13674 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

category fishery is open and no RFD is 

in effect, a person aboard a vessel that 

has been issued an HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permit with a commercial sale 

endorsement may fish under either the 

General category restrictions and 

retention limits as specified in 

paragraphs (a)(1) through (2) and 

paragraphs (4) through (5) of this section 

or the Angling category restrictions and 

retention limits as specified in 

paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) of this 

section. The size category of the first 

BFT retained will determine whether 

the General category or Angling category 

restrictions and retention limits apply to 

the vessel that day. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 635.31, revise paragraph (a)(1) 

and add paragraph (a)(2)(iii) to read as 

follows: 

§ 635.31 Restrictions on sale and 

purchase. 

(a) * * * 

(1) A person who owns or operates a 

vessel from which an Atlantic tuna is 

landed or offloaded may sell such 

Atlantic tuna only if that vessel has a 

valid HMS Charter/Headboat permit 

with a commercial sale endorsement; a 

valid Atlantic Tunas General, Harpoon, 

Longline, or Trap category permit; or a 

valid HMS Commercial Caribbean Small 

Boat permit issued under this part and 

the appropriate category has not been 

closed as specified at § 635.28(a). No 

person may sell a BFT smaller than the 

large medium size class. No large 

medium or giant BFT may be sold if 

caught by a person aboard a vessel with 

an Atlantic HMS Charter/Headboat 

permit fishing in the Gulf of Mexico at 

any time or outside the Gulf of Mexico 

when the General category fishery has 

been closed (see § 635.23(c)). A person 

may sell Atlantic BFT only to a dealer 

that has a valid permit for purchasing 

Atlantic tunas issued under this part. A 

person may not sell or purchase Atlantic 

tunas harvested with speargun fishing 

gear. A person issued an Atlantic Tunas 

General category permit or HMS 

Charter/Headboat permit with a 

commercial sale endorsement must 

land, sell or transfer a BFT to a dealer 

that has a valid permit for purchasing 

Atlantic tunas no later than 2400 local 

time the day prior to an RFD, as 

specified at § 635.23(a). If that person is 

unable to sell or otherwise transfer the 

BFT to a dealer who has a dealer permit 

for Atlantic tunas no later than 2400, the 

person must follow the restrictions 

applicable to landed but not sold BFT 

specified at § 635.5(a)(3). In no case 

shall such person possess a BFT on an 

RFD. 

(2) * * * 

(iii) Dealers may not first receive a 

BFT from a vessel that has a valid 

Atlantic Tunas General permit or HMS 

Charter/Headboat permit with a 

commercial sale endorsement after 0000 

local time on an RFD, as specified at 

§ 635.23(a). 

* * * * * 

■ 6. In § 635.71, revise paragraphs 

(b)(13) and (29) to read as follows: 

§ 635.71 Prohibitions 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(13) As a vessel with an Atlantic 

Tunas General category permit, fail to 

immediately cease fishing and 

immediately return to port after 

catching the applicable limit of large 

medium or giant bluefin tuna on a 

commercial fishing day, as specified in 

§ 635.23(a)(4). 

* * * * * 

(29) As a dealer or dealer’s agent, 

purchase, first receive, or affix a dealer 

tag to a BFT that is on or from a vessel 

that has been issued an Atlantic Tunas 

General category permit or HMS 

Charter/Headboat permit with a 

commercial sale endorsement, as 

specified in § 635.5(b)(2)(ii)(A) after 

0000 local time on an RFD. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–03594 Filed 2–22–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 240214–0048] 

RIN 0648–BM83 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; 2024 and 2025 Summer 

Flounder and Scup, and 2024 Black 

Sea Bass Recreational Management 

Measures 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes Federal 

management measures for the summer 

flounder and black sea bass recreational 

fisheries. The implementing regulations 

for these fisheries require NMFS to 

publish recreational measures for the 

fishing year and to provide an 

opportunity for public comment. The 

intent of this action is to set 

management measures that allow the 

recreational fisheries to achieve, but not 

exceed, the recreational harvest targets 

and thereby prevent overfishing. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

March 11, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2024–0020 by the following 

method: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and type 

NOAA–NMFS–2024–0020 in the Search 

box (note: copying and pasting the 

FDMS Docket Number directly from this 

document may not yield search results). 

Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter 

‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish 

to remain anonymous). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9116, or Emily.Keiley@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) and the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (Commission) 

cooperatively manage summer flounder, 

scup, and black sea bass. The Council 

and the Commission’s Management 

Boards meet jointly each year to 

recommend recreational management 

measures. For summer flounder and 

black sea bass, NMFS must implement 

coastwide measures or approve 

conservation-equivalent measures per 

50 CFR 648.102(d) and 648.142(d), as 

soon as possible following the Council 

and Commission’s recommendation. 

This action proposes establishing 

conservation equivalency (i.e., waiving 

Federal recreational management 

measures) for both species in 2024 and 

for summer flounder in 2025. For scup, 

no adjustments to the Federal 


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recreational management measures are 

proposed. 

Recreational Management Measures 

Process 

Framework Adjustment 17 to the 

Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and 

Framework Adjustment 6 to the 

Bluefish FMP (March 9, 2023, 88 FR 

14499), referred to as the Percent 

Change Approach, established a new 

process for determining when 

recreational management measures (i.e., 

possession limits, size limits, and 

season) should be changed and by what 

magnitude. The Percent Change 

Approach uses two factors to determine 

if management measures could remain 

status quo, could be liberalized, or must 

be restricted: (1) a comparison of a 

confidence interval (CI) around an 

estimate of expected harvest under 

status quo measures to the average 

recreational harvest limit (RHL) for the 

upcoming 2 years; and (2) biomass 

compared to the target level, as defined 

by the most recent stock assessment. 

These two factors also determine the 

appropriate degree of change, defined as 

a percentage change in expected 

harvest. Changes to recreational 

management measures to achieve the 

required percent change are evaluated 

by the Monitoring Committee, which 

consists of representatives from the 

Commission, the Council, state marine 

fishery agencies from Massachusetts to 

North Carolina, and NMFS. The FMP 

limits the choices for the types of 

measures to: (1) minimum and/or 

maximum fish size; (2) per-angler 

possession limit; and (3) fishing season. 

A description of the application of this 

process for each species is provided 

below. 

The Council and the Summer 

Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass 

(Board) then consider the Monitoring 

Committee’s recommendations and any 

public comment in making their 

recommendations. The Council 

forwards its recommendations to NMFS 

for review. The Commission similarly 

adopts recommendations for the states. 

NMFS is required to review the 

Council’s recommendations to ensure 

that they are consistent with the targets 

specified for summer flounder, scup, 

and black sea bass in the FMP and all 

applicable laws and Executive Orders 

before ultimately implementing 

measures for Federal waters. 

Commission measures are final at the 

time they are adopted. 

2024 and 2025 Scup Recreational 

Management Measures 

Application of the Percent Change 

Approach and the bio-economic model 

used to evaluate recreational behavior 

and catch resulted in a recommended 

10-percent reduction in recreational 

scup harvest. 

According to the 2023 management 

stock assessment (using data through 

2022), scup is not overfished, and 

overfishing is not occurring. Scup 

biomass is 246 percent of the biomass 

target, which puts scup in the ‘‘very 

high’’ (i.e., biomass greater than 150 

percent of the target level) biomass 

category in the Percent Change 

Approach. 

The Recreational Demand Model was 

used to generate an estimate of expected 

2024–2025 harvest under status quo 

(i.e., 2023) measures, with an associated 

80-percent confidence interval. The 

median coastwide projected 2024–2025 

harvest under 2023 measures is 15.29 

million pounds (lb) (6,935 metric ton 

(mt)), with an 80-percent confidence 

interval of 14.07–16.29 million lb 

(6,382–7,389 mt). The average 2024– 

2025 scup recreational harvest limit 

(RHL) of 12.51 million lb (5,674 mt) is 

below the lower bound of the 

confidence interval around expected 

harvest. 

