104454 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 246 / Monday, December 23, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

§ 17.11 Endangered and threatened 

wildlife. 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

Common name Scientific name Where listed Status Listing citations and applicable rules 

MAMMALS 

*******

Bat, Hawaiian hoary ............. Lasiurus cinereus semotus Wherever found .................. E 35 FR 16047, 10/13/1970. 

* * * * * * * 

Madonna Baucum, 

Regulations and Policy Chief, Division of 

Policy, Economics, Risk Management, and 

Analytics of the Joint Administrative 

Operations, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30368 Filed 12–20–24; 8:45 am] 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 231215–0305; RTID 0648– 

XE552] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

2024 Commercial Quota Harvested for 

the State of New York 

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 New York 

has been harvested. Vessels issued a 

commercial Federal fisheries permit for 

the summer flounder fishery may not 

land summer flounder in New York 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 

New York 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 New York. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours December 

21, 2024, through 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 

New York is 672,157 lb (304,885 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 Resources 

Division of the New York State 

Department of Environmental 

Conservation is closing the state fishery 

on December 21, 2024, and this action 

promotes consistency between the 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 21, 

2024, landings of summer flounder in 

New York by vessels holding Federal 

summer flounder commercial fishery 

permits are 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 21, 2024, federally 

permitted dealers are also notified that 

they may not purchase summer flounder 

from federally permitted vessels that 

land in New York 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 New York 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 18, 2024. 

Kelly Denit, 

Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30602 Filed 12–18–24; 4:15 pm] 

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