Proposed Rule2022-19801
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Mid-Atlantic Golden Tilefish Fishery; Framework Adjustment 7 to Tilefish Fishery Management Plan
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Published
September 14, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS proposes to approve and implement Framework Adjustment 7 to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan, which includes 2022-2024 specifications for the golden tilefish fishery for fishing years 2022- 2024, a change to the annual specifications process, and a change to the start of the golden tilefish fishing year. The proposed action is necessary to establish allowable harvest levels and other management measures to prevent overfishing while allowing optimum yield, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. This action is intended to ensure measures are based on the best scientific information available and increase flexibility, where possible, for the tilefish fishery.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 177 (Wednesday, September 14, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 177 (Wednesday, September 14, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56393-56395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19801]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 220908-0185; RTID 0648-BL55]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Mid-Atlantic Golden
Tilefish Fishery; Framework Adjustment 7 to Tilefish Fishery Management
Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to approve and implement Framework Adjustment 7
to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan, which includes 2022-2024
specifications for the golden tilefish fishery for fishing years 2022-
2024, a change to the annual specifications process, and a change to
the start of the golden tilefish fishing year. The proposed action is
necessary to establish allowable harvest levels and other management
measures to prevent overfishing while allowing optimum yield,
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act and the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. This action is
intended to ensure measures are based on the best scientific
information available and increase flexibility, where possible, for the
tilefish fishery.
DATES: Comments must be received on September 29, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2022-0087, by either of 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-2022-0087 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 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 Environmental Assessment prepared for this action,
and other supporting documents for these proposed specifications, are
available from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201,
Dover, DE 19901. These documents are also accessible via the internet
at <a href="https://www.mafmc.org">https://www.mafmc.org</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9225.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) manages the
golden tilefish fishery under the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan
(FMP), which outlines the Council's process for establishing annual
specifications. The FMP requires the Council to recommend acceptable
biological catch (ABC), annual catch limit (ACL), annual catch target
(ACT), total allowable landings (TAL), and other management measures,
currently for up to 3 years at a time. The directed fishery is managed
under an individual fishing quota (IFQ) program, with small amounts of
non-IFQ catch allowed under an incidental permit. The Council's
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) provides an ABC
recommendation to the Council to derive these catch limits. The Council
makes recommendations to NMFS that cannot exceed the recommendation of
its SSC. The Council's recommendations must include supporting
documentation concerning the environmental, economic, and social
impacts of the recommendations. NMFS is responsible for reviewing these
recommendations to ensure that they achieve the FMP objectives and are
consistent with all applicable laws. Following this review, NMFS
publishes the final specifications in the Federal Register.
2022-2024 Fishery Specifications
In 2020, the Council set specifications for 2021 and interim
specifications for 2022. The 2022 interim specifications were set
because of potential timing constraints associated with the 2021
management track stock assessment. The interim 2022 measures provided
management measures for the start of the fishing year in the event that
there was insufficient time for the Council to approve, and for us to
implement, new specifications for the start of the 2022 fishing year
(i.e., November 1, 2021). The Council anticipated the use of the 2021
golden tilefish management track stock assessment to review, and
possibly revise, the interim 2022 specifications and to set
specifications for the 2023 and 2024 fishing seasons. At the July 2021
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Monitoring Committee
(MC) meetings, new catch and landing limits for the 2022 to 2024
fishing years were recommended to the Council.
After considering recommendations from the SSC, Tilefish MC,
Tilefish Advisory Panel, and members of the public, the Council
recommended specifications summarized in the table below. The new 2022
ABC represents a 20-percent increase from the interim
[[Page 56394]]
2022 specifications, and would maintain a constant ABC for 2023 and
2024. The Council did not recommend any changes to the current
recreational bag limit or commercial/incidental trip limit.
Table 1--Proposed Specifications for 2022-2024
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ABC.................................... 1,964,319 lb (891 mt).
ACL.................................... 1,964,319 (891 mt).
