Rule2024-10208
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 56
Primary source
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Published
May 10, 2024
Effective
June 1, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS issues regulations to implement management measures described in Amendment 56 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico. This final rule revises catch levels for gag, accountability measures for its recreational harvest, and the recreational fishing season. In addition, Amendment 56 establishes a rebuilding plan for the overfished stock, and revises the stock status determination criteria and sector harvest allocations. The purpose of this action is to implement a rebuilding plan for gag and revised management measures to end overfishing and rebuild the stock.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 92 (Friday, May 10, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 92 (Friday, May 10, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40419-40436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10208]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 240506-0129]
RIN 0648-BM46
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 56
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to implement management measures
described in Amendment 56 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef
Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico. This final rule revises catch
levels for gag, accountability measures for its recreational harvest,
and the recreational fishing season. In addition, Amendment 56
establishes a rebuilding plan for the overfished stock, and revises the
stock status determination criteria and sector harvest allocations. The
purpose of this action is to implement a rebuilding plan for gag and
revised management measures to end overfishing and rebuild the stock.
DATES: This final rule is effective on June 1, 2024.
ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of Amendment 56 is available from the
Southeast Regional Office website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-56-modifications-catch-limits-sector-allocation-and-recreational-fishing-seasons">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-56-modifications-catch-limits-sector-allocation-and-recreational-fishing-seasons</a>. Amendment 56 includes an environmental
assessment, a fishery impact statement, a Regulatory Flexibility Act
(RFA) analysis, and a regulatory impact review.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan Luers, NMFS Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, or email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d8bcb9b6b1bdb4f6b4adbdaaab98b6b7b9b9f6bfb7ae"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e98d8887808c85c7859c8c9b9aa987868888c78e869f">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS, with the advice of the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council (Council), manages the reef fish fishery,
which includes gag, in Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf),
under the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the
Gulf of Mexico (FMP). The Council prepared the FMP, which the Secretary
of Commerce approved, and NMFS implements the FMP through regulations
at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
On October 18, 2023, NMFS published a notice of availability for
the review of Amendment 56 and requested public comment (88 FR 71812).
On November 9, 2023, NMFS published a proposed rule for Amendment 56
and requested public comment (88 FR 77246). NMFS approved Amendment 56
on January 17, 2024.
Background
Gag in Gulf Federal waters are found primarily in the eastern Gulf.
Juvenile gag are estuarine dependent and often inhabit shallow seagrass
beds. As gag mature, they move to deeper offshore waters to live and
spawn. Gag is managed as a single stock with a stock annual catch limit
(ACL) that is further divided or allocated into commercial and
recreational sector ACLs. Currently, that allocation of the stock ACL
is 39 percent to the commercial sector and 61 percent to the
recreational sector. All weights in this final rule are given in gutted
weight.
Commercial fishing for gag is managed under the individual fishing
quota (IFQ) program for groupers and tilefishes (GT-IFQ program), which
began on January 1, 2010 (74 FR 44732, August 31, 2009; 75 FR 9116,
March 1, 2010). Under the GT-IFQ program, the commercial quota for gag
is set 23 percent below the gag commercial ACL, and NMFS distributes
allocation (in pounds) of gag on January 1 each year to those who hold
shares (in percent) of the gag total commercial quota. Both gag and red
grouper, another grouper species managed under the GT-IFQ program, have
a commercial multi-use provision that allows a portion of the gag quota
to be harvested under the red grouper allocation, and vice versa. As
explained further in Amendment 56, the multi-use provision is based on
the difference between the respective gag and red grouper ACLs and
quotas. However, if gag is under a rebuilding plan, as will occur under
Amendment 56 and this final rule, the percentage of red grouper multi-
use allocation is equal to zero. Commercial harvest of gag is also
restricted by area closures and a minimum size limit.
NMFS, with the advice of the Council, manages the recreational
harvest of gag with an ACL, an annual catch target (ACT) set
approximately 10 percent below the ACL, in-season and post-season
accountability measures (AMs) to prevent and mitigate overfishing,
seasonal and area closures, a minimum
[[Page 40420]]
size limit, and daily bag and possession limits.
The most recent stock assessment for gag was completed in 2021
through Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review 72 (SEDAR 72), and
concluded that the gag stock is overfished and is undergoing
overfishing as of 2019. Compared to the previous assessment for gag,
SEDAR 72 used several improved data sources, including corrections for
the potential misidentification between black grouper and gag, which
are similar looking species, to better quantify estimates of commercial
discards. SEDAR 72 also used updated recreational catch and effort data
from the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) Access Point
Angler Intercept Survey and Fishing Effort Survey (FES) through 2019.
Prior to SEDAR 72, the most recent stock assessment for gag was SEDAR
33 Update (2016), which indicated that gag was not subject to
overfishing and was not overfished. The SEDAR 33 Update used
recreational catch and effort data generated by the MRIP Coastal
Household Telephone Survey (CHTS).
SEDAR 72 also accounted for observations of red tide mortality
directly within the stock assessment model. Gag is vulnerable to red
tide events and was negatively affected by these disturbances in 2005,
2014, 2018, and projected for 2021. Modeling changes were also made in
SEDAR 72 to improve size estimates of gag retained by commercial and
for-hire (charter vessels and headboats) fishermen, and private
anglers.
The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) reviewed
the results of SEDAR 72 in November 2021 and concluded that the
assessment was consistent with the best scientific information
available and suitable for informing fisheries management. On January
26, 2022, NMFS notified the Council that gag was overfished and
undergoing overfishing, and the Council subsequently developed a
rebuilding plan for gag through Amendment 56.
At its January 2022 meeting, the Council requested that the NMFS
Southeast Fisheries Science Center update the SEDAR 72 base model by
replacing MRIP-FES landings estimates for the Florida private angling
mode with landings estimates produced by the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission's State Reef Fish Survey (SRFS). Historically,
SRFS estimates a slightly higher fishing effort, and therefore a larger
harvest of gag, by private anglers and state charter vessels (in
Florida) than MRIP-CHTS, but SRFS estimates a substantially smaller
harvest of gag by private anglers and state charter vessels than MRIP-
FES. This alternative model run of SEDAR 72 (``SRFS Run'') used MRIP-
FES data for the federally permitted charter vessel and shore modes,
and data from the Southeast Region Headboat Survey (SRHS) for federally
permitted headboats. The results of the SRFS Run were presented to the
Council's SSC at its July 2022 meeting. The SSC found the SEDAR 72 SRFS
Run to be consistent with the best scientific information available.
The SSC determined that SRFS is a comprehensive survey for the gag
private angling component of the recreational sector given that greater
than 95 percent of private angling landings of gag are captured by the
SRFS sampling frame and the SRFS program's collection protocol has been
certified by the NMFS Office of Science and Technology as
scientifically rigorous. NMFS worked in conjunction with the State of
Florida to develop a calibration model to rescale historic effort
estimates so that they could be compared to new estimates from SRFS.
This calibration model was peer-reviewed and approved through the NOAA
Office of Science and Technology in May 2022. Information about the
calibration and the SSC's review of the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run can be found
here: <a href="https://gulfcouncil.org/meetings/scientific-and-statistical-meetings/july-2022/">https://gulfcouncil.org/meetings/scientific-and-statistical-meetings/july-2022/</a>. The results of the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run were
consistent with the results of the SEDAR 72 base model in that both
concluded that the gag stock is overfished and undergoing overfishing.
