Winter I and Winter II commercial increase:

[AndyS]

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

ACTION:
Temporary rule; in-season adjustment.

SUMMARY:
NMFS adjusts the 2025 Winter II commercial scup quota and per-trip Federal landing limit. This action is necessary to comply with regulations implementing Framework Adjustment 3 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan that established the rollover of unused commercial scup quota from the Winter I to the Winter II period. This notification informs the public of the quota and trip limit changes.

DATES:
Effective October 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Matthew Rigdon, Fishery Management Specialist, (978) 281-9336; or
Matthew.Rigdon@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

NMFS published a final rule for Framework Adjustment 3 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan in the

Federal Register
on November 3, 2003 (68 FR 62250), implementing a process to increase the Winter II (October 1 through December 31) commercial scup quota by the amount of the Winter I (January 1 through April 30) under-harvest and to adjust the Winter II possession limits consistent with the amount of the quota increase, based on the possession limits established through the annual specifications-setting process.

For 2025, the initial Winter II quota is 3,114,608 pounds (lb; 1,412,762 kilograms (kg)). The best available landings information through July 10, 2025, indicates that 1,047,723 lb (475,239 kg) remain of the 8,814,300 lb (3,998,099 kg) Winter I quota. Consistent with Framework 3, the full amount of unused 2025 Winter I quota is being transferred to Winter II, resulting in a revised 2025 Winter II quota of 4,162,331 lb (1,888,02 kg). Because the amount transferred is between 1 and 1.5 million lb (453,592 and 680,338 kg), the Federal per-trip possession limit will increase from 12,000 lb (5,443 kg) to 15,000 lb (6,804 kg), as outlined in the final rule that established the possession limit and quota rollover procedures for this year, published on December 10, 2024 (89 FR 99138). The new possession limit will be effective October 1 through December 31, 2025. The Winter II possession limit will revert to 12,000 lb (5,443 kg) at the start of the next fishing year, which begins January 1, 2026.