IFQ fishery ACT........................ 1,763,478 (800 mt).
Incidental fishery ACT................. 92,815 (42 mt).
IFQ fishery TAL = ACT (no discards 1,763,478 lb (800 mt).
permitted in fishery).
Incidental fishery TAL = Incidental 75,410 lb (42 mt).
fishery ACT--discards.
Incidental Trip Limit.................. 500 lb (226.8 kg) or 50
percent, by weight, of all
fish, including golden
tilefish, on board the vessel,
whichever is less.
Recreational Bag Limit................. 8-fish recreational bag-size
limit per angler, per trip.
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Multi-Year Specifications
Golden tilefish regulations currently allow multi-year annual
specifications to be set for up to 3 years at a time. This action would
modify the annual specifications process, so that specifications could
be set for the maximum number of years needed to be consistent with the
Northeast Region Coordinating Council approved stock assessment
schedule. Multi-year regulations have been implemented for all
fisheries managed by the Council to relieve some of the administrative
demands on the Council and NMFS associated with annual specification
requirements. Longer-term specifications also provide greater
regulatory consistency and predictability to the fishing sectors. This
action would provide additional flexibility as specifications could be
set to cover the time period until a new golden tilefish stock
assessment is available. Stock assessments provide critical information
for setting specifications, and in the period between assessments,
there often is no new information that would lead to changes to annual
specifications. The Council will continue its process of reviewing
multi-year specifications each year to determine if any modifications
are necessary.
Fishing Year Timing
Current regulations define the golden tilefish fishing year as the
12-month period beginning with November 1. This action would change the
fishing year to match the calendar year and would start on January 1.
The current fishing year was initially established when the FMP was
adopted in 2001 to avoid adding to the administrative burden associated
with the start of the calendar year. However, improvements that have
since been made in permitting and data-reporting systems have reduced
this concern. Changing the fishing year to the calendar year will also
match the period used in the stock assessments and the cost recovery
program for the golden tilefish IFQ fishery.
The 2022 fishing year began on November 1, 2021, and is operating
under interim specifications. If this rule is finalized as proposed,
the 2022 fishing year would run through December 31, 2022. The 2023
fishing year, and all subsequent fishing years, would begin on January
1.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Tilefish FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration
after public comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration (SBA) that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
For Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes, NMFS has established a
size standard for small businesses, including their affiliated
operations, whose primary industry is commercial fishing (see 50 CFR
200.2). A business primarily engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS code
11411) is classified as small if it is independently owned and
operated, is not dominant in its field of operation (including its
affiliates), and has combined annual receipts not in excess of $11.0
million for all its affiliated operations worldwide. The determination
as to whether the entity is large or small is based on the average
annual revenue for the 3 years from 2018 through 2020. Data was used
from 2018 to 2020, not 2021, because 2020 is the most recent full year
of ownership data available. The Small Business Administration has
established size standards for all other major industry sectors in the
U.S., including defining for-hire fishing firms (NAICS code 487210) as
small when their receipts are equal to or less than $8 million.
The measures proposed in this action apply to vessels that hold a
federal permit for golden tilefish. According to the ownership
database, 143 affiliate firms landed golden tilefish during the 2018-
2020 period, with 141 of those business affiliates categorized as small
business and 2 categorized as large business. The 3-year average (2018-
2020) combined gross receipts (all species combined) for all small
entities only was $132,194,765, and the average golden tilefish
receipts was $4,973,718. This indicates that golden tilefish revenues
contributed approximately 3.76 percent of the total gross receipts for
these small entities. The 2 firms that were categorized as large
entities had combined gross receipts of $53,450,954 and combined golden
tilefish receipts of $417; as such, golden tilefish receipts as a
proportion of gross receipts is <0.01 percent.
In general terms, the active commercial golden tilefish fishery
participants (i.e., small firms that catch golden tilefish in the
directed and incidental fisheries) derive a small share of overall
gross receipts from the golden tilefish fishery. However, for small
firms generating on average $10,000 or more of their total revenues
from golden tilefish revenues (e.g., more dependent on golden
tilefish), a large number of the active participants generate a large
share of gross receipts from the tilefish fishery.
