104996 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 247 / Thursday, December 26, 2024 / Notices 

Keating, J. M., C. Woodard, M. Brown, and 

D. Koster. 2023. Marine mammal harvest in 

the Chugach Region, Alaska. Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game Special 

Publication No. 2023–01, Anchorage. Kelley, 

D.E., J.P. Vlasic and SW Brillant. 2020. 

Assessing the lethality of ship strikes on 

whales using simple biophysical models. 

Mar. Mam. Sci. 37: 251–267. 

Lettrich, M.D., M.J. Asaro, D.L. Borggaard, 

D.M. Dick, R.B. Griffis, J.A. Litz, C.D. 

Orphanides, D.L. Palka, M.S. Soldevilla, B. 

Balmer, S. Chavez, D. Cholewiak, D. Claridge, 

R.Y. Ewing, K.L. Fazioli, D. Fertl, E.M. 

Fougeres, D. Gannon, L. Garrison, J. Gilbert, 

A. Gorgone, A. Hohn, S. Horstman, B. 

Josephson, R.D. Kenney, J.J. Kiszka, K. MazeFoley, W. McFee, K.D. Mullin, K. Murray, 

D.E. Pendleton, J. Robbins, J.J. Roberts, G. 

Rodriguez-Ferrer, E. Ronje, P.E. Rosel, T. 

Speakman, J.E. Stanistreet, T. Stevens, M. 

Stolen, R. Tyson Moore, N.L. Vollmer, R. 

Wells, H.R. Whitehead and A. Whitt. 2023. 

Vulnerability to climate change of United 

States marine mammal stocks in the western 

North Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and 

Caribbean. PLoS ONE 18(9): e0290643. 

Linden, D.W. 2024a. Using known births to 

account for delayed marking in population 

estimation of North Atlantic right whales. 

bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/ 

2024.10.11.617830 

Linden, D.W. 2024b. Population size 

estimation of North Atlantic right whales 

from 1990–2023. NOAA Tech Memo NMFS– 

NE 324. 20pp. 

McHuron, E.A., J.T. Sterling, D.P. Costa, 

and M.E. Geobel. 2019. Factors affecting 

energy expenditure in a declining fur seal 

population. Conserv. Physiol. 7(1): coz103. 

https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coz103 

McHuron, E.A., K. Luxa, N.A. Pelland, K. 

Holsman, R. Ream, T. Zeppelin, and J.T. 

Sterling. 2020. Practical application of a 

bioenergetic model to inform management of 

a declining fur seal population and their 

commercially important prey. Front. Mar. 

Sci. 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/ 

fmars.2020.597973 

Meyer-Gutbrod, E.L., and C.H. Greene. 

2014. Climate-associated regime shifts drive 

decadal scale variability in recovery of North 

Atlantic right whale population. 

Oceanography 27(3):148–153. 

Meyer-Gutbrod, E.L., C.H. Greene, K.T.A. 

Davies and D.G. Johns. 2021. Ocean Regime 

Shift is Driving Collapse of the North 

Atlantic Right Whale Population. 

Oceanography. 34. 22–31. 

Meyer-Gutbrod, E.L., Davies, K.T., Johnson, 

C.L., Plourde, S., Sorochan, K.A., Kenney, 

R.D., Ramp, C., Gosselin, J.F., Lawson, J.W. 

and Greene, C.H., 2023. Redefining North 

Atlantic right whale habitat-use patterns 

under climate change. Limnology and 

Oceanography, 68, pp.S71–S86. 

NMFS. 2023. Guidelines for Preparing 

Stock Assessment Reports Pursuant to the 

Marine Mammal Protection Act. Protected 

Resources Policy Directive 02–204–01. 

Pettis, H.M., R.M. Pace and P.K. Hamilton 

P.K. 2022. North Atlantic Right Whale 

Consortium: 2021 annual report card. Report 

to the North Atlantic Right Whale 

Consortium. www.narwc.org 

Record, N.R., J.A. Runge, D.E. Pendleton, 

W.M. Balch, K.T.A. Davies, A.J. Pershing, 

C.L. Johnson, K. Stamieszkin, R. Ji, Z. Feng, 

S.D. Kraus, R.D. Kenney, C.A. Hudak, C.A. 

Mayo, C. Chen, J.E. Salisbury and C.R.S. 

Thompson. 2019. Rapid climate-driven 

circulation changes threaten conservation of 

endangered North Atlantic right whales. 

Oceanography. 32(2):162–169. https://

doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2019.201 

Rehberg, M. 2023. Status of marine 

mammals for Chugach Regional Resources 

Commission—Final Report. Alaska 

Department of Fish and Game, 13 p. 

Rolland, R.M., R.S. Schick, H.M. Pettis, 

A.R. Knowlton, P.K. Hamilton, J.S. Clark and 

S.D. Krauss. 2016. Health of North Atlantic 

right whales Eubalaena glacialis over three 

decades: From individual health to 

demographic and population health trends. 

