Rule2022-00055
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Adjustments to 2022 Specifications
Primary source
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Published
January 7, 2022
Effective
January 4, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
In accordance with the regulations implementing the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan, this action adjusts the 2022 harvest specifications for the herring fishery. Specifically, it adjusts catch limits in the four herring management areas (Areas 1A, 1B, 2, and 3) to account for catch overages and underages in those areas during 2020. This action is necessary to help prevent overfishing ensure and support the harvest of optimum yield consistent with the requirements of the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 5 (Friday, January 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 887-889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00055]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 220103-0001; RTID 0648-XX077]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring
Fishery; Adjustments to 2022 Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary final rule; adjustment of specifications.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the regulations implementing the Atlantic
Herring Fishery Management Plan, this action adjusts the 2022 harvest
specifications for the herring fishery. Specifically, it adjusts catch
limits in the four herring management areas (Areas 1A, 1B, 2, and 3) to
account for catch overages and underages in those areas during 2020.
This action is necessary to help prevent overfishing ensure and support
the harvest of optimum yield consistent with the requirements of the
Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan.
DATES: Effective January 4, 2022, through December 31, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, including Framework 8 to
Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP), are available from the
Sustainable Fisheries Division, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries
Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, telephone (978)
281-9315, or online at: <a href="https://www.nefmc.org">https://www.nefmc.org</a> and <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-herring#management">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-herring#management</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Nordeen, Fishery Policy
Analyst, 978-281-9272.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic herring harvest in the United States is managed under
the Atlantic Herring FMP developed by the New England Fishery
Management Council and approved by NMFS. The FMP divides the herring
annual catch limit (ACL) among three management areas, one of which has
two sub-areas. It divides Area 1 (located in the Gulf of Maine (GOM))
into an inshore section (Area 1A) and an offshore section (Area 1B).
Area 2 is located in the coastal waters between Massachusetts and North
Carolina, and Area 3 is on Georges Bank (GB). The FMP considers the
herring stock complex to be a single stock, but there are inshore (GOM)
and offshore (GB) stock components. The GOM and GB stock components
segregate during spawning and mix during feeding and migration. Each
management area has its own sub-ACL to allow greater control of the
fishing mortality on each stock component.
NMFS issued a final rule that implemented Amendment 4 to the FMP
(76 FR 11373; March 2, 2011) to address ACL and accountability measure
(AM) requirements. As a way to account for ACL/sub-ACL overages in the
herring fishery, Amendment 4 established an AM that requires NMFS to
deduct any ACL/sub-ACL overages from the corresponding ACL/sub-ACL of
the year following the catch overage determination. Amendment 4 also
specified that NMFS will announce overage deductions in the Federal
Register prior to the start of the fishing year, if possible.
NMFS published a final rule implementing Framework 2 to the FMP and
the 2013-2015 specifications for the herring fishery on October 4, 2013
(78 FR 61828). Among other measures, Framework 2 allowed for the
carryover of unharvested catch (i.e., underages) in the year following
catch determination. Provided that annual total catch does not exceed
the ACL, up to 10 percent of each sub-ACL may be carried over and added
to the following year's sub-ACL. The carryover provision allows a sub-
ACL increase for a management area, but it does not allow a
corresponding increase to the ACL.
NMFS published the 2021-2023 specifications for the herring fishery
in Framework 8 to the FMP on April 1, 2021 (86 FR 17081). Framework 8
also revised the carryover provision to reduce the amount of carryover
available to be added to sub-ACLs in 2022. Specifically, it reduced the
2020 sub-ACL percentages that could be carried over and added to the
2022 sub-ACLs from 10 percent to 5 percent. Because carryover does not
increase the ACL, the carryover of 2020 underages to the relatively
lower sub-ACLs in 2022 could potentially restrict fishing later in the
year in areas not receiving carryover if the sub-ACLs in areas with
carryover are harvested early in the year.
Provisions Implemented Through This Final Rule
NMFS recently completed the catch accounting for 2020 and
determined there were catch overages in Areas 1A and 1B and catch
underages in Areas 2 and 3. To account for the overages, this action
deducts the 2020 catch overages
[[Page 888]]
in Areas 1A and 1B from the 2022 ACL and sub-ACLs for Areas 1A and 1B.
To account for the underages, this action carries over unharvested 2020
catch to the 2022 herring sub-ACLs in Areas 2 and 3. The carryover
equals the amount of each area's underage or up to 5 percent of the
2020 sub-ACL, whichever is less. Table 1 provides catch details for
2020 and the corresponding adjustments for the 2022 sub-ACLs. Because
the adjusted Area 1B sub-ACL is zero, none of the sub-ACL is available
for harvest in 2022 and a vessel may not fish for, possess, or retain
herring from Area 1B for the remainder of the 2022 fishing year. A
vessel may transit Area 1B with herring on board provided herring were
caught in an area where the sub-ACL is available for harvest and gear
is stowed and not available for immediate use.