At the time that NMFS and the Council developed Amendment 56, the
Council recognized that NMFS could not likely implement a potential
final rule until 2024. Further, the Council recognized that maintaining
the previously implemented catch limits for gag in 2023 would continue
to allow overfishing. Therefore, the Council sent a letter to NMFS,
dated July 18, 2022 (Appendix A in Amendment 56), requesting that NMFS
implement interim measures that would reduce overfishing by reducing
the gag stock ACL from 3.120 million pounds (lb) or 1.415 million
kilograms (kg) to 661,901 lb (300,233 kg). The Council determined, and
NMFS agreed, that for this short-term reduction in harvest it was
appropriate to maintain the current allocation of the stock ACL between
the sectors of 39 percent commercial and 61 percent recreational, and
the availability of red grouper multi-use and gag multi-use under the
IFQ program. In addition to the reduction in the catch limits, the
Council requested that the recreational fishing season for 2023 begin
on September 1 and close on November 10, rather than the existing open
season of June 1 through December 31. NMFS agreed and implemented these
interim measures through a temporary rule effective on May 3, 2023 (88
FR 27701, May 3, 2023). The measures in the temporary rule were
initially effective for 180 days, and then NMFS extended them for up to
186 additional days (through May 2, 2024; 88 FR 69553, October 6,
2023), so NMFS could solicit and review public comments on the proposed
rule and Amendment 56, and prepare final regulations as appropriate.
Because the SSC's review of the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run occurred after the
Council's decision to request interim measures for gag, the
recreational catch limits in the temporary rule are consistent with
MRIP-FES calibrated landings, and are not directly comparable to the
catch limits recommended in Amendment 56 and this final rule.
Based on the results of the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run and SSC
recommendations, the Council recommended the following changes for gag
through Amendment 56:
<bullet> Revise the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) proxy, optimum
yield (OY), and status determination criteria (SDC);
<bullet> Establish a rebuilding plan for the stock, and revise the
overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable biological catch (ABC), and stock
ACL consistent with that rebuilding plan;
<bullet> Revise the commercial-recreational allocation of the stock
ACL and set new commercial and recreational sector ACLs, sector ACTs,
and commercial quota;
<bullet> Modify the recreational AMs; and
<bullet> Revise the Federal recreational fishing season.
The current MSY proxy is based on the yield associated with a
fishing mortality rate (F) associated with the maximum yield per
recruit (F<INF>MAX</INF>). The SSC recommended a more conservative MSY
proxy using the yield associated with F that would result in a spawning
stock biomass (SSB) of 40 percent of the spawning potential ratio (SPR;
F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF>), where SPR is the ratio of the
SSB to its unfished state. This revised MSY proxy of
F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF> was used to specify the long-term
OY and SDC, and informs the catch level projections produced by the
SEDAR 72 SRFS Run.
For gag, the sector allocations of the stock ACL affect the catch
level projections produced by SEDAR 72. As more of the stock ACL is
allocated to the recreational sector, the proportion of recreational
discards and associated
[[Page 40421]]
mortality increases. Recreational discard mortality rates of gag are
assumed to be less than commercial discard mortality rates but the
total number of recreational discards is considerably greater than the
number of commercial discards. Generally, a gag caught and released by
a recreational fisherman has a greater likelihood of survival than by a
commercial fisherman because of how and where they fish. However,
because of the much higher numbers of gag that are released by the
recreational sector compared to the commercial sector, the total number
of discarded fish that die from recreational fishing exceeds dead
discards from commercial fishing. This results in additional mortality
for the stock and a lower projected annual yield, which means a lower
OFL, ABC, and stock ACL. However, higher number of dead discards is not
due to any change in how the recreational sector operates in the
fishery but occurs because the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run data estimated greater
fishing effort, and consequently a greater number of fish being caught,
which included discards and the associated mortality from discarding
fish.
After analyzing multiple alternatives for allocating the stock ACL
between the fishing sectors, the Council determined and recommended to
NMFS that using the allocation of 35 percent commercial and 65 percent
recreational would best represent the historic landings for each sector
while accounting for the change from data produced by the Marine
Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS) to SRFS data. Based on
the results of the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run and the allocation ratio, the
Council recommended OFLs and ABCs for gag during 2024-2028, and
recommended the stock ACL be set equal to the ABC.
Management Measures Contained in This Final Rule
This final rule will modify the gag stock and sector ACLs, sector
ACTs, commercial quota (which is equivalent to the commercial ACT),
recreational AMs, and recreational fishing season as described further.
Annual Catch Limits and Annual Catch Targets
The 2023 temporary rule for gag implemented the current commercial
ACL and commercial quota of 258,000 lb (117,027 kg) and 199,000 lb
(90,265 kg), respectively, and the recreational ACL and ACT of 403,759
lb (183,142 kg) and 362,374 lb (164,370 kg), respectively. These catch
limits are based on the results of the initial SEDAR 72 base model run,
which included recreational landings estimates generated using MRIP-
FES.
Amendment 56 and this final rule will set the stock ACL for gag at
444,000 lb (201,395 kg) in 2024, and will allocate approximately 35
percent to the commercial sector and approximately 65 percent to the
recreational sector. This results in a 155,000-lb (70,307-kg)
commercial ACL and a 288,000-lb (130,635-kg) recreational ACL for 2024.
As explained in the proposed rule and in this final rule, these catch
limits are based on the results of the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run. Because of
the different surveys used to estimate recreational landings that were
then used to determine the current catch limits and the catch limits in
this final rule, the catch limits are not directly comparable. However,
the catch limits in this rule are a significant reduction compared to
the catch limits that would go back into effect if the 2023 temporary
rule expires with no further action. Catch levels will be set from 2024
through 2028, which increase during the time series. The 2028 catch
levels will continue after 2028 unless modified by subsequent
rulemaking. All of the catch levels recommended by the Council in
Amendment 56 were rounded down to the nearest thousand pounds.
Therefore, the sum of the sector ACLs does not equal the stock ACL.
Based on the Council's recommendation, this final rule will set the
commercial quota equal to the commercial ACT, and the commercial quota
will be approximately 5 percent below the commercial ACL. The current
buffer between the commercial ACL and commercial quota is 23 percent.
The Council recommended reducing this buffer, because there have been
considerable improvements in the estimation of commercial landings and
discards of gag since NMFS implemented the buffer in 2012. Further, the
fraction of gag discarded compared to the total number of gag caught by
the commercial sector has remained low. NMFS does not expect the
actions in Amendment 56 and this final rule to significantly increase
commercial discards of gag. Therefore, the commercial quota, the amount
of gag allocation that NMFS distributes annually to IFQ shareholders,
will be approximately 95 percent of the commercial ACL.
For the recreational sector, the current buffer between the ACL and
ACT is approximately 10 percent. The Council recommended a more
conservative ACT than if they had applied the ACL and ACT control rule,
which would have resulted in a 10 percent buffer between the ACL and
ACT. Instead, the Council recommended doubling that buffer to increase
the probability of rebuilding gag by accounting for uncertainty in
managing the recreational harvest and further reducing fishing
mortality and discards that result from directed harvest. NMFS agrees,
thus, this final rule will implement a recreational ACT that is
approximately 20 percent below the recreational ACL. Table 1 shows the
catch levels recommended in Amendment 56, and except for the stock ACL,
these catch levels are included in the regulatory text at the end of
this rule.
