2025-16242: Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands; Final 2025 and 2026 Harvest Specifications for Groundfish; Correction

Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 162 (Monday, August 25, 2025) [Federal Register Volume 90, Number 162 (Monday, August 25, 2025)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 41344-41345] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2025-16242] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 679 [250813-0138; RTID 0648-XE346] Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands; Final 2025 and 2026 Harvest Specifications for Groundfish; Correction

Agency

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

Action

Final rule; correction. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary

On March 18, 2025, NMFS published the final rule to implement the 2025 and 2026 harvest specifications, apportionments, and prohibited species catch (PSC) allowances for the groundfish fishery of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). Following publication, errors were identified in table 21, which provides notice of allocations of groundfish and apportionments of PSC limits for the Community Development Quota (CDQ) groups. This rule corrects the errors in table 21.

Dates

Effective August 25, 2025, through 2400 hours, A.l.t., December 31, 2025.

For Further Information Contact

Steve Whitney, 907-206-6783.

Supplementary Information

Background NMFS publishes this rule to correct errors in table 21 of the final BSAI 2025 and 2026 groundfish harvest specifications. Table 21 sets forth the allocations of groundfish and apportionments of PSC allowances for the CDQ groups. PSC allowances are apportioned to individual CDQ groups as prohibited species quota (PSQ). In 2006, Public Law 109-241 amended section 305(i)(1) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)(1)) to provide for the allocation of CDQ groundfish among certain entities. The six CDQ groups receiving allocations are the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association (APICDA), Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation (BBEDC), Central Bering Sea Fisherman's Association (CBSFA), Coastal Villages Regional Fund (CVRF), Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC), and Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association (YDFDA). NMFS published the CDQ groundfish and PSQ percentages on August 31, 2006 (71 FR 51804). The groundfish and PSQ amounts for each CDQ group are based on those percentages as applied to the total 2025 CDQ amounts in the final groundfish harvest specifications, which were published on March 18, 2025 (90 FR 12640). Those amounts for each CDQ group for 2025 are shown in table 21. Need for Correction Multiple errors were discovered in the percentages of flatfish allocations between the six CDQ groups. As a result, the final rule specified CDQ allocations that are inconsistent with statute and regulation. This correction replaces table 21 with a correct table 21 that contains the correct groundfish and PSQ amounts for each CDQ group. Classification NMFS issues this final rule pursuant to section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act because through previous actions, the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish of the BSAI and implementing regulations authorize NMFS to take this action pursuant to section 305(d) (see 50 CFR part 679). The NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is consistent with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws. This action is authorized under 50 CFR 679.20 and is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as notice and comment would be unnecessary and contrary to the public interest. The Magnuson-Stevens Act specifies how to set the percentage allocations of certain groundfish species among each of the six CDQ groups. NMFS applies these statutorily-mandated percentages to the final total allowable catch for those groundfish species each year to calculate each CDQ group's allocation of groundfish species. NMFS does not have discretion to change the percentage allocations or the final allocations in the annual BSAI groundfish harvest specifications. Therefore, prior notice and an opportunity for public comment is unnecessary on this final rule to correct flatfish allocations that are inconsistent with statute and regulation. In addition, notice and comment would prevent NMFS from correcting the CDQ groundfish allocations in a timely fashion and would delay publishing the correct allocations for CDQ fisheries that are currently underway. These errors were discovered only after publication of the final BSAI 2025 and 2026 groundfish harvest specifications, and now these fisheries are currently being prosecuted. If this correction is