Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 9, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 81869 

Species 1

Citation(s) for listing 

determination(s) 

Critical 

habitat ESA rules 

Common name Scientific name Description of listed entity 

*******

Corals 

*******

Coral, [no common name] Fimbriaphyllia paradivisa ... Entire species .................... 79 FR 53852, Sept. 10, 

2014.

226.230 NA. 

* * * * * * * 

1Species includes taxonomic species, subspecies, distinct population segments (DPSs) (for a policy statement, see 61 FR 4722, February 7, 

1996), and evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) (for a policy statement, see 56 FR 58612, November 20, 1991). 

[FR Doc. 2024–23317 Filed 10–8–24; 8:45 a.m.] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 240228–0062; RTID 0648– 

XE363] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; 

Adjustment to the 2024 Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason 

adjustment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS increases the 2024 

Atlantic herring annual catch limit and 

Area 1A sub-annual catch limit by 1,000 

metric tons (mt) for the remainder of 

2024. This action is required by the 

herring regulations when, based on data 

through October 1, 2024, NMFS 

determines that the New Brunswick 

weir fishery has landed less than 2,722 

mt of herring. This notification informs 

the public of these catch limit changes. 

DATES: Effective October 8, 2024, 

through December 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ashley Trudeau, Fishery Resource 

Management Specialist, 978–281–9252, 

ashley.trudeau@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

published final 2024 specifications for 

the Atlantic Herring Fishery 

Management Plan on March 4, 2024 (89 

FR 15482), establishing the 2024 annual 

catch limit (ACL) and area sub-ACLs. 

Table 1 shows the current herring 

specifications for 2024 and the 

specifications as revised by this action 

for the remainder of the calendar year. 

The NMFS Regional Administrator 

tracks herring landings in the New 

Brunswick weir fishery each year. The 

regulations at 50 CFR 648.201(h) require 

that if the New Brunswick weir fishery 

landings through October 1 are 

determined to be less than 2,722 mt, 

then NMFS subtracts 1,000 mt from the 

management uncertainty buffer and 

reallocates that amount to the ACL and 

Area 1A sub-ACL. When such a 

determination is made, NMFS is 

required to notify the New England 

Fishery Management Council and 

publish the ACL and Area 1A sub-ACL 

adjustment in the Federal Register. 

Information from Canada’s 

Department of Fisheries and Oceans 

indicates that the New Brunswick weir 

fishery landed 930 mt of herring 

through October 1, 2024. Therefore, the 

Regional Administrator determined that, 

effective upon notification filing in the 

Federal Register, 1,000 mt will be 

reallocated from the management 

uncertainty buffer to the Area 1A subACL and the ACL. This 1,000 mt 

reallocation increases the Area 1A subACL from 5,504 mt to 6,504 mt and the 

ACL from 19,141 mt to 20,141 mt for the 

remainder of 2024. 

Additionally, NMFS will use the 

adjusted allocations when we project 

whether catch from Area 1A will reach 

92 percent of the Area 1A sub-ACL, or 

whether overall herring catch will reach 

95 percent of the ACL. When Area 1A 

catch is projected to reach 92 percent of 

the Area 1A sub-ACL, catch from this 

area is reduced to 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) per 

trip, per calendar day. When overall 

catch is projected to reach 95 percent of 

the ACL, then catch in or from all 

herring management areas is limited to 

2,000 lb (907.2 kg) per trip, per calendar 

day. 

TABLE 1—ATLANTIC HERRING SPECIFICATIONS FOR 2024 

Current specifications 

(mt) 

Adjusted specifications 

(mt) 

Overfishing Limit ............................................................................................................ 32,233 32,233 

Acceptable Biological Catch .......................................................................................... 23,409 23,409 

Management Uncertainty ............................................................................................... 4,220 3,220 

Optimum Yield/ACL ....................................................................................................... 19,141 20,141 

Domestic Annual Harvest .............................................................................................. 19,141 20,141 

Border Transfer .............................................................................................................. 0 0 

Domestic Annual Processing ......................................................................................... 19,141 20,141 

U.S. At-Sea Processing ................................................................................................. 0 0 

Area 1A Sub-ACL (28.9 percent) .................................................................................. 5,504 6,504 

Area 1B Sub-ACL (4.3 percent) .................................................................................... 819 819 

Area 2 Sub-ACL (27.8 percent) ..................................................................................... 5,449 5,449 

Area 3 Sub-ACL (39 percent) ........................................................................................ 7,484 7,484 

Fixed Gear Set-Aside .................................................................................................... 30 30 

Research Set-Aside (RSA) ............................................................................................ 0% 0% 


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81870 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 196 / Wednesday, October 9, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

part 648, which was issued pursuant to 

section 304(b), and is exempt from 

review under Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior 

notice and the opportunity for public 

comment on this inseason adjustment 

because it would be unnecessary and 

contrary to the public interest. This 

action allocates a portion of the 

management uncertainty buffer to the 

ACL and Area 1A sub-ACL for the 

remainder of the calendar year pursuant 

to a previously published regulation 

that provides no discretionary decisionmaking. This reallocation process was 

the subject of prior notice and comment 

rulemaking. The adjustment is routine 

and formulaic, required by regulation, 

and is expected by industry. The 

potential to reallocate the management 

uncertainty buffer was also outlined in 

the 2024 herring specifications that 

were published March 23, 2023 (88 FR 

17397), which were developed through 

public notice and comment. Further, 

this reallocation provides additional 

economic opportunity for the herring 

fleet. If implementation of this action is 

delayed to solicit public comment, the 

objective of the fishery management 

plan to achieve optimum yield in the 

fishery could be compromised. 

Deteriorating weather conditions during 

the latter part of the fishing year may 

reduce fishing effort, and could also 

prevent the ACL from being fully 

harvested. This would result in a 

negative economic impact on vessels 

permitted to fish in this fishery. Based 

on these considerations, NMFS further 

finds, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), 

good cause to waive the 30-day delayed 

effectiveness period for the reasons 

stated above. 

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

Dated: October 3, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23318 Filed 10–8–24; 8:45 am] 

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