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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 2, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 34-36]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28792]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 231221-0314; RTID 0648-XD357]

Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish 
Fishery; 2024 and Projected 2025 Bluefish Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final action.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues final Atlantic bluefish specifications for the 
2024 fishing year and projects specifications for fishing year 2025, as 
recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. This action 
is necessary to establish allowable harvest levels for the stock to 
prevent overfishing and promote rebuilding, using the best scientific 
information available. This action also informs the public of the 
expected specifications for fishing year 2025.

DATES: Effective January 1 2024.

ADDRESSES: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council prepared an 
environmental assessment (EA) for these specifications that describes 
the action, other considered alternatives, and analyses of the impacts 
of all alternatives. Copies of the specifications document, including 
the 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. These documents are also 
accessible via the internet at https://www.mafmc.org/supporting-documents.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9225.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) jointly manage 
the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP requires 
the specification of annual regulatory limits for up to 3 years at a 
time, including: acceptable biological catch (ABC), commercial and 
recreational annual catch limits (ACL), commercial and recreational 
annual catch targets (ACT), a commercial quota, a recreational harvest 
limit (RHL), and other management measures. This action implements 
bluefish specifications for the 2024 fishing year, and projects 
specifications for 2025, based on Council and Commission 
recommendations.
    Recent research track (December 2022) and management track (June 
2023) assessments for bluefish have determined that the stock is no 
longer overfished and overfishing is not occurring. However, the 
spawning stock biomass has not yet reached its target (i.e., the stock 
has not fully rebuilt), so the fishery remains under its rebuilding 
plan. These specifications decrease the 2024 ABC by 43 percent from 
2023, based on recommendations from the Council's Scientific and 
Statistical Committee (SSC), results from these assessments, and the 
rebuilding plan for the stock. No uncertainty buffers were recommended 
for either the commercial or recreational sector in 2024 or 2025, but 
commercial discards are now included in the specifications process and 
are no longer considered negligible. Although the stock is no longer 
overfished, and therefore transferring

[[Page 35]]

quota between the recreational and commercial sectors is no longer 
prohibited by governing regulations, no sector quota transfer is 
included in the 2024 specifications because the fishery is still under 
a rebuilding plan. The resulting 2024 specifications decrease the 
commercial quota by 43 percent from 2023 and the RHL by 15 percent from 
the 2023 specifications. No changes were recommended to recreational 
management measures (i.e., bag limits), as the average recreational 
harvest under these limits (11.54 million pounds (lb); 5,234 metric 
tons (mt)) remains just below the RHL for 2024 (11.96 million lb; 5,425 
mt). Status quo recreational measures are also intended to promote 
continued stability and consistency in the fishery while minimizing the 
risk of overfishing in the recreational sector.
    The proposed rule for this action was published in the Federal 
Register on November 16, 2023 (88 FR 78715), and comments were accepted 
through December 1, 2023. NMFS received two comments from the public, 
and no changes are made in this final action because of those comments 
(see Comments and Responses for additional detail). Additional 
background information regarding the development of these 
specifications was provided in the proposed rule and is not repeated 
here.

Final Specifications

    This action implements the Council and Commission's recommended 
2024 and projected 2025 bluefish catch specifications, as outlined in 
the proposed rule (table 1). These final specifications decrease all 
catch limits in 2024 based on best available information from the 
recent assessments and the rebuilding plan, but project increases to 
all limits in 2025. As previously mentioned, this action makes no 
changes to recreational management measures (such as bag limits), as 
the expected recreational landings under the existing measures are 
likely to achieve the 2024 RHL without exceeding it.

