99138 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Gary Frazer, 

Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28430 Filed 12–9–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 231215–0305; RTID 0648– 

XE515] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

2024 Commercial Quota Harvested for 

the State of Connecticut 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

2024 summer flounder commercial 

quota allocated to the State of 

Connecticut has been harvested. Vessels 

issued a commercial Federal fisheries 

permit for the summer flounder fishery 

may not land summer flounder in 

Connecticut for the remainder of 

calendar year 2024, unless additional 

quota becomes available through a 

transfer from another state. Regulations 

governing the summer flounder fishery 

require publication of this notification 

to advise Connecticut that the quota has 

been harvested, and to advise vessel 

permit holders and dealer permit 

holders that no Federal commercial 

quota is available for landing summer 

flounder in Connecticut. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours December 

10, 2024, through 2400 hours December 

31, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Matthew Rigdon, (978) 281–9336, or 

matthew.rigdon@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are found at 50 CFR 

648.100 through 648.111. The 

regulations require annual specification 

of a commercial quota that is 

apportioned on a percentage basis 

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. 

The commercial quota for summer 

flounder for 2024 was set equal to 

8,789,830 pounds (lb; 3,987,000 

kilograms (kg)) (88 FR 88266, December 

23, 2023). The amount allocated to 

vessels landing summer flounder in 

Connecticut is 198,394 lb (89,990 kg). 

The NMFS Regional Administrator for 

the Greater Atlantic Region monitors the 

state commercial landings and 

determines when a state’s commercial 

quota has been harvested. NMFS is 

required to publish notification in the 

Federal Register advising and notifying 

commercial vessels and dealer permit 

holders that, effective upon a specific 

date, the state’s commercial quota has 

been harvested and no commercial 

quota is available for landing summer 

flounder in that state. Based on dealer 

reports and other available information, 

the Regional Administrator has 

determined that the available quota has 

been harvested. The Marine Fisheries 

Program of the Connecticut Department 

of Energy and Environmental Protection 

determined that its 2024 commercial 

summer flounder quota has been 

harvested and closed the state fishery on 

December 1, 2024. This action promotes 

consistency between state and Federal 

management measures. 

The regulations at 50 CFR 648.14(n) 

prohibit federally permitted vessels 

from landing summer flounder for sale 

in a state, and prohibit all persons from 

purchasing or otherwise receiving 

summer flounder for a commercial 

purpose after the effective date 

published in the Federal Register 

notification that commercial quota is no 

longer available in that state. Therefore, 

effective 0001 hours on December 10, 

2024, landing of summer flounder in 

Connecticut by vessels holding Federal 

summer flounder commercial fishery 

permits is prohibited for the remainder 

of the 2024 calendar year, unless 

additional quota becomes available 

through a transfer and is announced in 

the Federal Register. Effective 0001 

hours on December 10, 2024, federally 

permitted dealers are also notified that 

they may not purchase summer flounder 

from federally permitted vessels that 

land in Connecticut for the remainder of 

the calendar year, or until additional 

quota becomes available through a 

transfer from another state. 

Classification 

This action is required by 50 CFR part 

648 and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 

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

prior notice and the opportunity for 

public comment because it would be 

contrary to the public interest. This 

action closes the commercial summer 

flounder fishery for Connecticut until 

January 1, 2025, under current 

regulations. The regulations at 50 CFR 

648.103(b) require such action to ensure 

that summer flounder vessels do not 

exceed quotas allocated to the states. If 

implementation of this closure was 

delayed to solicit prior public comment, 

the quota for this fishing year will be 

exceeded, thereby undermining the 

conservation objectives of the Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Fishery Management Plan. The 

Assistant Administrator further finds, 

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

cause to waive the 30-day delayed 

effectiveness period for the reason 

stated above. 

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

Dated: December 4, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–28889 Filed 12–5–24; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 241203–0308] 

RTID 0648–XE226 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; 2025 Specifications for the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea 

Bass, and Bluefish Fisheries 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces 2025 

specifications for the summer flounder, 

scup, black sea bass, and bluefish 

fisheries. The implementing regulations 

for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) and the Bluefish Fishery 

Management Plan require us to publish 

specifications for the upcoming fishing 

year for each of these species. The 

specifications for these species are 

intended to establish allowable harvest 

levels that will prevent overfishing, 

consistent with the most recent 

scientific information, for the 2025 

fishing year. 

DATES: This rule is effective January 1, 

2025. 

ADDRESSES: A Supplemental 

Information Report (SIR) was prepared 

for the 2025 black sea bass 

specifications. An Environmental 

Assessment (EA) was prepared for the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 99139 

2024 and projected 2025 summer 

flounder and scup specifications and 

2024 and projected 2025 bluefish 

specifications. Copies of the SIR and 

EAs are available on request from Dr. 

Christopher M. Moore, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Suite 201, 800 

North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 

The EAs are also accessible via the 

internet at https://www.mafmc.org/ 

supporting-documents. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laura Deighan, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9184, Laura.Deighan@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

General Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) and the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (Commission) 

cooperatively develop management 

measures for the summer flounder, 

scup, black sea bass, and bluefish 

fisheries. The Council, pursuant to the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) develops 

recommendations regarding fisheries in 

Federal waters seaward of New York, 

New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, 

Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. 

The Commission, pursuant to the 

Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 

Management Act, addresses fisheries in 

state waters from Florida to Maine. 

These bodies work together in the 

development of complementary FMPs 

for species like summer flounder, scup, 

black sea bass, and bluefish that are 

harvested in both Federal and state 

waters, and each year, these bodies 

work together to develop specifications 

for these fisheries. The Council provides 

its recommendations to NMFS, and 

NMFS engages in a Federal rulemaking 

process by which the agency adopts 

specifications that become binding on 

the Federal fisheries. Specifications in 

these fisheries include various catch 

and landing subdivisions, such as the 

commercial and recreational sector 

annual catch limits (ACL), annual catch 

targets (ACT), and sector-specific 

landing limits (i.e., the commercial 

fishery quota and recreational harvest 

limit (RHL)) established for 1 to 3 years 

at a time. Adjustments to commercial 

management measures are also 

considered in the specifications process. 

