Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 7, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 8349 

whales. Ecology and Evolution 7:8730– 

8741. 

Pace, R.M. 2021. Revisions and Further 

Evaluations of the Right Whale 

Abundance Model: Improvements for 

Hypothesis Testing. NOAA Technical 

Memorandum NMFS–NE–269. Northeast 

Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, 

MA. 

Pace, R.M., R. Williams, S.D. Kraus, A.R. 

Knowlton, and H.M. Pettis. 2021. Cryptic 

mortality of North Atlantic right whales. 

Conservation Science and Practice 

2021:e346. 

Pendleton, D., A. Pershing, M. Brown, C. 

Mayo, R. Kenney, N. Record, and T. 

Cole. 2009. Regional-scale mean copepod 

concentration indicates relative 

abundance of North Atlantic right 

whales. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 

378, 211–225. 

Pendleton, D.E., M.W. Tingley, L.C. Ganley, 

K.D. Friedland, C. Mayo, M.W. Brown, 

B.E. McKenna, A. Jordaan, and M.D. 

Staudinger. 2022. Decadal-scale 

phenology and seasonal climate drivers 

of migratory baleen whales in a rapidly 

warming marine ecosystem. Global 

Change Biology, 28(16), 4989–5005. 

Plourde, S., C. Lehoux, C.L. Johnson, G. 

Perrin, and V. Lesage. 2019. North 

Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena 

glacialis) and its food: (I) a spatial 

climatology of Calanus biomass and 

potential foraging habitats in Canadian 

waters. Journal of Plankton Research 

41(5): 667–685. 

Record, N.R., J. Runge, D. Pendleton, W. 

Balch, K. Davies, A. Pershing, C. 

Johnson, K. Stamieszkin, R. Ji, Z. Feng, 

S. Kraus, R. Kenney, C. Hudak, C. Mayo, 

C. Chen, J. Salisbury, and C. Thompson. 

2019a. Rapid Climate-Driven Circulation 

Changes Threaten Conservation of 

Endangered North Atlantic Right 

Whales. Oceanography. 32. 

Record, N.R., W.M. Balch, and K. 

Stamieszkin. 2019b. Century-scale 

changes in phytoplankton phenology in 

the Gulf of Maine. PeerJ. 7:e6735. 

Roberts, J.J., B.D. Best, L. Mannocci, E. 

Fujioka, P.N. Halpin, D.L. Palka, L.P. 

Garrison, K.D. Mullin, T.V.N. Cole, C.B. 

Khan, W.A. McLellan, D.A. Pabst, and 

G.G. Lockhart. 2016a. Habitat-based 

cetacean density models for the U.S. 

Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Scientific 

Reports 6:22615. 

Roberts J.J., L. Mannocci, and P.N. Halpin. 

2016b. Final Project Report: Marine 

Species Density Data Gap Assessments 

and Update for the AFTT Study Area, 

2015–2016 (Base Year). Document 

version 1.0. Report prepared for Naval 

Facilities Engineering Command, 

Atlantic by the Duke University Marine 

Geospatial Ecology Lab, Durham, NC. 

Roberts J.J. and P.N. Halpin. 2022. North 

Atlantic right whale v12 model 

overview. Duke University Marine 

Geospatial Ecology Lab, Durham, NC. 

Roberts J.J., R.S. Schick, P.N. Halpin. 2020. 

Final Project Report: Marine Species 

Density Data Gap Assessments and 

Update for the AFTT Study Area, 2018– 

2020 (Option Year 3). Document version 

1.4. Report prepared for Naval Facilities 

Engineering Command, Atlantic by the 

Duke University Marine Geospatial 

Ecology Lab, Durham, NC. 

Roberts J.J., R.S. Schick, and P.N. Halpin. 

2021. Final Project Report: Marine 

Species Density Data Gap Assessments 

and Update for the AFTT Study Area, 

2020 (Option Year 4). Document version 

2.2. Report prepared for Naval Facilities 

Engineering Command, Atlantic by the 

Duke University Marine Geospatial 

Ecology Lab, Durham, NC. 

Runge, M.C., D.W. Linden, J.A. Hostetler, 

D.L. Borggaard, L.P. Garrison, A.R. 

Knowlton, V. Lesage, R. Williams, R.M. 

Pace III. 2023. A management-focused 

population viability analysis for North 

Atlantic right whales. US Dept Commer 

Northeast Fish Sci Cent Tech Memo 307. 

93 p. 

SHRM. 2021. The COVID–19 Labor Shortage: 

Exploring the disconnect between 

businesses and unemployed Americans. 

Online Report accessed on Nov 20, 2023. 

Slay, C. K. and S.D. Kraus. 1997. Right whale 

satellite tagging and habitat use patterns 

in the coastal waters of the southeastern 

United States. Final Report to the 

National Marine Fisheries Service, 

Charleston, South Carolina. 24 pg. 