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Series. 542:265–282. 

Ross, C.H., Runge, J.A., Roberts, J.J., Brady, 

DC, Tupper, B. and Record, N.R., 2023. 

Estimating North Atlantic right whale prey 

based on Calanus finmarchicus thresholds. 

Marine Ecology Progress Series, 703, pp.1– 

16. 

Short, J.W., H.J. Geiger, L.W. Fritz, and J.J. 

Warrenchuk. 2021. First-year survival of 

northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) can 

be explained by pollock (Gadus 

chalcogrammus) catches in the Eastern 

Bering Sea. J. Mar. Sci. and Eng. 9(9): 975. 

https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9090975 

Stewart, J.D., J.W. Durban, A.R. Knowlton, 

M.S. Lynn, H. Fearnbach, J. Barbaro, W.L. 

Perryman, C.A. Miller, and M.J. Moore. 2021. 

Decreasing body lengths in North Atlantic 

right whales. Current Biology 31:3174–3179. 

Stewart, J.D., J.W. Durban, H. Europe, H. 

Fernbach, P.K. Hamilton, A.R. Knowlton, 

M.S. Lynn, C.A. Miller, W.L. Perryman, 

B.W.H. Tao, and M.J. Moore. 2022. Larger 

females have more calves: influence of 

maternal body length on fecundity in North 

Atlantic right whales. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 

689:179–189. 

van der Hoop, J.M., P. Corkeron and M.J. 

Moore. 2017. Entanglement is a costly 

life-history stage in large whales. Ecol. and 

Evol. 7:92–106. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2615 

Dated: December 18, 2024. 

Evan Howell, 

Director, Office of Science and Technology, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30664 Filed 12–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE538] 

Determination of Overfishing or an 

Overfished Condition 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This action serves as a notice 

that NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary), has found that 

Puerto Rico Caribbean spiny lobster and 

Mid-Atlantic Coast golden tilefish are 

now subject to overfishing, Klamath 

River fall Chinook salmon and Queets 

Spring/Summer Chinook salmon 

continue to be overfished, and the 

Western and Central North Pacific 

Ocean Striped Marlin continues to be 

subject to overfishing. NMFS, on behalf 

of the Secretary, is required to provide 

this notice whenever it determines that 

a stock or stock complex is subject to 

overfishing, overfished, or approaching 

an overfished condition. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Diana Perry, (301) 427–7863. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 304(e)(2) of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act, 16 U.S.C. 1854(e)(2), 

NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary, must 

notify councils, and publish a notice in 

the Federal Register, whenever it 

determines that a stock or stock 

complex is subject to overfishing, 

overfished, or approaching an 

overfished condition. 

NMFS has determined that Puerto 

Rico Caribbean spiny lobster is now 

subject to overfishing. This 

determination is based on the most 

recent assessment completed in 2022 

and using data through 2021 that found 

that the fishing mortality rate (F) 

exceeds the maximum fishing mortality 

threshold (MFMT). NMFS has notified 

the Caribbean Fishery Management 

Council of its requirement to end 

overfishing on this stock. 

NMFS has determined that MidAtlantic Coast golden tilefish is now 

subject to overfishing. This 

determination is based on the most 

recent assessment completed in 2024 

using data through 2023, which found 

that the F exceeds the MFMT. NMFS 

has notified the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council of its requirement 

to end overfishing. 

NMFS has determined that Klamath 

River fall-run Chinook salmon and 

Queets Spring/Summer Chinook salmon 

continue to be overfished. These 

determinations are based on the 3-year 

geometric mean of the annual spawning 

escapement for each stock completed in 

2024, and using data from 2021–2023 

for the Klamath River fall-run Chinook 

salmon stock and data from 2020–2022 

for the Queets spring/summer Chinook 

salmon stock which fall below their 

respective minimum stock size 

threshold. NMFS continues to work 

with the Pacific Fishery Management 

Council to rebuild the Klamath River 

fall-run Chinook and Queets spring/ 

summer Chinook salmon stocks. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 247 / Thursday, December 26, 2024 / Notices 104997 

NMFS has determined that Western 

and Central North Pacific Ocean Striped 

Marlin continues to be subject to 

overfishing. This determination is based 

on the most recent international stock 

assessment, completed in 2023 and 

using data through 2020, which 

indicates that F exceeds the MFMT. 

NMFS continues to work with the 

Western and Central Pacific Fisheries 

Commission to end overfishing. 

Dated: December 18, 2024. 

Kelly Denit, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30640 Filed 12–23–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

[RTID 0648–XE516] 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone off Alaska; North Pacific 

Observer Program Standard Ex-Vessel 

Prices 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notification of standard exvessel prices. 

SUMMARY: NMFS publishes standard exvessel prices for groundfish and halibut 

for the calculation of the observer fee 

under the North Pacific Observer 

Program (Observer Program). This 

notice is intended to provide 

information to vessel owners, 

processors, registered buyers, and other 

Observer Program participants about the 

standard ex-vessel prices that will be 

used to calculate the Observer Program 

fee associated with landings of 

groundfish and halibut made in 2025. 

