Proposed Rule2023-26482
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery; 2024-2027 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Specifications
Primary source
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Published
December 1, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
We are proposing specifications for the 2024 Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery, including an annual catch limit and total allowable landings limit, and projecting quotas for the 2025-2027 Atlantic deep- sea red crab fishery. The proposed action is intended to establish the allowable 2024 harvest levels, consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery Management Plan. This action is necessary to establish allowable red crab harvest levels that will prevent overfishing.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 230 (Friday, December 1, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 230 (Friday, December 1, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 83893-83895]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26482]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[231121-0275; RTID 0648-XD495]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea
Red Crab Fishery; 2024-2027 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed specifications; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We are proposing specifications for the 2024 Atlantic deep-sea
red crab fishery, including an annual catch limit and total allowable
landings limit, and projecting quotas for the 2025-2027 Atlantic deep-
sea red crab fishery. The proposed action is intended to establish the
allowable 2024 harvest levels, consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea
Red Crab Fishery Management Plan. This action is necessary to establish
allowable red crab harvest levels that will prevent overfishing.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 2, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0140, 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-
0140'' 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 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 personally identifiable
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 specifications document, including the Regulatory
Flexibility Act Analysis, and other supporting documents for the
specifications, are available from Dr. Catherine O'Keefe, Executive
Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill
2, Newburyport, MA 01950 or at <a href="https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/red-crab">https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/red-crab</a>. The specifications document is also accessible via the
internet at:<a href="https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/">https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Murphy, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9122.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery is managed by the New
England Fishery Management Council (Council). The Atlantic Deep-Sea Red
Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP) includes a specification process
that requires the Council to recommend an acceptable biological catch
(ABC), an annual catch limit (ACL), and total allowable landings (TAL)
every four years. The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC) provides a recommendation to the Council for the ABC. The Council
makes a recommendation to NMFS that cannot exceed the ABC
recommendation made by the SSC.
The FMP was implemented in 2002 and was originally managed under a
target total allowable catch (TAC) and days-at-sea (DAS) system that
allocated DAS equally across the small fleet of limited access
permitted vessels. Amendment 3 to the FMP removed a trip limit
restriction, and replaced the target TAC and DAS allocation with a
catch-limit structure consistent with the ACL and accountability
measure requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. Under Amendment 3 (76 FR 60379; September 29, 2011),
the 2011-2013 red crab specifications were set with an ABC equal to the
long-term average landings of the directed red crab fishery (3.91
million pounds or 1,775 metric tons (mt)). These specifications were
continued for fishing years 2014-2016 (79 FR 24356; April 30, 2014) and
2017-2019 (82 FR 11322, February 22, 2017; 83 FR 4849, February 2,
2018; 83 FR 66161, December 26, 2018). Specifications were increased to
2,000 mt for fishing years 2020 through 2023 (85 FR 20615, April 14,
2020; 86 FR 16077, March 26, 2021; 87 FR 3697, January 25, 2022; 88 FR
788, January 5, 2023).
[[Page 83894]]
Proposed Specifications
The biological and management reference points currently in the FMP
are used to determine whether overfishing is occurring or if the stock
is overfished. There is insufficient information on the species to
establish the maximum sustainable yield, optimum yield, or overfishing
limit (OFL). The ABC is defined in terms of landings instead of total
catch because there is insufficient information to estimate dead
discards of red crab.
The Council's recommendation for the 2024-2027 red crab
specifications is based on the results of the 2023 management track
assessment update for the red crab fishery and the recommendations of
the Council's SSC. The recommended specifications maintain status quo
specifications of 4.409 million lb (2,000 mt) from fishing years 2020
through 2023. While an OFL has not been determined for the stock, the
Council and its SSC assert that the increased catch limit will not
result in overfishing and adequately accounts for scientific
uncertainty due to past performance of not exceeding past
specifications.
Recent landings, landings per unit of effort, port samples, discard
information, and economic data suggest there has been no change in the
size of the red crab stock since Amendment 3 was implemented in 2011.
On August 10, 2023, the SSC recommended a 2,000-mt ABC for fishing
years 2024-2027 for the directed fishery. The Council approved the
2,000-mt ABC, ACL, and TAL on September 26, 2023. We are proposing the
Council-recommended specifications for fishing year 2024. By providing
projected quotas for 2025-2027, we hope to assist fishery participants
in planning ahead.
At the end of each fishing year, we evaluate catch information and
determine if the quota has been exceeded. If a quota is exceeded, the
regulations at 50 CFR 648.262(b) require a pound-for-pound reduction in
a subsequent fishing year, through notification consistent with the
Administrative Procedure Act. We would publish a notice in the Federal
Register of any revisions to the projected specifications if an overage
occurs. We expect, based on the performance of the red crab fishery
over time, that such adjustments would be unlikely. Current fishery
projections indicate that no adjustment would be necessary for fishing
year 2024. We will provide notice of the final 2025-2027 quotas prior
to the start of each respective fishing year.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab FMP, other provisions of
the Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration
after public comment.
This action is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation, 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 Council
prepared an analysis of the potential economic impacts of this action,
which is included in the Council's document for this action (see
ADDRESSES to obtain a copy of the supplemental information report) and
supplemented by information contained in the preamble of this proposed
rule. For Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) purposes only, NMFS has
established a small business size standard for businesses, including
their affiliates, whose primary industry is commercial fishing (see 50
CFR part 200). A business primarily engaged in commercial fishing
(NAICS code 11411) is classified as a small business 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 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 three years from 2020
through 2022.
Due to the small size of the limited access red crab fleet (five
permits, four active vessels) and its ownership, data regarding this
fleet are considered confidential. However, when combined with all
active red crab permits (limited access and open access), data are
public and can be presented. This likely provides an overestimate on
the scale and participation in the red crab fishery, given that the
limited access permits comprise the vast majority of landings and,
therefore, revenue. Under this rule and with these caveats, there are
between 6 and 7 business entities and anywhere from 20 to 26 vessels to
which the rule applies. Table 1 summarizes the number of affiliate
groups, number of permits, business size, average affiliate revenue,
and aggregated affiliate revenue for the business entities described
above. All entities have been determined to be small entities.
Table 1--Regulatory Flexibility Act Affiliate Groups of Active * Red Crab Permits From Calendar Year 2020-2022
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Number of Aggregated
Number of permits across Small business in previous year Average affiliate affiliate group
Year affiliate all affiliate (all affiliate groups)? * group revenue revenues (nominal
groups groups (nominal dollars) dollars)
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2020...................................... 7 26 Yes................................ 1,939,248 13,574,737
2021...................................... 6 20 Yes................................ 1,857,039 11,142,231
2022...................................... 7 21 Yes................................ 2,582,741 18,079,184
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* Active permits include any vessel with a Federal red crab permit (PLAN RCB, CAT A, B or C) which reported landings of red crab in the Federal dealer
database. All permits were included in this analysis to protect data confidentiality.
Data sources: PERMIT, CAMS LAND and SSB's RFA dataset, accessed Oct 2023.
There is no reason to expect that small entities will be adversely
affected by the proposed action. The proposed action will affect these
business entities and vessels in the red crab fishery, but it is not
expected to have any impact on the gross or average revenues for the
fishery because it does not change the total allowable landings, which
is 4.409 million lb (2,000 mt). The proposed action is not expected to
constrain landings markets for red crab substantially. Although total
landings have increased recently, they remain at or below the total
allowable landings limit, with market conditions driving landings more
than this limit. Therefore, the proposed action is not expected to
[[Page 83895]]
constrain landings or markets for red crab and is not expected to 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 proposed rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 28, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-26482 Filed 11-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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