Proposed Rule2023-04799
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Fishery; 2023 Specifications
Primary source
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Published
March 9, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS proposes specifications for the 2023 Atlantic spiny dogfish fishery, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils. This action is necessary to establish allowable harvest levels for the spiny dogfish fishery to 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
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14590-14592]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04799]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 230303-0063]
RTID 0648-XC715
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Spiny
Dogfish Fishery; 2023 Specifications
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 specifications for the 2023 Atlantic spiny
dogfish fishery, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic and New England
Fishery Management Councils. This action is necessary to establish
allowable harvest levels for the spiny dogfish fishery to 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 March 24, 2023.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0014, 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-2023-
0014'' 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 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). If you are unable to submit your comment through
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, contact Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e8ab91869c808189c6ae8d9a9a8187a886878989c68f879e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8ac9f3e4fee2e3eba4cceff8f8e3e5cae4e5ebeba4ede5fc">[email protected]</span></a>.
A draft environmental assessment (EA) has been prepared for this
action that describes the proposed measures and other considered
alternatives, as well as provides an analysis of the impacts of the
proposed measures and alternatives. Copies of the specifications
document, including the EA, are available on request from Dr.
Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
These documents are also accessible via the internet at <a href="https://www.mafmc.org/action-archive">https://www.mafmc.org/action-archive</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils
jointly manage the Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan
(FMP), with the Mid-Atlantic Council acting as the administrative lead.
Additionally, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission manages
the spiny dogfish fishery in state waters from Maine to North Carolina
through an interstate fishery management plan. The Federal FMP requires
the specification of an acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch
limit (ACL), annual catch target (ACT), total allowable landings (TAL),
and a coastwide commercial quota. These limits and other related
management measures may be set for up to five fishing years at a time,
with each
[[Page 14591]]
fishing year running from May 1 through April 30. This action proposes
Atlantic spiny dogfish specifications for fishing year 2023, as
recommended by the Councils and Commission.
In September 2022, the Mid-Atlantic Council's Scientific and
Statistical Committee (SSC) reviewed a spiny dogfish 2022 data update
with the best available catch and biomass estimates, including the
Northeast Fisheries Science Center's spring trawl surveys. In response
to declining trends in stock biomass and productivity shown in the
data, the SSC recommended a 7,788 mt ABC for fishing year 2023, which
is a 55-percent decrease from fishing year 2022. Both the Mid-Atlantic
and New England Councils accepted the SSC's recommended ABC at their
subsequent meetings in October and December 2022, respectively. The
Councils also considered the inclusion of a management uncertainty
buffer to account for potentially underestimated commercial discards.
Buffers of 0, 5, 13, and 18 percent were considered; however, both
Councils ultimately recommended adopting the SSC's recommended ABC of
7,788 mt, with no additional management uncertainty buffer, resulting
in a coast-wide commercial quota of 5,449 mt; a 59-percent decrease
from 2022. Neither Council recommended any changes to other management
measures, such as trip limits.
Proposed Specifications
This action proposes the Councils' recommendations for 2023
Atlantic spiny dogfish catch specifications, which are consistent with
the Mid-Atlantic SSC's recommended ABC and the best available science.
These proposed specifications would decrease all catch limits by at
least 55 percent in fishing year 2023, based on recent declining trends
in stock biomass and productivity. A comparison of the current 2022 and
proposed 2023 specifications is summarized below in Table 1.
Table 1--Comparison of Current 2022 and Proposed 2023 Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Fishery Specifications
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2022 (Current) 2023 (Proposed)
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Million lb Metric tons Million lb Metric tons change
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ABC................................. 38.58 17,498 17.17 7,788 55
ACL = ACT........................... 38.48 17,453 17.09 7,751 56
TAL................................. 29.68 13,461 12.48 5,663 58
Commercial Quota.................... 29.56 13,408 12.01 5,449 59
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The Councils did not recommend changes to any other management
measures as a part of these specifications. Therefore, all other
management measures, including trip limits, would remain unchanged for
fishing year 2023.
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 Atlantic Spiny Dogfish FMP, other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further
consideration after public comment.
NMFS finds that a 15-day comment period for this action provides a
reasonable opportunity for public participation in this action pursuant
to Administrative Procedure Act section 553(c) (5 U.S.C. 553(c)), while
also ensuring that the final specifications are in place for the start
of the spiny dogfish fishing year on May 1, 2023. Stakeholder and
industry groups have been involved with the development of this action
and have participated in public meetings throughout the past year. A
prolonged comment period and subsequent potential delay in
implementation past the start of the 2023 fishing year would be
contrary to the public interest, as it could create confusion both in
the spiny dogfish industry around current quotas, and with state
agencies as they prepare their annual management measures.
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 Councils conducted an evaluation of the potential socioeconomic
impacts of the proposed specifications in conjunction with an EA. There
are no proposed regulatory changes in this spiny dogfish action, so
none are considered in the evaluation. The proposed specifications
would decrease the 2023 ABC by 55 percent, and the coastwide commercial
quota by 59 percent, consistent with the Mid-Atlantic Council's SSC's
recommendations in response to recent declines in stock biomass and
productivity. This action proposes no changes to other management
measures beyond specifications, such as trip limits.
This proposed action would affect those entities that hold Federal
commercial fishing permits for Atlantic spiny dogfish. 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, 1,785 separate vessels held commercial spiny
dogfish permits in 2021, the most recent year of fully available data.
A total of 1,126 commercial entities owned those permitted vessels, and
of those entities, 1,115 are categorized as small entities and 11 as
large entities.
Although 59 percent is a substantial quota reduction, this change
is not expected to substantially change overall fishing activity, or
result in catch overages or revenue losses in the spiny dogfish
fishery. In recent years, the spiny dogfish quotas have not constrained
landings in the fishery. Even with the 59-percent decrease, the
proposed coastwide commercial quota of 12 million lb (5,449 mt) is
higher than the most recent, complete fishing year (2021) landings of
10.3 million lb (4,672 mt), and is therefore not constraining. The
average landings of the last three years (2019-2021; 14.1 million lb,
6,396 mt) is slightly higher than the proposed quota; however, the
fishery has been following a declining landings trajectory in recent
years and it is reasonable to expect that the new quota will not be
limiting or substantially affect effort. Additionally, effort in the
Atlantic spiny dogfish fishery remains largely dependent on market
conditions and pricing, which are not expected to
[[Page 14592]]
substantially change as a result of these specifications. As such, this
proposed action is not expected to have a substantial impact on the way
the fishery operates or the revenue of small entities.
Overall, analyses indicate that the proposed specifications are not
expected to substantially change fishing effort or the risk of
overfishing, prices/revenues, or fishery behavior. Therefore, the
Council concluded, and NMFS agrees, that this action would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
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: March 3, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-04799 Filed 3-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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