NMFS will send invoices to processors 

and registered buyers subject to the fee 

by January 15, 2026. Fees are due to 

NMFS on or before February 15, 2026. 

DATES: The standard prices take effect 

on January 1, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: Additional information 

about the Observer Program is available 

on NMFS Alaska Region’s website at 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/ 

fisheries-observers/north-pacificobserver-program. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general questions about the observer fee 

and standard ex-vessel prices, contact 

Amy Hadfield at (907) 586–7376. For 

questions about the fee billing process, 

contact Charmaine Weeks at (907) 586– 

7231. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Regulations at 50 CFR part 679, 

subpart E, governing the Observer 

Program, require the deployment of 

NMFS-certified observers (observers) 

and electronic monitoring (EM) systems 

to collect information necessary for the 

conservation and management of the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) 

and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) groundfish 

and halibut fisheries. Fishery managers 

use information collected by observers 

and EM to monitor quotas, manage 

groundfish and prohibited species 

catch, and document and reduce fishery 

interactions with protected resources. 

Scientists use observer-collected 

information for stock assessments and 

marine ecosystem research. 

The Observer Program includes two 

observer coverage categories: the partial 

coverage category and the full coverage 

category. All groundfish and halibut 

vessels and processors subject to 

observer coverage are included in one of 

these two categories. Defined at 

§ 679.51, the partial coverage category 

includes vessels and processors that are 

not required to have an observer or EM 

at all times when fishing, and the full 

coverage category includes vessels and 

processors required to have all of their 

fishing and processing activity 

observed. Vessels and processors in the 

full coverage category arrange and pay 

for observer services from a permitted 

observer provider. Observer coverage 

and EM for the partial coverage category 

is funded through a system of fees based 

on the ex-vessel value of groundfish and 

halibut. Throughout this notice, the 

term ‘‘processor’’ refers to shoreside 

processors, stationary floating 

processors, and catcher/processors in 

the partial coverage category. 

Landings Subject to Observer Coverage 

Fee 

Pursuant to section 313 of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act, 

NMFS is authorized to assess a fee on 

all landings accruing against a Federal 

total allowable catch (TAC) for 

groundfish or commercial halibut quota 

landings made by vessels that are 

subject to Federal regulations and not 

included in the full coverage category. 

A fee is only assessed on landings of 

groundfish from vessels designated on a 

Federal Fisheries Permit or from vessels 

landing individual fishing quota (IFQ) 

or community development quota 

(CDQ) halibut or IFQ sablefish. Within 

the subset of vessels subject to the 

observer fee, only landings accruing 

against an IFQ allocation or a Federal 

TAC for groundfish are included in the 

fee assessment. A table with additional 

information about which landings are 

subject to the observer fee is at 

§ 679.55(c) and on page 2 of an 

informational bulletin titled ‘‘Observer 

Fee Collection’’ that can be downloaded 

from the NMFS Alaska Region website 

at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

resource/document/observer-feecollection-north-pacific-groundfish-andhalibut-fisheries-observer. 

Fee Determination 

A fee equal to 1.65 percent of the exvessel value is assessed on the landings 

of groundfish and halibut subject to the 

fee. Ex-vessel value is determined by 

multiplying the standard price for 

groundfish by the round weight 

equivalent for each species, gear, and 

port combination, and the standard 

price for halibut by the headed and 

gutted weight equivalent. Standard 

prices are determined by aggregating 

prices by species, gear, and area 

grouping to arrive at an average price 

per pound for each grouping. NMFS 

reviews each vessel landing report and 

determines whether the reported 

landing is subject to the observer fee 

and, if so, which groundfish species in 

the landing are subject to the observer 

fee. All IFQ or CDQ halibut in a landing 

subject to the observer fee will be 

included in the observer fee calculation. 

For any landed groundfish or halibut 

subject to the observer fee, NMFS will 

apply the appropriate standard ex-vessel 

prices for the species, gear type, and 

port and calculate the observer fee 

associated with the landing. 

Processors and registered buyers can 

access the landing-specific, observer fee 

information through the NMFS Web 

Application (https://

alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/webapps/efish/ 

login) or eLandings (https://

elandings.alaska.gov/). Landing-specific 

observer fee information is either 

available immediately or within 24 

hours after a landing report is submitted 

electronically. A time lag occurs for 

some landings because NMFS must 

process each landing report through the 

catch accounting system to determine 

which groundfish in a landing accrues 

against a Federal TAC and are subject to 

the observer fee. 

Under the fee system, catcher vessel 

owners split the fee with the registered 

buyers or owners of shoreside or 

stationary floating processors. While the 

owners of catcher vessels and 

processors in the partial coverage 

category are each responsible for paying 

their portion of the fee, the owners of 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1