The process for measures used to 

manage the recreational fisheries (i.e., 

minimum fish sizes, seasonal closures, 

and possession restrictions) for these 

four species occurs separately and is not 

discussed further in this final rule. This 

action implements 2025 acceptable 

biological catches (ABC), as well as the 

recreational and commercial ACLs, 

ACTs, commercial quotas, and RHLs for 

all four species. 

Final 2025 Specifications 

Summer Flounder Specifications 

This action adopts the Council and 

the Commission’s Summer Flounder 

Board-recommended 2025 summer 

flounder catch and landings limits 

shown in table 1. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF 2025 SUMMER FLOUNDER FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS

Specifications Million pounds 

(lb) 

Metric ton 

(mt) 

Overfishing Limit (OFL) ....................................................................................................................................... 24.97 11,325 

ABC ...................................................................................................................................................................... 19.32 8,761 

Commercial ACL = ACT ...................................................................................................................................... 10.62 4,819 

Commercial Quota ............................................................................................................................................... 8.79 3,987 

Recreational ACL = ACT ..................................................................................................................................... 8.69 3,942 

Recreational Harvest Limit .................................................................................................................................. 6.35 2,879 

The final 2025 state-by-state summer 

flounder quotas are provided in table 2. 

As required in Amendment 21 (85 FR 

80661), if the commercial quota in any 

year is higher than 9.55 million lb 

(4,332 mt), the first 9.55 million lb 

(4,322 mt) is distributed according to 

the baseline formula found in the 

regulations at 50 CFR 648.102(c)(1)(i) 

(the baseline allocations were 

established through Amendment 2 (57 

FR 57358) and modified by Amendment 

4 (58 FR 49937)). Any additional quota 

is distributed in equal shares to all 

states except Maine, Delaware, and New 

Hampshire, which split 1 percent of the 

additional quota. Because this year’s 

quota is below 9.55 million lb (4,322 

mt), the state-by-state allocations are 

based on the baseline allocations. This 

final rule includes adjustments for 

previously unaccounted for 2023 and 

preliminary 2024 overages to determine 

the final state quotas. 

TABLE 2—FINAL 2025 SUMMER FLOUNDER STATE-BY-STATE QUOTAS

State Percent share up 

to 9.55 million lb 

Final 2025 quotas 1

(lb) 

Final 2025 quotas 1

(mt) 

ME ........................................................................................................ 0.04756 4,180 1.9 

NH ........................................................................................................ 0.00046 40 0.02 

MA ........................................................................................................ 6.82046 571,147 259.07 

RI ......................................................................................................... 15.68298 1,378,507 625.28 

CT 2 ...................................................................................................... 2.25708 198,393 89.99 

NY ........................................................................................................ 7.64699 672,157 304.89 

NJ ......................................................................................................... 16.72499 1,470,098 666.83 

DE ........................................................................................................ 0.01779 1,564 0.71 

MD ....................................................................................................... 2.0391 179,233 81.3 

VA ........................................................................................................ 21.31676 1,873,707 849.9 

NC ........................................................................................................ 27.44584 2,412,443 1,094.27 

Total .............................................................................................. 100 8,761,471 3,974.14 

1Totals may differ slightly from the sums of the quotas due to rounding. 

2This table corrects a typographical error from the proposed rule that misstated Connecticut’s final quota as 198,394 lb (89.9mt). 


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99140 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

This action makes no changes to the 

current commercial management 

measures, including the minimum fish 

size (14-inch (36-centimeter (cm)) total 

length), gear requirements, and 

possession limits. 

Black Sea Bass Specifications 

At the August 2024 meeting, the 

Council and the Commission’s Black 

Sea Bass Board were unable to agree on 

the 2025 black sea bass specifications. 

The Black Sea Bass Board adopted a 

coastwide quota for black sea bass that 

is the same as the 2024 quota, while the 

Council adopted a quota that represents 

a 20-percent reduction from 2024. If 

implemented, the differing quotas 

would likely have significant negative 

socioeconomic impacts on Federal black 

sea bass permit holders. In the case 

where the two bodies propose different 

specifications, the regulations at 50 CFR 

648.143(e) require the Regional 

Administrator to take administrative 

action to align measures to prevent 

differential effects on Federal permit 

holders. 

According to the 2024 Black Sea Bass 

Management Track Assessment, the 

biomass of the black sea bass stock is 

more than double the target level with 

an increasing trend, recent recruitment 

is high, and recent fishing mortality has 

been well below the threshold level. 

Given the current status of the black sea 

bass stock and the potentially 

significant social and economic harm to 

Federal permit holders that would result 

from divergent state and Federal quotas, 

we are implementing 2025 black sea 

bass catch limits consistent with those 

adopted by the Commission. 

The final 2025 black sea bass catch 

and landings limits are shown in table 

3. 

TABLE 3—2025 BLACK SEA BASS CATCH AND LANDINGS LIMITS

Specifications Million lb mt 

ABC .......................................................................................................................................................................... 16.66 7,557 

Expected Commercial Discards .............................................................................................................................. 1.50 680 

Expected Recreational Discards ............................................................................................................................. 2.89 1,311 

Commercial ACL = ACT .......................................................................................................................................... 7.50 3,401 

Commercial Quota ................................................................................................................................................... 6.00 2,721 

Recreational ACL = ACT ......................................................................................................................................... 9.16 4,156 

RHL .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6.27 2,845 

No changes are being made to the 

2025 commercial management measures 

for black sea bass, including the 

commercial minimum fish size (11-inch 

(27.94-cm) total length) and gear 

requirements. Any changes to 

recreational management measures for 

black sea bass would be considered 

through a separate action following the 

joint meeting of the Council and 

Commission in December 2024. 

On October 1, 2024 (89 FR 79778), we 

implemented the approved measure of 

Amendment 23 to the Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

FMP. The approved measure changes 

the Federal coastwide commercial inseason accountability measure such that 

the black sea bass commercial fishery 

will now close when the quota plus an 

additional buffer of up to 5 percent is 

projected to be landed. The intent of 

this buffer is to minimize negative 

economic impacts when the coastwide 

quota is reached before all states have 

fully harvested their allocations due to 

overages in individual states. 

Pursuant to the Amendment 23 

measure, the Council and Black Sea 

Bass Board may recommend a buffer 

from 0 to 5 percent each year through 

the specification process. This action 

adopts the Council and Black Sea Bass 

Board-recommended 5-percent 

commercial in-season closure buffer. 

