Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 188 / Friday, September 27, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 79173 

through December season by September 

29, 2024. Accordingly, the commercial 

sector for South Atlantic snowy grouper 

is closed starting on September 29, 

2024, and remains closed through 

December 31, 2024. 

The operator of a vessel with a valid 

commercial vessel permit for South 

Atlantic snapper-grouper having snowy 

grouper on board must have landed and 

bartered, traded, or sold such snowy 

grouper before September 29, 2024. 

During the commercial closure, the sale 

or purchase of snowy grouper taken 

from South Atlantic Federal waters is 

prohibited. The prohibition on sale or 

purchase does not apply to the sale or 

purchase of snowy grouper that were 

harvested, landed ashore, and sold 

before September 29, 2024, and were 

held in cold storage by a dealer or 

processor. The recreational harvest of 

snowy grouper is also closed for the rest 

of 2024 [50 CFR 622.183(b)(8)], and 

therefore, the bag and possession limits 

of snowy grouper harvested in or from 

the South Atlantic are zero. 

For a person on a vessel issued a valid 

Federal commercial or charter vessel/ 

headboat permit for South Atlantic 

snapper-grouper, the bag and possession 

limits and the sale and purchase 

provisions during the commercial 

closure for snowy grouper apply 

regardless of whether the fish are 

harvested in State or Federal waters, as 

specified in 50 CFR 622.190(c)(1)(ii). 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

622.193(b)(1), 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 as 

such procedures are unnecessary and 

contrary to the public interest. Such 

procedures are unnecessary because the 

regulations associated with the 

commercial quota and accountability 

measures for South Atlantic snowy 

grouper have already been subject to 

notice and comment, and all that 

remains is to notify the public of the 

commercial closure for the remainder of 

the July through December fishing 

season this year. Prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment on this 

action is contrary to the public interest 

because of the need to immediately 

implement the commercial closure to 

protect South Atlantic snowy grouper, 

because the capacity of the fishing fleet 

allows for rapid harvest of the 

commercial quota. Prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment would 

require time and would potentially 

result in a harvest that exceeds the 

commercial quota. 

For the reasons just stated, there is 

good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date of this action. 

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

Dated: September 24, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22232 Filed 9–24–24; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 231221–0314; RTID 0648– 

XE335] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 

Quota Transfer From New Jersey to 

North Carolina 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

State of New Jersey is transferring a 

portion of their 2024 commercial 

bluefish quota to the State of North 

Carolina. This quota adjustment is 

necessary to comply with the Atlantic 

Bluefish Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) quota transfer provisions. This 

announcement informs the public of the 

revised 2024 commercial bluefish 

quotas for New Jersey and North 

Carolina. 

DATES: Effective September 26, 2024, 

through December 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew Rigdon, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9336. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the Atlantic 

bluefish fishery are found in 50 CFR 

648.160 through 648.167. These 

regulations require annual specification 

of a commercial quota that is 

apportioned among the coastal states 

from Maine through Florida. The 

process to set the annual commercial 

quota and the percent allocated to each 

state is described in § 648.162, and the 

final 2024 allocations were published 

on January 2, 2024 (89 FR 34). 

The final rule implementing 

amendment 1 to the FMP, as published 

in the Federal Register on July 26, 2000 

(65 FR 45844), provided a mechanism 

for transferring bluefish commercial 

quota from one state to another. Two or 

more states, under mutual agreement 

and with the concurrence of the NMFS 

Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator, 

can request approval to transfer or 

combine bluefish commercial quota 

under § 648.162(e). The Regional 

Administrator is required to consider 

three criteria in the evaluation of 

requests for quota transfers or 

combinations: (1) the transfers would 

not preclude the overall annual quota 

from being fully harvested; (2) the 

transfers address an unforeseen 

variation or contingency in the fishery; 

and (3) the transfers are consistent with 

the objectives of the FMP and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Regional 

Administrator has determined these 

criteria have been met for the transfers 

approved in this notification. 

New Jersey is transferring 100,000 lb 

(45,359 kg) to North Carolina through 

mutual agreement of the states. This 

transfer was requested to ensure North 

Carolina would not exceed its 2024 state 

quota. The revised bluefish quotas for 

2024 are: New Jersey, 148,898 lb (67,539 

kg) and North Carolina, 965,996 lb 

(438,168 kg). 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii), which was 

issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is 

exempted from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

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

Dated: September 24, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22210 Filed 9–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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