Table 1--Stock ACL and Sector Catch Levels by Year for Gag
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Com ACT & Quota lb
Year Stock ACL lb (kg) Com ACL lb (kg) Rec ACL lb (kg) (kg) Rec ACT lb (kg)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024...................................... 444,000 (201,395) 155,000 (70,307) 288,000 (130,635) 147,000 (66,678) 230,000 (104,326)
2025...................................... 615,000 (278,959) 215,000 (97,522) 399,000 (180,983) 204,000 (92,533) 319,000 (144,696)
2026...................................... 769,000 (348,813) 269,000 (122,016) 499,000 (226,343) 255,000 (115,666) 399,000 (180,983)
2027...................................... 943,000 (427,738) 330,000 (149,685) 613,000 (278,052) 313,000 (141,974) 490,000 (222,260)
2028...................................... 1,156,000 (524,353) 404,000 (183,251) 751,000 (340,648) 383,000 (173,726) 600,000 (272,155)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Values are displayed in gutted weight. Abbreviations used in this table: Com means commercial and Rec means recreational. Lb is pounds and kg is
kilograms. Catch levels for 2028 will continue after 2028 unless changed.
Recreational Accountability Measures
Currently for the recreational sector, the AMs require NMFS to
prohibit harvest of gag for the rest of the fishing year when
recreational landings reach its ACL. The AMs also state that if the
recreational ACL for gag is exceeded in a fishing year, then in the
following fishing year, NMFS will maintain the
[[Page 40422]]
prior year's ACT at the same level, unless the best scientific
information available determines that is unnecessary, and the fishing
season duration will be set based on the recreational ACT. In addition
to the previous measures, if gag is overfished and the recreational ACL
is exceeded in a fishing year, NMFS will reduce the ACL and ACT in the
following fishing year by the amount of the ACL overage, unless the
best scientific information available determines that is unnecessary.
Amendment 56 and this final rule change the recreational AMs to require
that NMFS prohibit harvest when the recreational ACT is projected to be
met regardless of whether there was an overage of the recreational ACL
in the prior year. NMFS and the Council expect this change, in
combination with the increased buffer between the recreational ACL and
ACT, to decrease the likelihood of recreational harvest exceeding the
recreational ACL. The larger buffer between the recreational ACL and
ACT will also reduce the level of discards associated with directed
harvest, increasing the probability of meeting the 18-year rebuilding
time.
This final rule will also remove the recreational AM that requires
the previous year's ACT to be maintained in the year following an
overage of the recreational ACL. Because the stock is overfished and
NMFS is required to reduce the ACL and ACT by any overage, an
additional adjustment that retains the lower ACT is unnecessary.
Recreational Fishing Season
Before NMFS implemented the temporary recreational fishing season
for gag in 2023, the recreational season for gag was open each year
from June 1 through December 31 (79 FR 24038, April 25, 2016). During
the effective period of the temporary rule, the recreational fishing
season opened on September 1 and was to close on November 10, 2023,
unless NMFS projected the recreational ACL would be harvested prior to
that date. On October 4, 2023, NMFS published a temporary rule in the
Federal Register closing the recreational harvest of gag effective on
October 19, 2023 (88 FR 68495).
This final rule will modify the recreational fishing season for gag
so the season begins each year on September 1. Unlike the season
implemented by the temporary rule, Amendment 56 and this final rule do
not establish a predetermined season closure date. Consistent with the
changes to the AMs, NMFS will close the gag recreational season when
landings reach the recreational ACT. NMFS will use the best data
available to project the duration of the recreational season in 2024
and in following years. NMFS expects to have better estimates of
recreational fishing effort and catch of gag for a season beginning
September 1 after data from 2023 are finalized. This should reduce the
uncertainty in projecting an appropriate closure date for the 2024
recreational fishing season. Once the recreational ACT for gag is
projected to be met and harvest is closed, recreational fishing for gag
would not resume before the end of the year because data would not be
available in time for NMFS to determine whether landings did reach the
ACT and potentially reopen harvest.
Management Measures in Amendment 56 That Will Not Be Codified in
Regulations by This Final Rule
In addition to the measures that will be codified in regulations
through this final rule, Amendment 56 revises the MSY proxy, OY, and
SDC for gag. Further, Amendment 56 revises the gag OFL, ABC, and sector
allocations of the stock ACL.
Maximum Sustainable Yield, Optimum Yield, and Status Determination
Criteria
Based on the results of SEDAR 72, Amendment 56 revises MSY proxy,
OY, and the SDC used to determine whether overfishing is occurring or
the stock is overfished. The proxy for MSY is defined as the yield when
fishing at F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF>, where SPR is the ratio
of SSB to its unfished state. The maximum fishing mortality threshold
(MFMT) is equal to F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF>. The minimum
stock size threshold (MSST) is defined as 50 percent of the biomass at
the new MSY proxy. The OY is conditional on the rebuilding plan, such
that if the stock is under a rebuilding plan, OY is equal to the stock
ACL; and if the stock is not under a rebuilding plan, OY is equal to 90
percent of MSY or its proxy. Currently, MSY is defined in the FMP as F
assuming F<INF>MAX</INF>, and the MFMT is F<INF>MAX</INF>. The MSST is
defined as 50 percent of the biomass at F<INF>MAX</INF>. The OY is
defined as 75 percent of the yield at F<INF>MAX</INF>. The changes to
the MSY, OY, and SDC represent a more conservative approach to
management that will rebuild the gag stock to a more robust size, which
should be more resilient to episodic mortality from environmental
factors including red tide and other harmful algal blooms, and
sustainable levels of fishing mortality.
Stock Rebuilding Plan Timeline and Modification of OFL, ABC, and Sector
Allocations
Amendment 56 establishes a rebuilding plan and sets the rebuilding
time for gag at 18 years, which is based on the amount of time the
stock is expected to take to rebuild if fished at 75 percent of the MSY
proxy (yield at F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF>). Amendment 56
evaluated two other rebuilding times: 11 years, which is the minimum
time to rebuild in the absence of fishing mortality; and 22 years,
which is twice the minimum time. In addition, the Council initially
considered an alternative rebuilding time of 19 years, which is based
on the minimum rebuilding time plus one generation time (8 years for
gag). Because this option resulted in a rebuilding time similar to
fishing at 75 percent of the MSY proxy, the Council removed this
alternative from further consideration (Appendix C in Amendment 56).
The Council also discussed whether to consider in more detail a
rebuilding time between 11 years and 18 years. The Council decided not
to add an additional alternative because a slightly shorter rebuilding
time would provide minimal benefits to the stock but increase the
negative impacts to fishing communities.
Consistent with the rebuilding time recommended by the Council,
Amendment 56 revises the OFL and ABC, and sets the stock ACL equal to
the ABC. In addition, Amendment 56 revises the sector allocation
percentages of the stock ACL from 39 percent commercial and 61 percent
recreational to 35 percent commercial and 65 percent recreational, and
revises the sector ACLs consistent with the revised allocations as
stated earlier in this final rule. The OFL and ABC values by year from
2023 through 2028 are shown in table 2. However, the OFL and ABC values
in 2023 are not directly comparable to the OFLs and ABCs from 2024
through 2028, because they are based, in part, on recreational landings
estimates produced by the different surveys discussed earlier. Values
in 2028 will continue for subsequent fishing years unless modified
through another action by the Council or NMFS.
[[Page 40423]]
Table 2--OFLs and ABCs Values by Year for Gag
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Year OFL in pounds (kg) ABC in pounds (kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2023........................ 4,180,000 3,120,000
(1,896,016) (1,415,208)
2024........................ 591,000 (268,073) 444,000 (201,395)
2025........................ 805,000 (365,142) 615,000 (278,959)
2026........................ 991,000 (449,510) 769,000 (348,813)
2027........................ 1,200,000 (544,311) 943,000 (427,738)
2028........................ 1,454,000 (659,523) 1,156,000 (524,353)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Values are displayed in gutted weight. Kg is kilograms. The ABC
values also equal the stock ACL values for gag. Catch levels for 2028
will continue after 2028 unless changed.
