Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 58 / Friday, March 25, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 17023 

PART 216—REGULATIONS 

GOVERNING THE TAKING AND 

IMPORTING OF MARINE MAMMALS 

Subpart C—General Exceptions 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 216, 

subpart C, continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq. 

■ 2. Amend § 216.24 by adding 

paragraph (e)(1)(i) and reserved 

paragraph (e)(1)(ii) to read as follows: 

§ 216.24 Taking and related acts in 

commercial fishing operations including 

tuna purse seine vessels in the eastern 

tropical Pacific Ocean. 

* * * * * 

(e) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) Exemption from observer 

requirement. The Administrator, West 

Coast Region (or designee), may issue a 

temporary written exemption from the 

observer requirement in this paragraph 

(e)(1) if the Parties to the AIDCP and/or 

Members of the IATTC have adopted 

emergency observer exemption 

procedures to address relevant global or 

regional health, safety, and security 

concerns, as well as other international 

emergencies and crises. Such 

exemptions will be issued on a case-bycase basis for a single fishing trip, in 

accordance with the AIDCP/IATTC 

exemption procedures in effect at the 

time of the request. Exemptions from 

the requirement in this paragraph (e)(1) 

will only be issued when AIDCP/IATTC 

exemption procedures are in effect and 

are only valid for as long as the AIDCP/ 

IATTC exemption procedures remain in 

effect. NMFS will notify the affected 

fleet via email when existing AIDCP/ 

IATTC exemption procedures expire. 

NMFS will also notify the affected fleet 

via email and the public by publication 

of a document in the Federal Register 

if new exemption procedures are 

adopted by the Parties to the AIDCP 

and/or the Members of the IATTC. 

Requests for exemption must be made to 

the Administrator, West Coast Region, 

via email at WCR.HMS@noaa.gov, or in 

a manner acceptable to the 

Administrator, West Coast Region. 

(ii) [Reserved] 

* * * * * 

PART 300—INTERNATIONAL 

FISHERIES REGULATIONS 

Subpart C—Eastern Pacific Tuna 

Fisheries 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 300, 

subpart C, continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 951 et seq. 

■ 4. Amend § 300.24 by revising 

paragraph (n) to read as follows: 

§ 300.24 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(n) Use a fishing vessel of class size 

4–6 to fish with purse seine gear in the 

Convention Area in contravention of the 

observer requirements in § 300.25(d) or 

the purse seine closure period 

requirements in § 300.25(e)(1), (2), or 

(5). 

* * * * * 

■ 5. Amend § 300.25 by adding 

paragraph (d) to read as follows: 

§ 300.25 Fisheries management. 

* * * * * 

(d) Observer requirements—(1) Purse 

seine vessels. (i) The holder of an 

eastern tropical Pacific Ocean vessel 

permit, as required by § 216.24(b) of this 

title, must allow an observer duly 

authorized by the Administrator, West 

Coast Region, to accompany the vessel 

on all fishing trips in the IATTC 

Convention Area for the purpose of 

conducting research and observing 

operations, including collecting 

information that may be used in civil or 

criminal penalty proceedings, forfeiture 

actions, or permit sanctions, pursuant to 

the requirements in § 216.24(e) of this 

title. A vessel that fails to carry an 

observer in accordance with these 

requirements may not engage in fishing 

operations unless an exemption has 

been granted from these requirements as 

provided for in § 216.24(e)(1)(i) of this 

title. 

(ii) [Reserved]. 

(2) [Reserved]. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–06337 Filed 3–24–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No.: 211217–0262; RTID 0648– 

XB894] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

Quota Transfer From VA to NJ 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Commonwealth of Virginia is 

transferring a portion of its 2022 

commercial summer flounder quota to 

the State of New Jersey. This adjustment 

to the 2022 fishing year quota is 

necessary to comply with the Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Fishery Management Plan quota transfer 

provisions. This announcement informs 

the public of the revised 2022 

commercial quotas for Virginia and New 

Jersey. 

DATES: Effective March 24, 2022, 

through December 31, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Deighan, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9184. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are found in 50 CFR 

648.100 through 648.110. These 

regulations require annual specification 

of a commercial quota that is 

apportioned among the coastal states 

from Maine through North Carolina. The 

process to set the annual commercial 

quota and the percent allocated to each 

state is described in § 648.102 and final 

2022 allocations were published on 

December 23, 2021 (86 FR 72859). 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP), as 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 17, 1993 (58 FR 65936), 

provided a mechanism for transferring 

summer flounder 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 transfer or combine summer 

flounder commercial quota under 

§ 648.102(c)(2). The Regional 

Administrator is required to consider 

three criteria in the evaluation of 

requests for quota transfers or 

combinations: The transfer or 

combinations would not preclude the 

overall annual quota from being fully 

harvested; the transfer addresses an 

unforeseen variation or contingency in 

the fishery; and the transfer is consistent 

with the objectives of the FMP and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. The 

Regional Administrator has determined 

these three criteria have been met for 

the transfer approved in this 

notification. 

Virginia is transferring 770 lb (349 kg) 

to New Jersey through mutual 

agreement of the states. This transfer 

was requested to repay landings made 

by an out-of-state permitted vessel 

under a safe harbor agreement. The 

revised summer flounder quotas for 

2022 are: Virginia, 2,787,731 lb 

(1,264,494 kg) and New Jersey, 

2,338,498 lb (1,060,725 kg). 


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17024 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 58 / Friday, March 25, 2022 / 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 

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: March 18, 2022. 

Ngagne Jafnar Gueye, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06287 Filed 3–24–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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