14416 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

January 1, 2024. Data from the NMFS 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center 

informed NMFS’ projection that 

recreational landings will reach the 

recreational ACL for 2024 by the end of 

February. Therefore, NMFS announces 

that the end date of the recreational 

season for golden tilefish is February 29, 

2024, and the recreational sector for 

golden tilefish in the South Atlantic 

EEZ will be closed from March 1 

through December 31, 2024. During the 

recreational closure, the bag and 

possession limits for golden tilefish in 

or from the South Atlantic EEZ are zero. 

The next recreational fishing year and 

season for golden tilefish begins on 

January 1, 2025. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

622.193(a)(2), which was issued 

pursuant to section 304(b) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, 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 are 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest. Such procedures are 

unnecessary because the rule that 

established the recreational ACL and 

AM for golden tilefish has already been 

subject to notice and comment, and all 

that remains is to notify the public of 

the end date of the recreational season. 

Such procedures are contrary to the 

public interest because of the need to 

immediately implement this action to 

protect the golden tilefish stock. The 

recreational ACL will soon be reached 

and prior notice and opportunity for 

public comment would require 

additional time, potentially resulting in 

a harvest well in excess of the 

established ACL. 

For the reasons just stated, there is 

also good cause to waive the 30-day 

delay in the effectiveness of this action 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

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

Dated: February 22, 2024. 

Everett Wayne Baxter, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03982 Filed 2–23–24; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[RTID 0648–XD471] 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; West 

Coast Salmon Fisheries; Amendment 

24 to the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery 

Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of agency decision. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the 

approval of amendment 24 to the Pacific 

Salmon Fishery Management Plan 

(Salmon FMP). The intent of 

amendment 24 is to clarify the technical 

process for reviewing updates to the 

models used to determine the Chinook 

salmon abundance threshold that may 

trigger additional management measures 

to limit the impact of ocean salmon 

fisheries on Southern Resident killer 

whales (SRKW). The whales are listed 

under the Endangered Species Act 

(ESA) and Chinook salmon, some of 

which are listed as threatened under the 

ESA, are their preferred prey. This 

action is administrative in nature and 

does not change the formula for 

calculating the threshold or the fishery 

management responses currently 

described in the Salmon FMP. 

DATES: The amendment was approved 

on February 21, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: The amended Salmon FMP 

is available on the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s (Council) 

website (https://www.pcouncil.org). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shannon Penna at 562–980–4239, 

Shannon.Penna@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The ocean salmon fisheries in the 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (3–200 

nautical miles; 5.6–370.4 kilometers) 

seaward of Washington, Oregon, and 

California are managed under the 

Salmon FMP. Amendment 24 to the 

Salmon FMP will clarify the process for 

review of updates to the models used to 

determine the Chinook salmon 

abundance threshold, and the 

recalculation of the threshold value 

based on updated model information, by 

revising Section 6.6.8 of the Salmon 

FMP. The revised text will not change 

the approach used to calculate the 

threshold. Amendment 24 also includes 

some minor housekeeping edits, such as 

updates to references and correction of 

a species name. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(MSA) requires that each regional 

fishery management council submit any 

fishery management plan (FMP) or plan 

amendment it prepares to NMFS for 

review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval by the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary) (MSA 304(a)). 

The MSA also requires that NMFS, 

upon receiving an FMP or plan 

amendment, immediately publish a 

notice that the FMP or plan amendment 

is available for public review and 

comment. 

The Notice of Availability (NOA) for 

amendment 24 was published in the 

Federal Register on November 27, 2023 

(88 FR 82819), with a 60-day comment 

period that ended on January 26, 2024. 

NMFS determined that amendment 24 

is consistent with the MSA and other 

applicable laws, and the Secretary of 

Commerce approved amendment 24 on 

February 21, 2024. The November 27, 

2023, NOA contains additional 

information on this action. Amendment 

24 will be implemented through the 

annual salmon management measures; 

no changes to existing Federal 

regulations are necessary. 

Public Comment 

We received one comment from the 

public in support of amendment 24. 

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

Dated: February 21, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–03890 Filed 2–26–24; 8:45 am] 

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