              Table 1--Comparison of 2023, Final 2024, and Projected 2025 Bluefish Specifications *
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                                              2023                      2024                2025 (projected)
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                                     Million lb  Metric tons   Million lb  Metric tons   Million lb  Metric tons
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Overfishing Limit.................        45.17       20,490        25.87       11,734        27.49       12,467
ABC = Fishery ACL.................        30.62       13,890        17.48        7,929        21.83        9,903
Commercial ACL = Commercial ACT...         4.29        1,945         2.45        1,110         3.06        1,386
Recreational ACL = Recreational           26.34       11,945        15.03        6,819        18.78        8,517
 ACT..............................
Commercial Discards...............            0            0         0.02           11         0.02           11
Recreational Accountability                5.59        2,536            0            0            0            0
 Measures.........................
Recreational Discards.............         6.64        3,012         3.08        1,396         3.08        1,396
Commercial Total Allowable                 4.29        1,945         2.42        1,099         3.03        1,375
 Landings (TAL)...................
Recreational TAL..................        14.11        6,400        11.96        5,423        15.70        7,121
Sector Transfer...................            0            0            0            0            0            0
Commercial Quota..................         4.29        1,945         2.42        1,099         3.03        1,375
RHL...............................        14.11        6,400        11.96        5,423        15.70        7,121
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* Specifications are derived from the ABC in metric tons (mt). When values are converted to millions of pounds
  the numbers may shift due to rounding. The conversion factor used is 1 mt = 2204.6226 lb.

    The final coastwide commercial quota is allocated among the coastal 
states from Maine to Florida based on percent shares specified in the 
FMP, and the phased-in changes to these share allocations specified in 
Amendment 7 to the FMP (86 FR 66977, November 24, 2021). The final 2024 
and projected 2025 state-allocated commercial quotas are shown below in 
table 2. No states exceeded their allocated quota in 2022 or are 
projected to do so in 2023; therefore, no accountability measures for 
the commercial fishery are required for the 2024 fishing year based on 
the data available at this time.

                                      Table 2--2024 and Projected 2025 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations
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                                                                               2024                                      2025 (projected)
                          State                          -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Percent share    Quota (lb)      Quota (kg)     Percent share    Quota (lb)      Quota (kg)
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Maine...................................................            0.43          10,388           4,712            0.35          10,575           4,797
New Hampshire...........................................            0.33           7,975           3,618            0.30           9,116           4,135
Massachusetts...........................................            8.17         198,025          89,823            8.66         262,473         119,056
Rhode Island............................................            8.01         194,025          88,008            8.41         254,876         115,610
Connecticut.............................................            1.19          28,821          13,073            1.16          35,284          16,004
New York................................................           14.40         348,947         158,280           15.74         477,171         216,441
New Jersey..............................................           14.40         348,898         158,258           14.26         432,316         196,095
Delaware................................................            1.29          31,139          14,124            1.09          32,966          14,953
Maryland................................................            2.54          61,471          27,883            2.38          72,213          32,755
Virginia................................................            9.30         225,380         102,231            8.44         255,939         116,092
North Carolina..........................................           32.05         776,452         352,193           32.04         971,305         440,577
South Carolina..........................................            0.06           1,561             708            0.07           2,248           1,020
Georgia.................................................            0.05           1,194             541            0.06           1,895             860
Florida.................................................            7.80         188,899          85,683            7.04         213,469          96,828
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................             100       2,422,880       1,099,000             100       3,031,356       1,375,000
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    Although catch limits are decreasing, neither the recreational nor 
the commercial sector of the fishery is expected to be substantially 
impacted by this action. Harvest in both sectors has been decreasing in 
recent years. Coastwide commercial landings have not exceeded 2.2 
million lb (998 mt) in the last 3 years, and recreational harvest

[[Page 36]]

averaged 11.54 million lb (5,234 mt), both lower than the new 2024 
limits. The 2025 specifications are projected based on the new 
assessment data and the fourth year of the rebuilding plan model. The 
Council will review the projected 2025 specifications in light of any 
new information to determine if changes are needed prior to their 
implementation. NMFS will publish a notice prior to the 2025 fishing 
year to confirm these limits as projected or announce any necessary 
changes.