Watkins, W.A., and W.E. Schevill. 1976. 

Right whale feeding and baleen rattle. 

Journal of Mammalogy. 57:58–66. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 229 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Confidential business 

information, Endangered Species, 

Fisheries, Marine mammals, Reporting 

and recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: February 1, 2024. 

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 

229 as follows: 

PART 229—AUTHORIZATION FOR 

COMMERCIAL FISHERIES UNDER THE 

MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT 

OF 1972 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 229 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.; 

§ 229.32(f) also issued under 16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq. 

■ 2. Amend § 229.32 by revising 

paragraph (c)(3)(i) to read as follows: 

§ 229.32 Atlantic large whale take 

reduction plan regulations. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) Area. The Massachusetts Restricted 

Area is bounded landward by the 

Massachusetts shoreline, from points 

MRA1 through MRA3 bounded seaward 

by the designated Massachusetts State 

waters boundary, and then bounded by 

a rhumb line connecting points MRA3 

through MRA10 in order as detailed in 

table 11 to this paragraph (c)(3)(i); 

TABLE 11 TO PARAGRAPH (c)(3)(i) 

Point N Lat. W Long. 

MRA1 ............... 42°52.32′ 70°48.98′ 

MRA2 ............... 42°52.58′ 70°43.94′ 

MRA3 ............... 42°39.77′ 70°30′ 

MRA4 ............... 42°30′ 70°30′ 

MRA5 ............... 42°30′ 69°45′ 

MRA6 ............... 41°56.5′ 69°45′ 

MRA7 ............... 41°21.5′ 69°16′ 

MRA8 ............... 41°15.3′ 69°57.9′ 

MRA9 ............... 41°20.3′ 70°00′ 

MRA10 ............. 41°40.2′ 70°00′ 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–02438 Filed 2–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 230306–0065; RTID 0648– 

XD706] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of 

Pollock in the Bering Sea and Aleutian 

Islands 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; reallocation. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is reallocating the 

projected unused amounts of the Aleut 

Corporation and the Community 

Development Quota (CDQ) pollock 

directed fishing allowance (DFA) from 

the Aleutian Islands subarea to the 

Bering Sea subarea. This action is 

necessary to provide the opportunity for 

the harvest of the 2024 total allowable 

catch (TAC) of pollock, consistent with 

the goals and objectives of the Fishery 

Management Plan for Groundfish of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area (BSAI). 

DATES: Effective 1200 hours, Alaska 

local time (A.l.t.), February 7, 2024, 

through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Whitney, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI exclusive economic zone 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
8350 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 7, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

under authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act). Regulations governing fishing by 

U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

In the Aleutian Islands subarea, the 

portion of the 2024 pollock TAC 

allocated to the Aleut Corporation and 

CDQ DFA is 14,600 metric tons (mt) and 

1,900 mt, respectively, as established by 

the final 2023 and 2024 harvest 

specifications for groundfish in the 

BSAI (88 FR 14926, March 10, 2023) 

and inseason adjustment (88 FR 88836, 

December 26, 2023). 

As of January 30, 2024, the 

Administrator, Alaska Region, NMFS 

(Regional Administrator), has 

determined that 11,680 mt of the Aleut 

Corporation’s DFA and 1,900 mt of 

pollock CDQ DFA in the Aleutian 

Islands subarea will not be harvested. 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(4), NMFS 

reallocates 11,680 mt of the Aleut 

Corporation’s DFA and 1,900 mt of 

pollock CDQ DFA from the Aleutian 

Islands subarea to the Bering Sea 

subarea allocations. The 1,900 mt of 

pollock CDQ DFA is added to the 2024 

Bering Sea CDQ DFA. The 11,680 mt of 

pollock Aleut Corporation’s DFA is 

apportioned to the American Fisheries 

Act (AFA) inshore sector (50 percent), 

AFA catcher/processor (CP) sector (40 

percent), and the AFA mothership 

sector (10 percent). The 2024 Bering Sea 

subarea pollock incidental catch 

allowance remains at 50,000 mt. As a 

result, the 2024 harvest specifications 

for pollock in the Aleutian Islands 

subarea included in the final 2023 and 

2024 harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the BSAI (88 FR 14926, 

March 10, 2023) and adjustment (88 FR 

88836, December 26, 2023) are revised 

as follows: 0 mt to CDQ DFA and 2,920 

mt to the Aleut Corporation’s DFA. 

Furthermore, pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5), 

table 5 is revised to make 2024 pollock 

allocations consistent with this 

reallocation. This reallocation results in 

an adjustment to the 2024 CDQ pollock 

allocation established at § 679.20(a)(5). 