Administrative Change to Codified Text Not in Amendment 56
NMFS also clarifies the regulations at 50 CFR 622.8(c) with this
final rule. These regulations allow NMFS to re-open harvest for a stock
in the same fishing year if data indicate that a quota or ACL was not
reached as previously projected. Several stocks have ACTs that are also
codified in regulation as quotas. However, some ACTs, such as the
recreational ACT for gag, do not have corresponding quotas, and
therefore may not appear to be included in the current authority to re-
open. NMFS is modifying the regulations in section 622.8(c) to provide
a more general reference to allowable harvest levels. This will be
consistent with the framework procedures in the relevant fishery
management plans that allow NMFS to re-open harvest if additional data
show that NMFS closed a season prematurely.
Comments and Responses
NMFS received 33 comments in response to the notice of availability
for Amendment 56, and 10 comments were received on the proposed rule.
Comments ranged widely in scope, with some supporting Amendment 56
without modification, while others urging disapproval. In general,
recreational fishermen and groups supporting recreational fishing are
in favor of the revised allocation percentages of the stock ACL for gag
between the commercial and recreational sectors in Amendment 56 and
this final rule. Commercial fishermen, commercial fishing
organizations, and environmental groups generally supported maintaining
the current allocation percentages of the stock ACL for gag between the
commercial and recreational sectors. Some comments that NMFS received
were outside the scope of this action. These comments included
suggestions that the for-hire component of the recreational sector be
moved to the commercial sector; concern that predation and depredation
by sharks and goliath grouper are responsible for much of the decline
in abundance of gag and reef fish abundance in general; concern of
interspecies competition with red snapper and triggerfish on the reefs
due to perceived inadequate management of these species; concern that
fertilizer runoff is a causal factor in the decline of gag; NMFS should
provide an annual health check to ensure the rebuilding plan for gag is
on track; and NMFS and the Council should be managing the reef
ecosystem as a whole rather than just by individual fish species.
Comments specific to Amendment 56 and the proposed rule are grouped as
appropriate and summarized below, each followed by NMFS' respective
response.
Comment 1: Several commenters did not support the proposed
recreational season. Suggested alternatives included a June 1 start
date; seasons from November through February, and October to January;
or shorter, intermittent season openings (e.g., a season open a few
weeks at a time throughout the summer and fall).
Response: The Council recommended, and NMFS approved, the
recreational season start date in Amendment 56 of September 1 to try to
provide the longest season possible. The analysis in Amendment 56
indicated that beginning the season on September 1 would result in the
longest recreational fishing season of the alternatives considered. For
example, initial estimates are that a June 1 start date would result in
a recreational season lasting only 16 days. Regarding the suggested
October through January season and November through February season,
NMFS estimated that the high fishing effort and catch rates during
October through December would result in fewer fishing days than a
September 1 starting date. Shorter seasons, including intermittent
season openings, are more likely to result in derby-like (race to fish)
fishing, where greater effort and greater numbers of fish are harvested
in a shorter period, and fishermen may decide to go out in more
dangerous weather and sea conditions. The September season start date
promotes safety of human life at sea to the extent practicable,
consistent with National Standard 10 (NS 10) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act.
Comment 2: The recreational season should be fixed, and NMFS should
not prohibit harvest before the established closure date.
Response: NMFS disagrees that it is appropriate to allow fishing
until a fixed annual closure date. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
AMs, which the NS 1 guidelines explain are management controls to
prevent ACLs, including sector ACLs from being exceeded [50 CFR
600.310(g)]. The recreational AMs for gag at 50 CFR 622.41(d)(2)(i)
require NMFS to prohibit further harvest when NMFS estimates that
recreational landings will reach or have reached the applicable catch
limit. Allowing fishing to continue until a date certain after NMFS
determines that landings would reach the catch limit would not be
consistent with the AMs. In 2023, the Council recommended and NMFS
implemented, a recreational fishing season for gag that opened on
September 1 and was to close no later than November 10, for a maximum
of 70 days. However, NMFS explained that if the best available data
indicated that the catch limit would be harvested before the end of the
70-day period, NMFS would implement a recreational closure prohibiting
harvest of gag for the remainder of the fishing year. When NMFS
analyzed in-season data that became available during the 2023 open
season, NMFS determined that the 2023 ACL for gag had been harvested
and closed the recreational season on October 19, 2023. Amendment 56
and this final rule do not specify an end date to the recreational
season, which has an opening date of September 1, 2024. Consistent with
the AMs, NMFS will use the best scientific information available to
determine when recreational harvest will reach the applicable catch
limit and close the season on that date.
[[Page 40424]]
Comment 3: Several commenters suggested closing commercial and
recreational fishing for reef fish for a year or making gag catch and
release only until the population rebuilds. Another commenter suggested
further reductions to the gag catch limits for the commercial and
recreational sectors.
Response: As described in Amendment 56, the NMFS Southeast
Fisheries Science Center produced models to predict the effect of
reducing gag catch to different levels and estimate how quickly those
reduced catch levels would rebuild the gag stock. The models estimated
that even if there were no fishing mortality, including no dead
discards, the stock would take 11 years to rebuild. Thus, implementing
a total fishing closure for 1 year, including no catch and release
fishing (and thus no landed catch), or further reducing landed catch
limits would not be expected to result in a substantial reduction in
the time needed to rebuild the stock. In addition, a complete closure
of gag fishing would result in the loss of important fishery-dependent
and biological information that help monitor stock rebuilding and in
determining appropriate management of gag and other reef fish species.
In addition, prohibiting fishing for 1 year or further reducing the
catch limits would increase adverse social and economic effects on
fishermen and communities that are reliant on gag. (See the response to
Comment 4 for more information on the expected economic effects of
Amendment 56 and this rule.)
Comment 4: The low quotas are causing economic hardships for
commercial fishermen who cannot pay their bills.
Response: NMFS agrees that the significant reduction in the
commercial quota for gag is expected to have adverse economic effects
on commercial fishing businesses, and some commercial vessels and
fishing businesses may not be earning an economic profit. However, the
most recent available data does not indicate that the average
commercial fishing vessel that harvests gag or the average commercial
fishing business that possesses quota shares for gag is not able to
cover its costs or earn an economic profit. Available data suggests
that vessels harvesting gag earn economic profits equal to about 32
percent of their annual gross revenue on average. Further, available
data suggests that expected economic profits from the harvest of IFQ
species (red snapper, groupers, and tilefishes) for all commercial
fishing businesses that possess gag shares are at least $29.4 million.
This estimate does not account for any economic profits that may accrue
to businesses with gag shares that also own commercial fishing vessels
that harvest non-IFQ species. Such profits are likely to be small
because harvest of IFQ species accounts for around 84 percent of
commercial IFQ vessels' annual revenue and economic profits from the
harvest of non-IFQ species tend to be smaller than those from IFQ
species. Given that there are 455 commercial fishing businesses that
possess gag quota shares, the average annual expected economic profit
per commercial fishing business is at least $64,620.
Most of these expected economic profits (84 percent) are the result
of owning IFQ quota shares for red snapper. Only approximately 1.7
percent of their expected economic profits is thought to be due to the
ownership of gag quota shares, and NMFS expects this rule to affect
economic profits only from the ownership of gag shares. More
specifically, the action to change the sector allocation, implement a
rebuilding plan, and change the stock ACL will reduce the commercial
quota from 939,000 lb to 212,000 lb (425,923 kg to 96,162 kg) on
average from 2024 through 2028. However, average annual commercial
landings of gag from 2017 through 2021 were only 492,401 lb (223,349
kg), which is noticeably below the current commercial quota. Therefore,
the expected average reduction in annual commercial landings is 280,401
lb (127,188 kg), far less than the reduction in the commercial quota.