Comments and Responses

    The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on December 
1, 2023, and NMFS received two comments from the public. No changes 
were made to this final action as a result of these comments. The first 
comment asked that NMFS raise the recreational bag limit for for-hire 
vessels from five fish per person to six or seven fish per person. The 
commenter explained that the perception of a possible higher catch is 
important to attract and maintain business, but that most customers are 
unlikely to take home more than four or five fish anyway, so the 
requested increase would have little impact on the bluefish population. 
Based on recent recreational data, the expected recreational landings 
under the current bag limit for for-hire vessels of five fish per 
person are likely to come very close to the 2024 RHL. Any 
liberalization in the bag limit would substantially increase the risk 
of a recreational overage, and the Council did not find a compelling 
reason to make changes to existing measures at this time.
    The next commenter supported the catch limit reductions in 2024, as 
they and their colleagues have personally seen fewer bluefish available 
for recreational fishing recently. They also questioned the projected 
increases in 2025, but trust the expert opinions of the scientists 
involved. NMFS agrees that the proposed reductions are necessary to 
prevent overfishing and promote continued rebuilding based on the 2023 
assessment and best available science. The 2025 specifications will 
also be reviewed before their publication to ensure the fishery can 
support the projected future increases.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    There are no substantive changes from the proposed rule.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined that these final 
specifications are necessary for the conservation and management of the 
Atlantic bluefish fishery, and that they are consistent with the 
Atlantic Bluefish FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable 
law.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effective date 
for this action to ensure that the final specifications are in place as 
close as practicable to the start of the bluefish fishing year on 
January 1, 2024. This action establishes the final specifications 
(i.e., catch limits) for the 2024 bluefish fishery. The need to 
implement these measures in a timely manner to ensure that these final 
specifications are in place for the start of the 2024 bluefish fishing 
year constitutes good cause to waive the 30-day delay in effective date 
of this action.
    This action is being issued at the earliest possible date. To 
ensure that the action is based on the best available science and in 
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the rulemaking 
process is dependent on the EA which is prepared by the Council. The 
proposed rule was prepared in October 2023 upon receipt of the EA from 
the Council, and published in November 2023 once proper reviews could 
be completed. The public comment period ended on December 1, 2023, and 
this final action was written and reviewed as quickly as possible with 
the intent to publish in time to be effective for the January 1 start 
of the fishing year.
    Furthermore, regulated parties do not require any additional time 
to come into compliance with this action, and thus, a 30-day delay 
before it becomes effective does not provide any benefit. Unlike 
actions that require an adjustment period, vessels fishing for bluefish 
will not have to purchase new equipment or otherwise expend time or 
money to comply with these management measures. Rather, complying with 
this final action simply means adhering to the new catch limits set for 
the 2024 fishing year. Fishery stakeholders have also been involved in 
the development of this action and are anticipating this action.
    Finally, a 30-day delay in effectiveness would postpone 
implementation of these catch limits well beyond the start of this 
fishing year, which is contrary to the public interest as it could 
create confusion in the bluefish industry around current state quotas. 
The longer these specifications are delayed, the longer it will take 
for some state agencies to implement respective regulations and annual 
management measures, which causes further industry confusion, and 
tension with state partners. A delay in effectiveness could also 
compromise the efficacy of the new, lower limits to promote the growth 
and rebuilding of the stock, by limiting the time they are in place 
during fishing year 2024.
    For these reasons, NMFS finds that a 30-day delay in effectiveness 
would be contrary to the public interest, and, therefore, waives the 
requirement consistent with 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). As a result, there is 
good cause to implement this action upon filing in the Federal 
Register.
    This final action is exempt from review under Executive Order 
12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the 
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received 
regarding this certification and the initial certification remains 
unchanged. As a result, a final regulatory flexibility analysis is not 
required and none was prepared.
    This action would not establish any new reporting or record-keeping 
requirements.
    This final action does not duplicate, conflict, or overlap with any 
existing Federal rules.
    This action contains no information collection requirements under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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

    Dated: December 26, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-28792 Filed 12-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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