A business primarily engaged in for-hire fishing activity is
classified as a small business if it has combined annual receipts not
in excess of $8 million. According to the vessel ownership data, 361
for-hire affiliate firms generated revenues from fishing recreationally
for various species during the 2018-2020 period; all of those
[[Page 56395]]
business affiliates are categorized as small business. It is not
possible to derive what proportion of the overall revenues for these
for-hire firms came from specific fishing activities (e.g., summer
flounder, scup, black sea bass, bluefish, groundfish, golden tilefish,
weakfish, striped bass, tautog, pelagics). Nevertheless, given the
relatively low popularity of golden tilefish as a recreational species
in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions, it is likely that revenues
generated from golden tilefish is not significant for some, if not all,
of these firms. The 3-year average (2018-2020) combined gross receipts
(all for-hire fishing activity combined) for the small entities was
$49,916,903, ranging from less than $10,000 for 105 entities (lowest
value $46) to over $1,000,000 for 8 entities (highest value
$3,587,272).
The proposed measures in this action are administrative and the
proposed specifications should have no negative impacts on these small
businesses. This action will not have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: September 8, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is
proposed to be amended as follows:
PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. Amend Sec. 648.292 by revising the introductory text paragraph (a)
and paragraph (a)(1) to read as follows:
Sec. 648.292 Tilefish specifications.
(a) Golden Tilefish. The golden tilefish fishing year is the 12-
month period beginning with January 1, annually.
(1) Annual specification process. The Tilefish Monitoring Committee
shall review the ABC recommendation of the SSC, golden tilefish
landings and discards information, and any other relevant available
data to determine if the golden tilefish ACL, ACT, or total allowable
landings (TAL) for the IFQ and/or incidental sectors of the fishery
require modification to respond to any changes to the golden tilefish
stock's biological reference points or to ensure any applicable
rebuilding schedule is maintained. The Monitoring Committee will
consider whether any additional management measures or revisions to
existing measures are necessary to ensure that the IFQ and/or
incidental TAL will not be exceeded. Based on that review, the
Monitoring Committee will recommend golden tilefish ACL, ACTs, and TALs
to the Tilefish Committee of the MAFMC. Based on these recommendations
and any public comment received, the Tilefish Committee shall recommend
to the MAFMC the appropriate golden tilefish ACL, ACT, TAL, and other
management measures for both the IFQ and the incidental sectors of the
fishery for a single fishing year or up to the maximum number of years
needed to be consistent with the Northeast Regional Coordinating
Council-approved stock assessment schedule. The MAFMC shall review
these recommendations and any public comments received, and recommend
to the Regional Administrator, at least 120 days prior to the beginning
of the next fishing year, the appropriate golden tilefish ACL, ACT,
TAL, the percentage of TAL allocated to research quota, and any
management measures to ensure that the TAL will not be exceeded, for
both the IFQ and the incidental sectors of the fishery, for the next
fishing year, or up to maximum number of fishing years consistent with
the Northeast Regional Coordinating Council-approved stock assessment
schedule. The MAFMC's recommendations must include supporting
documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental and
economic impacts of the recommendations. The Regional Administrator
shall review these recommendations, and after such review, NMFS will
publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register specifying the annual
golden tilefish ACL, ACT, TAL, and any management measures to ensure
that the TAL will not be exceeded for the upcoming fishing year or
years for both the IFQ and the incidental sectors of the fishery. After
considering public comments, NMFS will publish a final rule in the
Federal Register to implement the golden tilefish ACL, ACTs, TALs and
any management measures. The previous year's specifications will remain
effective unless revised through the specification process and/or the
research quota process described in paragraph (a)(5) of this section.
NMFS will issue notification in the Federal Register if the previous
year's specifications will not be changed.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-19801 Filed 9-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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