Rule2021-27773
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; 2022 and Projected 2023 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications
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Published
December 23, 2021
Effective
January 1, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS announces 2022 and projected 2023 specifications for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea fisheries. The implementing regulations for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan require us to publish specifications for the upcoming fishing year for each of these species. This action is intended to inform the public of the specifications for the start of the 2022 fishing year for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 244 (Thursday, December 23, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 244 (Thursday, December 23, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 72859-72863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27773]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 211217-0262; RTID 0648-XX072]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; 2022 and Projected
2023 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces 2022 and projected 2023 specifications for the
summer flounder, scup, and black sea fisheries. The implementing
regulations for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery
Management Plan require us to publish specifications for the upcoming
fishing year for each of these species. This action is intended to
inform the public of the specifications for the start of the 2022
fishing year for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass.
DATES: This rule is effective January 1, 2022.
ADDRESSES: A Supplemental Information Report (SIR) was prepared for the
2022-2023 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass specifications.
Copies of the SIR are available on request from Dr. Christopher M.
Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council,
Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. The SIR is also
accessible via the internet at <a href="https://www.mafmc.org/s/SFSBSB_2022-2023_specs_SIR_final.pdf">https://www.mafmc.org/s/SFSBSB_2022-2023_specs_SIR_final.pdf</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281-9116.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
General Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) cooperatively
manage the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. The
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP)
outlines the Council's process for establishing specifications. The FMP
requires NMFS to set an acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch
limit (ACL), annual catch targets (ACT), commercial quotas,
[[Page 72860]]
recreational harvest limit (RHL), and other management measures, for
each species for 1 to 3 years at a time. This action implments 2022 and
projects 2023 ABCs, as well as the recreational and commercial ACLs,
ACTs, commercial quotas, and RHLs for all three species, consistent
with the recommendations made by the Commission's Summer Flounder,
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board (Board) and the Council at their joint
August 2021 meeting.
The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) met on July 22,
2021, to review the results of the 2021 management track stock
assessments and recommend 2022 and 2023 ABCs for all three species;
specific recommendations are discussed below.
Final 2022-2023 Specifications
Summer Flounder Specifications
This action approves the Council and Board recommended 2022-2023
summer flounder catch and landings limits as shown in Table 1. The
recommendations are based on the most recent (2021) stock assessment
and the application of the Council's risk policy. For summer flounder,
this results in a 22-percent increase in the recommended 2022 and 2023
ABC over the 2021 ABC. The proposed rule (November 24, 2021; 86 FR
67014) and Section 5.2 of the Council's SIR provides information on how
the specifications were calculated.
Table 1--Summary of 2022 and Projected 2023 Summer Flounder Fishery
Specifications
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Specifications Mil lb. Metric ton
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Overfishing Limit (OFL)................. 2022: 36.28 2022: 16,458
2023: 34.98 2023: 15,865
ABC..................................... 33.12 15,021
Commercial ACL = ACT.................... 18.48 8,382
Commercial Quota........................ 15.53 7,046
Recreational ACL = ACT.................. 14.64 6,639
RHL..................................... 10.36 4,697
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The final state summer flounder commercial quotas take into account
any overages that occurred during the 2020 or current fishing year,
through October 31, as described at 50 CFR 648.103(b)(2). The final
2022 state-by-state summer flounder commercial quotas are provided in
Table 2.
Table 2--Final 2022 Summer Flounder State-by-State Commercial Quotas
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Final 2022 Final 2022
State quotas (lb) quotas (mt)
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ME...................................... 24,488 11.11
NH...................................... 19,990 9.07
MA...................................... 1,391,846 631.33
RI...................................... 2,238,216 1,015.24
CT...................................... 956,043 433.65
NY...................................... 1,470,779 667.13
NJ...................................... 2,337,728 1,060.38
DE...................................... -19,173 -8.70
MD...................................... 935,226 424.21
VA...................................... 2,776,242 1,259.28
NC...................................... 3,361,569 1,524.78
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Total............................... 15,512,127 7,036.18
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Note: Summed not including Delaware.
This action makes no changes to the current commercial management
measures, including the minimum fish size (14-inch (36-cm) total
length), gear requirements, and possession limits. Changes to 2022
recreational management measures (bag limits, size limits, and seasons)
are not considered in this action but will be considered by the Board
and Council later this year when additional data are available for
2021.
