Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Proposed Rules 80263 

C. Seeking Public Comment on 

Additional Topics 

In addition to seeking public 

comment on the substance of the draft 

DFARS revisions, DoD is also seeking 

information regarding any 

corresponding change in the burden, 

including associated costs or savings, 

resulting from contractors and 

subcontractors complying with the draft 

revised DFARS implementation. More 

specifically, DoD is seeking information 

regarding any anticipated increase or 

decrease in such burden and costs 

relative to the burden and costs 

associated with complying with the 

current DFARS implementing language. 

List of Subjects in 48 CFR Parts 227 and 

252 

Government procurement. 

Jennifer D. Johnson, 

Editor/Publisher, Defense Acquisition 

Regulations System. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25406 Filed 11–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6001–FR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 231113–0266] 

RIN 0648–BM59 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; 2024 and Projected 2025 

Specifications for the Summer 

Flounder and Scup Fisheries, and 2024 

Specifications for the Black Sea Bass 

Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 2024 

specifications for the summer flounder, 

scup, and black sea fisheries, and 

projected 2025 specifications for 

summer flounder and scup. The 

implementing regulations for the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Fishery Management Plan require 

us to publish specifications for the 

upcoming fishing year for each of these 

species and to provide an opportunity 

for public comment. The proposed 

specifications are intended to establish 

allowable harvest levels for these 

species that will prevent overfishing, 

consistent with the most recent 

scientific information. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 2, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2023–0131, by the following 

method: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2023–0131 in the Search 

box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

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 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, etc.), 

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). 

A Supplemental Information Report 

(SIR) was prepared for the 2024 black 

sea bass specifications. An 

Environmental Assessment (EA) was 

prepared for the 2024 and projected 

2025 summer flounder and scup 

specifications. Copies of the SIR and EA 

are available on request from Dr. 

Christopher M. Moore, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Suite 201, 800 

North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 

The SIR and EA are also accessible via 

the internet at https://www.mafmc.org/ 

supporting-documents. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9116, or emily.keiley@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

General Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council and the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission 

cooperatively manage the summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass 

fisheries. The Summer Flounder, Scup, 

and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) outlines the Council’s 

process for establishing specifications. 

The FMP requires NMFS to set an 

acceptable biological catch (ABC), 

annual catch limit (ACL), annual catch 

targets (ACT), commercial quotas, 

recreational harvest limits (RHL), and 

other management measures, for 1 to 3 

years at a time. This action proposes 

2024 ABCs, as well as the recreational 

and commercial ACLs, ACTs, 

commercial quotas, and RHLs for all 

three species, consistent with the 

recommendations made by the 

Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup, 

and Black Sea Bass Board and Council 

at their joint August 2023 meeting. This 

action also proposes projected 2025 

ABCs and corresponding specifications 

for summer flounder and scup. 

Proposed 2024 and Projected 2025 

Specifications 

Summer Flounder Specifications 

The Council and Board-recommended 

2024 and projected 2025 summer 

flounder catch and landings limits are 

shown in table 1. The recommendations 

are based on the averaged 2024–2025 

ABCs recommended by the Council’s 

Science and Statistical Committee 

(SSC). This approach allows for 

constant catch and landings limits 

across both years. The ABCs are based 

on the overfishing limit (OFL) and the 

Council’s risk policy, resulting in a 32- 

to 38-percent probability of overfishing. 