delayed to allow for notice and comment, it would result in confusion for participants in the CDQ fisheries, given that the final rule implementing the BSAI 2025 and 2026 groundfish harvest specifications is already effective. Without this correction, participants in the CDQ fisheries may believe that there are different amounts available for harvest in 2025 then are actually available. Therefore, there is good cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment in order to avoid any negative consequences that could result from delaying notice of these corrections. For the same reasons, good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the effective date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) exists. Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., are inapplicable. This rule contains no information collection requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. Correction In the Federal Register of March 18, 2025, in FR Doc. 2025-04406, on page 12659, Table 21 is corrected as follows: Table 21--2025 CDQ Program Quota Categories, Target CDQ Reserves, Prohibited Species Quota (PSQ) Reserves, and CDQ Group Quotas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Species or species group APICDA BBEDC CBSFA CVRF NSEDC YDFDA Total -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Groundfish units are in metric tons. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BS Pollock A season..................... 8,662.5 12,993.8 3,093.8 14,850.0 13,612.5 8,662.5 61,875 [[Page 41345]] BS Pollock B season..................... 10,587.5 15,881.3 3,781.3 18,150.0 16,637.5 10,587.5 75,625 BS Pollock Total........................ 19,250.0 28,875.0 6,875.0 33,000.0 30,250.0 19,250.0 137,500 AI Pollock.............................. 266.0 399.0 95.0 456.0 418.0 266.0 1,900 BS Fixed Gear Sablefish................. 127.4 169.9 135.9 0.0 152.9 263.4 850 AI Fixed Gear Sablefish................. 166.7 226.3 35.7 321.6 273.9 166.7 1,191 BS Sablefish............................ 66.9 70.1 28.7 41.4 41.4 70.1 319 AI Sablefish............................ 38.7 29.8 11.9 19.4 17.9 31.3 149 BS Pacific cod.......................... 2,208.4 2,993.2 1,266.7 2,562.5 2,554.0 2,710.7 14,295 AI Pacific cod.......................... 143.7 194.8 82.4 166.8 166.2 176.4 930 WAI Atka Mackerel....................... 595.6 297.8 158.8 297.8 278.0 357.4 1,986 CAI Atka Mackerel....................... 784.5 392.4 209.2 392.3 366.2 470.8 2,615 EAI/BS Atka Mackerel.................... 1,251.7 626.0 333.9 626.0 584.3 751.1 4,173 Yellowfin Sole.......................... 4,002.9 3,455.9 1,156.0 917.8 1,052.6 3,859.7 14,445 Yellowfin Sole ABC reserves............. 3,782.2 3,265.4 1,092.2 867.2 994.6 3,646.9 13,649 Rock Sole............................... 1,931.5 1,846.1 639.2 877.8 879.5 1,850.9 8,025 Rock Sole ABC reserves.................. 2,124.3 2,030.4 703.0 965.4 967.3 2,035.7 8,826 BS Greenland Turbot..................... 24.2 30.3 12.1 25.7 28.8 30.3 151 Arrowtooth Flounder..................... 329.6 329.6 134.8 194.7 179.8 329.6 1,498 Flathead Sole........................... 772.3 812.4 341.7 576.9 576.2 772.5 3,852 Flathead Sole ABC reserves.............. 1,025.6 1,078.8 453.8 766.2 765.2 1,025.8 5,115 WAI Pacific Ocean Perch................. 369.2 184.6 98.4 184.6 172.3 221.5 1,231 CAI Pacific Ocean Perch................. 178.4 89.2 47.6 89.2 83.3 107.1 595 EAI Pacific Ocean Perch................. 201.5 100.8 53.7 100.8 94.0 120.9 672 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PSQ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Halibut PSQ is in metric tons. Crab and salmon PSQ are in number of animals. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zone 1 Red King Crab.................... 2,491 2,180 830 1,245 1,245 2,387 10,379 Zone 1 Bairdi Tanner Crab............... 27,264 25,166 8,389 8,389 8,389 27,264 104,860 Zone 2 Bairdi Tanner Crab............... 76,270 73,092 25,423 34,957 31,779 76,270 317,790 COBLZ Opilio Tanner Crab................ 343,738 329,988 109,996 137,495 109,996 343,738 1,374,950 Pacific Halibut......................... 69 69 28 38 38 72 315 BS Chinook Salmon A season.............. 547 820 195 937 859 547 3,906 BS Chinook Salmon B season.............. 139 208 50 238 218 139 990 BS Chinook Salmon total................. 685 1,028 245 1,175 1,077 685 4,896 AI Chinook Salmon....................... 7 11 3 13 12 7 53 Non-Chinook Salmon...................... 629 944 225 1,079 989 629 4,494 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Refer to Sec. 679.2 for definitions of areas and zones. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: August 18, 2025. Samuel D. Rauch III, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2025-16242 Filed 8-22-25; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-P