276 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting 

Federal rules have been identified. A 

description of this final rule, why it is 

being considered, and the purpose of 

this final rule is contained in the 

SUMMARY and SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION sections of the preamble. 

The objectives of this final rule are to 

ensure catch level recommendations are 

based on the best scientific information 

available, prevent overfishing while 

achieving optimum yield, and include 

flexibility in setting catch limits as 

allowed by the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

and in accordance with NMFS’ 

guidance on carry-over and phase-in 

provisions. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

during the proposed rule stage that this 

rule 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. NMFS did not receive any 

comments from SBA’s Office of 

Advocacy or the public regarding the 

certification in the proposed rule. No 

changes to this final rule were made in 

response to public comments. As a 

result, a final regulatory flexibility 

analysis was not required and none was 

prepared. 

This final rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Fisheries, Fishing, South Atlantic, 

Atlantic. 

Dated: December 28, 2023. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part 

622 as follows: 

PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE 

CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND 

SOUTH ATLANTIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 622 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 622.194, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 622.194 Adjustment of management 

measures. 

* * * * * 

(a) Biomass levels, age-structured 

analyses, target dates for rebuilding 

overfished species, maximum 

sustainable yield (or its proxy), 

optimum yield, acceptable biological 

catch, total allowable catch, quotas 

(including a quota of zero), annual catch 

limits, annual catch targets, 

accountability measures, maximum 

fishing mortality threshold, minimum 

stock size threshold, trip limits, bag 

limits, size limits, gear restrictions 

(ranging from regulation to complete 

prohibition), seasonal or area closures, 

fishing year, rebuilding plans, 

definitions of essential fish habitat 

(EFH), establishment of or modifications 

to EFH habitat areas of particular 

concern (HAPCs) or coral HAPCs, 

restrictions on gear and fishing activities 

applicable in EFH and EFH HAPCs, 

establish or modify spawning SMZs, 

and allow transfer of the unharvested 

total or sector ACL to the following 

fishing year. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 622.252, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 622.252 Adjustment of management 

measures. 

* * * * * 

(a) Biomass levels, age-structured 

analyses, maximum sustainable yield, 

acceptable biological catch, total 

allowable catch, quotas (including 

quotas equal to zero), trip limits, 

minimum sizes, gear regulations and 

restrictions, permit requirements, 

seasonal or area closures, sub-zones and 

their management measures, time frame 

for recovery of golden crab if overfished, 

fishing year (adjustment not to exceed 2 

months), observer requirements, 

authority for the Regional Administrator 

to close the fishery when a quota is 

reached or is projected to be reached, 

definitions of essential fish habitat 

(EFH), EFH habitat areas of particular 

concern (HAPCs), or coral HAPCs, and 

allow transfer of the unharvested ACL to 

the following fishing year. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 622.281, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 622.281 Adjustment of management 

measures. 

* * * * * 

(a) Biomass levels, age-structured 

analyses, maximum sustainable yield, 

optimum yield, overfishing limit, total 

allowable catch, acceptable biological 

catch (ABC), ABC control rule, annual 

catch limits, annual catch targets, 

accountability measures, trip limits, 

minimum sizes, gear regulations and 

restrictions, permit requirements, 

seasonal or area closures, sub-zones and 

their management measures, overfishing 

definitions and other status 

determination criteria, time frame for 

recovery of Atlantic dolphin or wahoo 

if overfished, fishing year (adjustment 

not to exceed 2 months), authority for 

the Regional Administrator to close a 

fishery when a quota is reached or is 

projected to be reached or reopen a 

fishery when additional quota becomes 

available, definitions of essential fish 

habitat (EFH), EFH habitat areas of 

particular concern (HAPCs), or coral 

HAPCs, and allow transfer of the 

unharvested total or sector ACL to the 

following fishing year. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–28906 Filed 1–2–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 231226–0316] 

RIN 0648–BL93 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic 

Region; Amendment 49; Correction 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; correcting 

amendment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS corrects the final rule 

that implemented management 

measures described in Amendment 49 

to the Fishery Management Plan for the 

Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South 

Atlantic Region (FMP), which published 

in the Federal Register on September 

26, 2023. For greater amberjack, that 

final rule revised the sector annual 

catch limits (ACLs), the commercial 

minimum size limit, the commercial 

seasonal trip limits, and the April 

spawning season closure. In addition, 

Amendment 49 revised the overfishing 

limit, acceptable biological catch, 

annual optimum yield, and sector 

allocations of the total ACL, as well as 

removed the recreational annual catch 

targets for species in the FMP. In that 

final rule, NMFS inadvertently 

neglected to include a previously 

contained commercial quota provision 

that did not change through 

Amendment 49, and did not include a 

commercial trip limit paragraph heading 

that did not change through 

Amendment 49. The purpose of this 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 277 

correcting amendment is to fix these 

errors. 

