100918 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

fisheries within Panel Area waters 

during the 2024 fishing season, 

consistent with the order adopted by the 

Panel. This order ended the period in 

which the Fraser Panel exerted 

regulatory jurisdiction. The in-season 

action was effective upon 

announcement on telephone hotline 

numbers as specified at 50 CFR 

300.97(b)(1) and in 89 FR 44553 (May 

21, 2024); those dates and times are 

listed herein. The times listed are in 

Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) and the 

areas designated are Puget Sound 

Management and Catch Reporting Areas 

as defined in the Washington State 

Administrative Code at Chapter 220– 

301–030. 

Fraser River Panel Order Number 2024– 

01: Issued 12 p.m. PDT, August 30, 2024 

Treaty Tribal Fishery 

Areas 4B, 5, and 6C: Relinquish 

regulatory control effective 11:59 p.m. 

PDT, Monday, September 2, 2024. 

Treaty Tribal and All Citizen Fishery 

Areas 6, 7, and 7A: Relinquish 

regulatory control effective 11:59 p.m. 

PDT, Wednesday, September 4, 2024. 

Classification 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries NOAA (AA), finds that good 

cause exists for the in-season orders to 

be issued without affording the public 

prior notice and opportunity for 

comment under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as 

such prior notice and opportunity for 

comments is impracticable and contrary 

to the public interest. Prior notice and 

opportunity for public comment is 

impracticable because of insufficient 

time between the time the stock 

abundance information is available to 

determine how much fishing can be 

allowed and the time the fishery must 

open or close in order to harvest the 

appropriate amount of fish while they 

are available. 

The AA also finds good cause to 

waive the 30-day delay in the effective 

date, required under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), 

of the in-season orders. A delay in the 

effective date of the in-season orders 

would not allow fishers appropriately 

controlled access to the available fish at 

that time they are available. 

This action is authorized by 50 CFR 

300.97, and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 3636(b). 

Dated: December 10, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29383 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 200124–0029; RTID 0648– 

XE487] 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 2025 

Red Snapper Private Angling 

Component Closure in Federal Waters 

Off Texas 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces a closure 

for the 2025 fishing season for the red 

snapper recreational private angling 

component in the exclusive economic 

zone (EEZ) off Texas in the Gulf of 

Mexico (Gulf) through this temporary 

rule. The red snapper recreational 

private angling component in the Gulf 

EEZ off Texas will close at 12:01 a.m., 

local time, on January 1, 2025, until 

12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 2025. 

This closure is necessary to prevent the 

private angling component from 

exceeding the Texas regional 

management area annual catch limit 

(ACL) and to prevent overfishing of the 

Gulf red snapper resource. 

DATES: This closure is effective at 12:01 

a.m., local time, on January 1, 2025, 

until 12:01 a.m., local time, on June 1, 

2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Frank Helies, NMFS Southeast Regional 

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

Frank.Helies@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

reef fish fishery, which includes red 

snapper, is managed under the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). 

The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of 

Mexico Fishery Management Council, 

approved by the Secretary of Commerce, 

and is implemented by NMFS under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) and 

through regulations at 50 CFR part 622. 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 40 to the FMP established 

two components within the recreational 

sector fishing for Gulf red snapper: the 

private angling component, and the 

Federal for-hire component (80 FR 

22422, April 22, 2015). Amendment 40 

also allocated the red snapper 

recreational ACL (recreational quota) 

between the components and 

established separate seasonal closures 

for the two components. On February 6, 

2020, NMFS implemented Amendments 

50 A–F to the FMP, which delegated 

authority to the Gulf states (Louisiana, 

Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and 

Texas) to establish specific management 

measures for the harvest of red snapper 

in Federal waters of the Gulf by the 

private angling component of the 

recreational sector (85 FR 6819, 

February 6, 2020). These amendments 

allocated a portion of the private angling 

ACL to each state, and each state is 

required to constrain landings to its 

allocation. 

As described at 50 CFR 622.23(c), a 

Gulf state with an active delegation may 

request that NMFS close all, or an area 

of, Federal waters off that state to the 

harvest and possession of red snapper 

by private anglers. The state is required 

to request the closure by letter to NMFS, 

providing dates and geographic 

coordinates for the closure. If the 

request is within the scope of the 

analysis in Amendment 50A, NMFS 

publishes a notice in the Federal 

Register implementing the closure for 

the fishing year. Based on the analysis 

in Amendment 50A, Texas may request 

a closure of all Federal waters off the 

state to allow a year-round fishing 

season in state waters. As described at 

50 CFR 622.2, ‘‘off Texas’’ is defined as 

the waters in the Gulf west of a rhumb 

line from 29°32.1′ N lat., 93°47.7′ W 

long. to 26°11.4′ N lat., 92°53′ W long., 

which line is an extension of the 

boundary between Louisiana and Texas. 

On November 12, 2024, NMFS 

received a request from the Texas Parks 

and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to 

close the EEZ off Texas to the red 

snapper recreational private angling 

component during the 2025 fishing year. 