TABLE 1—ESTIMATED SCUP HARVEST, ASSOCIATED CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI), 2024–2025 AVERAGE RHL, STOCK SIZE

CATEGORY, AND RESULTING PERCENT CHANGE RECOMMENDED

Estimated harvest under 

status quo measure 80-Percent confidence interval Average 2024–2025 RHL Stock size category 

Recommended 

percent change 

15.29 million lb (6,935 mt) .. 14.07–16.29 million lb (6,382–7,389 mt) 12.51 million lb (5,674 mt) Very High ..... 10-Percent Reduction. 

In 2023, recreational management 

measures were implemented to achieve 

a 10-percent reduction in scup harvest. 

Preliminary harvest estimates through 

wave 5 suggest that harvest was 

approximately 37 percent lower in 2023 

than the 2022 harvest through wave 5. 

The current Federal recreational scup 

management measures are a 10-inch 

(25.4-centimeter (cm)) minimum fish 

size, a 50-fish per person possession 

limit, and a year-round open season. 

State measures are similar but vary 

slightly due to differences in scup 

availability. We are proposing no 

changes to the Federal recreational scup 

management measures for 2024 or 2025. 

Recreational scup harvest in Federal 

waters accounts for approximately 5 

percent of the total recreational harvest. 

Because the majority of recreational 

scup harvest occurs in state waters, the 

Council and Commission determined 

that changes to state-waters measures 

would be the most effective way to 

achieve the required 10-percent 

reduction. The current Federal 

measures, in conjunction with changes 

to state-waters measures, are projected 

to achieve the needed 10-percent 

harvest reduction. The state and Federal 

measures will remain in place through 

2025. Recreational scup measures will 

be reevaluated prior to the 2026 fishing 

year. 

Summer Flounder and Black Sea Bass 

Conservation Equivalency 

Under conservation equivalency, 

Federal recreational measures are 

waived and federally permitted party/ 

charter vessels and all recreational 

vessels fishing in Federal waters are 

subject to the recreational fishing 

measures implemented by the state in 

which they land. This approach allows 

for more customized measures at a state 

or regional level that are likely to meet 

the needs of anglers in each area, 

compared to coastwide measures that 

may be advantageous to anglers in some 

areas and unnecessarily restrictive in 

others. The combination of state or 

regional measures must be ‘‘equivalent’’ 

in terms of conservation to a set of 

‘‘non-preferred coastwide measures,’’ 

which are recommended by the Council 

and the Board. 

The Council and Board recommend 

that either state- or region-specific 

recreational measures be developed (i.e., 

conservation equivalency) or that 

coastwide management measures be 

implemented. Even when the Council 

and Board recommend conservation 

equivalency, the Council must specify a 

set of non-preferred coastwide measures 

that would apply if conservation 

equivalency is not approved for use in 

Federal waters. 

When conservation equivalency is 

recommended, and following 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
13676 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

confirmation by the Commission that 

the proposed state or regional measures 

developed through its technical and 

policy review processes achieve 

conservation equivalency, NMFS waives 

the permit condition found at 50 CFR 

648.4(b) that requires Federal permit 

holders to comply with the more 

restrictive management measures when 

state and Federal measures differ. In 

such a situation, federally permitted 

summer flounder and black sea bass 

charter/party permit holders and 

individuals fishing for summer flounder 

and black sea bass in the exclusive 

economic zone (EEZ) are subject to the 

recreational fishing measures 

implemented by the state in which they 

land, rather than the coastwide 

measures. 

In addition, the Council and the 

Board must recommend precautionary 

default measures when recommending 

conservation equivalency. The 

Commission would require adoption of 

the precautionary default measures by 

any state that either does not submit a 

management proposal to the 

Commission’s Technical Committee or 

that submits measures that are not 

conservationally equivalent to the 

coastwide measures. 

