Proposed Rule2022-00629
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Skate Complex; 2022 and 2023 Specifications
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 18, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS proposes Northeast skate specifications for the 2022 fishing year, and projects specifications for fishing year 2023, as recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council. This action is necessary to establish annual allowable harvest levels for the skate fishery that prevent overfishing while enabling optimum yield, using the best scientific information available. This rule also informs the public of the proposed fishery specifications and provides an opportunity for comment.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2587-2588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00629]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 220110-0007]
RTID 0648-XX075
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Skate
Complex; 2022 and 2023 Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes Northeast skate specifications for the 2022
fishing year, and projects specifications for fishing year 2023, as
recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council. This action
is necessary to establish annual allowable harvest levels for the skate
fishery that prevent overfishing while enabling optimum yield, using
the best scientific information available. This rule also informs the
public of the proposed fishery specifications and provides an
opportunity for comment.
DATES: Comments must be received by February 17, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2021-0116, by the following method:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
1. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, and enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2021-
0116'' in the Search box;
2. Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields; and
3. Enter or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
Copies of the Supplemental Information Report (SIR) and other
supporting documents for this action are available upon request from
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management
Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. These documents are
also accessible via the internet at <a href="https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/skates">https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/skates</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) manages a
complex of seven skate species (barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette,
smooth, thorny, and winter skate) in the New England and Mid-Atlantic
regions under the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan
(FMP). Skates are harvested and managed in two different fishery
sectors, one for food (the wing fishery) and one for bait used in other
fisheries (the bait fishery). The FMP requires the review and
specification of annual skate harvest limits, including: An annual
catch limit (ACL), an annual catch target (ACT), a fishery-level total
allowable landings limit (TAL), separate TALs for the wing and bait
fisheries, and other management measures, as needed, for up to two
fishing years (FY) at a time. This action proposes skate specifications
for the 2022 fishing year, and projects specifications for 2023, as
recommended by the Council. The current specifications that were
implemented through Framework Adjustment 8 to the FMP (85 FR 33579;
June 2, 2020) expire on April 30, 2022, but will roll over beyond that
date until a final rule for new specifications is in effect.
Proposed Specifications
This action proposes the Council's recommended northeast skate
fishery specifications for fishing year 2022 and projects unchanged
specifications for fishing year 2023. These proposed catch limits are
consistent with recommendations from the Council's SSC, Skate
Committee, and Skate Plan Development Team (Skate PDT). The resulting
proposed specifications would increase all catch limits by at least 14
percent in fishing year 2022, largely as a result of increased skate
biomass throughout the complex. A comparison of the current 2021 and
the proposed 2022-2023 specifications is summarized below in Table 1.
The Council will review the projected 2023 specifications to determine
if any changes need to be made prior to the 2023 fishing year. We will
publish a notice prior to the 2023 fishing year to confirm these limits
as projected or a proposed rule for any necessary changes.
Table 1--Comparison of Current 2021, and Proposed 2022-2023 Skate Fishery Specifications, in Metric Tons
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2022-23
2021 (current) (proposed) Percent change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC/ACL......................................................... 32,715 37,236 +14
ACT............................................................. 29,444 33,513 +14
Overall Fishery TAL............................................. 17,864 21,142 +18
Wing TAL (66.5% of Overall TAL)................................. 11,879 14,059 +18
Wing Season 1 TAL (57% of Wing TAL)............................. 6,771 8,014 +18
Wing Season 2 TAL............................................... 5,108 6,045 +18
Bait TAL (33.5% of Overall TAL)................................. 5,984 7,082 +18
Bait Season 1 TAL (30.8% of Bait TAL)........................... 1,843 2,181 +18
Bait Season 2 TAL (37.1% of Bait TAL)........................... 2,220 2,627 +18
[[Page 2588]]
Bait Season 3 TAL............................................... 1,921 2,274 +18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Council did not recommend changes to regulations governing the
skate fishery. Although the Skate PDT considered increasing trip limits
along these proposed specifications, no changes to other management
measures are recommended. Trip limits were recently raised in both the
wing and bait fisheries through Framework Adjustment 8 to the Skate FMP
(85 FR 23240; April 27, 2020), and it was determined that it is
unnecessary to consider trip limit changes again at this time.
Classification
Consistent with regulations at 50 CFR 648.320, the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with
the Northeast Skate Complex FMP, the Magnuson Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, and other applicable law, subject to
further consideration after public comment.
This action is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866
because it contains no implementing regulations.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The factual basis for this determination is as follows.
The Council conducted an evaluation of the potential socioeconomic
impacts of the proposed measures in conjunction with a SIR. There are
no proposed regulatory changes in this skate action, so none are
considered in the evaluation. The proposed specifications would
increase quotas in both the wing and bait skate fisheries by 18 percent
in fishing year 2022 and maintain these proposed catch limits with no
changes for fishing year 2023. This action proposes no changes to other
management measures beyond specifications, such as per-trip possession
limits.
This proposed action would affect entities that participate in
commercial skate fishing (those that hold commercial skate permits and/
or report skate landings). Vessels may hold multiple fishing permits
and some entities own multiple vessels and/or permits. According to the
Northeast Fisheries Science Center commercial ownership database, 295
commercial fishing affiliate firms owning 321 vessels landed skates
during the 2018-2020 period (the most recent and complete data
available), and all 295 of those commercial entities are categorized as
small businesses.
The proposed specifications are expected to provide some additional
operational flexibility and opportunity within the skate fishery
without increasing risk to the resource or substantially changing
fishing behavior. Under this action, the annual coastwide quotas would
increase, but there are no proposed changes to the management measures
(such as per-trip possession limits) that are most likely to affect
fishery behavior. While entities issued a commercial skate permit may
experience a slight positive impact related to potentially higher
landings throughout the course of the entire year, short-term landings
are not expected to increase. Additionally, fishing behavior and short-
term landings are often based on market conditions, which are not
expected to substantially change as a result of these specifications.
As such, the proposed action is not expected to have an impact on the
way the fishery operates/fishing behavior, or a substantial impact on
the revenue of small entities.
Overall, the Council's analyses indicate that the overall economic
impact of this proposed action is expected to be slightly positive, and
that the proposed specifications are not expected to substantially
change fishing effort, the risk of overfishing, prices/revenues, or
fishery behavior. Therefore, the Council concluded, and NMFS agrees,
that this action would not have a significant impact on a substantial
number of small businesses. As a result, an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis is not required and none has been prepared.
This action would not establish any new reporting or record-keeping
requirements.
This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: January 10, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-00629 Filed 1-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 18, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.