2023-16671. Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; Quota Transfers From VA to NC and RI

AGENCY:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION:

Notification of quota transfers.

SUMMARY:

NMFS announces that the Commonwealth of Virginia is transferring a portion of its 2023 commercial bluefish quota to the States of North Carolina and Rhode Island. These adjustments to the 2023 fishing year quota are necessary to comply with the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised 2023 commercial bluefish quotas for Virginia, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.

DATES:

Effective August 3, 2023, through December 31, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Laura Deighan, Fishery Management Specialist, (978) 281–9184.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Regulations governing the Atlantic bluefish fishery are found in 50 CFR 648.160 through 648.167. These regulations require annual specification of a commercial quota that is apportioned among the coastal states from Maine through Florida. The process to set the annual commercial quota and the percent allocated to each state is described in § 648.162, and the final 2023 allocations were published on December 21, 2022 (87 FR 78011).

The final rule implementing Amendment 1 to the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), as published in the Federal Register on July 26, 2000 (65 FR 45844), provided a mechanism for transferring bluefish commercial quota from one state to another. Two or more states, under mutual agreement and with the concurrence of the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator, can request approval to transfer or combine bluefish commercial quota under § 648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii). The Regional Administrator must approve any such transfer based on the criteria in § 648.162(e). In evaluating requests to transfer a quota or combine quotas, the Regional Administrator shall consider whether: The transfer or combinations would preclude the overall annual quota from being fully harvested; the transfer addresses an unforeseen variation or contingency in the fishery; and the transfer is consistent with the objectives of the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Regional Administrator has determined these three criteria have been met for the transfers approved in this notification.

Virginia is transferring 55,000 lb (24,948 kg) to North Carolina and 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) to Rhode Island through mutual agreements of the States. These transfers were requested to ensure that North Carolina and Rhode Island would not exceed their 2023 State quotas. The revised bluefish quotas for 2023 are: Virginia, 355,625 lb (161,309 kg); North Carolina, 1,429,077 lb (648,218 kg); and Rhode Island, 351,165 lb (159,286 kg).

Classification

NMFS issues this action pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This action is required by 50 CFR 648.162(e)(1)(i) through (iii), which was issued pursuant to section 304(b), and is exempted from review under Executive Order 12866.

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

Dated: August 1, 2023.

Jennifer M. Wallace,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.