Black Sea Bass Specifications
This action approves the Council and Board recommended 2022-2023
black sea bass catch and landings limits as shown in Table 3. The
recommendations are based on the most recent (2021) stock assessment
and the application of the Council's risk policy. This results in a
2022 black sea bass ABC that is an 8-percent increase compared to 2021
and a projected 2023 ABC that is a 5-percent decrease compared to 2021.
The proposed rule and Section 5.2 of the Council's SIR provides
information on how the specifications were calculated.
Table 3--2022 and Projected 2023 Black Sea Bass Catch and Landings Limits
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2022 2023
Specifications ---------------------------------------------------------------
Mil lb. Metric ton Mil lb. Metric ton
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OFL............................................. 19.26 8,735 17.01 7,716
ABC............................................. 18.86 8,555 16.66 7,557
[[Page 72861]]
Expected Commercial Discards.................... 3.63 1,649 3.21 1,456
Expected Recreational Discards.................. 2.02 917 1.79 810
Commercial ACL = ACT............................ 10.10 4,583 8.93 4,048
Commercial Quota................................ 6.47 2,934 5.71 2,592
Recreational ACL = ACT.......................... 8.76 3,972 7.74 3,509
RHL............................................. 6.74 3,055 5.95 2,699
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This action does not change the 2022 commercial management measures
for black sea bass, including the commercial minimum fish size (11-inch
(27.94-cm) total length) and gear requirements.
Scup Specifications
This action approves the Council and Board recommended 2022-2023
scup catch and landings limits as shown in Table 4. The recommendations
are based on the most recent (2021) stock assessment and the
application of the Council's risk policy. This results in a 2022 ABC
that is 8 percent less than the 2021 ABC; the projected 2023 ABC is 15
percent less than the 2021 ABC. The proposed rule and Section 5.2 of
the Council's SIR provides information on how the specifications were
calculated.[FEDREG][VOL]*[/VOL][NO]*[/NO][DATE]*[/
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Table 4--2022 and Projected 2023 Scup Catch and Landings Limits
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2022 2023
Specifications ---------------------------------------------------------------
Mil lb. Metric ton Mil lb. Metric ton
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OFL............................................. 32.56 14,770 30.09 13,648
ABC............................................. 32.11 14,566 29.67 13,460
Expected Commercial Discards.................... 4.67 2,117 5.28 2,394
Expected Recreational Discards.................. 0.99 447 1.12 506
Commercial ACL = ACT............................ 25.05 11,361 23.15 10,499
Commercial Quota................................ 20.38 9,245 17.87 8,105
Recreational ACL = ACT.......................... 7.06 3,205 6.53 2,961
RHL............................................. 6.08 2,757 5.41 2,455
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The commercial scup quota is divided into three commercial fishery
quota periods, as outlined in Table 5.
Table 5--Commercial Scup Quota Allocations for 2022 by Quota Period
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Quota Period Percent share lb mt
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Winter I........................................................ 45.11 9,194,201 4,170
Summer.......................................................... 38.95 7,938,686 3,601
Winter II....................................................... 15.94 3,248,849 1,474
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Total....................................................... 100.0 20,381,736 9,245
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The current quota period possession limits are not changed by this
action and are outlined in Table 6.
Table 6--Commercial Scup Possession Limits by Quota Period
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Federal possession limits (per
trip)
Quota period Percent share -------------------------------
lb kg
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Winter I........................................................ 45.11 50,000 22,680
Summer.......................................................... 38.95 N/A N/A
Winter II....................................................... 15.94 12,000 5,443
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Total....................................................... 100.0 N/A N/A
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[[Page 72862]]
The Winter I possession limit will drop to 1,000 lb (454 kg) when
80 percent of that period's allocation is landed. If the Winter I quota
is not fully harvested, the remaining quota is transferred to Winter
II. The Winter II possession limit may be adjusted (in association with
a transfer of unused Winter I quota to the Winter II period) via
notification in the Federal Register. The regulations specify that the
Winter II possession limit increases consistent with the increase in
the quota, as described in Table 7.