The development of conservationequivalency measures happens both at 

the Commission and individual state 

level. The selection of appropriate data 

and analytical techniques for technical 

review of potential state conservationequivalent measures, and the process by 

which the Commission evaluates and 

recommends proposed conservationequivalent measures, are wholly a 

function of the Commission and its 

individual member states. Individuals 

seeking information regarding the 

process to develop specific state or 

regional measures, or on the 

Commission process for technical 

evaluation of proposed measures, 

should contact the marine fisheries 

agency in the state of interest, the 

Commission, or both. 

Once the states and regions select 

their final 2024 and 2025 summer 

flounder and 2024 black sea bass 

management measures through their 

respective development, analytical, and 

review processes and submit them to 

the Commission, the Commission will 

conduct further review and evaluation 

of the submitted proposals. The 

Commission will notify NMFS as to 

which proposals have been approved or 

disapproved. NMFS has no overarching 

authority in the development of state or 

Commission management measures but 

is an equal participant along with all the 

member states in the review process. 

NMFS neither approves nor implements 

individual states’ measures but retains 

the final authority either to approve or 

to disapprove the use of conservation 

equivalency in place of the coastwide 

measures in Federal waters. The final 

combination of state and regional 

measures will be detailed in a letter 

from the Commission to the Greater 

Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office 

certifying that the combination of state 

and regional measures has met the 

conservation objectives under 

Addendum XXXII to the Commission’s 

Interstate FMP. NMFS will publish its 

determination on 2024 and 2025 

conservational equivalency as a final 

rule in the Federal Register following 

review of the Commission’s 

determination and any other public 

comment on this proposed rule. 

2024 and 2025 Summer Flounder 

Recreational Management Measures 

This action proposes adopting 

conservation equivalency for summer 

flounder in 2024 and 2025. The nonpreferred coastwide measures approved 

by the Council and Board are: (1) an 

18.5-inch (46.99-cm) minimum fish size; 

(2) a 3-fish per person possession limit; 

and (3) an open season from May 8– 

September 30. These coastwide 

measures will be waived for 2024 and 

2025 if conservation equivalency is 

approved through this action. However, 

the coastwide measures become the 

default management measures the year 

after conservation equivalency expires 

(in this case, 2026) until the joint 

process establishes either coastwide or 

conservation-equivalency measures for 

the next year. 

The 2024 and 2025 precautionary 

default measures recommended by the 

Council and Board are identical to those 

in place for 2021 through 2023: (1) a 

20.0-inch (50.8-cm) minimum fish size; 

(2) a 2-fish per person possession limit; 

and (3) an open season of July 1–August 

31. If a state or region does not submit 

a conservationally equivalent proposal, 

or submits a proposal for management 

measures that do not meet the required 

level of conservation, the Commission 

will require the state or region to 

implement the precautionary default 

measures. 

Application of the Percent Change 

Approach and the bio-economic model 

used to evaluate recreational behavior 

and summer flounder catch results in a 

required 28-percent reduction in 

summer flounder harvest. 

The Recreational Demand Model was 

used to generate an estimate of expected 

2024–2025 harvest under status quo 

(i.e., 2023) measures, with an associated 

80-percent confidence interval. Results 

suggest that under status quo (i.e., 2023) 

measures, the median projected harvest 

in 2024–2025 would be 8.88 million lb 

(4,027 mt), with an 80-percent 

confidence interval of 8.10 to 9.48 

million lb (3,674–4,300 mt). The 2024– 

2025 RHL of 6.35 million lb (2,880 mt) 

is less than the lower bound of this 

confidence interval (i.e., harvest is 

expected to be higher than the RHL). 

According to the 2023 management 

track stock assessment (using data 

through 2022), summer flounder is 

below the target stock size (i.e., 

estimated at 83 percent of the spawning 

stock biomass target). This puts summer 

flounder in the ‘‘low’’ stock size 

category for the Percent Change 

Approach. This results in a required 

percent change in harvest equal to the 

difference between the harvest estimate 

and the 2-year average RHL, not to 

exceed 40 percent. For summer 

flounder, a 28-percent reduction is 

required based on the percent difference 

between the projected harvest of 8.88 

million lb (4,027 mt) and the RHL of 

6.35 million lb (2,880 mt). The resulting 

2024–2025 harvest target is equal to the 

RHL at 6.35 million lb (2,880 mt). 