In addition, the expected reduction in commercial landings is expected
to initially increase the average ex-vessel price of gag from $6.10 per
lb to $7.78 per lb in 2024, and then gradually decrease to $6.96 per lb
in 2028. This increase in the ex-vessel price is expected to partially
offset the adverse effects of the expected landings reduction. Thus,
the expected reduction in ex-vessel revenue for gag on average is
approximately $1.57 million per year. Given an average annual
allocation price of $1.03 per lb for gag, the expected reduction in
commercial landings of gag is expected to reduce economic profits to
these commercial fishing businesses by about $288,813, or by
approximately $635 per commercial fishing business. Thus, NMFS expects
the reduction in economic profits to be around 1 percent on average per
commercial fishing business as a result of the action to change the
sector allocation, implement a rebuilding plan, and change the stock
ACL. NMFS does not expect a 1 percent reduction in economic profits to
cause an economic hardship for the average commercial fishing business
that possesses quota shares for gag.
Comment 5: The gag population is healthy. The catch level
reductions for gag are unnecessary.
Response: NMFS disagrees that the reduction in the gag catch limits
are unnecessary. The most recent stock assessment for gag (SEDAR 72),
completed in 2021, is the best scientific information available,
indicates that the gag stock is overfished and undergoing overfishing,
and that a reduction in the catch limits is necessary to rebuild the
stock. The assessment included a multi-day data review workshop and
several webinars, was peer reviewed, and was reviewed by the Council's
SSC. NMFS recognizes that the abundance of gag varies across locations.
However, gag is managed as a single stock in the Gulf, and the stock
assessment, which used Gulf-wide data, concluded that the overall
abundance has declined since the previous gag stock assessment was
completed in 2016. This conclusion is supported by the inability of
both the commercial and recreation sectors to harvest their allotted
catch limits of gag. In the last 5 years covered by SEDAR 72 (2015
through 2019), the combined commercial and recreational harvest
exceeded 50 percent of the gag stock ACL only once (2016).
Comment 6: Recreational data used in making decisions for gag
management, such as the assessment and catch-per-unit-effort
calculations, have too much error and should not be used. NMFS should
only use recreational data that have less than 25 percent standard
error.
Response: The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that fishery
conservation and management decisions be based on best scientific
information available. The percent standard error associated with an
estimate reflects the uncertainty in that estimate. Although NMFS
recognizes that reducing standard error in recreational catch estimates
for gag would be beneficial, the estimates for recreational catch that
are used in Amendment 56 are based on best scientific information
available, and are thus appropriate to be used in management. Sometimes
the data determined to be the best scientific information available do
not have a PSE of less than 25 percent, but the data are necessary and
appropriate to be used for management. NMFS sets catch levels (such as
ABC and ACL) to address both scientific and management uncertainties.
As newer and better data become available, NMFS will update analyses
and methodologies to reduce
[[Page 40425]]
uncertainty in future management decisions. However, the management
measures implemented through this final rule are based on best
scientific information available at the time they were developed.
Comment 7: Gag shortages are caused by man-made red tide caused by
pollution. Red tides are one of the primary drivers of mortality and
the cause of overfishing. Red tide is not sufficiently addressed in the
management actions within Amendment 56 as required by the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and the NS 1 guidelines. In addition, the amendment should
include management actions that address climate change impacts. The
climate vulnerability analysis (CVA) indicates that gag has a high
overall vulnerability to climate change impacts, yet no management
considerations are suggested to alleviate the risks. An MSY proxy of 40
to 50 percent of the SPR is a more appropriate baseline for
conservation of the stock but does not directly mitigate impacts from
environmental conditions and therefore is not a sufficient management
action to address the environmental conditions that are contributing to
overfishing.
Response: NMFS recognizes that red tide is one of the primary
drivers of mortality for gag, and that gag are highly susceptible to
negative impacts of climate change (as indicated by the CVA for gag).
Red tide has occurred throughout the known history of the Gulf, and
while not man-made, there is evidence suggesting that human induced
factors, including pollution, may increase the intensity of red tide
events. Still, despite extensive research on causes and factors
exacerbating red tide events, much is unknown about these events and
how to reduce the negative effects they have on the environment and,
specifically, on gag. Further, the timing, location, and intensity of
red tide is intermittent, not predictable, and highly variable, as are
their effects on gag. For example, while red tide can be associated
with large mortality events for gag, it is also often associated with
higher than normal recruitment of gag in the following year (presumably
due to density dependence mechanisms of gag ecology, such as less
competition for food or ideal habitat).
Regarding climate change, the CVA for gag identified the
sensitivities and exposures that contribute to the stock's high
vulnerability. However, the analysis recognized that few studies have
examined the effect of climate factors on the population productivity
and distribution of gag, and that it is unclear how any changes will
impact abundance and distribution of the stock. Thus, although NMFS is
concerned about the increasing negative impacts of climate change on
gag as estimated by the CVA and how these factors, in addition to red
tide, may negatively affect gag population dynamics in the future, NMFS
has determined that Amendment 56 includes measures that sufficiently
address the uncertainty related to these impacts.
The SEDAR 72 gag stock assessment directly considered the expected
mortality associated with red tide but NMFS models do not account for
the increased recruitment associated with these events due to the high
level of uncertainty associated with this process. This is because
while increased recruitment after a red tide event is predictable, the
magnitude of the increase is not.
Despite the uncertainty, Amendment 56 contains management changes
to take a more precautionary approach, such as using rebuilding catch
projections that are based on the SSB for males and females combined as
opposed to just female SSB, and modifying the MSY proxy to be
F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF>. These changes are expected to
help mitigate the adverse effects of both red tide events and climate
change by directly accounting for male SSB, which has been recognized
as a limitation on rebuilding, and rebuilding the stock to a larger
size stock size based on the revised MSY proxy. NMFS does not agree
that the MSY proxy should be set at a more conservative level. As
explained in Section 1.1 of Amendment 56, the SSC recommended an MSY
proxy of F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF> based on gag's
susceptibility to episodic mortality from red tide and guidance from a
2019 study by Harford et al. The SSC concluded that an MSY proxy of
F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF> would allow the stock to rebuild
to a more robust level of SSB making it more resilient to environmental
influences like red tide and to changes in fishing mortality. NMFS
agrees with the SSC that an MSY of F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF>
is sufficiently conservative to address current and foreseeable
mortality due to fishing and environmental factors.
Comment 8: Amendment 56 and this final rule violate section
303(a)(15) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which requires hard catch
limits and AMs that will ensure that ACLs will not be exceeded and
overfishing will not occur in the fishery. There is no certainty that
the measures included in Amendment 56 and the proposed rule will end
overfishing. While Amendment 56 includes a 20 percent buffer between
the recreational ACL and ACT, the ACT is not an effective recreational
AM because it does little to address discards either in or out of
season, and targeted recreational catch is not driving overfishing.
Further, by admitting that an exact accounting of total gag mortality
cannot be determined at this time, NMFS concedes that Amendment 56 does
not include legally sufficient ACLs and AMs.
Response: Amendment 56 and the FMP are consistent with the
requirements of section 303(a)(15) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which
requires the FMP to include ACLs, at a level such that overfishing does
not occur, and AMs. With respect to discarded fish, there is no
requirement in this provision to separately specify or monitor discard
mortality. The NS 1 guidelines define catch as including both landed
fish and dead discards [50 CFR 600.310(f)(1)(i)]. However, the NS 1
guidelines also state that the ABC, on which the ACLs are based, may be
expressed in terms of landings as long as estimates of bycatch and any
other fishing mortality not accounted for in the landings are
incorporated into the determination of ABC [50 CFR 600.310(f)(3)(i)].