Given recent patterns in the fishery, an 

in-season closure is not expected for 

2025; however, in the unlikely event it 

is needed, a 5-percent buffer could have 

socioeconomic benefits with little risk 

to stock status. 

Scup Specifications 

This action adopts the Council and 

Scup Board-recommended 2025 scup 

catch and landings limits shown in table 

4. 

TABLE 4—2025 SCUP CATCH AND LANDING LIMITS

Specifications Million lb mt 

OFL .......................................................................................................................................................................... 42.19 19,135 

ABC .......................................................................................................................................................................... 41.31 18,740 

Expected Commercial Discards .............................................................................................................................. 7.38 3,318 

Expected Recreational Discards ............................................................................................................................. 2.08 944 

Commercial ACL = ACT .......................................................................................................................................... 26.85 12,181 

Commercial Quota ................................................................................................................................................... 19.54 8,863 

Recreational ACL = ACT ......................................................................................................................................... 14.46 6,559 

RHL .......................................................................................................................................................................... 12.31 5,585 

The commercial scup quota is divided 

into three commercial fishery quota 

periods, as outlined in table 5. 

TABLE 5—COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA ALLOCATIONS FOR 2025 BY QUOTA PERIOD

Quota period Percent share lb mt 

Winter I ...................................................................................................................................... 45.11 8,814,300 3,998 

Summer ..................................................................................................................................... 38.95 7,610,663 3,452 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 99141 

TABLE 5—COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA ALLOCATIONS FOR 2025 BY QUOTA PERIOD—Continued 

Quota period Percent share lb mt 

Winter II ..................................................................................................................................... 15.94 3,114,608 1,413 

Total .................................................................................................................................... 100.00 19,539,570 8,863 

The current quota period possession 

limits are not changed by this action 

and are outlined in table 6. 

TABLE 6—COMMERCIAL SCUP POSSESSION LIMITS BY QUOTA PERIOD

Quota period 

Federal possession limits 

(per trip) 

lb kg 

Winter I .................................................................................................................................................................... 50,000 22,680 

Summer ................................................................................................................................................................... N/A N/A 

Winter II ................................................................................................................................................................... 12,000 5,443 

The Winter I scup commercial 

possession limit will drop to 1,000 lb 

(454 kg) when 80 percent of that 

period’s allocation is landed. If the 

Winter I quota is not fully harvested, the 

remaining quota is transferred to the 

Winter II period. The Winter II 

possession limit may be adjusted in 

association with a transfer of unused 

Winter I quota to the Winter II period 

via announcement in the Federal 

Register. The regulations specify that 

the Winter II possession limit increases 

to different levels consistent with the 

increase in the quota, as described in 

table 7. 

TABLE 7—POTENTIAL INCREASE IN WINTER II POSSESSION LIMITS BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF UNUSED SCUP ROLLED

OVER FROM WINTER I TO WINTER II 

Initial Winter II 

possession limit 

Rollover from Winter I to Winter II Increase in initial 

Winter II possession limit 

Final Winter II 

possession limit 

after rollover from 

Winter I to Winter II 

lb kg lb kg lb kg 

lb kg 

12,000 5,443 0–499,999 0–226,796 0 0 12,000 5,443 

12,000 5,443 500,000–999,999 226,796–453,592 1,500 680 13,500 6,123 

12,000 5,443 1,000,000–1,499,999 453,592–680,388 3,000 1,361 15,000 6,804 

12,000 5,443 1,500,000–1,999,999 680,389–907,184 4,500 2,041 16,500 7,484 

12,000 5,443 2,000,000–* 2,500,000 907,185–1,133,981 6,000 2,722 18,000 8,165 

* This process of increasing the possession limit in 1,500 lb (680 kg) increments would continue past 2,500,000 lb (1,122,981 kg), but ends here for the purpose of 

this example. 

This action makes no changes to the 

2025 commercial management measures 

for scup, including the minimum fish 

size (9-inch (22.9-cm) total length), gear 

requirements, and quota period 

possession limits. 

Bluefish Specifications 

This action approves the Council- and 

the Commission’s Bluefish Boardrecommended 2025 bluefish catch and 

landings limits as shown in table 8. 

TABLE 8—SUMMARY OF 2025 BLUEFISH FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS

Specifications Million lb mt 

OFL .......................................................................................................................................................................... 27.49 12,467 

ABC .......................................................................................................................................................................... 21.83 9,903 

Commercial ACL = ACT .......................................................................................................................................... 3.06 1,386 

Commercial Quota ................................................................................................................................................... 3.03 1,375 

Recreational ACL = ACT ......................................................................................................................................... 18.78 8,517 

Recreational Harvest Limit ...................................................................................................................................... 15.70 7,121 

The coastwide commercial quota is 

allocated to coastal states from Maine to 

Florida based on percent shares 

specified in the Bluefish FMP and 

regulations at § 648.162(d). Table 9 

provides the final commercial state 

allocations based on the Councilrecommended coastwide commercial 

quota for 2025 and the phased-in 

changes to the percent share allocations 

to the states specified in Amendment 7. 

No states exceeded their allocated quota 


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99142 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

in 2023 or are projected to do so in 

2024; therefore, no accountability 

measures for the commercial fishery are 

required for the 2025 fishing year based 

on the data available at this time. 

TABLE 9—2025 FINAL BLUEFISH STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTA ALLOCATIONS

State Percent share Quota 

(lb) 

Quota 

(kg) 

Maine ......................................................................................................................................... 0.35 10,582 4,800 

New Hampshire ......................................................................................................................... 0.30 9,123 4,138 

Massachusetts ........................................................................................................................... 8.66 262,663 119,142 

Rhode Island .............................................................................................................................. 8.41 255,061 115,694 

Connecticut ................................................................................................................................ 1.16 35,309 16,016 

New York ................................................................................................................................... 15.74 477,518 216,598 

New Jersey ................................................................................................................................ 14.26 432,630 196,238 

Delaware .................................................................................................................................... 1.09 32,990 14,964 

Maryland .................................................................................................................................... 2.38 72,265 32,779 

Virginia ....................................................................................................................................... 8.44 256,125 116,176 

North Carolina ............................................................................................................................ 32.04 972,012 440,897 

South Carolina ........................................................................................................................... 0.07 2,250 1,021 

Georgia ...................................................................................................................................... 0.06 1,897 860 

Florida ........................................................................................................................................ 7.04 213,625 96,899 

Total .................................................................................................................................... 100 3,033,561 1,376,000 

This action does not make any 

changes to the 2025 commercial or 

recreational management measures for 

bluefish. 

