Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 75505 

Closure of the September 2024 BFT 

General Category Fishery 

To date, reported landings for the BFT 

General category September time period 

total 98.5 mt. Based on these landings 

data, including average daily catch 

rates, as well as anticipated favorable 

fishing conditions in the coming days, 

NMFS has determined that the adjusted 

September time period subquota of 

188.3 mt is projected to be reached and 

exceeded shortly. Therefore, retaining, 

possessing, or landing large medium or 

giant (i.e., measuring 73 inches (185 cm) 

CFL or greater) BFT by persons aboard 

vessels permitted in the Atlantic Tunas 

General category and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permitted vessels (while 

fishing commercially) must cease at 

11:30 p.m. local time on September 12, 

2024. The BFT General category will 

automatically reopen October 1, 2024, 

for the October through November time 

period. This action applies to Atlantic 

Tunas General category (commercial) 

permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permitted vessels with a 

commercial sale endorsement when 

fishing commercially for BFT and is 

taken consistent with the regulations at 

§ 635.28(a)(1). 

Waiver for Remaining September RFDs 

On May 31, 2024 (89 FR 47095), 

NMFS published a final rule, which 

among other things, implemented RFDs 

every Sunday, Tuesday, Friday, and 

Saturday from July 1 through November 

30, 2024. Since the fishery will be 

closed for the remainder of the 

September time period, NMFS has 

decided to waive the previously 

scheduled RFDs for the remainder of 

that time period. Previously scheduled 

RFDs (i.e., every Sunday, Tuesday, 

Friday, and Saturday) will resume on 

October 1, 2024. 

With the RFDs waived during a 

closure, consistent with § 635.23(a)(7), 

fishermen aboard General category 

permitted vessels and HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permitted vessels may tag and 

release BFT of all sizes, subject to the 

requirements of the catch-and-release 

and tag-and-release programs described 

at § 635.26. All BFT that are released 

must be handled in a manner that will 

maximize their survival, and without 

removing the fish from the water, 

consistent with requirements at 

§ 635.21(a)(1). For additional 

information on safe handling, see the 

‘‘Careful Catch and Release’’ brochure 

available at https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/

outreach-and-education/careful-catchand-release-brochure/. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to monitor the 

BFT fisheries closely. Per 

§ 635.5(b)(2)(i)(A), dealers are required 

to submit landing reports within 24 

hours of a dealer receiving BFT. Late 

reporting by dealers compromises 

NMFS’ ability to timely implement 

actions such as quota and retention 

limit adjustments, as well as closures, 

and may result in enforcement actions. 

Additionally, and separate from the 

dealer reporting requirement, General 

and HMS Charter/Headboat category 

vessel owners are required per 

§ 635.5(a)(4) to report their own catch of 

all BFT retained or discarded dead 

within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end 

of each trip, by accessing https://

hmspermits.noaa.gov, using the HMS 

Catch Reporting app, or calling 888– 

872–8862 (Monday through Friday from 

8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.). 

After the fishery reopens on October 

1, depending on the level of fishing 

effort and catch rates of BFT at that 

time, NMFS may determine that 

additional adjustments are necessary to 

ensure available subquotas are not 

exceeded or to enhance scientific data 

collection from, and fishing 

opportunities in, all geographic areas as 

specified under § 635.27(a)(7). If 

needed, subsequent adjustments will be 

published in the Federal Register. In 

addition, fishermen may access https:// 

hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on 

quota monitoring and inseason 

adjustments. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(d)) and regulations 

at 50 CFR part 635 and this action is 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

NMFS (AA) finds that pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B), it is impracticable and 

contrary to the public interest to provide 

prior notice of, and an opportunity for 

public comment on this action, for the 

following reasons. Specifically, the 

regulations implementing the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP and 

amendments provide for inseason 

retention limit adjustments and fishery 

closures to respond to the unpredictable 

nature of BFT availability on the fishing 

grounds, the migratory nature of this 

species, and the regional variations in 

the BFT fishery. Providing for prior 

notice and an opportunity to comment 

is impracticable and contrary to the 

public interest as this fishery is 

currently underway and, based on the 

most recent landings information, the 

available time period subquota is 

projected to be reached shortly. 

Delaying this action could result in BFT 

landings that exceed the September time 

period subquota, which may result in 

future potential quota reductions for 

other BFT categories, depending on the 

magnitude of a potential overharvest. 

Taking this action does not raise 

conservation and management concerns 

and would support effective 

management of the BFT fishery. NMFS 

notes that the public had an opportunity 

to comment on the underlying 

rulemakings that established the U.S. 

BFT quota and the inseason adjustment 

and closure criteria. 

For all of the above reasons, the AA 

also finds that pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(d), there is good cause to waive the 

30-day delay in effective date. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 

et seq. 

Dated: September 11, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20994 Filed 9–11–24; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 240304–0068; RTID 0648– 

XE270] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of 

Pacific Cod in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; reallocation. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is reallocating the 

projected unused amount of Pacific cod 

from American Fisheries Act (AFA) 

catcher/processor vessels to 

Amendment 80 vessels in the Bering 

Sea and Aleutian Islands management 

area. This action is necessary to allow 

the 2024 total allowable catch (TAC) of 

Pacific cod to be harvested. 

DATES: Effective September 11, 2024, 

through 2400 hours, Alaska local time 

(A.l.t.), December 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Whitney, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) 


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75506 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 179 / Monday, September 16, 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 under 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

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. 

TAC specified for AFA catcher/ 

processor vessels in the BSAI is 3,201 

metric tons (mt) as established by the 

final 2024 and 2025 harvest 

specifications for groundfish in the 

BSAI (89 FR 17287, March 11, 2024). 

The 2024 Pacific cod TAC allocated to 

Amendment 80 vessels in the BSAI is 

18,647 mt as established by final 2024 

and 2025 harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the BSAI (89 FR 17287, 

March 11, 2024). 

The Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS, (Regional Administrator) has 

determined that AFA catcher/processor 

vessels will not be able to harvest 1,500 

mt of the AFA catcher/processor vessels 

2024 Pacific cod TAC allocated to those 

vessels under § 679.20(a)(7)(ii)(A)(7). 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 679.20(a)(7)(iii)(B), NMFS apportions 

1,500 mt of Pacific cod from AFA 

catcher/processor vessels to 

Amendment 80 vessels. 

The harvest specifications for 2024 

Pacific cod included in final 2024 and 

2025 harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the BSAI (89 FR 17287, 

March 11, 2024) are revised as follows: 

1,701 mt to AFA catcher/processor 

vessels and 20,147 mt to Amendment 80 

vessels. 

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 

Pacific cod specified from AFA catcher/ 

processor vessels to Amendment 80 

vessels. NMFS was unable to publish a 

notice providing time for public 

comment because the most recent, 

relevant data only became available as 

of September 10, 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: September 11, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20993 Filed 9–11–24; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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