TABLE 5—FINAL 2024 ALLOCATIONS OF POLLOCK TACS TO THE DIRECTED POLLOCK FISHERIES AND TO THE CDQ 

DIRECTED FISHING ALLOWANCES (DFA) 1

[Amounts are in metric tons] 

Area and sector 2024 

Allocations 

2024 A season 1 2024 

B season 1

A season DFA 

Steller sea lion 

conservation area 

(SCA) harvest limit 2 B season DFA 

Bering Sea subarea TAC 1 .................................................................. 1,313,580 n/a n/a n/a 

CDQ DFA ............................................................................................. 131,900 59,355 36,932 72,545 

Incidental Catch Allowance (ICA) 1 ...................................................... 50,000 n/a n/a n/a 

Total Bering Sea non-CDQ DFA ......................................................... 1,131,680 509,256 316,870 622,424 

AFA Inshore ......................................................................................... 565,840 254,628 158,435 311,212 

AFA Catcher/Processors 3 ................................................................... 452,672 203,702 126,748 248,970 

Catch by CPs ............................................................................... 414,195 186,388 n/a 227,807 

Catch by Catcher Vessels (CVs)3 ................................................ 38,477 17,315 n/a 21,162 

Unlisted CP Limit 4 ........................................................................ 2,263 1,019 n/a 1,245 

AFA Motherships ................................................................................. 113,168 50,926 31,687 62,242 

Excessive Harvesting Limit 5 ................................................................ 198,044 n/a n/a n/a 

Excessive Processing Limit 6 ............................................................... 339,504 n/a n/a n/a 

Aleutian Islands subarea acceptable biological catch (ABC) .............. 43,092 n/a n/a n/a 

Aleutian Islands subarea TAC 1 ........................................................... 5,420 n/a n/a n/a 

CDQ DFA ............................................................................................. ........................ ........................ n/a ........................

ICA ....................................................................................................... 2,500 1,250 n/a 1,250

Aleut Corporation ................................................................................. 2,920 2,920 n/a ........................

Area harvest limit 7 ............................................................................... n/a n/a n/a n/a 

541 ................................................................................................ 12,928 n/a n/a n/a 

542 ................................................................................................ 6,464 n/a n/a n/a 

543 ................................................................................................ 2,155 n/a n/a n/a 

Bogoslof District ICA8 .......................................................................... 300 n/a n/a n/a 

1Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A), the Bering Sea subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and the ICA (50,000 mt— 

4.27 percent), is allocated as a DFA as follows: inshore sector—50 percent, CP—40 percent, and mothership sector—10 percent. In the Bering 

Sea subarea, 45 percent of the DFA and CDQ DFA are allocated to the A season (January 20 to June 10) and 55 percent of the DFA and CDQ 

DFA are allocated to the B season (June 10 to November 1). When the Aleutian Islands (AI) pollock ABC equals or exceeds 19,000 mt, the annual TAC is equal to 19,000 mt (§ 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(1)). Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(2), the AI subarea pollock TAC, after subtracting first 

for the CDQ DFA (10 percent) and second for the ICA (2,500 mt), is allocated to the Aleut Corporation for a pollock directed fishery. In the AI 

subarea, the A season is allocated no more than 40 percent of the AI pollock ABC. 2 In the Bering Sea subarea, pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(C), no more than 28 percent of each sector’s annual DFA may be taken from the 

SCA before noon, April 1. 3Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4), 8.5 percent of the allocation to listed CPs shall be available for harvest only by eligible catcher vessels 

with a CP endorsement delivering to listed CPs, unless there is a CP sector cooperative contract for the year. 4Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(4)(iii), the AFA unlisted CPs are limited to harvesting not more than 0.5 percent of the CP sector’s allocation 

of pollock. 5Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(6), NMFS establishes an excessive harvesting share limit equal to 17.5 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ 

pollock DFAs. 6Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(i)(A)(7), NMFS establishes an excessive processing share limit equal to 30.0 percent of the sum of the non-CDQ 

pollock DFAs. 7Pursuant to § 679.20(a)(5)(iii)(B)(6), NMFS establishes harvest limits for pollock in the A season in Area 541 of no more than 30 percent, in 

Area 542 of no more than 15 percent, and in Area 543 of no more than 5 percent of the AI pollock ABC. 8Pursuant to § 679.22(a)(7)(i)(B), the Bogoslof District is closed to directed fishing for pollock. The amounts specified are for incidental catch 

only and are not apportioned by season or sector. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 26 / Wednesday, February 7, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 8351 

Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

part 679, which was issued pursuant to 

section 304(b), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

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 impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest, as it would prevent 

NMFS from responding to the most 

recent fisheries data in a timely fashion, 

and would delay the reallocation of 

Aleutian Islands pollock. NMFS was 

unable to publish a notificiation 

providing time for public comment 

because the most recent, relevant data 

only became available as of January 30, 

2024. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA also finds good cause 

to waive the 30-day delay in the 

effective date of this action under 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3). This finding is based 

upon the reasons provided above for 

waiver of prior notice and opportunity 

for public comment. 

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

Dated: February 2, 2024. 

Everett Wayne Baxter, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02493 Filed 2–6–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with RULES