Comments and Responses 

The public comment period for the 

proposed rule ended on October 31, 

2024. We received 11 comments on the 

proposed rule. No changes to the final 

rule are necessary as a result of these 

comments. One of the comments 

focused on wind energy development 

and whales and is not germane to this 

action. Six comments from five industry 

organizations and one individual 

supported the proposed specifications. 

Four comments from two industry 

organizations and five conservation 

organizations opposed the proposed 

2025 black sea bass catch limits. In 

general, recurring themes in these four 

comments included the risk of 

overfishing on black sea bass, the use of 

the best scientific information available 

in setting the black sea bass 

specifications, and requests for 

clarifications on the SIR. 

Overfishing 

Comment 1: Two commenters who 

opposed the 2025 black sea bass catch 

limits stated that NMFS was allowing 

for a situation in which overfishing on 

the black sea bass stock would occur. 

These commenters noted that the 

projected fishing mortality rate (F) that 

would result from the status quo black 

sea bass catch limits (1.87), as described 

in the SIR, is greater than the F rate 

threshold of 1.071 (note that one of 

these comments incorrectly cited the F 

rate threshold as 0.82; however, that 

number is the terminal year (2023) F 

estimate). 

Response: The Magnuson-Stevens Act 

defines the terms ‘‘overfishing’’ and 

‘‘overfished’’ as a fishing mortality rate 

that jeopardizes the capacity of a fishery 

to produce the maximum sustainable 

yield (MSY) on a continuing basis. The 

black sea bass stock biomass is currently 

more than 200 percent of its biomass 

target, the biomass associated with 

maximum sustainable yield. In plain 

language, the stock is more than double 

the ideal biomass that would maximize 

long-term benefits. FMSY is the fishing 

mortality rate that, if applied over the 

long term, would result in the maximum 

sustainable yield. For stocks above their 

biomass target, fishing at FMSY should 

gradually reduce biomass (B) to the 

biomass target (BMSY). For the black sea 

bass fishery, fishing above FMSY for 1 

year may increase the rate at which the 

stock approaches BMSY. However, with 

the stock well above BMSY, this would 

not jeopardize the long-term 

sustainability of the stock. Based on 

projections using status quo catch 

provided by the NOAA Northeast 

Fisheries Science Center (Center; see 

table 5 in the SIR), spawning stock 

biomass is expected to decline to 148 

percent of its target in 2025 under status 

quo catch limits, well above BMSY. 

In addition, previous black sea bass 

stock assessments have revealed a 

retrospective pattern indicating that 

preceding assessments routinely 

underestimated stock size and 

overestimated fishing mortality. These 

assessments have consistently indicated 

that the stock size is higher and the 

fishing mortality rate is lower than 

predicted in the previous assessment. 

This pattern reflects catch limits that are 

set lower than what is actually available 

to the fishery. In turn, this can result in 

higher than anticipated harvest and 

exceedance of the OFL compared to the 

previous assessment’s projections— 

while the updated assessment 

subsequently indicates that overfishing 

did not occur based on the updated 

understanding of what the allowable 

catch and OFL should have been. The 

2024 Management Track Assessment 

represents a change in stock assessment 

models; previously, black sea bass were 

assessed using the Age-Structured 

Assessment Program but transitioned to 

the Woods Hole Assessment Model for 

the first time this year. At this time, it 

is unclear if this retrospective pattern 

remains with the new model. 

In this specific context, fishing at a 

rate that is slightly higher than FMSY is 

not expected to result in overfishing— 

that is, to jeopardize the capacity of the 

black sea bass fishery to produce the 

maximum sustainable yield on a 

continuing basis—based on the 

disconnect in the stock assessments’ 

projections of a decline in biomass and 

the current high biomass. The 2023 total 

catch of 16.94 million lb (7,684 mt) 

resulted in a realized fishing mortality 

rate of only 85 percent of FMSY; 

therefore, maintaining the slightly lower 

status quo quotas for 2025 with an ABC 

of 16.66 million lb (7,557 mt) does not 

risk long-term biological harm to the 

black sea bass stock. The 2025 black sea 

bass catch limits are expected to reduce 

the stock biomass to a level that is closer 

to, but still above, BMSY than the 

Council’s recommended catch limits 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 99143 

would. However, this does not 

constitute overfishing as defined by the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. A new stock 

assessment will be available in 2025 and 

will be used to set future specifications. 

Comment 2: Four commenters who 

opposed the 2025 black sea bass catch 

limits due to overfishing concerns 

asserted that the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

National Standard 1 Guidelines define 

the ACL as a limit on catch that cannot 

exceed the ABC (50 CFR 

600.310(f)(1)(iii) and (f)(4)) and identify 

the SSC as the body charged with 

determining the ABC (§ 600.310(f)(3) 

and (b)(2)(V)(B)). 

Response: The commenter is correct 

that the SSC is tasked with 

recommending an ABC to the Council, 

per the regulations cited. Similarly, the 

Council must recommend to NMFS 

black sea bass catch specifications 

(§ 648.142(b)) that do not exceed the 

SSC’s recommendation (§ 600.315(c)(6)). 

However, this requirement is specific to 

the Council’s process and does not 

extend to NMFS. The regulations at 

§ 648.142(b) require the Regional 

Administrator to review the Council’s 

recommendations and any 

recommendations of the Commission 

and, after that review, to publish a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register to 

implement a commercial quota, a 

recreational harvest limit, and 

additional management measures for the 

commercial fishery. NMFS, on behalf of 

the Secretary of Commerce, is obligated 

to independently consider the 

recommendation of the Council along 

with other information and 

requirements including, but not limited 

to, other applicable laws, the National 

Standards, and the governing 

regulations within the FMP (see also 

Comment 6). National Standard 1 

requires NMFS to prevent overfishing 

while achieving optimum yield on a 

continuing basis. As described above 

(see Comment 1), NMFS has determined 

that the 2025 black sea bass catch limits 

set forth in this final rule will not result 

in overfishing as defined in the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

In addition, for black sea bass, this 

action includes an ABC of 16.66 million 

lb (7,557 mt), a commercial ACL of 7.50 

million lb (3,402 mt), and a recreational 

ACL of 9.16 million lb (4,155 mt). This 

is consistent with the National Standard 

1 Guidelines’ ACL definition, as the 

combined commercial and recreational 

ACLs do not exceed the ABC. 