TABLE 2—ESTIMATED 2024–2025 SUMMER FLOUNDER HARVEST, ASSOCIATED CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI), RHL, STOCK

SIZE CATEGORY, AND RESULTING PERCENT CHANGE RECOMMENDED

Estimated harvest under 

status quo measures * 80-Percent confidence interval 2023 RHL 

Stock 

size 

category 

Recommended 

percent change 

8.88 million lb (4,027 mt) .... 8.10–9.48 million lb (3,674–4,300 mt) .... 6.35 million lb (2,880 mt) .. Low .............. 28-percent Reduction. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / Proposed Rules 13677 

1Affiliate data for 2018–2022 were provided by 

the NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center 

Social Sciences Branch. This is the latest affiliate 

data set available for analysis. 

2024 Black Sea Bass Recreational 

Management Measures 

This action proposes the continued 

adoption of conservation equivalency 

for black sea bass in 2024. The nonpreferred coastwide and precautionary 

default measures would be the same in 

2024 as they were in 2023. 

The non-preferred coastwide 

measures for 2024 include: (1) a 15-inch 

(38.1-cm) minimum size; (2) a 5-fish 

possession limit; and (3) a May 15– 

September 8 open season. The 

precautionary default measures would 

be implemented in any state or region 

that failed to develop adequate 

measures to constrain landings as 

required by the conservationequivalency guidelines. The 

precautionary default measures in 2024 

include: (1) a 16-inch (40.64-cm) 

minimum size; (2) a 2-fish possession 

limit; and (3) a June 1–August 31 open 

season. 

Under the Percent Change Approach, 

recreational measures are intended to be 

reevaluated every other year, in 

conjunction with the assessment cycle. 

The Percent Change Approach uses the 

biomass from the assessment to partially 

inform what percent change is required. 

However, NMFS did not get a new black 

sea bass stock assessment this year as 

originally anticipated. A new 

management track assessment will be 

available later in 2024, and that will be 

used to inform 2025 specifications and 

potential adjustments to recreational 

management measures. In the absence of 

a new assessment this year, the 

Monitoring Committee, Council, and 

Board recommended maintaining the 

current 2023 measures through 2024, 

such that 2024 is treated as ‘‘year two’’ 

of the management measures. Treating 

2024 as the second year in the 

recreational management cycle and 

aligning the evaluation of management 

measures with new assessment 

information is consistent with the intent 

of the Percent Change Approach, 

specifically, to create more stability in 

measures, and better align management 

measures with stock status. 

Regulatory Text Correction 

The definition of a recreational 

fishing vessel currently references the 

recreational scup fishery; however, the 

definition applies to all recreational 

fisheries. This action corrects this 

definition, removing the reference to the 

scup fishery. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Assistant 

Administrator has determined that this 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass FMP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

NMFS finds that a 15-day comment 

period for this action provides a 

reasonable opportunity for public 

participation in this action pursuant to 

the Administrative Procedure Act 

section 553(c) (5 U.S.C. 553(c)), while 

also ensuring that the final recreational 

management measures are in place 

before the majority of recreational state 

fisheries open. NMFS could not publish 

this proposed rule at an earlier date. The 

recreational management measure 

setting process begins after the Council 

and Board set the annual specifications. 

The Council’s Monitoring Committee 

evaluate the needed changes in 

recreational harvest and develop 

recommendations for coastwide 

management measures for the Council 

and Board to consider. At the December 

12–14, 2023, meeting the Council and 

Board voted on recommended 

recreational management measures. 

Council staff then prepared and 

submitted those recommendations to 

NMFS on January 16, 2024. The 

proposed rule was submitted to the 

Department of Commerce Office of 

General Council on February 8, 2024. 

Given the time needed to review the 

recommendations and prepare the 

Federal rulemaking, this is the earliest 

this rule could be published. 

