Rule2022-05649
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
March 17, 2022
Effective
May 1, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS issues final 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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 52 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 52 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15146-15147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05649]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 220311-0070; 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: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues final 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.
DATES: Effective on May 1, 2022.
ADDRESSES: The New England Fishery Management Council prepared a
Supplemental Information Report (SIR) for these specifications that
describes the action and any changes from the original environmental
assessment (EA) and analyses for this 2022-2023 specifications action.
Copies of the SIR, original EA, 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 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 an
acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limit (ACL), annual
catch target (ACT), fishery-level total allowable landings (TAL) limit,
separate TALs for the wing and bait fisheries, and other management
measures, as needed, for up to two fishing years at a time. This action
implements skate specifications for the 2022 fishing year, and projects
specifications for 2023, as recommended by the Council.
The proposed rule for this action published in the Federal Register
on January 18, 2022 (87 FR 2587), and comments were accepted through
February 17, 2022. NMFS did not receive any comments from the public
during this period. Additional background information regarding the
development of these specifications was provided in the proposed rule
and is not repeated here.
Specifications
This action implements the Council's recommended 2022 and projected
2023 skate catch specifications (Table 1), as outlined in the proposed
rule. These specifications increase the ABC by 14 percent and annual
quotas for both the wing and bait fisheries by 18 percent in fishing
year 2022. Specifications for fishing year 2023 are projected to be
unchanged from 2022.
Table 1--Summary of Final 2022 and Projected 2023 Skate Fishery
Specifications
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Metric tons Million lb
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ABC = ACL............................... 37,236 82.091
ACT..................................... 33,513 73.883
Overall Fishery TAL..................... 21,142 46.610
Wing TAL (66.5% of Overall TAL)......... 14,059 30.995
Wing Season 1 TAL (57% of Wing TAL)..... 8,014 17.668
Wing Season 2 TAL....................... 6,045 13.327
Bait TAL (33.5% of Overall TAL)......... 7,082 15.613
Bait Season 1 TAL (30.8% of Bait TAL)... 2,181 4.808
Bait Season 2 TAL (37.1% of Bait TAL)... 2,627 5.792
Bait Season 3 TAL....................... 2,274 5.013
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All other fishery management measures, such as trip limits, remain
unchanged under this action. The Council will review the projected
specifications for fishing year 2023 in light of any new information to
determine if any changes need to be made prior to their implementation.
NMFS will publish a notice prior to the 2023 fishing year to confirm
these limits as projected or propose any necessary changes.
Comments and Responses
The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on February
17, 2022. NMFS received no comments from the public during this period.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
There are no changes from the proposed rule.
Classification
The NMFS Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region, has determined
that these specifications are necessary for the conservation and
management of the Northeast skate fishery, and that it is consistent
with the Northeast Skate Complex FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, and other applicable laws.
This final rule is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866
because the action 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 during the proposed rule stage that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here.
[[Page 15147]]
No comments were received regarding this certification, and the initial
certification remains unchanged. As a result, a final regulatory
flexibility analysis was not required and none was prepared.
This final rule does not duplicate, conflict, or overlap with any
existing Federal rules.
This action contains no information collection requirements under
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 11, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-05649 Filed 3-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 17, 2022.
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