Rule2022-25469
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 20 to the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan
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Published
November 23, 2022
Effective
December 23, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
This final rule announces approval of, and implements management measures contained in, Amendment 20 to the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council developed these measures to limit the amount of surfclam or ocean quahog individual transferable quota share or annual allocation in the form of cage tags that an individual or their family members are permitted to hold. These changes are intended to ensure the management plan is consistent with requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and to improve the management of these fisheries.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 71527-71530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25469]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 221116-0244]
RIN 0648-BI18
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 20 to the
Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule announces approval of, and implements
management measures contained in, Amendment 20 to the Atlantic Surfclam
and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council developed these measures to limit the amount of
surfclam or ocean quahog individual transferable quota share or annual
allocation in the form of cage tags that an individual or their family
members are permitted to hold. These changes are intended to ensure the
management plan is consistent with requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery
[[Page 71528]]
Conservation and Management Act, and to improve the management of these
fisheries.
DATES: This rule is effective December 23, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 20, including the Environmental
Assessment (EA), with its associated Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI) are available on request from the 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>.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other
aspects of the collection-of-information requirements contained in this
final rule may be submitted to (enter office name) and to
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular information
collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for
Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst,
978-281-9341.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This final rule concurrently notifies the public of the approval of
Amendment 20, also known as the Excessive Shares Amendment, to the
Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Fishery Management Plan (FMP) on
behalf of the Secretary of Commerce, and implements the management
measures contained in the Amendment. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council developed this amendment to establish limits to the
amount of individual transferable quota (ITQ) share or cage tags such
that any particular individual, corporation, or other entity cannot
acquire an excessive share of such privileges, as required by the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), and to make administrative changes to improve the
efficiency of the FMP. We published a notice of availability on August
10, 2022 (87 FR 48617), announcing a 60-day period for the public to
review and provide written comments on whether we, acting on behalf of
the Secretary of Commerce, should approve Amendment 20. This comment
period ended on October 11, 2022. On August 24, 2022, we published a
proposed rule (87 FR 51955) to implement the amendment and solicit
written comments on the proposed rule for a 30-day period, which ended
on September 23, 2022.
We reviewed all comments received during these comment periods,
whether directed at our approval decision or the proposed regulations.
See Comments and Responses section for more information. Now, on behalf
of the Secretary of Commerce, we are announcing the approval of
Amendment 20, and issuing this final rule implementing Amendment 20,
consistent with the review and approval process outlined in section
304(a) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The full development history of
this action was provided in the proposed rule and is not repeated here.
Excessive Share Caps
This action establishes separate caps for quota share and for
annual cage tags for both the surfclam and ocean quahog ITQ programs.
The amount of quota share that an individual or entity is permitted to
have ownership in will be capped at 35 percent of the surfclam quota
and 40 percent of the ocean quahog quota. Higher caps are established
for cage tags in recognition that additional temporary consolidation
through leasing or other transactions may be warranted within a fishing
year to meet market demand because of the limited number of processors
available. There is a limited market for fresh surfclams or ocean
quahogs. The fisheries largely rely on a small number of processing
plants to convert these species into final products or ingredients for
other food companies. These plants operate by leasing cage tags from
multiple quota shareholders and then providing those tags to harvesting
vessels that deliver clams, as needed by the plants. The amount of
annual cage tags that an individual or entity is permitted to have in a
given year will be capped at 65 percent for surfclam and 70 percent for
ocean quahog.
No person or entity currently exceeds the quota share cap
implemented in this final rule, nor has any entity exceeded the cap on
annual cage tags in recent years. The Council selected these cap limits
to ensure that potential future consolidation does not reach the level
of an excessive share of this fishery, and were not intended to
restrict current quota share holdings. The proposed rule included a
detailed description of how these caps would be monitored and enforced,
including examples, and that information is not repeated here.
As part of this amendment, the Council must conduct a review of
these ITQ ownership cap measures at least every 10 years, or sooner as
needed. This review should include an evaluation of the effects and
effectiveness of the caps in the fishery and whether the cap levels
remain appropriate or should be adjusted.
Multi-Year Specifications
This action sets the maximum duration of multi-year specifications
to the number of years needed to align with the stock assessment
schedule approved by the Northeast Region Coordinating Council (NRCC).