Additionally, stakeholder and 

industry groups have been involved 

with the development of this action and 

have participated in public meetings 

throughout the past year. Generally, 

stakeholders are supportive of the use of 

conservation equivalency because it 

allows states, and regions, more 

flexibility to set measures, instead of 

one set of coastwide measures that 

apply to all. A prolonged comment 

period and subsequent potential delay 

in implementation past the start of the 

recreational fishing season would be 

contrary to the public interest, as it 

could create confusion both in the 

recreational fisheries regarding the 

management measures, and with state 

agencies as they prepare and finalize 

their recreational management 

measures. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

that this proposed rule, if adopted, 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The Council conducted an 

evaluation of the potential 

socioeconomic impacts of the proposed 

measures. 

Entities affected by this action include 

recreational for-hire operations holding 

Federal party/charter permits for 

summer flounder, black sea bass, or 

both species. Individual anglers and forhire vessels that are only permitted to 

operate in state waters are not 

considered ‘‘small entities’’ under the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and 

thus economic impacts on private 

recreational anglers are not discussed 

here. 

Vessel ownership data 1 were used to 

identify all individuals who own fishing 

vessels. Vessels were then grouped 

according to common owners. The 

resulting groupings were then treated as 

entities, or affiliates, for purposes of 

identifying small and large businesses 

that may be regulated by this action. A 

business primarily engaged in fishing is 

classified as a small business if it is 

independently owned and operated, is 

not dominant in its field of operation 

(including its affiliates) and has 

combined annual receipts not in excess 

of $11 million, for all its affiliated 

operations worldwide. 

A total of 482 affiliates had a Federal 

party/charter permit for summer 

flounder, black sea bass, or both species 

during 2018–2022. All 482 affiliates 

were categorized as small businesses 

based on their average 2018–2022 

revenues for any species. It is not 

possible to determine what proportion 

of their revenues came from fishing for 

an individual species. Nevertheless, 

given the popularity of summer 

flounder and black sea bass as 

recreational species, revenues generated 

from these species are likely important 

for many of these affiliates at certain 

times of the year. 

These 482 small businesses had 

average total annual revenues of 

$130,921 during 2020–2022. Their 

average revenues from recreational forhire fishing (for a variety of species) 

were $107,429. Average annual 

revenues from for-hire fishing ranged 

from less than $10,000 for 195 affiliates 

to over $1,000,000 for 8 affiliates. On 

average, recreational fishing accounted 

for 85 percent of the total revenues for 

these 482 small businesses. The 

contribution of summer flounder and 

black sea bass to these revenues is 

unknown. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
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For-hire revenues are impacted by a 

variety of factors, including regulations 

and demand for for-hire trips for 

summer flounder, black sea bass, and 

other potential target species, as well as 

weather, the economy, and other factors. 

The restrictions proposed for summer 

flounder to achieve a 28-percent 

reduction in harvest could result in a 

decrease in for-hire trips, decreased forhire revenues, and overall slightnegative impacts to recreational for-hire 

businesses, assuming all other factors 

that impact revenues remain 

unchanged. These impacts would be 

greater in magnitude for the for-hire 

businesses that depend more heavily on 

this species. Given that the state/ 

regional measures for black sea bass are 

expected to remain unchanged from 

2023, no impacts from the proposed 

action are expected. No changes to 

Federal recreational scup measures are 

proposed, therefore no impacts from the 

proposed Federal action are expected. 

Because this rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, an 

initial regulatory flexibility analysis is 

not required and none has been 

prepared. 

This proposed rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: February 15, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 648 as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 648.2, revise the definition of 

‘‘Recreational fishing vessel,’’ to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Recreational fishing vessel, means any 

vessel from which no fishing other than 

recreational fishing is conducted. 

Charter and party boats are considered 

recreational fishing vessels for purposes 

of minimum size, season, and 

possession limit requirements. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 648.104, revise paragraph (b) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.104 Summer flounder size 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(b) Party/charter permitted vessels 

and recreational fishery participants. 

