Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 99147 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification. As a result, a 

regulatory flexibility analysis was not 

required and none was prepared. 

This final rule is exempt from the 

procedures of E.O. 12866 because this 

action contains no implementing 

regulations. 

This final rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: December 4, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28845 Filed 12–9–24; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 697 

[Docket No. 211101–0222; RTID 0648– 

XE493] 

Fisheries of the Atlantic; Atlantic 

Migratory Group Cobia; 2024 

Commercial Closure for Atlantic 

Migratory Group Cobia 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS implements a closure 

in Federal waters off Georgia through 

New York for Atlantic migratory group 

cobia (Atlantic cobia) that are harvested 

and sold (commercial). Commercial 

landings of Atlantic cobia are projected 

to reach the commercial quota on 

December 18, 2024. Therefore, NMFS 

closes the commercial sector for 

Atlantic cobia in Federal waters. This 

closure is necessary to protect the 

Atlantic cobia resource. 

DATES: This temporary rule is effective 

from December 18, 2024, through 

December 31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Frank Helies, NMFS Southeast Regional 

Office, telephone: 727–824–5305, email: 

frank.helies@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

fishery for Atlantic cobia in Federal 

waters is managed under the authority 

of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries 

Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic 

Coastal Act) by regulations at 50 CFR 

part 697. 

Separate migratory groups of cobia are 

managed in the Gulf of Mexico and 

Atlantic. Atlantic cobia is managed from 

Georgia through New York [50 CFR 

697.2(a)]. The southern boundary for 

Atlantic cobia is a line that extends due 

east of the Florida and Georgia state 

border at 30°42′45.6′′ N latitude. The 

northern boundary for Atlantic cobia is 

the jurisdictional boundary between the 

Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery 

Management Councils, as specified in 

50 CFR 600.105(a). The fishing year for 

Atlantic cobia is January 1 through 

December 31 [50 CFR 697.28(a)]. 

Amendment 31 to the Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) for Coastal 

Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf 

of Mexico and Atlantic Region and the 

implementing final rule removed 

Atlantic cobia from Federal 

management under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act, while also 

implementing comparable regulations in 

Federal waters under the Atlantic 

Coastal Act (84 FR 4733, February 19, 

2019). 

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (ASMFC) approved 

Amendment 1 to the Interstate FMP for 

Atlantic Cobia in 2019 and Addendum 

1 to Amendment 1 in 2020. Amendment 

1 and Addendum 1 provided for an 

increase in the commercial quota and 

transferred quota monitoring 

responsibility to the ASMFC. NMFS 

subsequently issued comparable 

regulations for Amendment 1 and 

Addendum 1 on November 8, 2021 (86 

FR 61714, November 8, 2021). That final 

rule increased the commercial quota to 

73,116 pounds (lb) or 33,165 kilograms 

(kg) and transferred quota monitoring 

responsibility from NMFS to the 

ASMFC [50 CFR 697.28(f)(1)]. 

Additionally as described in that final 

rule, during the fishing year if the 

ASMFC estimates that the sum of 

commercial landings (cobia that are 

sold), reaches or is projected to reach 

the commercial quota, then the ASMFC 

will notify NMFS of the need for a 

commercial closure in Atlantic Federal 

waters for Atlantic cobia [50 CFR 

697.28(f)(1)]. 

Atlantic cobia are unique among 

federally managed species in the U.S. 

southeast region, because no 

commercial permit is required to 

harvest and sell them, and so the 

distinction between the commercial and 

recreational sectors is not as clear as 

with other federally managed stocks. 

However, for purposes of this temporary 

rule, Atlantic cobia that are harvested 

and sold are considered commercially 

caught, and those that are harvested and 

not sold are considered recreationally 

caught. 

On November 18, 2024, the ASMFC 

notified NMFS that commercial 

landings information indicated that the 

commercial quota is estimated to be met 

by December 18, 2024. Accordingly, the 

ASMFC requested that NMFS close 

commercial harvest of Atlantic cobia in 

Atlantic Federal waters on December 18, 

2024, to prevent the commercial quota 

from being exceeded. 

Regulations for the commercial sector 

of Atlantic cobia at 50 CFR 697.28(f)(1) 

require that NMFS file a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register 

to prohibit the harvest, sale, trade, 

barter, or purchase of Atlantic cobia for 

the remainder of the fishing year when 

commercial landings reach or are 

projected to reach the commercial quota 

specified in 50 CFR 697.28(f)(1). 

Accordingly, the commercial sector for 

Atlantic cobia is closed in Federal 

waters beginning on December 18, 2024, 

and will remain closed until the start of 

the next fishing year on January 1, 2025. 

The recreational bag and possession 

limits for Atlantic cobia apply while the 

recreational sector is open [50 CFR 

697.28(e)]. The prohibition on sale and 

purchase does not apply to Atlantic 

cobia that were harvested, landed 

ashore, and sold before December 18, 

2024, and were held in cold storage by 

a dealer or processor. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

the Atlantic Coastal Act. This action is 

required by 50 CFR 697.28(f)(1) and is 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

These measures are exempt from the 

procedures of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, because the temporary rule is 

issued without opportunity for prior 

notice and comment. 

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 


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99148 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

commercial quota and closure 

provisions for Atlantic cobia 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 2024 

fishing 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 Atlantic cobia, since 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 

likely 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. 5101 et seq. 

Dated: December 4, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28943 Filed 12–5–24; 4:15 pm] 

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