2016 SEDAR 33 Update (2016), 

which included recreational landings 

estimates generated from MRIP–CHTS. 


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The 2023 temporary rule reduced these 

catch limits consistent with the 

Council’s request. Therefore, the current 

commercial ACL and commercial quota 

as implemented by the 2023 temporary 

rule are 258,000 lb (117,027 kg) and 

199,000 lb (90,265 kg), respectively, and 

the recreational ACL and ACT are 

403,759 lb (183,142 kg) and 362,374 lb 

(164,370 kg), respectively. These catch 

limits are based on the results of the 

initial SEDAR 72 base model run, which 

included recreational landings estimates 

generated using MRIP–FES. 

Amendment 56 would set the stock 

ACL for gag at 444,000 lb (201,395 kg) 

in 2024, and would allocate 

approximately 35 percent to the 

commercial sector and approximately 

65 percent to the recreational sector. 

This results in a 155,000-lb (70,307-kg) 

commercial ACL, and a 288,000-lb 

(130,635-kg) recreational ACL. These 

catch limits are based on the results of 

the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run, which 

included recreational landings estimates 

generated using SRFS. Amendment 56 

would set catch levels from 2024 

through 2028. However, the 2028 catch 

levels would continue after 2028 until 

modified by subsequent action. As 

noted above, all of the catch levels from 

were rounded down to the nearest 

thousand pounds. Therefore, the sum of 

the sector ACLs does not equal the stock 

ACL. In addition, because of the 

different recreational landings estimates 

used to determine the catch limits 

described above, those catch limits are 

not directly comparable. However, the 

proposed catch limits are a significant 

reduction compared to the catch limits 

that would go back into effect after the 

2023 temporary rule expires. 

Based on the Council’s 

recommendation, Amendment 56 would 

modify the commercial quota such that 

it would be set equal to the ACT, and 

would be approximately 5 percent 

below the commercial ACL. The current 

buffer between the commercial ACL and 

commercial quota is 23 percent. The 

Council recommended reducing this 

buffer between the commercial ACL and 

ACT in Amendment 56 because there 

have been considerable improvements 

in the estimation of commercial 

landings and discards of gag since the 

buffer was put in place through 

Amendment 32 to the FMP. Further, the 

fraction of gag discarded compared to 

the total number of gag caught has 

remained low. NMFS does not expect 

the actions in Amendment 56 to 

significantly increase commercial 

discards of gag. Therefore, the 

commercial quota would be 

approximately 95 percent of the 

commercial ACL. 

For the recreational sector, the current 

buffer between the ACL and ACT is 

approximately 10 percent. The Council 

elected to choose a more conservative 

ACT than if they had applied the ACL 

and ACT control rule, which would 

have resulted in the same 10 percent 

buffer between the recreational ACL and 

ACT. Instead, the Council decided to 

double that buffer to increase the 

probability of rebuilding gag by 

accounting for uncertainty in managing 

recreational harvest and further 

reducing fishing mortality and discards 

that result from directed harvest. Thus, 

Amendment 56 would establish a 

recreational ACT that is approximately 

20 percent below the recreational ACL. 

Table 2 shows the proposed catch levels 

recommended for gag in Amendment 

56. 

TABLE 2—PROPOSED STOCK ACL AND SECTOR CATCH LEVELS

Year Stock ACL lb 

(kg) 

Com ACL lb 

(kg) 

Rec ACL lb 

(kg) 

Com ACT & 

Quota lb 

(kg) 

Rec ACT lb 

(kg) 

2024 ............................... 444,000 (201,395) 155,000 (70,307) 288,000 (130,635) 147,000 (66,678) 230,000 (104,326) 

2025 ............................... 615,000 (278,959) 215,000 (97,522) 399,000 (180,983) 204,000 (92,533) 319,000 (144,696) 

2026 ............................... 769,000 (348,813) 269,000 (122,016) 499,000 (226,343) 255,000 (115,666) 399,000 (180,983) 

2027 ............................... 943,000 (427,738) 330,000 (149,685) 613,000 (278,052) 313,000 (141,974) 490,000 (222,260) 

2028 ............................... 1,156,000 (524,353) 404,000 (183,251) 751,000 (340,648) 383,000 (173,726) 600,000 (272,155) 

Note: Values are displayed in gutted weight. 

