Rules and Regulations. Temporary rule; quota transfer

Agency: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce
Action: Temporary rule; quota transfer
Citation: FR Doc. 2025-21943 · Docket No. 241203-0308; RTID 0648-XF338 · 50 CFR 648

Summary

NMFS announces that the State of Rhode Island is transferring a portion of their 2025 commercial bluefish quota to the State of North Carolina. This quota adjustment is necessary to comply with the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) quota transfer provisions. This announcement informs the public of the revised 2025 commercial bluefish quotas for Rhode Island and North Carolina.

Dates

Effective December 3, 2025 through December 31, 2025.

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 2025 allocations were published on December 10, 2024 (89 FR 99138). The final rule implementing amendment 1 to the 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). The Regional Administrator is required to consider three criteria in the evaluation of requests for quota transfers or combinations: (1) the transfers would not preclude the overall annual quota from being fully harvested; (2) the transfers address an unforeseen variation or contingency in the fishery; and (3) the transfers are 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 criteria have been met for the transfers approved in this notification. Rhode Island is transferring 50,000 pounds (lb) (22,680 kilograms (kg)) to North Carolina through mutual agreement of the states. This transfer was requested to ensure North Carolina would not exceed its 2025 state quota. The revised bluefish quotas for 2025 are: Rhode Island, 205,061 lb (93,014 kg) and North Carolina, 1,322,012 lb (599,655 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: December 2, 2025. Kelly Denit, Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2025-21943 Filed 12-3-25; 8:45 am]