DATES: This correction is effective 

January 3, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Vara, Southeast Regional Office, 

NMFS, telephone: 727–824–5305, email: 

mary.vara@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

September 26, 2023, NMFS published a 

final rule in the Federal Register (88 FR 

65819) to implement revisions to greater 

amberjack management measures 

contained in Amendment 49 that 

included, among other actions, 

regulatory revisions for commercial 

quotas and commercial trip limits. That 

final rule became effective on October 

26, 2023. 

Corrections 

In the regulatory text of the final rule 

for Amendment 49, NMFS inadvertently 

neglected to include the pre-existing 

greater amberjack commercial seasonal 

quota carryover provision at 50 CFR 

622.190(a)(3)(iii) within 50 CFR 

622.190(a)(3), when also revising 

paragraphs (a)(3)(i) and (ii) of the 

section. The text within 50 CFR 

622.190(a)(3)(iii) states, ‘‘Any unused 

portion of the quota specified in 

paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this section will be 

added to the quota specified in 

paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section. Any 

unused portion of the quota specified in 

paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this section, 

including any addition of quota 

specified in paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this 

section that was unused, will become 

void and will not be added to any 

subsequent quota.’’ 

The discussions in Amendment 49, as 

well as the associated proposed and 

final rules, were clear that for greater 

amberjack commercial quotas, only the 

seasonal quota values themselves were 

to change, not the existing quota 

carryover provision, and therefore it 

should have also been included within 

the rest of the text at 50 CFR 

622.190(a)(3). Thus, through this 

correcting amendment NMFS corrects 

50 CFR 622.190 by adding the 

mistakenly removed paragraph (a)(3)(iii) 

that was effective and in the regulations 

prior to the implementation of 

Amendment 49. 

Additionally, in the regulatory text of 

the final rule for Amendment 49, NMFS 

inadvertently neglected to include a 

paragraph heading for greater amberjack 

within the commercial trip limits at 50 

CFR 622.191(a)(5). Amendment 49 

revised the greater amberjack trip limit 

and when drafting the associated 

regulatory text for that trip limit, NMFS 

inadvertently did not include ‘‘Greater 

amberjack’’ as the heading for paragraph 

(a)(5) of the section. Thus, through this 

correcting amendment NMFS adds back 

in the heading of ‘‘Greater amberjack’’ at 

50 CFR 622.191(a)(5) that was effective 

and in the regulations prior to the 

implementation of Amendment 49. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 305(d) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator (AA) has 

determined that this final rule is 

consistent with Amendment 49, the 

FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and 

other applicable law. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant under Executive Order 

12866. 

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

finds good cause to waive prior notice 

and opportunity for additional public 

comment because it would be 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest. This correcting amendment 

adds back into the regulations a needed 

commercial quota provision and a 

commercial trip limit paragraph heading 

that were inadvertently not included in 

the final rule implementing Amendment 

49. Providing prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment is 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest. The final rules that 

implemented the erroneously removed 

codified provisions and the greater 

amberjack management measures in 

Amendment 49 were already subject to 

notice and public comment. Additional 

opportunity for public comment would 

delay inclusion of the previously 

effective commercial quota and trip 

limit provisions which were 

inadvertently removed in the regulatory 

text. Further, this correction will 

prevent confusion about greater 

amberjack commercial quota provisions 

and add clarity to the commercial trip 

limit regulations. 

For the same reasons, the AA also 

finds good cause, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3), to waive the 30-day delay in 

effective date for this correcting 

amendment. 

Because prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment are not required for 

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

law, this rule is exempt from the 

procedures of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act. Accordingly, no Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis is required and 

none has been prepared. 

This final rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Commercial, Fisheries, Fishing, 

Greater amberjack, South Atlantic. 

Dated: December 28, 2023. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

Accordingly, 50 CFR part 622 is 

corrected by making the following 

correcting amendment: 

PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE 

CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND 

SOUTH ATLANTIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 622 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 622.190, add paragraph 

(a)(3)(iii) to read as follows: 

§ 622.190 Quotas. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(iii) Any unused portion of the quota 

specified in paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this 

section will be added to the quota 

specified in paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of this 

section. Any unused portion of the 

quota specified in paragraph (a)(3)(ii) of 

this section, including any addition of 

quota specified in paragraph (a)(3)(i) of 

this section that was unused, will 

become void and will not be added to 

any subsequent quota. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 622.191, revise paragraph (a)(5) 

to read as follows: 

§ 622.190 Commercial trip limits. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(5) Greater amberjack. Until the 

applicable commercial quota specified 

in § 622.190(a)(3) is reached—1,200 lb 

(544 kg). See § 622.190(c)(1) for the 

limitations regarding greater amberjack 

after the applicable commercial quota is 

reached. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2023–28901 Filed 1–2–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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