The minimum size for summer flounder 

is 18.5-inches (46.99-cm) total length for 

all vessels that do not qualify for a 

summer flounder moratorium permit 

under § 648.4(a)(3), and charter boats 

holding a summer flounder moratorium 

permit if fishing with more than three 

crew members, or party boats holding a 

summer flounder moratorium permit if 

fishing with passengers for hire or 

carrying more than five crew members, 

unless otherwise specified in the 

conservation-equivalency regulations at 

§ 648.107. If conservation equivalency is 

not in effect in any given year, 

possession of smaller (or larger, if 

applicable) summer flounder harvested 

from state waters is allowed for stateonly permitted vessels when transiting 

Federal waters within the Block Island 

Sound Transit Area, provided they 

follow the provisions at § 648.111 and 

abide by state regulations. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 648.105, revise introductory 

paragraph to read as follows: 

§ 648.105 Summer flounder recreational 

fishing season. 

No person may fish for summer 

flounder in the EEZ from October 1 to 

May 7 unless that person is the owner 

or operator of a fishing vessel issued a 

commercial summer flounder 

moratorium permit, or is issued a 

summer flounder dealer permit, or 

unless otherwise specified in the 

conservation-equivalency measures at 

§ 648.107. Persons aboard a commercial 

vessel that is not eligible for a summer 

flounder moratorium permit are subject 

to this recreational fishing season. This 

time period may be adjusted pursuant to 

the procedures in § 648.102. Possession 

of summer flounder harvested from state 

waters during this time is allowed for 

state-only permitted vessels when 

transiting Federal waters within the 

Block Island Sound Transit Area, 

provided they follow the provisions at 

§ 648.111 and abide by state regulations. 

■ 5. In § 648.106, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.106 Summer flounder possession 

restrictions. 

(a) Party/charter and recreational 

possession limits. No person shall 

possess more than three summer 

flounder in, or harvested from, the EEZ, 

per trip unless that person is the owner 

or operator of a fishing vessel issued a 

summer flounder moratorium permit, or 

is issued a summer flounder dealer 

permit, or unless otherwise specified in 

the conservation-equivalency measures 

at § 648.107. Persons aboard a 

commercial vessel that is not eligible for 

a summer flounder moratorium permit 

are subject to this possession limit. The 

owner, operator, and crew of a charter 

or party boat issued a summer flounder 

moratorium permit are subject to the 

possession limit when carrying 

passengers for hire or when carrying 

more than five crew members for a party 

boat, or more than three crew members 

for a charter boat. This possession limit 

may be adjusted pursuant to the 

procedures in § 648.102. Possession of 

summer flounder harvested from state 

waters above this possession limit is 

allowed for state-only permitted vessels 

when transiting Federal waters within 

the Block Island Sound Transit Area, 

provided they follow the provisions at 

§ 648.111 and abide by state regulations. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. In § 648.107, revise (a) introductory 

paragraph to read as follows: 

§ 648.107 Conservation-equivalent 

measures for the summer flounder fishery. 

(a) The Regional Administrator has 

determined that the recreational fishing 

measures proposed to be implemented 

by the states of Maine through North 

Carolina for 2024 and 2025 are the 

conservation equivalent of the season, 

size limits, and possession limit 

prescribed in §§ 648.104(b), 648.105, 

and 648.106. This determination is 

based on a recommendation from the 

Summer Flounder Board of the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission. 

* * * * * 

■ 7. In § 648.151, revise (a) introductory 

paragraph to read as follows: 

§ 648.151 Black sea bass conservation 

equivalency. 

(a) The Regional Administrator has 

determined that the recreational fishing 

measures proposed to be implemented 

by the states of Maine through North 

Carolina for 2024 are the conservation 

equivalent of the season, size limits, and 

possession limit prescribed in 

§§ 648.146, 648.147(b), and 648.145(a). 

This determination is based on a 

recommendation from the Black Sea 

Bass Board of the Atlantic States Marine 

Fisheries Commission. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–03507 Filed 2–22–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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