Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 73243 

■ ii. In paragraph (a), in the definition 

of ‘‘Designated country’’ in paragraph 

(1), by adding, in alphabetical order, the 

country of ‘‘North Macedonia’’; 

■ b. In the Alternate I clause— 

■ i. By removing the clause date of 

‘‘(JAN 2023)’’ and adding ‘‘(OCT 2023)’’ 

in its place; 

■ ii. In paragraph (a), in the definition 

of ‘‘Designated country’’ in paragraph 

(1), by adding, in alphabetical order, the 

country of ‘‘North Macedonia’’; 

■ c. In the Alternate II clause— 

■ i. By removing the clause date of 

‘‘(JAN 2023)’’ and adding ‘‘(OCT 2023)’’ 

in its place; 

■ ii. In paragraph (a), in the definition 

of ‘‘Designated country’’ in paragraph 

(1), by adding, in alphabetical order, the 

country of ‘‘North Macedonia’’; and 

■ d. In the Alternate III clause— 

■ i. By removing the clause date of 

‘‘(JAN 2023)’’ and adding ‘‘(OCT 2023)’’ 

in its place; 

■ ii. In paragraph (a), in the definition 

of ‘‘Designated country’’ in paragraph 

(1), by adding, in alphabetical order, the 

country of ‘‘North Macedonia’’. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23434 Filed 10–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6001–FR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 231018–0249; RTID 0648– 

XD380] 

Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog 

Fisheries; 2024 Fishing Quotas for 

Atlantic Surfclams and Ocean 

Quahogs; and Suspension of Atlantic 

Surfclam Minimum Size Limit 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

quotas for the Atlantic surfclam and 

ocean quahog fisheries for 2024 will 

remain status quo. NMFS also suspends 

the minimum size limit for Atlantic 

surfclams for the 2024 fishing year. 

Regulations for these fisheries require 

NMFS to notify the public of the 

allowable harvest levels for Atlantic 

surfclams and ocean quahogs from the 

Exclusive Economic Zone even if the 

previous year’s quota specifications 

remain unchanged. The 2024 quotas 

were previously announced as projected 

values. This action confirms the final 

quotas are unchanged from those 

projections. This action would not 

result in harm to these fisheries. 

DATES: Effective January 1, 2024, 

through December 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

978–281–9341. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 

requires that NMFS issue notice in the 

Federal Register of the upcoming year’s 

quota, even if the quota remains 

unchanged from the previous year. At 

its June 2023 meeting, the Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

recommended no change to the quota 

specifications for Atlantic surfclams and 

ocean quahogs for the 2024 fishing year. 

We are announcing 2024 quota levels of 

3.4 million bushels (bu) (181 million L) 

for Atlantic surfclams, 5.36 million bu 

(285 million L) for ocean quahogs, and 

100,000 million bu (3.52 million L) for 

Maine ocean quahogs. These quotas 

were published as projected 2024 limits 

in the Federal Register on May 13, 2021 

(86 FR 26186). This rule establishes 

these quotas as unchanged from 2021 

and final. 

The regulations at 50 CFR 648.75(b)(3) 

allow the Regional Administrator to 

annually suspend the minimum size 

limit for Atlantic surfclams unless 

discard, catch, and biological sampling 

data indicate that 30 percent or more of 

the Atlantic surfclams have a shell 

length less than 4.75 inches (121 mm) 

and the overall reduced size is not 

attributable to harvest from beds where 

growth of the individual clams has been 

reduced because of density-dependent 

factors. The default minimum size limit 

is intended to prevent the fishery from 

harvesting too many small clams such 

that it could harm the overall 

population. The size limit is 

unnecessary if small clams are not a 

significant portion of overall catch. At 

its June 2023 meeting, the Council 

reviewed recent developments in the 

fishery and recommended the Regional 

Administrator once again suspend the 

minimum size limit for Atlantic 

surfclams for the 2024 fishing year. 

Commercial surfclam data for 2023 

indicated that 19.7 percent of the overall 

commercial landings were composed of 

surfclams that were less than the 4.75- 

inch (121-mm) default minimum size. 

Based on the information available, 

the Regional Administrator concurs 

with the Council’s recommendation and 

is suspending the minimum size limit 

for Atlantic surfclams for the upcoming 

fishing year (January 1 through 

December 31, 2024). 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has 

determined that this rule is consistent 

with the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean 

Quahog FMP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law. 

This action does not introduce any 

new reporting, recordkeeping, or other 

compliance requirements. This rule 

does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict 

with other Federal rules. 

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

is good cause to waive prior notice and 

an opportunity for public comment on 

this action, as notice and comment 

would be unnecessary and contrary to 

the public interest. This rule is routine 

and formulaic. The public was given the 

opportunity to comment on the 

proposed rule for the 2021–2026 

specifications (86 FR 9901, February 17, 

2021), including the projected 2024 

specifications, which remain 

unchanged. Delaying this action would 

prolong public uncertainty about the 

final quotas for the 2024 fishing year, 

and could delay issuance of 2024 

Individual Transferable Quota cage tags 

to quota shareholders. The public and 

industry participants expect this action 

because we previously alerted the 

public that we would conduct this 

review in interim years of the multi-year 

specifications and announce the final 

quotas before or as close as possible to 

the January 1 start of the fishing year. 

This rule could not be published earlier 

because of the time necessary to collect 

data and conduct the analysis to support 

suspending the minimum size limit for 

Atlantic surfclams. 

This rule is exempt from the 

requirements of Executive Order 12866 

because it contains no implementing 

regulations. 

Because prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment are not required for 

this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other 

law, the analytical requirements of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 

et seq., are inapplicable. Accordingly, 

no Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is 

required and none has been prepared. 

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

Dated: October 19, 2023. 

Jonathan M. Kurland, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23522 Filed 10–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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