Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3581 

disclosed use of a scheduled drug or 

substance. Use of a substance abuse 

professional, see 49 CFR 40.3 and 40.281, is 

not required as part of a non-Department of 

Transportation drug test. 

K. Medical Advisory Criteria for 49 CFR 

391.41(b)(13) 

1. The phrase ‘‘current clinical diagnosis 

of’’ alcoholism is specifically designed to 

encompass a current alcoholic illness or 

those instances where the individual’s 

physical condition has not fully stabilized. 

2. When in remission, the medical 

examiner may certify an individual who has 

a prior clinical diagnosis of alcoholism. 

3. The medical examiner may request a 

non-Department of Transportation alcohol 

test to aid in the physical qualification 

determination, including when the 

individual discloses excessive use of alcohol 

or the medical examiner observes signs of 

alcoholism. The use of a substance abuse 

professional, see 49 CFR 40.3 and 40.281, is 

not required. The medical examiner may 

request that individuals provide 

documentation from a professional qualified 

to conduct an alcohol use assessment that 

includes an opinion concerning whether a 

current clinical diagnosis of alcoholism is 

present or the individual is in remission 

prior to making a medical certification 

determination. 

Issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 

1.87. 

Robin Hutcheson, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00980 Filed 1–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[RTID 0648–XD197] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Scallop Specification 

Process Flexibility 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of agency decision. 

SUMMARY: The National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the 

approval of Amendment 18 to the 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 

Scallop Fishery off Alaska (Scallop 

FMP). Amendment 18 revises timing 

requirements for the Stock Assessment 

and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) report to 

allow more flexibility for non-annual 

assessments and to set scallop harvest 

specifications less frequently than on an 

annual basis. This will reduce the 

burden on staff and provide more time 

for the development of new stock 

assessment methods. Amendment 18 is 

intended to promote the goals and 

objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the 

Scallop FMP, and other applicable laws. 

DATES: The amendment was approved 

on January 11, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of 

Amendment 18, the Analysis, and the 

Categorical Exclusion (CE) prepared for 

this action may be obtained from 

https://www.regulations.gov under the 

docket NOAA–NMFS–2023–0094. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Megan Mackey, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that 

each regional fishery management 

council submit any FMP amendment it 

prepares to NMFS for review and 

approval, disapproval, or partial 

approval by the Secretary of Commerce 

(Secretary). The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

also requires that NMFS, upon receiving 

an FMP amendment, immediately 

publish a notice in the Federal Register 

announcing that the amendment is 

available for public review and 

comment. 

The Notice of Availability (NOA) for 

Amendment 18 was published in the 

Federal Register on November 3, 2023 

(88 FR 75535) with a 60-day comment 

period that ended on January 2, 2024. 

NMFS received one comment during the 

public comment period on the NOA. 

NMFS summarized and responded to 

this comment under Comments and 

Responses, below. 

NMFS determined that Amendment 

18 is consistent with the MagnusonStevens Act and other applicable laws, 

and the Secretary of Commerce 

approved Amendment 18 on January 11, 

2024. The November 3, 2023, NOA (88 

FR 75535) contains additional 

information on this action. No changes 

to Federal regulations are necessary to 

implement the Amendment. 

The scallop fishery in the exclusive 

economic zone off Alaska under the 

Scallop FMP is jointly managed by 

NMFS and the State of Alaska (State). 

The Council prepared the Scallop FMP 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 

Regulations governing U.S. fisheries and 

implementing the Scallop FMP appear 

at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679. 

The Scallop FMP delegates many 

management aspects of the scallop 

fishery to the State but maintains 

Federal oversight. This authority is 

limited by the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

and the FMP. While the FMP includes 

scallop stocks off the coast of Alaska, 

including weathervane scallop 

(Patinopecten caurinus), reddish scallop 

(Chlamys rubida), spiny scallop 

(Chlamys hastata), and rock scallop 

(Crassadoma gigantea), the weathervane 

scallop is the only commercially 

targeted stock at this time. Commercial 

fishing for weathervane scallops occurs 

in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and 

waters off the Aleutian Islands. There is 

currently no formal stock assessment 

model for the scallop fishery. Instead, 

the State sets guideline harvest levels 

informed by data collected through the 

scallop fishery observer program and 

fishery-independent scallop dredge 

surveys. Standardized catch per unit 

effort indices are estimated to account 

for depth, month, vessel, bed, and 

season variations. 

Previously, the overfishing level 

(OFL) and acceptable biological catch 

(ABC) have been set based on the 

definition of optimal yield (OY). More 

recently, OFL and ABC have been based 

on the OY re-defined in 2012 

(Amendment 13), when OY was redefined as 0 to 1.29 million pounds (lb) 

(585 tons (t)) of shucked scallop meats 

to include estimated discards over the 

reference time frame. Annual 

specifications have been defined as: 

max OFL = OY, and ABC = 90 percent 

of OFL. Alaska scallop harvests have not 

exceeded OY in any year since it was 

first established. 

In the absence of stock-size estimates, 

the status of the scallop stock relative to 

its overfished state is unknown. 

Consistent with assessments since the 

2011–12 season, the 2022–23 OFL is set 

equal to the OY (1.284 million lb.; 582 

t) as defined in the Scallop FMP, and 

the 2022–23 ABC is set equal to the 

maximum ABC control rule value (90 

percent of OFL or 1.156 million lb.; 524 

t). Estimated total fishing removals 

(retained and discarded) for the 2021–22 

and 2022–23 seasons were 311,978 lb 

(141.5 t) and 345,690 lb (156.8 t) of 

shucked meats, respectively. These 

estimates are less than 30 percent of the 

ABC/annual catch limit and OFL; 

therefore, overfishing did not occur in 

2021–22 or 2022–23. 

Currently, the Scallop FMP requires 

the SAFE report to be created on an 

annual basis. The management 

measures in Amendment 18 will amend 

the FMP to allow flexibility for nonannual assessments. This will remove 

prescriptive language dictating that the 

SAFE report is produced on an annual 

basis. Amendment 18 will give the 

Council flexibility in modifying the 

assessment cycle with the potential to 

set multi-year specifications, based on a 

period of no more than 3 years, that best 

suit the needs of the stock. If a formal 


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3582 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

stock assessment model is developed, or 

there is a decrease in estimated stock 

abundance, the Council could task the 

Scallop Plan Team to develop the 

scallop SAFE report annually. 

Comments and Responses 

During the public comment period for 

the NOA for Amendment 18, NMFS 

received one unique comment from one 

member of the public. NMFS’ response 

to this comment is presented below. 

Comment 1: One commenter 

expressed concern about the impacts of 

offshore wind farms on scallops. 

Response: This comment is outside 

the scope of this action. This action is 

limited to providing flexibility in the 

timing for non-annual SAFE reports, as 

well as multi-year specifications, for 

scallops. 

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

Dated: January 11, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01021 Filed 1–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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