Table 7--Potential Increase in Winter II Possession Limits Based on the Amount of Unused Scup Rolled Over From Winter I to Winter II
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Initial Winter II possession Rollover from Winter I to Winter II Increase in initial Winter II Final Winter II possession
limit --------------------------------------------------------- possession limit limit after rollover from
-------------------------------- -------------------------------- Winter I to Winter II
lb kg -------------------------------
lb kg lb kg lb kg
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12,000 5,443 0-499,999 0-226,796 0 0 12,000 5,443
12,000 5,443 500,000-999,999 226,796-453,592 1,500 680 13,500 6,123
12,000 5,443 1,000,000-1,499,999 453,592-680,388 3,000 1,361 15,000 6,804
12,000 5,443 1,500,000-1,999,999 680,389-907,184 4,500 2,041 16,500 7,484
12,000 5,443 * 2,000,000-2,500,000 907,185-1,133,981 6,000 2,722 18,000 8,165
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* This process of increasing the possession limit in 1,500-lb (680-kg) increments would continue past 2,500,000 lb (1,122,981 kg), but we end here for
the purpose of this example.
This action does not change the 2022 commercial management measures
for scup, including the minimum fish size (9-inch (22.9-cm) total
length), gear requirements, and quota period possession limits. As with
summer flounder and black sea bass, potential changes to the
recreational measures (bag limits, size limits, and seasons) for 2022
will be considered later this year when additional data are available
for 2021.
Comments and Responses
We received one comment on the proposed rule (November 24, 2021; 86
FR 67014). The comment was from the State of New York and the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation (hereinafter referenced
as ``New York''). New York's comment comprises a cover letter and seven
attachments. The attachments were the comment letters and supporting
documents that New York previously submitted in response to the
proposed rule for the 2020-2021 Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass,
and Bluefish Specifications (84 FR 36046; July 26, 2019) and the
proposed rule for Amendment 21 to the FMP (85 FR 48660; August 12,
2020). Similar to arguments made in ongoing litigation, New York
contends that the revised allocations and resulting quotas are not in
accordance with Magnuson-Stevens Act's National Standards 2, 4, 5, and
7. NMFS' responses to New York's previously submitted comments can be
found in the final rules for those two actions (84 FR 54041; October 9,
2019, and 85 FR 80661; December 14, 2020) and are not repeated here.
The state commercial summer flounder allocation formula is established
in the regulations at 50 CFR 648.102(c), and as such must be followed
in setting the quotas in this specifications action. Deviating from
this formula would require a rulemaking to modify the current
regulations, which is beyond the scope of this action.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
As described in the proposed rule, the summer flounder
specifications in this final rule incorporate overage information to
calculate the final state quotas that was not available previously.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is
consistent with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP,
other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries finds that the need to
implement these measures in a timely manner constitutes good cause,
under the authority contained in 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), to waive the 30-
day delay in effective date of this action. This action implements 2022
specifications for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass
fisheries. These specifications should be effective by the start of the
fishing year on January 1, 2022, and must be published on or before
December 31, 2021.
This rule is being issued at the earliest possible date.
Preparation of the proposed rule was dependent on the Council's
submission of the SIR. NMFS received the final version of the SIR on
November 5, 2021. Preparation of the final rule is also dependent on
the analysis of commercial summer flounder landings for the prior
fishing year (2020) and the current fishing year through October 31,
2021, to determine whether any overages have occurred and adjustments
are needed to the final state quotas. This process is codified in the
summer flounder regulations and, therefore, cannot be performed
earlier. Annual publication of the summer flounder quotas prior to the
start of the fishing year, by December 31, is required by Court Order
in North Carolina Fisheries Association v. Daley.
The 30-day delay in implementation for this rule is also
unnecessary because this rule contains no new measures (e.g., requiring
new nets or equipment) for which regulated entities need time to
prepare or revise their current practices.This final rule is exempt
from review under Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to theChief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration during the proposedrule stage that this action would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantialnumber of small
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in
theproposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received
regarding thiscertification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility
analysis was not required and none wasprepared.
This final rule contains no information collection requirements
under thePaperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
[[Page 72863]]
Dated: December 17, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs,National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-27773 Filed 12-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P[FEDREG][VOL]*[/VOL][NO]*[/NO][DATE]*[/
DATE][RULES]
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 23, 2021.
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