The OFL, ABC, and ACLs specified in Amendment 56 are derived from SEDAR
72 SRFS Run, which accounted for dead discards estimates that were
derived from the best scientific information available. Thus, an exact
accounting of total mortality is not necessary to apply the AMs to
constrain harvest to the ACLs, which are expressed in terms of landed
fish only. In addition, as explained in response to Comment 10, NMFS
recognizes that a significant portion of past gag recreational catch
occurred when the recreational season is closed, and is thus discarded,
but NMFS expects the significant reduction in the stock ACL as well as
the larger buffer between the recreational ACL and ACT, to result in
much lower overall gag mortality as required by the rebuilding plan.
Comment 9: The rebuilding plan is legally insufficient because
there are no interim measures to monitor the total mortality from
discards, as only landings are used for management in non-assessment
years.
Response: NMFS disagrees that the rebuilding plan is not legally
sufficient. It is unnecessary to monitor discards directly because the
rebuilding catch limits are expressed as landed fish. Discard mortality
is incorporated into the determination of these catch limits through
the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run, which is consistent with the best scientific
information available.
Comment 10: The management measures in Amendment 56 and the
proposed rule are insufficient to provide at least a 50 percent
probability of
[[Page 40426]]
rebuilding the gag stock because they do not adequately address discard
mortality resulting from recreational sector bycatch. The projections
from the stock assessment assume that discards will be reduced
proportionally to landed catch but this assumption has been proven
false. The private recreational sector discards an estimated 90 percent
of gag that are caught, suggesting that the majority of gag
interactions occur as non-target interactions. The actions in the
amendment do not reduce discards, and Amendment 56 suggests these
actions are likely to increase discards, because under the rebuilding
plan, increased regulatory discarding of gag would occur during any
open fishing season for co-occurring target species (e.g., red grouper,
red snapper). In order to reduce discards to appropriate levels,
fishery managers must rely on the improbable scenario that individual
anglers take action to intentionally avoid gag and therefore reduce
their collective discard rates.
Response: NMFS disagrees that the measures being implemented do not
provide at least a 50 percent probability of rebuilding the stock.
While NMFS recognizes that a significant portion of past gag
recreational catch occurred when the recreational season is closed and,
therefore, was discarded, the basis for the commenter's assumption that
the majority of gag interactions occur as non-target interactions is
unclear. Further, NMFS does not agree that this means imposing new
stricter catch limits will not rebuild the stock as projected.
With respect to the recreational sector, this rule will further
reduce the allowable harvest by increasing the buffer between the
recreational ACL and the ACT by 10 percent more than necessary to
account for the uncertainty in constraining recreational harvest. This
additional 10 percent reduction in recreational harvest will further
reduce mortality and increase the probability of rebuilding.
NMFS also disagrees that the assumption that discards will be
reduced proportionally to landed catch ``has been proven false.'' NMFS
does not have comparable catch or effort data to test this assumption
because of the lower catch limits and changes in the dates of the
recreational season. Thus, NMFS cannot precisely predict the effects of
the management measures in this final rule until we have appropriate
data, which will likely be after a few years of rebuilding (including
the changes in recruitment, etc.) has been completed. Further, many
factors affect angler behavior and discards, including changes in the
number of fish recruiting (entering) the fishery, open and closed
seasons for other reef fish species, and prevailing economic conditions
which can affect the amount of angler fishing effort and catch and
discard rates.
NMFS expects the change to a September 1 opening date for the
recreational season to result in recreational fishermen targeting gag
in shallower and colder waters than the previous season, which should
further increase survivability of released fish and result in
additional escapement contributing to rebuilding the stock. Consistent
with section 304(e)(7) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS will review
rebuilding plan progress. If NMFS determines that adequate progress is
not being made because fishing mortality (both landings and discards)
exceeds the level necessary to rebuild the gag stock, NMFS will notify
the Council and recommend further conservation and management measures,
including potential development and implementation of a new or revised
rebuilding plan.
Comment 11: The rebuilding plan is legally insufficient because the
rebuilding projections (and increases in the ACL) are dependent on the
assumption that the sectors will operate as they have in recent years,
which we know to be a false assumption.
Response: The stock assessment model requires assumptions about
future fishing behavior to produce appropriate catch limit
recommendations. The SEDAR 72 SRFS Run assessment projections assume
that selectivity, discarding, and retention were the same as the most
recent year, which was 2019. This is the best available scientific
information at the time those projections were developed. NMFS does not
have any data to determine the extent or magnitude of any potential
changes to fishing practices. As new data become available on any
changes in fishing practices, NMFS can revisit the assessment
assumptions as appropriate. NMFS can also use any new data to improve
in-season management. For example, NMFS recognizes that changing the
start date of the recreational fishing season from June 1 to September
1 is likely to change how the recreational sector operates both during
and outside of the open season. While the scope of the effects from the
change are not well understood, NMFS is in the process of fully
analyzing 2023 data, during which the gag catch limits were reduced and
the recreational season started on September 1. Since the 2023 interim
regulations are more directly comparable to those being implemented in
Amendment 56 and the final rule, NMFS will be more able to accurately
predict and anticipate factors such as recreational fishing effort,
harvest rates, in-season and out-of-season bycatch rates, and other
variables that may result in differential effects to the gag
population. Thus, as more appropriate and comparable data are
collected, NMFS has the ability to mitigate negative impacts and can
take steps to ensure the schedule to rebuild the gag stock is
maintained.
Comment 12: Amendment 56 is insufficient to provide at least a 50
percent probability of rebuilding success because it would increase the
ACLs each year after 2024. By 2027, the commercial ACL will be only
approximately 50 percent of 2022 commercial landings but the
recreational ACL will be greater than 2022 recreational landings as
estimated by MRIP-CHTS. NMFS should implement a precautionary constant
catch approach for gag that would maintain catch at baseline levels and
would not proceed with increases until there are tangible signs of
stock improvement. A constant catch approach paired with more frequent
interim assessments and monitoring of discarding and red tide trends
would add baseline protection to this highly vulnerable stock and
improve the likelihood of rebuilding success.
Response: NMFS disagrees that because the catch limits for gag
increase over time, the probability of rebuilding success will be less
than 50 percent and that a more precautionary constant catch approach
is appropriate. First, the rebuilding plan is based on the stock
assessment, which was informed by the more conservative MSY proxy of
F<INF>40</INF><not-eq><INF>SPR</INF> and the recommendations from the
Council and SSC that include the increases to the commercial and
recreational ACLs adopted in this final rule. Second, NMFS will set the
recreational season length based on when the recreational ACT is
projected to be met as specified in the revised AMs. It is
inappropriate to compare the MRIP-CHTS recreational landings estimate
from 2022 to the 2027 recreational ACT, which is based in part on SRFS
data. Using consistent recreational data from SRFS, the recreational
ACT increases from 230,000 lb (104,326 kg) in 2024 to 600,000 lb
(272,155 kg) in 2028, which is well below average recreational landings
from 2017 through 2021, which were over 1.2 million lb (544,311 kg).
Even if the ACL were the management target, the recreational ACL for
2028 is only 751,000 lb (340,648 kg), which is approximately 63 percent
less than the
[[Page 40427]]
1.2 million-lb (544,311-kg) average. Finally, a constant catch approach
that keeps the stock ACL at the 2024 baseline level would increase the
adverse economic and social effects on fishery participants and fishing
communities, without significant benefits to stock. As explained in
Amendment 56, a rebuilding plan that is based on no fishing mortality
would be expected to rebuild the stock in 11 years, as opposed to the
18-year rebuilding plan implemented in this final rule. Thus, a
constant catch rebuilding plan that keeps the 2024 stock ACL of 444,000
lb (201,395 kg) is unlikely to result in a significant reduction of the
projected rebuilding time but would increase the negative social and
economic impacts as discussed in Chapters 4, 5, and 6 of Amendment 56.