The NRCC is composed of representatives from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, the New England Fishery Management Council, the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the NMFS Greater Atlantic
Regional Fisheries Office, and the Northeast Fishery Science Center.
One of its roles is to develop a schedule for fishery stock assessments
that balances the needs of the numerous fisheries in the region with
the available resources. The current schedule calls for an updated
stock assessment every 4 years for surfclam and every 6 years for ocean
quahog. These assessment intervals are the result of recent
improvements to the methods used to survey these wild populations.
Allowing specifications to be set for the full duration between
assessments will allow the Council, Council staff, and NMFS staff to
avoid spending time developing new specifications packages when no new
information on the health of the stocks is available. The Council and
its Scientific and Statistical Committee will continue the current
practice of reviewing the specifications each year, and making mid-
cycle adjustments if conditions and available information warrant
changes.
Comments and Responses
A total of three comments were received on the proposed rule and
notice of availability. All three comments were submitted by
representatives of the surfclam fishing industry and supported all of
the new measures as proposed.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
There are no changes to the measures from the proposed rule.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined that this
final rule is consistent with Amendment 20, other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
[[Page 71529]]
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 will 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. No comments were received
regarding this certification. As a result, a final regulatory
flexibility analysis was not required and none was prepared.
This final rule contains a collection-of-information requirement
subject to review and approval by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA). This rule revises the existing requirements for the collection
of information 0648-0240 by removing the section of the ITQ Ownership
form that requires identification of corporate officers and removing
some of the ``additional transaction details'' questions from the ITQ
transfer form. This information will not be used to define or monitor
the excessive share caps and collecting the information is no longer be
necessary. Removing these questions is not anticipated to change the
number of respondents or responses and will not have a measurable
reduction in burden hours or costs. An extension of the collection is
also requested through this action. Public reporting burden for the ITQ
ownership form is estimated to be 1 hour to complete for new entrants
and 5 minutes to review a pre-filled form for renewing entities. The
ITQ transfer form is estimated to take 5 minutes to complete. These
estimates include the time for reviewing instructions, searching
existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection of information.
We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment
on proposed and continuing information collections, which helps us
assess the impact of our information collection requirements and
minimize the public's reporting burden. Written comments and
recommendations for this information collection should be submitted on
the following website: <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. You can find
this particular information collection by using the search function and
entering either the title of the collection or the OMB Control Number
0648-0240.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays
a currently valid OMB Control Number.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: November 16, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS amends 50 CFR part
648 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. In Sec. 648.14, add paragraph (j)(3)(viii) to read as follows:
Sec. 648.14 Prohibitions.
* * * * *
(j) * * *
(3) * * *
(viii) Take action to circumvent an ITQ quota share cap or cage tag
cap specified in 648.74(a)(2) or fail to take corrective action if such
cap is exceeded inadvertently.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 648.72 paragraphs (a) introductory text, paragraph (a)(1)
introductory text, and paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 648.72 Surfclam and ocean quahog specifications.
(a) Establishing catch quotas. The amount of surfclams or ocean
quahogs that may be caught annually by fishing vessels subject to these
regulations will be specified by the Regional Administrator for a
period up to the maximum number of years needed to align with the
Northeast Region Coordinating Council-approved stock assessment
schedule. Specifications of the annual quotas will be accomplished in
the final year of the quota period, unless the quotas are modified in
the interim pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section.
(1) Quota reports. On an annual basis, MAFMC staff will produce and
provide to the MAFMC an Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog annual quota
recommendation paper based on the ABC recommendation of the SSC, the
latest available stock assessment report prepared by NMFS, data
reported by harvesters and processors, and other relevant data, as well
as the information contained in paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (vi) of
this section. Based on that report, and at least once prior to August
15 of the year in which a multi-year annual quota specification
expires, the MAFMC, following an opportunity for public comment, will
recommend to the Regional Administrator annual quotas and estimates of
DAH and DAP for a period up to the maximum number of years needed to
align with the Northeast Region Coordinating Council-approved stock
assessment schedule. In selecting the annual quotas, the MAFMC shall
consider the current stock assessments, catch reports, and other
relevant information concerning:
* * * * *
(b) Interim quota modifications. Based upon information presented
in the quota reports described in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the
MAFMC may recommend to the Regional Administrator a modification to the
annual quotas that have been specified for a multi-year period and any
estimate of DAH or DAP made in conjunction with such specifications
within the ranges specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. Based
upon the MAFMC's recommendation, the Regional Administrator may propose
surfclam and or ocean quahog quotas that differ from the annual quotas
specified for the current multi-year period. Such modification shall be
in effect for a period up to the maximum number of years needed to
align with the Northeast Region Coordinating Council-approved stock
assessment schedule, unless further modified. Any interim modification
shall follow the same procedures for establishing the annual quotas
that are specified for a multi-year period.