Comment 3: One commenter noted 

that the Center’s status quo projections, 

as described in the SIR, indicate that if 

the 2024 black sea bass catch limits are 

maintained in 2025, the result will be 

the potential reduction of B/BMSY from 

close to 2 to 1.03 in 2 years. 

Response: The projections estimate a 

ratio of spawning stock biomass (SSB) to 

the spawning stock biomass at MSY 

(SSBMSY) of 1.03 in 2026 if the status 

quo catch limits were implemented in 

fishing years 2025 and 2026. This action 

only sets the black sea bass catch limits 

for the 2025 fishing year. The 

projections estimate SSB will remain 

well above the target under status quo 

catch limits in 2025, with an estimated 

SSB/SSBMSY ratio of 1.48 in 2025. A 

new stock assessment will be available 

in 2025 and will be used to set the 2026 

specifications. 

Use of Best Scientific Information 

Available 

Comment 4: Five commenters who 

opposed the 2025 black sea bass catch 

limits noted that the Council’s 

recommended specifications, and the 

20-percent reduction included therein, 

were based on the most recent 

management track assessment, which 

constituted the best scientific 

information available as required under 

National Standard 2. The commenters 

noted that the most recent assessment 

showed declining biomass and asserted 

that the 2025 black sea bass catch limits 

are not based on the best available 

science. 

Response: This action relies upon the 

best available science in the 

development of the 2025 black sea bass 

specifications. According to the 2024 

Management Track Assessment, the 

black sea bass stock is not overfished 

and overfishing was not occurring in 

2023. Spawning stock biomass was 

estimated at 2.19 times the target level 

and fishing mortality was estimated to 

be 23 percent below FMSY in 2023. 

However, the assessment’s projections 

suggested that the 2025 OFL be set 20 

percent below the 2024 (status quo) 

OFL. Members of the Advisory Panel, 

Monitoring and Technical Committees, 

Council, and Commission raised 

concerned that the stock assessment 

projections were underestimating future 

biomass, resulting in a 2025 black sea 

bass ABC that is too low (see https://

www.mafmc.org/s/SFSBSB-MC1Aug2024-summary.pdf for additional 

information about concerns raised). 

The Center re-ran black sea bass 

projections based on status quo catch in 

2025 and 2026, using the same 

methodology and underlying 

information that is described in the 

2024 management track assessment. 

This methodology, and the resulting 

projections, is the best scientific 

information available. These projections 

are the basis for the 2025 black sea bass 

catch limits and indicate that 

maintaining status quo catch in fishing 

year 2025 will maintain SSB above 

SSBMSY and will not result in 

overfishing as defined in the MagnusonStevens Act (see Comment 1). 

Additionally, the single-point biomass 

estimate in the terminal year of the 

assessment does not reflect a declining 

biomass trend. To the contrary, the 

overall trend is a black sea bass stock 

that has been well above its biomass 

target for the last 10 years and a history 

of assessments that have routinely 

underestimated the stock size and 

overestimated fishing mortality (see 

Comment 1). 

Comment 5: One commenter opposed 

to the 2025 black sea bass catch limits 

stated that the SSC’s recommended ABC 

and OFL took into account more 

components of stock health, including 

recruitment and size structure. 

Response: As previously described 

(see Comments 1 and 4), the decision to 

implement the 2025 black sea bass catch 

limits is based on the Center’s 

projections using status quo catch and 

the same methodology described in the 

most recent management track 

assessment. Members of the Advisory 

Panel, Monitoring and Technical 

Committees, Council, and Commission 

raised significant concerns about the 

original projected 2025 OFL and ABC 

based on recent trends in biomass, 

recruitment, and fishing mortality. The 

2025 black sea bass catch limits are 

intended to prevent overfishing while 

taking into account recent trends in 

stock health (see Comment 1) and the 

socio-economic impacts that would 

occur if the Federal catch limits differed 

from those set by the Commission (see 

also Comment 15). 

Legal Authority 

Comment 6: Five commenters raised 

issue with NMFS setting black sea bass 

catch limits greater than those 

recommended by the SSC. Four 

commenters contended that NMFS’ 

stance that the requirement for sciencebased catch limits that do not exceed 

the SSC’s catch advice in section 

302(h)(6) of the Magnuson-Steven Act 

‘‘applies only to the Councils, and 

NMFS can set an ABC higher than the 

SSC recommendation in some 

circumstances’’ ‘‘runs counter to the 

language, case law, and history of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and the agency’s 

own regulations.’’ The other commenter 

requested a detailed explanation of the 

rationale and legal authority for 

overruling the SSC’s advice. It argued 

that the Agency appears to be placing 

more weight on alleviating 

discrepancies between state and Federal 


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waters such that no ‘‘differential effects 

occur to Federal permit holders’’ 

(§ 648.143(e)) than on the MagnusonStevens Act requirement that the ABC 

must not exceed the recommendation of 

the SSC and that the Center appears to 

be substituting its own judgment for that 

of the SSC. 

Response: Section 302(h) of the 

Magnuson-Steven Act specifies ‘‘Each 

Council shall, . . .’’ Therefore, the 

requirements listed in section 302(h) 

apply to the Councils. Furthermore, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act regulations at 

§ 600.10, list the SSC as an advisory 

group. The regulations at § 600.133(b) 

require the SSC to ‘‘. . . provide its 

Council ongoing scientific advice for 

fishery management decisions, 

including recommendations for 

acceptable biological catch, preventing 

overfishing, maximum sustainable 

yield, and achieving rebuilding targets, 

and reports on stock status and health, 

bycatch, habitat status, social and 

economic impacts of management 

measures, and sustainability of fishing 

practices’’ (emphasis added). The 

Council is bound to the SSC’s 

recommendations and would be in 

violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

if it recommended catch limits to NMFS 

that were greater than the ABC 

recommended by the SSC (§ 600.315(c)). 