For summer flounder, this results in a 

42-percent decrease in the 

recommended 2024 and 2025 ABC 

relative to the 2023 ABC. The proposed 

2024–2025 commercial quota represents 

a 42-percent decrease compared to the 

2023 quota, and an approximately 30- 

percent reduction compared to 2022 

reported landings. The proposed 2024– 

2025 RHL is a 40-percent decrease 

compared to the 2023 RHL. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF 2024 AND PROJECTED 2025 SUMMER FLOUNDER FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS

Specifications Million lb Metric ton 

OFL ........................................................................................................................................................................ 22.98 (2024) 

24.97 (2025) 

10,422 (2024) 

11,325 (2025) 

ABC ........................................................................................................................................................................ 19.32 8,761 

Commercial ACL = ACT ........................................................................................................................................ 10.62 4,819 


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TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF 2024 AND PROJECTED 2025 SUMMER FLOUNDER FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS—Continued 

Specifications Million lb Metric ton 

Commercial Quota ................................................................................................................................................. 8.79 3,987 

Recreational ACL = ACT ....................................................................................................................................... 8.69 3,942 

Recreational Harvest Limit .................................................................................................................................... 6.35 2,879 

The initial 2024 state-by-state summer 

flounder quotas are provided in table 2. 

As required in Amendment 21 (85 FR 

80661), if the commercial quota in any 

year is higher than 9.55 million lb 

(4,332 mt), the first 9.55 million lb 

(4,322 mt) is distributed according to 

the baseline formula, and any additional 

quota, beyond this threshold, will be 

distributed in equal shares to all states 

except Maine, Delaware, and New 

Hampshire, which would split 1 percent 

of the additional quota. Because this 

year’s quota is below the threshold, the 

state-by-state allocations below are 

based on the baseline allocations (the 

baseline allocations were established 

through Amendment 2 and modified by 

Amendment 4). Through the final rule 

for this action, prior to the start of the 

fishing year, we will announce any 

adjustments necessary to address any 

long-standing overages or potential 2023 

overages to provide the states with their 

final quotas. 

TABLE 2—INITIAL 2024 SUMMER FLOUNDER STATE-BY-STATE QUOTAS

State Percent share 

Initial 2024 

quotas * 

(lb) 

Initial 2024 

quotas * 

(mt) 

ME .............................................................................................................................................. 0.04756 4,180 1.90 

NH .............................................................................................................................................. 0.00046 40 0.02 

MA .............................................................................................................................................. 6.82046 599,507 271.93 

RI ............................................................................................................................................... 15.68298 1,378,507 625.28 

CT .............................................................................................................................................. 2.25708 198,394 89.99 

NY .............................................................................................................................................. 7.64699 672,157 304.89 

NJ ............................................................................................................................................... 16.72499 1,470,098 666.83 

DE .............................................................................................................................................. 0.01779 1,564 0.71 

MD ............................................................................................................................................. 2.03910 179,233 81.30 

VA .............................................................................................................................................. 21.31676 1,873,707 849.90 

NC .............................................................................................................................................. 27.44584 2,412,443 1,094.27 

Total .................................................................................................................................... 100 8,789,830 3,987.02 

* Initial quotas do not account for any previous overages. 

This action makes no changes to the 

current commercial management 

measures, including the minimum fish 

size (14-inch (36-centimeters (cm)) total 

length), gear requirements, and 

possession limits. Changes to 2024 

recreational management measures (bag 

limits, size limits, and seasons) are not 

considered in this action, but will be 

considered by the Board and Council 

later this year. 

Black Sea Bass Specifications 

No updated stock assessment 

information is available for black sea 

bass this year; therefore, the SSC 

decided to set the 2024 ABC equal to the 

2023 ABC. The Council and Board made 

no changes to the ACLs or ACTs 

compared to 2023. While the ACLs and 

ACTs are the same as 2023, updated 

dead-discard projections for each sector 

led to a change in the commercial quota 

and RHL. The Council and Board 

approved a 2024 commercial quota of 6 

million pound (lb) (2,721 mt), which is 

a 25-percent increase from 2023, and a 

2024 RHL of 6.27 million lb (2,845 mt), 

which is a 5-percent decrease from 

2023. An updated management track 

stock assessment is anticipated to be 

available in 2024 for setting future 

specifications. The Council and Boardrecommended 2024 black sea bass catch 

and landings limits are shown in table 

3. 