Abbreviations used in this table: Com means commercial and Rec means recreational. Lb is pounds and kg is kilograms. 

Recreational Accountability Measures 

For the recreational sector, the current 

AMs require NMFS to prohibit harvest 

of gag for the rest of the fishing year 

when the recreational ACL is projected 

to be met. The AMs also state that if the 

recreational ACL for gag is exceeded in 

a fishing year, then in the following 

fishing year, NMFS will maintain the 

prior year’s ACT at the same level, 

unless the best scientific information 

available determines that is 

unnecessary, and the fishing season 

duration will be set based on the 

recreational ACT. In addition to the 

previous measures, if gag is overfished 

and the recreational ACL is exceeded in 

a fishing year, NMFS will reduce the 

ACL and ACT in the following fishing 

year by the amount of the ACL overage, 

unless the best scientific information 

available determines that is 

unnecessary. Amendment 56 would 

change the AMs to require that NMFS 

prohibit harvest when the recreational 

ACT is projected to be met regardless of 

whether there was an overage of the 

ACL in the prior year. NMFS and the 

Council expect this change, in 

combination with the increased buffer 

between the recreational ACL and ACT, 

to decrease the likelihood of 

recreational harvest exceeding the 

recreational ACL. The larger buffer 

between the recreational ACL and ACT 

would also reduce the level of discards 

associated with directed harvest, 

increasing the probability of meeting the 

18 years rebuilding time. 

Amendment 56 would also remove 

the provision that requires the previous 

year’s ACT to be maintained in the year 

following an overage of the ACL. 

Because the stock is overfished and 

NMFS is required to reduce the ACL 

and ACT by any overage, an additional 

adjustment that retains the lower ACT is 

unnecessary. 

Recreational Fishing Season 

Before NMFS implemented the 

temporary recreational fishing season 

for gag in 2023, the season for Gulf gag 

began on June 1 and continued through 

December 31. During the effective 

period of the temporary rule, the 

recreational fishing season opened on 

September 1 and was to close on 

November 10, 2023, unless NMFS 

projected the recreational ACL would be 

harvested prior to that date. On October 

4, 2023, NMFS published a temporary 

rule closing recreational harvest 

effective on October 19, 2023 (88 FR 

68495). 

Amendment 56 would modify the 

recreational fishing season for gag so the 

season would begin each year on 

September 1. Unlike the season duration 

implemented by the temporary rule, 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
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Amendment 56 would not establish a 

predetermined season closure date. 

Consistent with the revised AMs, 

Amendment 56 would require NMFS to 

close the gag recreational season when 

landings are projected to reach the 

recreational ACT. NMFS would use the 

best data available to project the 

duration of the proposed recreational 

season in 2024 and in following years. 

NMFS expects to have better estimates 

of recreational fishing effort and catch of 

gag for a season beginning September 1 

after data from 2023 are finalized. This 

should reduce the uncertainty in 

projecting an appropriate closure date 

for the 2024 recreational fishing season. 

Once the ACT for gag is projected to be 

met and is closed, recreational fishing 

for gag would not resume before the end 

of the year because data would not yet 

be available to determine whether 

landings did reach the ACT. 

Proposed Rule for Amendment 56 

NMFS has drafted a proposed rule to 

implement Amendment 56. In 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, NMFS is evaluating the proposed 

rule to determine whether it is 

consistent with the FMP, the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable laws. 

If that determination is affirmative, 

NMFS will publish the proposed rule in 

the Federal Register for public review 

and comment. 

Consideration of Public Comments 

The Council has submitted 

Amendment 56 for Secretarial review. 

Comments on Amendment 56 must be 

received by December 18, 2023. 

Comments received during the 

respective comment periods, whether 

specifically directed to Amendment 56 

or the proposed rule will be considered 

by NMFS in the decision to approve, 

disapprove, or partially approve 

Amendment 56. All comments received 

by NMFS on the amendment or the 

proposed rule during their respective 

comment periods will be addressed in 

any final rule. 

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

Dated: October 13, 2023. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22959 Filed 10–17–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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