Adjustment to Sector Annual Catch Entitlements Under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 648 [Docket No. 231129-0282; RTID 0648-XD485] ( printed page 84243) AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Temporary final rule; adjustment to specifications. SUMMARY: This final rule announces allocation carryover from fishing year 2022 into fishing year 2023 for the Northeast Multispecies sectors program. This action is necessary to distribute carryover quota to sectors. The carryover adjustments in this rule are routine and formulaic, and industry expects them each year. DATES: Effective January 4, 2024, through April 30, 2024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liz Sullivan, Fishery Policy Analyst, (978) 282-8493. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 18, 2023, NMFS published a final rule approving Framework Adjustment 65 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) ( 88 FR 56527 ), which revised the rebuilding plan for Gulf of Maine cod, set annual catch limits (ACL) for 16 of the 20 groundfish stocks and 2023 ACLs for 3 shared U.S./Canada stocks, and made a temporary modification to the accountability measures for Georges Bank cod. This rule distributes unused sector quota carried over from fishing year 2022 to fishing year 2023. Sector Carryover Allocations From Fishing Year 2022 Carryover regulations at 50 CFR 648.87(b)(1)(i)(C) allow each groundfish sector to carry over an amount of unused …