TABLE 3—2024 BLACK SEA BASS CATCH AND LANDINGS LIMITS

Specifications 

2024 

Million lb Metric ton 

OFL ........................................................................................................................................................................ 17.01 7,716 

ABC ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16.66 7,557 

Expected Commercial Discards ............................................................................................................................ 1.50 680 

Expected Recreational Discards ........................................................................................................................... 2.89 1,311 

Commercial ACL = ACT ........................................................................................................................................ 7.50 3,401 

Commercial Quota ................................................................................................................................................. 6.00 2,721 

Recreational ACL = ACT ....................................................................................................................................... 9.16 4,156 

RHL ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6.27 2,845 


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This action proposes no changes to 

the 2024 commercial management 

measures for black sea bass, including 

the commercial minimum fish size (11- 

inch (27.94-cm) total length) and gear 

requirements. Changes to 2024 

recreational management measures (bag 

limits, size limits, and seasons) are not 

considered in this action, but will be 

considered by the Board and Council 

later this year. 

On August 2, 2023, we partially 

approved Amendment 23 to the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass FMP. The approved measures 

change the Federal coastwide 

commercial in-season accountability 

measure such that the commercial 

fishery will now close when the quota 

plus an additional buffer of up to 5 

percent is projected to be landed. The 

intent of this buffer is to minimize 

negative economic impacts when the 

coastwide quota is reached before all 

states have fully harvested their 

allocations due to overages in 

individual states. 

Each year, through the specification 

process, the Council and Board will 

recommend a buffer from 0 to 5 percent. 

For 2024, the Council and Board have 

recommended a 5-percent commercial 

in-season closure buffer, and this action 

proposes this buffer. Given recent 

patterns in the fishery, an in-season 

closure is not expected for 2024; 

however, the Council and Board agreed 

that, in the unlikely event it is needed, 

a 5-percent buffer could have 

socioeconomic benefits with little risk 

to stock status. 

We are in the process of publishing a 

final rule to implement the approved 

buffer provision. If the Amendment 23 

final rule is published and effective 

prior to the final rule implementing 

these specifications, we intend to 

implement the Council and Board’s 

proposed 5-percent commercial inseason closure buffer in the final rule for 

this specifications action. If the 

Amendment 23 final rule is not 

published prior to the finalization of 

these specifications, we will consider 

implementing the buffer for 2024 

through that action. 

Scup Specifications 

The Council and Board-recommended 

2024–2025 scup catch and landings 

limits are shown in table 4. The SSC 

recommended 2024–2025 ABCs are 

based on the OFL and the Council’s risk 

policy, resulting in a 49-percent 

probability of overfishing. To ensure 

that the probability of overfishing 

remained below 50 percent in each year, 

the SSC recommended annually varying 

ABCs for 2024 and 2025. This results in 

a proposed 2024 ABC that is 49 percent 

higher than the 2023 ABC; and a 

proposed 2025 ABC that is 35 percent 

higher than the 2023 ABC. The 

proposed scup commercial quota for 

2024 is 52 percent higher than the 2023 

commercial quota. The proposed 2024 

RHL is 43 percent higher than the 2023 

RHL. 

TABLE 4—2024–2025 SCUP CATCH AND LANDING LIMITS

Specifications 

2024 2025 

Million lb Metric ton Million lb Metric ton 

OFL .................................................................................................................. 44.74 20,295 40.55 18,393 

ABC .................................................................................................................. 44.13 20,015 39.99 18,139 

Expected Commercial Discards ....................................................................... 7.39 3,350 7.08 3,211 

Expected Recreational Discards ...................................................................... 2.17 984 2.08 943 

Commercial ACL = ACT .................................................................................. 28.68 13,010 25.99 11,790

Commercial Quota ........................................................................................... 21.30 9,660 18.91 8,579 

Recreational ACL = ACT ................................................................................. 15.44 7,005 14.00 6,349 

RHL .................................................................................................................. 13.27 6,021 11.92 5,406 

The commercial scup quota is divided 

into three commercial fishery quota 

periods, as outlined in table 5. 