This would not be consistent with section 304(e)(4) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, which requires that the rebuilding period for an
overfished stock be as short as time possible, taking into account both
the biology of the stock and the needs of fishing communities or NS 8,
which requires, in pertinent part, that conservation and management
measures minimize adverse economic impacts on such fishing communities
to the extent practicable.
Comment 13: Amendment 56 is insufficient to provide at least a 50
percent probability of rebuilding success because it fails to address
the key biological vulnerabilities of the gag stock including reducing
mortality of older, male fish and improving male recruitment
(escapement of females and transitioning males) from nearshore reefs so
that a greater percentage can become older and transition to male.
Response: NMFS disagrees with the premise that male gag mortality
and recruitment need to be addressed directly for the rebuilding plan
to have a least a 50 percent chance of success. Amendment 56 includes
several measures that address concerns related to male gag mortality
and recruitment. A long history of harvesting large males and large
fecund females is a large part of the issue with the current sex ratio
of gag. Amendment 56 substantially reduces allowable harvest of gag for
both the commercial and recreational sectors, which is expected to
reduce overall mortality of gag, including that of older adult male
fish, and increase male recruitment. In addition, the discard mortality
rate is relatively low in the recreational sector due to the generally
shallower depth of fishing when compared to the commercial sector, so
there would be reduced mortality from reduced catch limits contributing
to rebuilding the stock in the long run. Further, NMFS expects the
commercial sector to be able to avoid large individuals specifically
due to more selective fishing practices as they manage their limited
individual fishing quota allocations, which should result in
improvements in the stock by reducing pressure on these large gag.
Reduced catch limits are also expected to result in greater recruitment
of male gag because they will result in more fish in the population,
and thus more fish will be available to move to deeper offshore waters
to transition to male.
In addition to the lower catch limits, the change in the
recreational fishing season from a June 1 start date to a September 1
start date is expected to result in reduced harvest of male gag, which
are found almost exclusively in deep water. Fishermen have often
reported at Council meetings that gag feed more aggressively when water
temperatures are cooler, and particularly when nearshore waters are
cooler. Further, studies have shown that discard mortality is lower
when fish are caught and released into cool surface water compared to
warm surface water. Thus, capturing and releasing gag during summer
months, especially from deeper water where barotrauma becomes an
increasingly influential factor on discard mortality for gag, is likely
to result in increased discard mortality compared to capturing and
releasing gag during comparatively cooler fall and winter months.
Because directed fishing effort for gag in summer months is typically
conducted in greater average depths than in fall months, the
probability of harvesting or discarding dead a male gag is higher by
comparison in these summer months. Therefore, changing to a September
opening of the recreational season is expected to contribute to a
reduced mortality of adult male gag.
Comment 14: Amendment 56 violates Magnuson-Stevens Act NS 9 because
it allocates fish to the recreational sector and away from the
commercial sector. NMFS data estimates that the commercial sector was
responsible for less than 1 percent of all gag discards between 1993
and 2019. Choosing an alternative that provides a lower catch limit to
the recreational sector and consequently provides a higher gag stock
ACL would allow for less waste, more landings, and minimize discards.
In addition, the Bycatch Practicability Analyses (BPA) in Amendment 56
does not analyze whether the FMP contains measures to reduce bycatch to
the extent practicable, and has no discussion of other measures that
could reduce bycatch or bycatch mortality, for example, whether
requiring larger circle hooks could reduce catch of smaller grouper;
and time or area closures and the effects on bycatch. Other significant
discard analyses, including projections, should have been considered
and included in the rebuilding plan. Examples include projections at
higher and lower discard rates than is assumed, higher uncertainty,
etc., to identify at what level of discarding may be occurring on an
annual basis. A thorough discard analysis is critical to ensuring the
proposed management measures will end overfishing and rebuild the
stock. Additional analysis should also have been done to minimize out-
of-season discarding through other measures, such as spatial closures
or discarding rates during other species' open seasons, and the ABC
should reflect any uncertainty from these analyses.
Response: NS 9 requires that conservation and management measures,
``to the extent practicable: (1) minimize bycatch; and (2) to the
extent bycatch cannot be avoided, minimize the mortality of such
bycatch.'' Conservation and management measures must also be consistent
with all of the other National Standards and maximization of net
benefits to the Nation. As the National Standard guidelines explain, 10
factors should be considered when determining consistency with NS 9.
Some of these factors include population effects for the bycatch
species; changes in the economic, social, or cultural value of fishing
activities, and non-consumptive uses of fishery resources; changes in
the distribution of benefits and costs; and social effects [50 CFR
600.305(d)(3)]. Thus, NS 9 does not require that management measures
result in the greatest stock size as the comment appears to suggest.
Rather, NMFS must consider and account for the different economic,
social, and cultural objectives of the commercial and recreational
sectors when determining whether management measures minimize bycatch
and bycatch mortality to the extent practicable. Participants in the
commercial sector tend to seek to maximize harvest and efficiency while
participants in the recreational sector tend to seek to maximize access
and fishing opportunities. The sectors operate differently to achieve
those objectives, and these differences impact fishing behavior, which
generally results in more discards by the recreational sector.
The BPA (Appendix H in Amendment 56) provides information about gag
bycatch and bycatch mortality, and discusses the 10 factors in the NS 9
[[Page 40428]]
guidelines at 50 CFR 600.350(d)(3), which include summaries of the
biological, economic, and social effects presented in Chapter 4 of
Amendment 56. As noted in Section 4.2.2 of Amendment 56, the impacts to
the gag stock are similar under both allocation alternatives because
the overfishing limits are based on a fixed level of fishing mortality.
The recreational sector is responsible for more discards and more dead
discards than the commercial sector. Therefore, Preferred Alternative 3
(Preferred Option 2b) in Action 2, which changes the allocation
percentages, allows for slightly less total harvest than Alternative 2
(Option 2b), which would retain the current allocation percentages,
reducing the stock ACL by approximately 9,000 lb (4,082 kg) in 2024
(about 2 percent). However, NMFS expects both Alternative 2 and
Alternative 3 in Action 2 to reduce discards when compared to
Alternative 1 (no action) due to the substantial reduction in catch
limits, and the numbers and rates of discards and discard mortality
between Alternatives 2 and 3 are expected to be similar. NMFS also
expects an additional reduction in recreational discards associated
with directed fishing as a result of the increase in the buffer between
the recreational ACL and ACT from 10.25 to 20 percent, and the
requirement that NMFS prohibit recreational harvest when the ACT is
projected to be met.
With respect to the economic and social effects on both the
commercial and recreational sectors, the expected negative impacts are
a result of the need to implement a rebuilding plan that requires a
significant reduction in the total allowable harvest of gag (see
Amendment 56 BPA Criterion 6, 8, 9, and 10, and Sections 4.2.3 and
4.2.4). The new allocation percentages result in an increase in those
negative effects for the commercial sector and a decrease in those
effects for the recreational sector. However, the revised allocation
represents the historical harvest of the two sectors during the same
time period as the original allocation (1986 through 2005) updated only
to reflect that there has been a change in the survey used to estimate
recreational landings. Given the need to account for the different
objectives of the commercial and recreational sectors, and provide for
the greatest overall benefit to the Nation with respect to both food
production and recreational opportunities NMFS has determined that gag
bycatch and bycatch mortality are minimized to the extent practicable
in both the FMP and Amendment 56.