Texas requested that the closure be 

effective from January 1 through May 

31, 2025. NMFS has determined that 

this request is within the scope of the 

analysis contained within Amendment 

50A, which analyzed the potential 

impacts of a closure of all Federal 

waters off Texas, consistent with 

Texas’s intent to maintain a year-round 

fishing season in state waters during 

which a part of Texas’ ACL could be 

caught. 

Therefore, the red snapper 

recreational private angling component 

in the Gulf EEZ off Texas will close at 

12:01 a.m., local time, on January 1, 

2025, until 12:01 a.m., local time, on 

June 1, 2025. This closure applies to all 

private-anglers (those on board vessels 

that have not been issued a valid 

Federal charter vessel/headboat permit 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 240 / Friday, December 13, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 100919 

for Gulf reef fish) regardless of which 

state they are from or where they intend 

to land. Once the EEZ off Texas opens 

on June 1, 2025, TPWD will continue to 

monitor private recreational landings, 

and if necessary, will request that NMFS 

again close the EEZ in 2025 to ensure 

the Texas regional management area 

ACL is not exceeded. 

On and after the effective dates of this 

closure in the EEZ off Texas, the harvest 

and possession of red snapper in the 

EEZ off Texas by the private angling 

component is prohibited and the bag 

and possession limits for the red 

snapper private angling component in 

the closed area is zero. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 

622.23(c), which was issued pursuant to 

304(b), and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866, and other 

applicable laws. 

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 are 

unnecessary and contrary to the public 

interest. Such procedures are 

unnecessary because the rule 

implementing the area closure authority 

and the state-specific private angling 

ACLs has already been subject to notice 

and comment, and all that remains is to 

notify the public of the closure. Such 

procedures are contrary to the public 

interest because a failure to implement 

the closure by January 1, 2025, would be 

inconsistent with Texas’s state 

management plan and may result in less 

access to red snapper in state waters. 

For the aforementioned reasons, there 

is also good cause to waive the 30-day 

delay in the effectiveness of this action 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). 

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

Dated: December 9, 2024. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29391 Filed 12–12–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 241210–0319; RTID 0648– 

XE309] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab 

Fishery; 2025 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red 

Crab Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is finalizing 

specifications for the 2025 Atlantic 

deep-sea red crab fishery, including an 

annual catch limit and total allowable 

landings limit. This action is necessary 

to fully implement previously projected 

allowable red crab harvest levels that 

will prevent overfishing and allow 

harvesting of optimum yield. This 

action is intended to establish the 

allowable 2025 harvest levels, 

consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea 

Red Crab Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). 

DATES: The final specifications for the 

2025 Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery 

are effective from March 1, 2025, 

through February 28, 2026. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Caroline Potter, Fishery Resource 

Management Specialist, (978) 281–9325. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery is 

managed by the New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council). The 

Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab FMP 

includes a specification process that 

requires the Council to recommend an 

acceptable biological catch (ABC), an 

annual catch limit (ACL), and total 

allowable landings (TAL) every 4 years. 

Collectively, these are the red crab 

specifications. Prior to the start of 

fishing year 2024, the Council 

recommended specifications for the 

2024–2027 fishing years (table 1). 

TABLE 1—COUNCIL-APPROVED 2024–2027 RED CRAB SPECIFICATIONS

Metric tons Millions of pounds 

(lb) 

Acceptable Biological Catch .................................................................................................................. 2,000 4.41 

Annual Catch Limit ................................................................................................................................ 2,000 4.41 

Total Allowable Landings ....................................................................................................................... 2,000 4.41 

On February 8, 2024, NMFS 

published a final rule implementing the 

Council-recommended specifications for 

the 2024 fishing year, effective through 

February 28, 2025, and projecting the 

fishery’s specifications for 2025 through 

2027 (89 FR 8557). At the end of each 

fishing year, we evaluate catch 

information and determine if the quota 

has been exceeded. If a quota is 

exceeded, the regulations at 50 CFR 

648.262(b) require a pound-for-pound 

reduction in a subsequent fishing year. 

We have reviewed available 2023 and 

2024 fishery information against the 

projected 2025 specifications. There 

have been no quota overages, nor is 

there any new biological information 

that would require altering the projected 

2025 specifications published in 2024. 

Based on this information, we are 

finalizing specifications for fishing year 

2025, as projected in the 2024 

specifications rule, and outlined above 

in table 1. These specifications are not 

expected to result in overfishing and 

adequately account for scientific 

uncertainty. NMFS will provide notice 

of the final 2026–2027 specifications, 

and any necessary reductions, prior to 

the start of each respective fishing year. 

Classification 

NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to 

305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

(MSA), which authorizes the Secretary 

to implement management measures 

necessary to carry out an approved 

fishery management plan. Red crab 

specifications are implemented 

pursuant to the regulations at 50 CFR 

648.260 that were approved and 

implemented by NMFS in Amendment 

3 to the FMP (76 FR 60379; September 

29, 2011). The NMFS Assistant 

Administrator has determined that this 

final rule is consistent with the Atlantic 

Deep-Sea Red Crab FMP, the 2024–2027 

Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab 

specifications, and other applicable law. 

This final rule is exempt from review 

under Executive Order (E.O.) 12866. 

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 


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