TABLE 5—COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA ALLOCATIONS FOR 2024 BY QUOTA PERIOD

Quota period Percent share lb mt 

Winter I ...................................................................................................................................... 45.11 9,608,430 4,358 

Summer ..................................................................................................................................... 38.95 8,296,350 3,763 

Winter II ..................................................................................................................................... 15.94 3,395,220 1,540 

Total .................................................................................................................................... 100.0 21,300,000 9,661 

The current quota period possession 

limits are not changed by this action 

and are outlined in table 6. 

TABLE 6—COMMERCIAL SCUP POSSESSION LIMITS BY QUOTA PERIOD

Quota period Percent share 

Federal possession limits 

(per trip) 

lb kg 

Winter I ...................................................................................................................................... 45.11 50,000 22,680 

Summer ..................................................................................................................................... 38.95 N/A N/A 


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80266 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

TABLE 6—COMMERCIAL SCUP POSSESSION LIMITS BY QUOTA PERIOD—Continued 

Quota period Percent share 

Federal possession limits 

(per trip) 

lb kg 

Winter II ..................................................................................................................................... 15.94 12,000 5,443 

Total .................................................................................................................................... 100.0 N/A N/A 

The Winter I scup commercial 

possession limit will drop to 1,000 lb 

(454 kg) when 80 percent of that 

period’s allocation is landed. If the 

Winter I quota is not fully harvested, the 

remaining quota is transferred to Winter 

II. The Winter II possession limit may be 

adjusted (in association with a transfer 

of unused Winter I quota to the Winter 

II period) via notice in the Federal 

Register. The regulations specify that 

the Winter II possession limit increases 

consistent with the increase in the 

quota, as described in table 7. 

TABLE 7—POTENTIAL INCREASE IN WINTER II POSSESSION LIMITS BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF UNUSED SCUP ROLLED

OVER FROM WINTER I TO WINTER II 

Initial Winter II possession 

limit 

Rollover from Winter I to Winter II Increase in initial Winter II 

possession limit 

Final Winter II possession limit after rollover 

from Winter I to Winter II 

lb kg lb kg lb kg lb kg 

12,000 5,443 0–499,999 0–226,796 0 0 12,000 5,443 

12,000 5,443 500,000–999,999 226,796–453,592 1,500 680 13,500 6,123 

12,000 5,443 1,000,000–1,499,999 453,592–680,388 3,000 1,361 15,000 6,804 

12,000 5,443 1,500,000–1,999,999 680,389–907,184 4,500 2,041 16,500 7,484 

12,000 5,443 * 2,000,000–2,500,000 907,185–1,133,981 6,000 2,722 18,000 8,165 

* This process of increasing the possession limit in 1,500 lb (680 kg) increments would continue past 2,500,000 lb (1,122,981 kg), but we end 

here for the purpose of this example. 

This action proposes no changes to 

the 2024 commercial management 

measures for scup, including the 

minimum fish size (9-inch (22.9-cm) 

total length), gear requirements, and 

quota period possession limits. 

This action proposes a potential 

change to the recreational scup 

management measures. Currently, there 

is a Federal recreational scup closure 

from January 1–April 30. The Board and 

Council previously asked if we would 

reconsider this closure. Due to the 

timing of the closure and the 

recreational regulation-setting process, 

we are proposing the removal of the 

closure through this action. In the fall, 

additional recreational data and model 

results will be available, allowing us to 

determine if it is appropriate to remove 

the closure. We will reconsider the 

Federal closure if the analyses available 

in December demonstrate that the 

closure is not needed to constrain scup 

catch to the target level, or if additional 

Federal or state measures are proposed 

that eliminate the need for the closure 

If there are insufficient data, or, if we 

determine that the closure remains 

necessary to constrain scup harvest to 

the required levels, we will not remove 

the closure. We will announce our final 

decision on the closure in the final rule 

for this action. Additional recreational 

management measure changes 

(including additional adjustments to the 

open season, possession limits, and 

minimum fish size) will be considered 

at the joint Council and Commission 

meeting in December 2023. 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass FMP, other provisions of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