Table 1--Herring Catch Limits, Catch, and Carryover
[mt]
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Allowable
Final 2020 sub- 2020 overages carryover (up Initial 2022 Adjusted 2022
ACLs 2020 catch (+) underages to 5 percent sub-ACLs sub-ACLs
(-) *)
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Area 1A................................................. 4,244 4,353 + 109 NA 1,184 1,075
Area 1B................................................. 483 831 + 348 NA 176 ** 0
Area 2.................................................. 3,120 353 -2,767 156 1,139 1,295
Area 3.................................................. 4,378 4,054 -324 219 1,598 1,817
ACL ***................................................. 12,224 9,591 NA NA 4,098 3,813
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* Carryover is based on 5 percent of the initial 2020 sub-ACLs: Area 1A = 3,244 mt; Area 1B = 483 mt; Area 2 = 3,120 mt; and Area 3 = 4,378 mt. These
initial sub-ACLs were adjusted inseason to become the final 2020 sub-ACLs.
** Because the 2020 overage in Area 1B exceeds the initial 2022 Area 1B sub-ACL, the adjusted 2022 Area 1B sub-ACL is zero.
*** The ACL is reduced by overages but not increased by carryover; therefore, the adjusted 2022 ACL is only affected by the 2020 overages in Areas 2 and
3.
NMFS calculated the amount of herring landings in 2020 based on
dealer reports (Federal and state) of herring purchases, supplemented
by vessel trip reports (VTR) and vessel monitoring system (VMS) reports
(Federal and states of Maine and Massachusetts) of herring landings.
NMFS generally uses dealer reports to estimate herring landings;
however, if the amount of herring reported via VTR exceeded the amount
of herring reported by the dealer by 10 percent or more, NMFS assumes
the dealer report for that trip was in error and uses the VTR report
instead. NMFS assigns herring landings to individual herring management
areas using VMS reports or latitude and longitude coordinates from VTR
reports when a VMS report is not available. NMFS uses recent fishing
activity to assign landings to a management area if dealer reports do
not have a corresponding VTR or VMS catch report.
NMFS estimates herring discards by extrapolating discards from
herring trips observed by the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program to
all herring trips (observed and unobserved) according to gear and
herring management area. Because research set-aside (RSA) is removed
from management area sub-ACLs at the beginning of the fishery year,
when appropriate, NMFS tracks RSA catch but does not count it towards
the herring sub-ACLs. No RSA is specified for 2022.
Classification
The NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this final
rule is consistent with the FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and other applicable
law.
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. Notice and
comment are impracticable and contrary to the public interest because a
delay would potentially impair achievement of the management plan's
objectives of preventing overfishing and achieving optimum yield by
impairing a vessels' ability to harvest available catch allocations.
Allowing for prior notice and public comment on this adjustment is also
impracticable because the adjustments need to be announced prior to the
January 1 start of the fishing year, or as soon as possible thereafter.
Further, this is a nondiscretionary action required by provisions of
Amendment 4 and Frameworks 2, 6, and 8, which were previously subject
to public notice and comment. The adjustments required by these
regulations are formulaic. This action simply effectuates these
mandatory calculations. The proposed and final rules for Frameworks 2
and 6 and Amendment 4 explained the need and likelihood for adjustments
to the sub-ACLs based on final catch. Frameworks 2 and 8, specifically,
provided prior notice of the need to distribute carryover catch. These
actions provided a full opportunity for the public to comment on the
substance and process of this action.
For the same reasons as noted above, there is good cause under 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effective date and make
the rule effective upon publication in the Federal Register. To prevent
confusion and potential overharvests, it will be in the best interest
of the fleet and the herring resource to adjust the specifications
prior to the January 1 start of the fishing year, or as soon as
possible thereafter. Management Areas 1B, 2, and 3 open on January 1
and Area 1A opens on June 1. The adjustments in this action reduce
catch in Areas 1A and 1B, in particular reducing the Area 1B sub-ACL to
zero, and increase catch in Areas 2 and 3. Putting in place the
adjusted specifications as soon as possible will provide the fleet with
an opportunity to develop their business plans in sufficient time to
avoid an overharvest in Area 1B and facilitate the harvest of
additional catch in Areas 2 and 3.
This action is required by 50 CFR part 648, subpart K, and is
exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
This final rule does not contain a collection-of-information
requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
[[Page 889]]
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. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis
is not required and has not been prepared.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: January 3, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-00055 Filed 1-4-22; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 7, 2022.
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