2638 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 7 / Monday, January 13, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 

E-Government Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 

3504) 

Section 206 of the E-Government Act 

requires agencies, to the extent 

practicable, to ensure that all 

information about that agency required 

to be published in the Federal Register 

is also published on a publicly 

accessible website. All information 

about the NEA required to be published 

in the Federal Register may be accessed 

at https://www.arts.gov. This Act also 

requires agencies to accept public 

comments on their rules ‘‘by electronic 

means.’’ See heading ‘‘Public 

Participation’’ for directions on 

electronic submission of public 

comments on this final rule. 

Finally, the E-Government Act 

requires, to the extent practicable, that 

agencies ensure that a publicly 

accessible Federal Government website 

contains electronic dockets for 

rulemakings under the Administrative 

Procedure Act of 1946 (5 U.S.C. 551 et 

seq.). Under this Act, an electronic 

docket consists of all submissions under 

section 553(c) of title 5, United States 

Code; and all other materials that by 

agency rule or practice are included in 

the rulemaking docket under section 

553(c) of title 5, United States Code, 

whether or not submitted electronically. 

The website https://

www.regulations.gov contains electronic 

dockets for the NEA’s rulemakings 

under the Administrative Procedure Act 

of 1946. 

Plain Writing Act of 2010 (5 U.S.C. 301) 

Under this Act, the term ‘‘plain 

writing’’ means writing that is clear, 

concise, well-organized, and follows 

other best practices appropriate to the 

subject or field and intended audience. 

To ensure that this final rule has been 

written in plain and clear language so 

that it can be used and understood by 

the public, the NEA has modeled the 

language of this final rule on the Federal 

Plain Language Guidelines. 

Public Participation (Executive Order 

13563) 

The NEA encourages public 

participation by ensuring its 

documentation is understandable by the 

general public, and has written this final 

rule in compliance with Executive 

Order 13563 by ensuring its 

accessibility, consistency, simplicity of 

language, and overall 

comprehensibility. 

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Parts 1149 

and 1158 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Government contracts, Grant 

programs, Loan programs, Lobbying, 

Penalties. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the NEA amends 45 CFR 

chapter XI, subchapter B, as follows: 

PART 1149—PROGRAM FRAUD CIVIL 

REMEDIES ACT REGULATIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 1149 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. App. 8G(a)(2); 20 

U.S.C. 959; 28 U.S.C. 2461 note; 31 U.S.C. 

3801–3812. 

§ 1149.9 [Amended] 

■ 2. Amend § 1149.9(a)(1) by removing 

‘‘$13,945’’ and adding in its place 

‘‘$14,307’’. 

PART 1158—NEW RESTRICTIONS ON 

LOBBYING 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 1158 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 20 U.S.C. 959; 28 U.S.C. 2461; 

31 U.S.C. 1352. 

§ 1158.400 [Amended]. 

■ 4. Amend § 1158.400(a), (b), and (e) 

by: 

■ a. Removing ‘‘$24,483’’ and adding in 

its place ‘‘$25,119’’ each place it 

appears. 

■ b. Removing ‘‘$244,958’’ and adding 

in its place ‘‘$251,322’’ each place it 

appears. 

Appendix A to Part 1158 [Amended] 

■ 5. Amend appendix A to part 1158 by: 

■ a. Removing ‘‘$24,483’’ and adding in 

its place ‘‘$25,119’’ each place it 

appears. 

■ b. Removing ‘‘$244,958’’ and adding 

in its place ‘‘$251,322’’ each place it 

appears. 

Dated: January 6, 2025 

RaShaunda Thomas, 

Deputy Director, Office of Administrative 

Services & Contracts, National Endowment 

for the Arts. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00401 Filed 1–10–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7537–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 635 

[Docket No. 220919–0193; RTID 0648– 

XE544] 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; 

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fisheries; 

General Category January Through 

March Quota Transfer 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is transferring 20.5 

metric tons (mt) of Atlantic bluefin tuna 

(BFT) quota from the General category 

December 2025 subquota to the January 

through March 2025 subquota period. 

The adjusted General category January 

through March 2025 subquota is 58.2 

mt. This action is intended to provide 

further harvest opportunities for General 

category fishermen, based on 

consideration of the regulatory 

determination criteria regarding 

inseason adjustments and applies to 

Atlantic Tunas General category 

(commercial) permitted vessels and 

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species 

(HMS) Charter/Headboat permitted 

vessels with a commercial sale 

endorsement when fishing 

commercially for BFT. 