NMFS finds that a 15-day comment 

period for this action provides a 

reasonable opportunity for public 

participation in this action pursuant to 

Administrative Procedure Act section 

553(c) (5 U.S.C. 553(c)), while also 

ensuring that the final specifications are 

in place for the start of the fishing year 

on January 1, 2024 as required by court 

order (North Carolina Fisheries 

Association v. Daley). A longer 

comment period and subsequent 

potential delay in implementation past 

the start of the 2023 fishing year would 

be contrary to the public interest, as it 

could create confusion both in the 

industry around current quotas, and 

with state agencies as they prepare their 

annual management measures. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council conducted an 

evaluation of the potential 

socioeconomic impacts of the proposed 

measures in conjunction with an EA 

and a SIR. The proposed action would 

set the 2024 catch and landings limits 

for summer flounder, scup, and black 

sea bass based on the recommendations 

of the SSC, the Council, and Board. This 

action also proposes projected 2025 

summer flounder and scup 

specifications; however, a future action 

would be needed to implement these 

specifications or alternative measures. 

Vessel ownership data were used to 

identify all individuals who own fishing 

vessels. Vessels were then grouped 

according to common owners. The 

resulting groupings were then treated as 

entities, or affiliates, for purposes of 

identifying small and large businesses 

that may be affected by this action. 

Affiliates were identified as primarily 

commercial fishing affiliates if the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Proposed Rules 80267 

majority of their revenues in 2022 came 

from commercial fishing. Some of these 

affiliates may have also held party/ 

charter permits. Affiliates were 

identified as primarily for-hire fishing 

affiliates if the majority of their 

revenues in 2022 came from for-hire 

fishing. Some of these affiliates may 

have also held commercial permits. 

Affiliates were identified as small or 

large businesses based on their average 

revenues during 2018–2022. 

A total of 729 primarily commercial 

affiliates were identified as potentially 

impacted by this action based on the 

definitions above. A total of 723 (99 

percent) of these commercial affiliates 

were classified as small businesses and 

6 (1 percent) were classified as large 

businesses. 

A total of 482 primarily for-hire 

affiliates were identified as potentially 

impacted by this action based on the 

definitions above. All 482 of these forhire affiliates were categorized as small 

businesses. 

Expected Impacts on Commercial 

Entities 

The six potentially impacted 

primarily commercial large business 

affiliates had average total annual 

revenues of $20.6 million, and $403,440 

on average in annual revenues from 

summer flounder, scup, and/or black 

sea bass during 2020–2022. On average, 

summer flounder, scup, and/or black 

sea bass accounted for about 2 percent 

of total annual revenues for these six 

large businesses. 

The 723 potentially impacted 

primarily commercial small business 

affiliates had average total annual 

revenues of $457,771, and $53,567 on 

average in annual revenues from 

commercial landings of summer 

flounder, scup, and/or black sea bass 

during 2020–2022. Summer flounder, 

scup, and/or black sea bass accounted 

for an average of 12 percent of the total 

revenues for these 723 small businesses. 

The proposed 2024–2025 summer 

flounder commercial quotas are 

expected to result in moderate negative 

socioeconomic impacts for commercial 

fishery participants because they would 

require a decrease in commercial 

landings and therefore would be 

expected to result in a decrease in 

revenues. Some of these negative 

impacts are expected to be offset if a 

decrease in landings results in an 

increase in price. The analysis described 

in the EA [See ADDRESSES] predicted an 

expected price of $3.40 per pound 

under the proposed 2024–2025 quota 

based on previous landings and price 

information, resulting in a total 

expected value of the harvest of $29.87 

million. Compared to the 2022 total 

value of $30.41 million, the expected 

total reduction in revenue is 1.74 

percent, spread among all vessels in the 

fleet. Impacts may vary by state and by 

fishery participant, particularly if 

potential price increases do not occur to 

the same degree in all areas. 