NMFS, however, on behalf of the 

Secretary of Commerce, is obligated to 

independently consider the 

recommendations of the Councils along 

with other information and guidance, 

including, but not limited to, other 

applicable laws, the National Standards, 

and the governing regulations within 

the FMP. This allows the Agency to 

balance the needs of a fishery, including 

potentially significant social and 

economic disruptions, in an effort to 

achieve optimal yield, provided doing 

so does not pose an unacceptable risk to 

the health of the resource. This action 

is being taken pursuant to section 305(d) 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which 

requires NMFS to carry out FMPs and 

amendments in accordance with the 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and the black sea bass regulations 

at 50 CFR part 648 subpart I as 

developed pursuant to sections 304(a) 

and (b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Here, the black sea bass stock is well 

above its biomass target, and the 2025 

catch limits are not expected to result in 

overfishing (see Comment 1). The black 

sea bass regulations at § 648.143(e) 

require NMFS to take administrative 

action to ‘‘. . . achieve alignment 

through consistent state and Federal 

measures such that no differential 

effects occur to Federal permit holders.’’ 

In setting the 2025 black sea bass catch 

limits, NMFS considered both the 

requirement to prevent overfishing and 

the negative effects that would result 

from lower Federal catch limits than 

those set by the Commission (see 

Comment 15). Therefore, NMFS is not 

circumventing advice from the SSC or 

the Council but is following its 

obligation to independently consider 

the National Standards and the 

governing regulations within the FMP to 

make the best decision for the fishery, 

in line with available biological and 

socioeconomic information. 

Comment 7: Five commenters 

asserted that, per the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, the appropriate process to 

implement catch limits that differ from 

the Council and SSC’s recommendation 

would be for NMFS to partially 

disapprove the Council specifications 

and to send it back to the Council for 

additional consideration, with an 

opportunity for the SSC to weigh in on 

the Center’s analysis that was used to 

justify setting catch limits exceeding the 

SSC’s recommendation. 

Response: While section 304(a)(3) of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

NMFS to (1) notify a Council regarding 

the approval, disapproval, or partial 

approval of an FMP or amendment; (2) 

provide the basis for any such 

disapproval; and (3) offer 

recommendations to conform the plan 

or amendment to the requirements of 

applicable law, this process is specific 

to development of FMPs and FMP 

amendments undertaken pursuant to 

section 304(a). This action to set the 

2025 summer flounder, scup, black sea 

bass, and bluefish specifications is being 

taken pursuant to section 305(d), which 

requires NMFS to carry out FMPs and 

amendments in accordance with the 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

and the black sea bass regulations. 

Specifically, the regulations at 

§ 648.142(b) require the Council to make 

recommendations to the Regional 

Administrator on measures projected to 

constrain the sectors to the applicable 

limit or target as prescribed in the FMP 

and require NMFS to publish a 

proposed rule in the Federal Register to 

implement catch limits after review of 

the Council’s recommendations and any 

recommendations of the Commission. 

As previously described (see Comment 

6), NMFS is not bound to the 

recommendation of the Council and 

SSC when implementing these catch 

limits, but must ensure compliance with 

other applicable laws, the National 

Standards, and the governing 

regulations within the FMP. 

In addition, the action taken by the 

Commission is final and will be 

implemented on January 1, 2025. Any 

delay in implementing complementary 

Federal catch limits could put Federal 

permit holders at a disadvantage for a 

portion of fishing year 2025. NMFS 

implemented the current black sea bass 

specifications for fishing year 2024, 

which ends December 31, 2024. The 

black sea bass regulations do not 

include a rollover provision that would 

allow the previously implemented 

Federal coastwide catch limits to carry 

over if new Federal catch limits have 

not been implemented at the start of the 

new fishing year. 

Comment 8: Four commenters argue 

that: (1) The regulation requiring NMFS 

to prevent differential effects to state 

and Federal permit holders is codified 

as a ‘‘state/Federal disconnect 

accountability measure’’ and is found 

within the accountability measures 

regulations for black sea bass; (2) that 

NMFS defines accountability measures 

as controls to prevent ACL overages; 

and (3) that the proposal to liberalize 

the black sea bass ABC cannot be 

described as an accountability measure. 

A fifth commenter expressed concern 

that NMFS chose to set an ABC that 

exceeded the SSC’s advice based on an 

accountability measure provision in the 

black sea bass regulations. 

Response: The National Standard 1 

guidelines define accountability 

measures as ‘‘measures to ensure 

accountability’’ (§ 600.310(b)(1)(iii)) and 

require Councils to take an approach 

that considers ‘‘. . . uncertainty in 

scientific information and management 

control of the fishery’’ (§ 600.310(b)(3)). 

While most accountability measures are 

direct management controls (e.g., 

closures or paybacks) designed to 

prevent exceedance of ACLs and to 

correct or mitigate overages, they also 

should ‘‘. . . correct the problems that 

caused the overage in as short a time as 

possible’’ (§ 600.310(g)(1)). 

The ‘‘state/Federal disconnect’’ 

accountability measure at § 648.143(e), 

which requires the Regional 

Administrator to take administrative 

action to align measures to prevent 

differential effects on Federal permit 

holders, is responsive to this latter 

requirement and reflects the MagnusonStevens Act’s National Standard 6 that 

fishery management plans take into 

account variations among and 

contingencies in fisheries. The Council 

and the Commission cooperatively 

manage the black sea bass fishery, and 

both bodies are required to prevent 

overfishing. While the Commission is 

not bound by the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries 

Cooperative Management Act requires 

the Commission to manage fisheries 

throughout their range based on the best 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 99145 

available science, and the Commission’s 

Interstate Fishery Management Program 

Charter requires conservation programs 

and management measures to be ‘‘. . . 

designed to prevent overfishing and 

maintain over time, abundant, selfsustaining stocks of coastal fishery 

resources.’’ If the two bodies implement 

ACLs that are not aligned, overages of 

the lower ACL may occur. This results 

in an exceedance of the ACL due to 

misalignment of the management 

measures but does not necessarily result 

in a conservation concern within the 

fishery. For example, if the Commission 

sets higher ACLs than the Council does, 

catch in the black sea bass fishery may 

exceed the Council’s ACL while being 

under the Commission’s ACL. With an 

abundant stock such as black sea bass 

that is well above its biomass target, 

such an exceedance would create 

socioeconomic concerns rather than 

conservation or biological concerns. The 

‘‘state/Federal disconnect’’ 

accountability measure exists to prevent 

such a circumstance and is, therefore, 

consistent with the purpose of an 

accountability measure. NMFS has used 

this provision of the regulations, which 

applies directly to the situation at hand, 

appropriately. 

Comment 9: One commenter 

questioned whether NMFS intends to 

make it possible for the Commission to 

be the sole authority for setting 

specifications for the demersal fisheries. 

Response: NMFS has not ceded 

authority to the Commission but has 

used its authority under section 305(d) 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to set 

catch limits consistent with the 

Commission’s limits, per the regulations 

at § 648.143(e), as described in response 

to Comment 8. 

Supplemental Information Report 

Comment 10: One commenter 

requested clarification as to why the 

projection table in the SIR differed from 

that included in the July 16, 2024, 

memorandum from Council staff to the 

Executive Director. 

Response: The ‘‘2024 Assessment 

Projections’’ in table 5 of the SIR are 

taken from table 3 of the 2024 Black Sea 

Bass Management Track Assessment, 

which uses the ABC as the assumed 

catch for fishing year 2024 and the catch 

that would occur under FMSYproxy (equal 

to the OFL) as the assumed catch for 

2025 and 2026. The ‘‘2024 Status Quo 

Catch Projections’’ in table 5 of the SIR 

and the projections provided in table 7 

of the July 16, 2024, memorandum use 

the ABC as the assumed catch for all 

years. The ‘‘2024 Status Quo Catch 

Projections’’ in the SIR uses the 2024 

ABC for all 3 years. The July 16, 2024, 

memorandum uses the Council’s 

recommended ABCs for each year. The 

final SIR includes this clarification. 

Comment 11: One commenter asked 

why NMFS provided the SIR as a draft. 

Response: Draft NEPA documents are 

available at the proposed rule stage to 

allow for public comment on both the 

proposed rule and the NEPA document. 

Comments on the NEPA document may 

further inform the analysis and/or result 

in other clarifications within the 

document. The final version becomes 

available when the final rule is 

published. 

Other 

Comment 12: One commenter 

requested additional information on the 

Center’s analysis that the status quo 

projections show a 5-percent difference 

in SSB. The commenter stated that the 

Federal Register notice for the proposed 

rule lacked sufficient detail to support 

this claim. 

Response: The ‘‘2024 Status Quo 

Catch Projection’’ provided in table 5 of 

the SIR uses the same methodology as 

described in the 2024 Management 

Track Assessment, but with the 2025 

and 2026 assumed catch equal to the 

assumed catch for 2024 (see Comment 

4). The projected 2025 SSB from the 

‘‘2024 Status Quo Catch Projection’’ 

(16,680 mt) is 5-percent lower than the 

projected 2025 SSB from the ‘‘2024 

Assessment Projection’’ (17,442 mt) as 

shown in table 5 of the SIR. 

Comment 13: One commenter asked 

whether the agency took action to make 

its concerns regarding the potential OFL 

and ABC reductions known. 

Response: Members of the Advisory 

Panel, Monitoring and Technical 

Committees, Council, and Commission, 

which include NMFS staff, raised 

concerns about the projected 2025 OFL 

and ABC during public meetings. 

Members of the Monitoring Committee 

expressed concern about the proposed 

reductions, given the increasing trend in 

biomass, recent high recruitment, and 

recent fishing mortality levels below the 

target. Overall, the Monitoring and 

Technical Committees were concerned 

that the stock assessment projections 

underestimate future biomass and that 

the 2025 black sea bass ABC is too low 

(see also Comment 1). Additional detail 

on these comments can be found in the 

August 2024 Council meeting report 

(https://www.mafmc.org/s/2024-08_

MAFMC-Report.pdf), the August 2024 

Monitoring Committee meeting 

summary (https://www.mafmc.org/s/ 

SFSBSB-MC-1Aug2024-summary.pdf), 

and the August 2024 Advisory Panel 

meeting summary (https://

www.mafmc.org/s/SFSBSB-AP5Aug2024-summary-v2.pdf). 

Comment 14: One commenter asked 

whether the Agency would take action 

to stop reductions in the future if catch 

reductions are required. 

Response: This action sets catch 

limits for 1 year and is responsive to the 

current circumstances in which (1) 

projections indicate status quo catch in 

2025 is expected to maintain the black 

sea bass stock well above the biomass 

target, (2) the 2025 catch limits are not 

expected to result in overfishing, and (3) 

implementation of Federal catch limits 

that differ from those set by the 

Commission would negatively impact 

Federal permit holders. An updated 

black sea bass management track 

assessment will be available in 2025 and 

will be used to set future specifications. 

Comments on catch limits beyond 2025 

and any related management measures, 

which will be determined based on the 

circumstances and record of those 

actions, are outside of the scope of this 

action and not addressed further. 

Comment 15: One commenter 

requested additional information 

regarding the negative impacts to 

Federal permit holders referred to in the 

Federal Register notice for the proposed 

rule (89 FR 83440, October 16, 2024). 

The commenter asked whether NMFS 

decided these potential impacts are ‘‘so 

serious that it is worth risking the status 

of the Black Sea Bass stocks’’ and 

requested additional analysis. 

Response: As described above, 

particularly in response to Comment 1, 

the 2025 black sea bass catch limits are 

projected to maintain the black sea bass 

stock well above BMSY, are not expected 

to result in overfishing, and do not risk 

the status of the black sea bass stock. 

However, implementing catch limits 

for Federal permit holders that are lower 

than those implemented by the 

Commission would be expected to have 

negative socio-economic effects. The 

Commission allocates the commercial 

quota into state-by-state quotas that 

control landings in each state. Under the 

Council-recommended quota, NMFS 

could be required to close the Federal 

commercial coastwide black sea bass 

fishery while several states have statelevel quota remaining (because the sum 

of the Commission’s state quotas would 

exceed the Council’s recommended 

coastwide quota). Early closure of the 

Federal fishery could impinge on 

Federal permit holders’ ability to fully 

participate in the commercial fishery; 

create a race to fish if permit holders 

preemptively fish to avoid an early 

closure; create distributional effects 

regionally, depending on when and 

where the black sea bass are initially 


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99146 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 237 / Tuesday, December 10, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

available; and create potential long-term 

negative impacts if paybacks are 

required for any quota overages. In 

addition, some states further allocate 

their state quota into individual 

transferable quotas (ITQ) that are 

assigned to individual permit holders. 

ITQ holders may not be able to harvest 

quota that they have purchased or 

leased if the Federal fishery closes, 

potentially resulting in economic harm. 

In addition to the issues the 

commercial industry would potentially 

encounter, the recreational harvest 

limits would also differ between the 

Federal fishery and the states, which 

would complicate the process for setting 

recreational measures and make it 

nearly impossible for us to approve 

conservation equivalency under the 

FMP, as is the normal approach. 

Abandoning conservation equivalency 

could result in more restrictive 

recreational management measures in 

Federal waters than those that the states 

would implement in state waters, 

which, in addition to creating confusion 

among participants, would disadvantage 

federally permitted for-hire vessels. As 

with the commercial fishery, differing 

recreational catch limits could have 

long-term impacts if estimates of overall 

harvest (which include state waters) 

exceed the Council’s recommended 

recreational harvest limit. 

Comment 16: Six commenters 

supported the proposed specifications. 

Two of these commenters noted the 

socio-economic importance of the 

summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, 

and bluefish fisheries and their 

contribution to increasing the diversity 

of recreational fishing participants by 

providing an entrypoint into 

recreational fishing. In addition to 

expressly supporting the proposed 

specifications, three commenters also 

noted that the specifications are not 

reflective of the abundance seen on the 

water. Two of these commenters 

indicated they would also support 

higher quotas. Other commenters noted 

an appreciation for the stability the 

specifications provided and that there 

would not be value in shifting mortality 

to discards. 

Response: NMFS notes the 

commenters’ support and is 

implementing the catch limits as 

proposed. 

Comment 17: One commenter 

discussed the approach to setting 

recreational management measures and 

requested additional information on the 

recreational target. 

Response: This action sets catch 

limits, including RHLs, for summer 

flounder, scup, black sea bass, and 

bluefish for the 2025 fishing year. 

Recreational measures for black sea bass 

will be developed through a separate 

action. Comments on the recreational 

management measure-setting approach, 

which was implemented through a 

previous rule (88 FR 14499, March 9, 

2023), are outside the scope of this 

action, but more information can be 

found in the NEPA document prepared 

for that action (https://www.mafmc.org/ 

s/SFSBSB_BF_HCR_EA_

submission2.pdf). 

Comment 18: One commenter asked 

whether NMFS is ceding its authority to 

the Commission based on the 

disapproval of specific measures in 

Amendment 23 to the Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

FMP. 

Response: This action sets catch 

limits for summer flounder, scup, black 

sea bass, and bluefish for the 2025 

fishing year. Comments on the measures 

in Amendment 23, which was 

addressed through a previous rule (89 

FR 79778, October 1, 2024), are outside 

the scope of this action. 

Comment 19: One commenter who 

supported the proposed specifications 

noted a disconnect between bluefish 

rebuilding and fishing mortality and 

hoped to see future specifications set 

with the understanding that they have 

little impact on the stock status or 

achieving the rebuilding target. 

Response: The bluefish rebuilding 

plan was implemented under 

Amendment 7 to the Bluefish FMP (86 

FR 66977, November 24, 2021). 

Amendment 7 implemented a 7-year 

constant fishing mortality to rebuild the 

bluefish stock by 2028. The 7-year 

rebuilding period was selected over 

both 4-year and 5-year rebuilding 

alternatives, allowing for a higher ABC. 

This action sets bluefish specifications 

for fishing year 2025 in accordance with 

the rebuilding plan and the 

recommendation of the Council. 

Comments on the rebuilding plan, 

which is not proposed to be modified 

here, and future bluefish specifications 

are outside the scope of this action. 

Comment 20: One commenter 

expressed that offshore wind energy 

development poses a risk to North 

Atlantic right whales. 

Response: This action sets catch 

limits for summer flounder, scup, black 

sea bass, and bluefish for the 2025 

fishing year. Comments on wind energy 

development are outside the scope of 

this action. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

This final rule includes adjustments 

to the summer flounder state-by-state 

commercial quotas to account for prior 

overages identified in the final catch 

information for fishing year 2023 and 

preliminary catch information for 

fishing year 2024. 

Classification 

This action is taken pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. The NMFS Assistant Administrator 

has determined that this final rule is 

consistent with the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP, the 

Bluefish FMP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries finds that the need to 

implement these measures in a timely 

manner constitutes good cause, under 

the authority contained in 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3), to waive the 30-day delay in 

effective date of this action. This action 

implements 2025 specifications for the 

summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, 

and bluefish fisheries. These 

specifications should be effective by the 

start of the fishing year for all four 

species on January 1, 2025. It must be 

published on or before December 31, 

2024. 

This rule is being issued at the earliest 

possible date. Preparation of the final 

rule is dependent on the analysis of 

commercial summer flounder landings 

for the prior fishing year (2023) and the 

current fishing year through October 31, 

2024, to determine whether any 

overages have occurred and adjustments 

are needed to the final state quotas. This 

process is codified in the summer 

flounder regulations and, therefore, 

cannot be performed earlier. A proposed 

rule was published on October 16, 2024, 

with a public comment period through 

October 31, 2024. This final rule is 

being published as soon as possible 

following closure of the comment 

period. Annual publication of the 

summer flounder quotas prior to the 

start of the fishing year, by December 

31, is required by Court Order in North 

Carolina Fisheries Association v. Daley. 

NMFS has determined that this action 

would not have a substantial direct 

effect on one or more Indian Tribes, on 

the relationship between the Federal 

Government and Indian Tribes, or on 

the distribution of power and 

responsibilities between the Federal 

Government and Indian Tribes; 

therefore, consultation with Tribal 

officials under Executive Order (E.O.) 

13175 is not required, and the 

requirements of sections (5)(b) and (5)(c) 

of E.O. 13175 also do not apply. A 

Tribal summary impact statement under 

section (5)(b)(2)(B) and section 

(5)(c)(2)(B) of E.O. 13175 is not required 

and has not been prepared. 


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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] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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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