DATES: The quota transfer is effective 

January 8, 2025, through March 31, 

2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Anna Quintrell (anna.quintrell@

noaa.gov) or Larry Redd, Jr. (larry.redd@

noaa.gov) by email or by phone at 301– 

427–8503. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic 

BFT fisheries are managed under the 

2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) and its 

amendments, pursuant to the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq.) and consistent with the Atlantic 

Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 

971 et seq.). ATCA is the implementing 

statute for binding recommendations of 

the International Commission for the 

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. HMS 

implementing regulations are at 50 CFR 

part 635. Section 635.27(a) divides the 

U.S. BFT quota, established by the 

International Commission for the 

Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) 

and as implemented by the United 


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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 7 / Monday, January 13, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 2639 

States among the various domestic 

fishing categories, per the allocations 

established in the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and its amendments. NMFS 

is required under the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act at 16 U.S.C. 1854(g)(1)(D) to provide 

U.S. fishing vessels with a reasonable 

opportunity to harvest quotas under 

relevant international fishery 

agreements such as the ICCAT 

Convention, which is implemented 

domestically pursuant to ATCA. 

As described in § 635.27(a), the 

current baseline U.S. BFT quota is 

1,316.14 mt (not including the 25 mt 

ICCAT allocated to the United States to 

account for bycatch of BFT in pelagic 

longline fisheries in the Northeast 

Distant Gear Restricted Area). The 

baseline quota for the General category 

is 710.7 mt. The General category 

baseline quota is suballocated to 

different time periods. Relevant to this 

action, the baseline subquotas for the 

January through March time period and 

for the December time period are 37.7 

mt and 37.0 mt, respectively. 

Transfer From the December 2025 

Subquota to the January Through 

March 2025 Subquota 

Under § 635.27(a)(1)(ii), NMFS has 

the authority to transfer subquota from 

one time period to another time period 

through inseason action after 

considering determination criteria 

provided under § 635.27(a)(7). This 

section focuses on the calculations 

involved in transferring quota available 

from the 2025 General category 

December time period subquota to the 

2025 General category January through 

March time period subquota; the 

consideration of the determination 

criteria can be found below after this 

section. 

As stated above, the baseline 

subquotas for the January through 

March time period and for the December 

time period are 37.7 mt and 37.0 mt, 

respectively. Transferring 20.5 mt from 

the General category December time 

period to the General category January 

through March time period, results in an 

adjusted January through March time 

period subquota of 58.2 mt (37.7 mt + 

20.5 mt = 58.2 mt), and an adjusted 

December time period subquota of 16.5 

mt (37.0 mt¥20.5 mt = 16.5 mt). The 

General category quota is available for 

use by Atlantic Tunas General category 

(commercial) permitted vessels and 

HMS Charter/Headboat permitted 

vessels with a commercial sale 

endorsement when fishing 

commercially for BFT. 

In summary, this transfer results in an 

adjusted January through March 2025 

time period subquota of 58.2 mt and an 

adjusted December 2025 subquota of 

16.5 mt. The General category fishery 

will remain open until March 31, 2025, 

or until the adjusted January through 

March 2025 time period subquota is 

reached, whichever comes first. 

Consideration of the Relevant 

Determination Criteria 

NMFS has considered all of the 

relevant determination criteria and their 

applicability to this inseason quota 

transfer (§ 635.27(a)(7)). These criteria 

include, but are not limited to, the 

following: 

Regarding the usefulness of 

information obtained from catches in 

the particular category for biological 

sampling and monitoring of the status of 

the stock (§ 635.27(a)(7)(i)), biological 

samples collected from BFT landed by 

General category fishermen and 

provided by BFT dealers continue to 

provide NMFS with valuable parts and 

data for ongoing scientific studies of 

BFT age and growth, migration, and 

reproductive status. Additional 

opportunity to land BFT in the General 

category during the January–March time 

period would support the continued 

collection of a broad range of data for 

these studies and for stock monitoring 

purposes. 

NMFS also considered the catches of 

the General category catches in the 

December and January through March 

time periods over the last several years 

and the likelihood of closure of the 

January through March segment of the 

fishery if no adjustment is made 

(§ 635.27(a)(7)(ii) and (ix)), as well as 

daily landing trends and the availability 

of BFT on fishing grounds 

(§ 635.27(a)(7)(ix)). Without a quota 

transfer at this time, based on recent 

catch rates in comparison to the current 

available quota (37.7 mt), NMFS would 

likely need to close the General category 

fishery shortly. Once the fishery is 

closed, participants would have to stop 

BFT fishing activities until the next time 

period begins in June, even though 

commercial-sized BFT remain available 

in the areas where General category 

permitted vessels operate. A quota 

transfer at this time provides limited 

additional opportunities to harvest the 

U.S. BFT quota while avoiding 

exceeding the current time period’s 

subquota. 

Regarding the projected ability of the 

vessels fishing under the General 

category to harvest the additional 

amount of BFT quota transferred before 

the end of the fishing year 

(§ 635.27(a)(7)(iii)), NMFS considered 

General category landings over the last 

several years and landings to date this 

year. Landings are highly variable and 

depend on access to commercial-sized 

BFT and fishing conditions, among 

other factors. NMFS may adjust each 

time period’s subquota based on 

overharvest or underharvest in the prior 

time period and may transfer subquota 

from one time period to another time 

period. By allowing for the current 

quota transfer, NMFS anticipates that 

the General category quota would be 

used before the end of the fishing year. 

Thus, this quota transfer would allow 

General category fishermen to take 

advantage of the availability of BFT on 

the fishing grounds and provide a 

reasonable opportunity to harvest the 

available U.S. BFT quota. 

NMFS also considered the estimated 

amounts by which quotas for other gear 

categories of the fishery might be 

exceeded (§ 635.27(a)(7)(iv)) and the 

ability to account for all 2025 landings 

and dead discards (§ 635.27(a)(7)(xi)). In 

the last several years, the total U.S. BFT 

landings have typically been below the 

available U.S. quota such that the 

United States has carried forward the 

maximum amount of underharvest 

allowed by ICCAT from one year to the 

next. NMFS will need to account for 

2025 landings and dead discards within 

the adjusted U.S. quota, consistent with 

ICCAT recommendations, and 

anticipates having sufficient quota to do 

that. 

NMFS also considered the effects of 

the transfer on the BFT stock and on 

accomplishing the objectives of the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP 

(§ 635.27(a)(7)(v) and (vi)). This transfer 

would be with established quotas and 

subquotas, which are implemented 

consistent with ICCAT 

Recommendation 22–10, ATCA, and the 

objectives of the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and amendments. In 

establishing these quotas and subquotas 

and associated management measures, 

ICCAT and NMFS considered the best 

scientific information available, 

objectives for stock management and 

status, and effects on the stock. This 

quota transfer is in line with the 

established management measures and 

stock status determinations. Another 

principal consideration is the objective 

of providing opportunities to harvest the 

available General category quota 

without exceeding the annual quota, 

based on the objectives of the 2006 

Consolidated HMS FMP and its 

amendments, including to achieve 

optimum yield on a continuing basis 

and to allow all permit categories a 

reasonable opportunity to harvest 

available BFT quota allocations (related 

to § 635.27(a)(7)(x)). Specific to the 

General category, this includes 


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2640 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 7 / Monday, January 13, 2025 / Rules and Regulations 

providing opportunities equitably across 

all time periods. 

Monitoring and Reporting 

NMFS will continue to monitor the 

BFT fishery closely. Per 

§ 635.5(b)(2)(i)(A), dealers are required 

to submit landing reports within 24 

hours of a dealer receiving BFT. Late 

reporting by dealers compromises 

NMFS’ ability to timely implement 

actions such as quota and retention 

limit adjustments, as well as closures, 

and may result in enforcement actions. 

Additionally, and separate from the 

dealer reporting requirement, General 

and HMS Charter/Headboat category 

vessel owners are required per 

§ 635.27(a)(4) to report their own catch 

of all BFT retained or discarded dead 

within 24 hours of the landing(s) or end 

of each trip, by accessing https://

hmspermits.noaa.gov by using the HMS 

Catch Reporting app, by using other 

apps approved by NMFS for HMS 

reporting, or calling (888) 872–8862 

(Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. 

until 4:30 p.m.). 

Depending on the level of fishing 

effort and catch rates of BFT, NMFS 

may determine that additional 

adjustments are necessary to ensure 

available quota is not exceeded or to 

enhance scientific data collection from, 

and fishing opportunities in, all 

geographic areas. If needed, subsequent 

adjustments will be published in the 

Federal Register. In addition, fishermen 

may access https://

hmspermits.noaa.gov, for updates on 

quota monitoring and inseason 

adjustments. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(d)) and regulations 

at 50 CFR part 635 and this action is 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

NMFS (AA) finds that pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to 

waive prior notice and opportunity to 

provide comment on this action, as 

notice and comment would be 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest. Specifically, the regulations 

implementing the 2006 Consolidated 

HMS FMP and amendments provide for 

inseason adjustments and quota 

transfers to respond to the unpredictable 

nature of BFT availability on the fishing 

grounds, the migratory nature of this 

species, and the regional variations in 

the BFT fishery. Providing prior notice 

and opportunity for public comment is 

impracticable and contrary to the public 

interest as this fishery is currently 

underway. Based on current landings 

information, the available time period 

subquota is projected to be reached 

shortly. Delaying this action could 

result in BFT landings exceeding the 

January through March time period 

subquota. Additionally, a delay in 

implementing this transfer would 

preclude the fishery from harvesting 

BFT that are currently available on the 

fishing grounds and that might 

otherwise become unavailable. This 

action does not raise conservation and 

management concerns and would 

support effective management of the 

BFT fishery. Transferring quota from the 

General category December time period 

to the General category January through 

March time period does not affect the 

overall ICCAT-allocated U.S. BFT quota. 

NMFS notes that the public had an 

opportunity to comment on the 

underlying rulemakings that established 

the U.S. BFT quota and the inseason 

adjustment criteria. 

For all of the above reasons, the AA 

finds that pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d), 

there is good cause to waive the 30-day 

delay in effective date. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 

et seq. 

Dated: January 8, 2025. 

Karen H. Abrams, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2025–00625 Filed 1–8–25; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No: 230316–0077] 

RTID 0648–XE604 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; 2025 

Management Area 1B Possession Limit 

Adjustment 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; possession 

limit adjustment. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing a 

2,000-lb (907.2-kg) possession limit for 

Atlantic herring for Management Area 

1B. This is required because NMFS 

projects that herring catch from Area 1B 

will reach 92 percent of the Area’s subannual catch limit before the end of the 

fishing year. This action is intended to 

prevent overharvest of herring in Area 

1B, which would result in additional 

catch limit reductions in a subsequent 

year. 

DATES: Effective 00:01 hours (hr) local 

time, January 8, 2025, through 

December 31, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Colette Tweeddale, Fishery 

Management Specialist, 978–281–9335. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Regional Administrator of the Greater 

Atlantic Regional Office monitors 

Atlantic herring fishery catch in each 

Management Area based on vessel and 

dealer reports, state data, and other 

available information. Regulations at 50 

CFR 648.201(a)(1)(i)(A) require 

implementation of a 2,000-lb (907.2-kg) 

possession limit for herring for Area 1B 

beginning on the date that catch is 

projected to reach 92 percent of the subannual catch limit (ACL) for that area. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

provides authority to implement the 

possession limit only to the Secretary of 

Commerce, which has been delegated to 

the Regional Administrator. 

Based on vessel reports, dealer 

reports, and other available information, 

the Regional Administrator projects that 

the herring fleet will have caught 92 

percent of the Area 1B sub-ACL by 

January 8, 2025. Therefore, effective 

00:01 hr local time January 8, 2025, 

through December 31, 2025, a person 

may not attempt or do any of the 

following: Fish for; possess; transfer; 

purchase; receive; land; or sell more 

than 2,000 lb of herring per trip or more 

than once per calendar day in or from 

Area 1B except as provided in 

§§ 648.201(b) and (c). 

Vessels that enter port before 00:01 hr 

local time on January 8, 2025, may land 

and sell more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) 

of herring from Area 1B from that trip, 

provided that catch is landed in 

accordance with state management 

measures. Vessels may transit or land in 

Area 1B with more than 2,000 lb (907.2 

kg) of herring on board, provided that: 

The herring were caught in an area not 

subject to a 2,000-lb (907.2-kg) limit; all 

fishing gear is stowed and not available 

for immediate use; and the vessel is 

issued a permit appropriate to the 

amount of herring on board and the area 

where the herring was harvested. 

Also effective 00:01 hr local time, 

January 8, 2025, through 24:00 hr local 

time, December 31, 2025, federally 

permitted dealers may not attempt or do 

any of the following: Purchase; receive; 

possess; have custody or control of; sell; 

barter; trade; or transfer more than 2,000 

lb (907.2 kg) of herring per trip or 


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