The proposed 2024–2025 scup 

commercial quotas are expected to 

result in similar levels of commercial 

scup landings and revenues as the past 

several years. Commercial scup landings 

appear to be influenced more by market 

facts than the annual commercial quota. 

The preferred 2024–2025 scup quotas 

represent an increase from 2022–2023; 

however, it is unlikely that commercial 

effort or landings would increase given 

recent trends. In general, the preferred 

2024–2025 scup quotas are expected to 

have moderate positive impacts for both 

the small and large businesses identified 

above given they are expected to result 

in revenues similar to those over the 

past several years. 

The proposed 2024 commercial quota 

is slightly higher than recent black sea 

bass landings. By allowing for slightly 

higher levels of landings, and therefore 

revenues, compared to recent years, the 

proposed 2024 quota is expected to have 

moderate positive impacts for small and 

large commercial fishing businesses. 

Given recent patterns in the black sea 

bass fishery, it is not expected that the 

proposed 5-percent in-season closure 

buffer will be needed for black sea bass 

in 2024. In the unlikely event that it is 

needed, it could allow landings to 

exceed the quota by up to 5 percent. 

This is not expected to result in notably 

different impacts than the impacts of the 

quota. 

Expected Impacts on Recreational 

Entities 

As previously stated, 482 for-hire 

fishing affiliates were identified as 

potentially impacted by this action 

based on the definition above. All these 

affiliates were categorized as small 

businesses based on their average 2018– 

2022 revenues. These 482 small 

businesses had average total annual 

revenues of $130,921 during 2020–2022. 

Their average revenues from 

recreational for hire fishing (for a variety 

of species) was $107,429. Average 

annual revenues from for-hire fishing 

ranged from less than $10,000 for 195 

affiliates to over $1,000,000 for 8 

affiliates. On average, recreational 

fishing accounted for 85 percent of the 

total revenues for these 482 small 

businesses. 

It is not possible to derive what 

proportion of the for-hire revenues came 

from fishing activities for an individual 

species. Nevertheless, given the 

popularity of summer flounder, scup, 

and black sea bass as recreational 

species, revenues generated from these 

species are likely important to many of 

these businesses, at least at certain times 

of the year. 

For-hire revenues are impacted by a 

variety of factors, including regulations 

and demand for for-hire trips for 

summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, 

and other potential target species, as 

well as weather, the economy, and other 

factors. Recreational measures for 2024– 

2025 are not yet known. However, this 

action does propose the potential 

removal of the Federal recreational scup 

closure that is currently effective from 

January 1–April 30. Given the timing of 

the current closure and the limited 

proportion of recreational scup fishing 

that occurs in Federal water any benefit 

of the closure removal would be 

minimal. The approach for Federal 

waters recreational measures will be 

determined by the Council and Board in 

December 2023. States will work 

through the Commission process to 

determine the state waters measures in 

early 2024. 

This action is not expected to 

adversely impact revenues for 

commercial and recreational vessels that 

fish for summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass. Because this rulemaking 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities, an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required and none has 

been prepared. 

This proposed rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: November 13, 2023. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposed to amend 50 

CFR part 648 as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. Revise § 648.127 to read as follows: 


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80268 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

§ 648.127 Scup recreational fishing 

season. 

Fishermen and vessels that are not 

eligible for a scup moratorium permit 

under § 648.4(a)(6), may possess scup 

from January 1 through December 31, 

subject to the possession limit specified 

in § 648.128(a). The recreational fishing 

season may be adjusted pursuant to the 

procedures in § 648.122. Should the 

recreational fishing season be modified, 

non-federally permitted scup vessels 

abiding by state regulations may transit 

with scup harvested from state waters 

on board through the Block Island 

Sound Transit Area following the 

provisions outlined in § 648.131. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25431 Filed 11–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS