Proposed Rule2022-17315
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 22 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan
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
August 12, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendment 22 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan to NMFS. Amendment 22 proposes revisions to the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass commercial and recreational allocation percentages. This action would also add the option for future modifications to the commercial/recreational allocation and transfer provisions to be considered through a framework action. Amendment 22 is intended to address the allocation-related impacts of the revised recreational catch and landings data provided by the Marine Recreational Information Program.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 155 (Friday, August 12, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 155 (Friday, August 12, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49796-49798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17315]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
RIN 0648-BL43
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 22
to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management
Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed fishery management plan
amendment; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has submitted
Amendment 22 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery
Management Plan to NMFS. Amendment 22 proposes revisions to the summer
flounder, scup, and black sea bass commercial and recreational
allocation percentages. This action would also add the option for
future modifications to the commercial/recreational allocation and
transfer provisions to be considered through a framework action.
Amendment 22 is intended to address the allocation-related impacts of
the revised recreational catch and landings data provided by the Marine
Recreational Information Program.
DATES: Public comments must be received on or before October 11, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2022-0079, by the following method:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and enter NOAA-NMFS-2022-0079 in the Search box.
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and 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
[[Page 49797]]
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 Amendment 22, including the Environmental Assessment, the
Regulatory Impact Review, and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) prepared in support of this action are available
from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
The supporting documents are also accessible via the internet at:
<a href="https://www.mafmc.org/actions/sfsbsb-allocation-amendment">https://www.mafmc.org/actions/sfsbsb-allocation-amendment</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281-9116, or email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#51143c383d287f1a34383d3428113f3e30307f363e27"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="83c6eeeaeffaadc8e6eaefe6fac3edece2e2ade4ecf5">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act requires that each Regional Fishery Management
Council transmit any amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and
approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment and associated
regulations deemed necessary by the Council to implement the amendment,
immediately publish notification in the Federal Register that the
amendment is available for public review and comment. The Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council transmitted its final version of Amendment
22 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management
Plan to NMFS for review on June 24, 2022. On July 19, 2022, the Council
submitted Amendment 22 proposed rule regulations they deemed to be
necessary and appropriate as specified in section 303(c) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act.
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 allocation of quota, for each species, between the
commercial and recreational fisheries. This joint amendment reevaluates
and proposes to revise the commercial and recreational sector
allocations in the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP. This
action was initiated in part to address the allocation-related impacts
of the revised recreational catch and landings data provided by the
Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). Specifically, this
amendment considers:
1. Modifying the current allocations between the commercial and
recreational sectors for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass;
2. Adding an option to transfer a portion of the allowable landings
each year between the commercial and recreational sectors, in either
direction, based on the needs of each sector; and
3. Adding the option for future additional modifications to the
commercial/recreational allocation and/or transfer provisions to be
considered through an FMP addendum/framework action, as opposed to an
amendment.
Proposed Commercial/Recreational Allocations
Amendment 22 would change the commercial and recreational
allocations for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. The current
commercial and recreational allocations for all three species were set
in the mid-1990s based on historical proportions of landings (for
summer flounder and black sea bass) and catch (for scup) from each
sector. Recent changes in how recreational catch is estimated by MRIP
resulted in a revised time series of recreational data going back to
the 1980s. This created a mismatch between the data that were used to
set the allocations and the data currently used in management for
setting catch limits. Changes to commercial catch data have also been
made since the allocations were established. The allocation changes
proposed in this amendment seek to ensure that the best available data
is used to determine commercial and recreational sector allocations.
Amendment 22 includes a range of allocation alternatives, with
options that would have maintained the current allocations and a
variety of options to revise the allocations based on updated data
using the same or modified ``base years'' (the time periods used to set
the current allocations). The Council and Board ultimately voted to
revise the allocations using the original base years updated with new
data. This approach allows for consideration of fishery characteristics
in years prior to influence by the commercial/recreational allocations,
while also using the best scientific information available to
understand the fisheries in those base years.
For all three species, these changes result in a shift in
allocation from the commercial to the recreational sector. However,
because the summer flounder and black sea bass fisheries will be
transitioning from landings-based to catch-based allocations, the
current and revised allocations for those species are not directly
comparable. The proposed commercial and recreational sector allocations
are shown in Table 1.
Table 1--Proposed Commercial/Recreational Allocations
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Recreational
allocation allocation
Species percentage percentage
(percent) (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summer Flounder......................... 55 45
Scup.................................... 65 35
Black Sea Bass.......................... 45 55
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Council and Board considered, but did not recommend, an option
to ``phase in'' the allocation changes over a period of time. A phase-
in period was deemed unnecessary given the relatively small magnitude
of allocation changes.
Revised Framework Provisions
The Council and Board also approved an option to allow future
changes to commercial/recreational allocations, annual quota transfers,
and other measures addressed in the amendment to be made through
framework actions.
They also considered, but did not recommend, an option to allow
transfers of annual quota between the commercial and recreational
sectors at this time.
Public Comment Instructions
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act allows
us to approve, partially approve, or disapprove measures recommended by
the Council in an amendment based on whether the measures are
consistent with the fishery management plan, plan amendment, the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and its National Standards, and other applicable
law. As such, we are seeking comment on whether measures in the
Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment are consistent with the
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act
and its National Standards, and other applicable law. Public comments
on this amendment and its incorporated documents may be submitted
through the end of the comment period stated in this notification of
availability.
A proposed rule to implement the amendment, including draft
regulatory text, will also be published in the Federal Register for
public comment. Public comments on the proposed rule received before
the end of the comment period provided in this notification of
availability will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on
the
[[Page 49798]]
amendment. All comments received by October 11, 2022, whether
specifically directed to the Commercial/Recreational Allocation
Amendment or the proposed rule for this amendment, will be considered
in the approval/disapproval decision on the Commercial/Recreational
Allocation Amendment.
Comments received after that date will not be considered in the
decision to approve or disapprove the amendment.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 8, 2022.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-17315 Filed 8-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 12, 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.