* * * * *
0
4. In Sec. 648.74, add paragraph (a)(2) and revise paragraph (b)(3) to
read as follows:
Sec. 648.74 Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) Program.
(a) * * *
(2) ITQ ownership caps. (i) Quota share. A business or individual
is not eligible to be issued an ITQ permit and is not eligible to
acquire additional quota share, if, as a result of the issuance of the
permit or quota share transfer, the business or individual, or any
other person who is a shareholder or partner, or their immediate family
member, would individually or collectively have an ownership interest
in more than 35 percent of the total surfclam quota or 40 percent of
the total ocean quahog quota.
(ii) Cage tags. A business or individual is not eligible to be
issued an ITQ permit and is not eligible to acquire
[[Page 71530]]
additional cage tags, if, as a result of the issuance of the permit or
cage tag transfer, the business or individual, or any other person who
is a shareholder or partner, or their immediate family member, would
individually or collectively have an ownership interest in more than 65
percent of the total surfclam cage tags issued that year or 70 percent
of the total ocean quahog cage tags issued that year.
(iii) Enforcement. The following conditions apply for the purposes
of monitoring and enforcing these caps.
(A) Any partial or shared ownership is counted as full ownership by
each party for the purpose of monitoring these caps. For example, if
two people share ownership of a business with quota share, the full
amount of quota share held by the business counts toward the cap for
both owners.
(B) Having an ownership interest includes, but is not limited to,
persons who are shareholders in a corporation that holds an ITQ permit,
who are partners (general or limited) to an ITQ permit holder, who are
immediate family members of an ITQ permit holder, or who, in any way,
partly own an entity that holds an ITQ permit.
(C) Immediate family members include individuals connected by the
following relationships:
(1) Spouse, and parents thereof;
(2) Children, and spouses thereof;
(3) Parents, and spouses thereof;
(4) Siblings, and spouses thereof; and
(5) Grandparents and grandchildren, and spouses thereof.
(D) The quota share and cage tag caps do not apply to a bank or
other lender that holds ITQ quota share as collateral on a loan as
described in paragraph (a)(1)(i)(C) of this section. The quota share
held as collateral and the associated cage tags will be treated as if
it is held by the borrower.
(E) Compliance with these ownership caps is based on the total
amount of quota share or cage tags controlled throughout a fishing
year. In this instance, control means the cumulative total amount of
quota share or cage tags, including the amount held by the ITQ permit
at the start of the fishing year plus any quota share or cage tags
acquired by the ITQ permit throughout the fishing year. This measure of
control during the fishing year is increased by acquiring quota share
or cage tags from other ITQ permits, but is not reduced by any quota
share or cage tags that are transferred to another ITQ permit.
(iv) Review. The MAFMC shall review these ITQ ownership cap
measures at least every 10 years, or sooner as needed. Such a review
should include an evaluation of the effects and effectiveness of the
caps in the fishery and whether the cap levels remain appropriate or
should be adjusted.
(b) * * *
(3) Denial of ITQ transfer application. The Regional Administrator
may reject an application to transfer surfclam or ocean quahog ITQ
quota share or cage tags for the following reasons: The application is
incomplete; the transferor or transferee does not possess a valid
surfclam or ocean quahog ITQ permit for the appropriate species; the
transfer is not allowed under paragraph (a)(1)(ii)(C)(3) of this
section; the transferor's or transferee's surfclam or ocean quahog ITQ
permit has been sanctioned pursuant to an enforcement proceeding under
15 CFR part 904; the transfer would result in exceeding an ownership
cap under paragraph (a)(2) of this section; or any other failure to
meet the requirements of this subpart. Upon denial of an application to
transfer ITQ allocation, the Regional Administrator shall send a letter
to the applicant describing the reason(s) for the denial. The decision
by the Regional Administrator is the final decision of the Department
of Commerce; there is no opportunity for an administrative appeal.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-25469 Filed 11-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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