81394 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 8, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Authority 

The authority for these actions is the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). 

Martha Williams, 

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22914 Filed 10–7–24; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 24034–0068; RTID 0648–XE347] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Reallocation of Atka 

Mackerel 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 the 2024 

Atka mackerel incidental catch 

allowance (ICA) for the Bering Sea 

subarea and Eastern Aleutian district 

(BS/EAI) to the Amendment 80 

cooperative allocation for the BS/EAI in 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

management area (BSAI). This action is 

necessary to allow the 2024 total 

allowable catch of Atka mackerel in the 

BSAI to be fully harvested. 

DATES: Effective October 7, 2024 

through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Steve Whitney, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI 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 parts 600 and 679. 

The 2024 Atka mackerel ICA for the 

BS/EAI is 800 metric tons (mt) and the 

2024 Atka mackerel total allowable 

catch allocated to the Amendment 80 

cooperative for the BS/EAI is 25,081 mt 

as established by the final 2024 and 

2025 harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the BSAI (89 FR 17287, 

March 11, 2024). 

The Administrator, Alaska Region, 

NMFS, has determined that 700 mt of 

the Atka mackerel ICA for the BS/EAI 

will not be harvested. Therefore, in 

accordance with § 679.91(f), NMFS 

reallocates 700 mt of Atka mackerel 

from the BS/EAI ICA to the BS/EAI 

Amendment 80 cooperative allocation 

in the BSAI. In accordance with 

§ 679.91(f), NMFS will reissue the 

cooperative quota permit for the 

reallocated Atka mackerel following the 

procedures set forth in § 679.91(f)(3). 

The harvest specifications for Atka 

mackerel included in the harvest 

specifications for groundfish in the 

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

revised as follows: 100 mt of Atka 

mackerel for the BS/EAI ICA and 25,781 

mt of Atka mackerel for the Amendment 

80 cooperative allocation for the BS/ 

EAI. Table 7 is revised and republished 

in its entirety as follows: 

TABLE 7—FINAL 2024 SEASONAL AND SPATIAL ALLOWANCES, GEAR SHARES, CDQ RESERVE, INCIDENTAL CATCH

ALLOWANCE, AND AMENDMENT 80 ALLOCATIONS OF THE BSAI ATKA MACKEREL TAC 

[Amounts are in metric tons] 

Sector 1 Season 234

2024 Allocation by area 

Eastern Aleutian 

District/Bering Sea 

Central Aleutian 

District 5

Western Aleutian 

District 

TAC ..................................................... n/a ....................................................... 32,260 16,754 23,973 

CDQ reserve ....................................... Total .................................................... 3,452 1,793 2,565 

A ......................................................... 1,726 896 1,283 

Critical Habitat .................................... n/a 538 770 

B ......................................................... 1,726 896 1,283 

Critical Habitat .................................... n/a 538 770 

Non-CDQ TAC .................................... n/a ....................................................... 28,808 14,961 21,408 

ICA ...................................................... Total .................................................... 100 75 20 

Jig 6 ..................................................... Total .................................................... 140 ................................ ................................

BSAI trawl limited access ................... Total .................................................... 2,787 1,489 ................................

A ......................................................... 1,393 744 ................................

Critical Habitat .................................... n/a 447 ................................

B ......................................................... 1,393 744 ................................

Critical Habitat .................................... n/a 447 ................................

Amendment 80 sector ........................ Total .................................................... 25,781 13,398 21,388 

A ......................................................... 12,891 6,699 10,694 

Critical Habitat .................................... n/a 4,019 6,416 

B ......................................................... 12,891 6,699 10,694 

Critical Habitat .................................... n/a 4,019 6,416 

Note: Seasonal or sector apportionments may not total precisely due to rounding. 1Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii) allocates the Atka mackerel total allowable catches (TACs), after subtracting the community development quota 

(CDQ) reserves, ICAs, and jig gear allocation, to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors. The allocation of the Initial total allowable catch (ITAC) for Atka mackerel to the Amendment 80 and BSAI trawl limited access sectors is established in table 33 to 50 CFR part 

679 and § 679.91. The CDQ reserve is 10.7 percent of the TAC for use by CDQ participants (see § 679.20(b)(1)(ii)(C)). 2Sections 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(A) and 679.22(a) establish temporal and spatial limitations for the Atka mackerel fishery. 

3The seasonal allowances of Atka mackerel for the CDQ reserve, BSAI trawl limited access sector, and Amendment 80 sector are 50 percent 

in the A season and 50 percent in the B season. 4Section 679.23(e)(3) authorizes directed fishing for Atka mackerel with trawl gear during the A season from January 20 to June 10 and the B 

season from June 10 to December 31. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 8, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 81395 

5Section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(i) limits no more than 60 percent of the annual TACs in Areas 542 and 543 to be caught inside of Steller sea 

lion protection areas; section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(1)(ii) equally divides the annual harvest limits between the A and B seasons as defined at 

§ 679.23(e)(3); and section 679.20(a)(8)(ii)(C)(2) requires that the TAC in Area 543 shall be no more than 65 percent of Acceptable Biological 

Catch (ABC) in Area 543. 6Sections 679.2 and 679.20(a)(8)(i) require that up to 2 percent of the Eastern Aleutian Islands District and the Bering Sea subarea TAC be 

allocated to jig gear after subtracting the CDQ reserve and the ICA. NMFS sets the amount of this allocation for 2024 at 0.5 percent. The jig 

gear allocation is not apportioned by season. 

This will enhance the socioeconomic 

well-being of harvesters dependent 

upon Atka mackerel in this area. The 

Regional Administrator considered the 

following factors in reaching this 

decision: (1) the current catch of Atka 

mackerel ICA in the BS/EAI, and (2) the 

harvest capacity and stated intent on 

future harvesting patterns of the 

Amendment 80 cooperative that 

participates in this BS/EAI fishery. 

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 harvest of Atka 

mackerel in the BS/EAI fishery. NMFS 

was unable to publish a notice 

providing time for public comment 

because the most recent, relevant data 

only became available as of September 

25, 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. 

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. 2024–23249 Filed 10–7–24; 8:45 am] 

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