While NMFS agrees that additional research and analyses could be
conducted in the future to determine more precise impacts that bycatch
may have on the catch projections or if there are other measures that
could further reduce gag bycatch and bycatch mortality, NMFS is
required to implement a rebuilding for gag within 2 years of
notification to the Council that gag is overfished and, consistent with
NS 2, NMFS used the best scientific information available to develop
the rebuilding plan for gag and address the various requirements of the
Magnus-Stevens Act, including NS 9. As discussed at the Council's
January 2024 meeting, NMFS and the Council intend to review additional
data and analyses to determine whether additional measures to reduce
bycatch of gag (e.g., time or area closures) are practicable. The
Council initially considered including additional measures, such as
increasing the number of area closures, to Amendment 56 but determined
that it was not practicable to do so because before implementing new
time or area closures, it was necessary to gather further data and
analysis was needed on the impacts of the current closed areas (i.e.,
Madison-Swanson and Steamboat-Lumps marine protected areas). In
addition, after the rebuilding plan has been in effect for a few years,
it may be possible to perform alternative stock assessment analyses
that incorporate new information on discards in the recreational sector
and use the results from those additional analyses to inform the
bycatch practicability analysis.
Comment 15: NMFS needs to clarify how dead discards are accounted
for in setting the MSY and OY.
Response: Dead discards are accounted for in specifying both the
MSY and OY for the gag stock through the stock assessment. The NS 1
guidelines define MSY as ``the largest long-term average catch or yield
that can be taken from a stock or stock complex under prevailing
ecological, environmental conditions and fishery technological
characteristics (e.g., gear selectivity), and the distribution of catch
among fleets.'' 50 CFR 600.310(e)(1)(i)(A). OY is the long-term average
desired yield from a stock that provides ``the greatest overall benefit
to the Nation, particularly with respect to food production and
recreational opportunities,'' is reduced from the MSY to take into
account economic, social, and ecological factors, and in the case of an
overfished fishery, provides for rebuilding to a level consistent with
producing the MSY in such fishery. 16 U.S.C. 1802(33); see also 50 CFR
600.310(e)(3)(i). Amendment 56 defines MSY as the yield when fishing at
F<INF>40%SPR</INF> and defines OY based on rebuilding status, such
that: if the stock is under a rebuilding plan, OY is equal to the stock
ACL; if the stock is not under a rebuilding plan, OY is equal to 90
percent of MSY or its proxy. The catch projections produced from the
SEDAR 72 SRFS Run are based on the MSY proxy specified in Amendment 56
and account for discard mortality. As explained in Amendment 56, during
the rebuilding plan OY is set equal to the stock ACL because this is
the amount of fish that, over the rebuilding time, would allow the
stock to rebuild to a level that is consistent with producing MSY. When
rebuilding is complete the OY will be set at 90 percent of the MSY or
proxy, which is consistent with the OY set for other reef fish species
in Amendment 48 to the FMP (87 FR 34811 June 8, 2022). As explained in
Amendment 48, an OY of 90 percent of the MSY or proxy is an
intermediate level (between 85 and 95 percent of the MSY of proxy) that
balances the need to protect the stock and allow for both food
production and recreational opportunities. After the stock rebuilds and
if new information indicates that that this OY may not be appropriate,
NMFS and the Council can consider that new information and whether to
revise the OY.
Comment 16: Amendment 56 will cause hardship to recreational
fishermen but will not hurt commercial fishermen. Recreational fishing
seasons are getting shorter, as demonstrated by both the recreational
gag and red grouper seasons in 2023. However, commercial harvest goes
on unabated. Commercial and recreational regulations should be the
same.
Response: NMFS disagrees that it is appropriate to have the same
regulations for commercial and recreational fishing, and that Amendment
56 only negatively affects recreational anglers. Amendment 56 and this
final rule will reduce the commercial and recreational ACLs for gag for
each sector to levels substantially lower than average landings from
2017 through 2021. In addition, although both the commercial and
recreational sectors have failed to catch or even approach their
respective catch limits in recent years, the percent reduction for each
sector ACL in this rule compared to their respective recent landings is
similar. Commercial fishing is managed differently than recreational
fishing to address the economic, social, and cultural goals of each
sector. Recreational fishing is managed primarily with bag limits, size
limits, and seasons to allow the maximum number of participants the
opportunity
[[Page 40429]]
to fish. The commercial sector operates under an IFQ program, which
allows commercial fishermen to harvest their share of the gag quota at
any time during the year. So, unlike the recreational sector, there is
no closed commercial season. Because the IFQ program gives individual
commercial fishermen the flexibility to fish any time during the year,
it prevents ``derby-like'' fishing that can create unsafe fishing
conditions as fishermen race to catch as many fish as possible before a
catch limit is reached. In addition, the IFQ program allows fishermen
to supply fish over the course of the season, which allows for
consumers to be able to purchase the fish throughout the year. However,
regardless of when they fish during the year, fishing by both sectors
is constrained by their respective annual harvest limits.
Comment 17: Amendment 56 and this final rule violate NS 4 of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act because they allocate fish away from the
commercial sector to account for the discards in the recreational
sector, which is not fair and equitable and does not promote
conservation.
Response: NMFS has determined that Amendment 56 and the final rule
are fair and equitable and reasonably calculated to promote
conservation, consistent with NS 4. The Council initially reviewed
allocation options based on six different times series of landings
data, but removed some options from further consideration because they
resulted in relatively minor differences. In Amendment 56, the Council
evaluated retaining the existing allocation percentages and updating
those percentages using the SRFS recreational landings estimates
calibrated to the same time series (1986 through 2005) that was used in
setting the original allocation percentages. The Council determined,
and NMFS agrees, that updating the allocation percentages using the
SRFS calibrated recreational landings results is fair and equitable
because it accounts for the transition to using SRFS data to estimate
recreational catch while maintain the same referenced time series.
As explained in response to Comment 14, recreational fishing for
gag (and many other reef fish species) typically involves higher
numbers of discards than for the commercial sector, and the sector
allocation percentages approved in Amendment 56 (i.e., Alternative 3,
Option 2b in Action 2) reduce the total ACL by approximately 9,000 lb
(4,082 kg) when compared to the percentages proposed in Alternative 2b.
However, the OY includes both recreational opportunities and food
production, and the commercial and recreational sectors have different
objectives, and operate differently to achieve those objectives. The
Council and NMFS must consider and account for these differences when
determining whether an allocation fairly and equitably allocates
fishing privileges and provides the greatest overall benefit to the
Nation with respect to both food production and recreational
opportunities. Further, the large reduction in the total allowable
harvest in Amendment 56 is not a result of the shift in sector
allocation of the stock ACL but the result of SEDAR 72 and the
determination that the stock is overfished and undergoing overfishing.
Comment 18: The Council failed to follow its allocation review
policy by combining the allocation decision with decisions related to
catch limits and rebuilding times. The Council's allocation policy
requires a comprehensive allocation review and an after-the-fact
determination that Amendment 56 includes that review is not sufficient.
Further, the Council and NMFS suggest that the ``sector allocation
ratio in Alternative 2 results in a de facto reallocation to the
commercial sector of approximately 4 percent,'' but no allocation
review was performed to evaluate this reallocation. If de facto
reallocation arguments are to be used as justifications for management
changes, then their use must be consistent with all NMFS and Gulf
Council allocation policies and guidance.
Response: The process for evaluating and changing the commercial-
recreational allocation percentages through Amendment 56 was consistent
with NMFS and Gulf Council policies and guidance. The Council's
Allocation Review Guidelines address the situation that resulted in
Amendment 56, recognizing that, ``[i]n some instances, e.g., following
a stock assessment, the Council may elect to skip a formal allocation
review and directly proceed with the development of an FMP amendment.
In these cases, these guidelines would not apply.'' The most recent
stock assessment (SEDAR 72) indicated that the gag stock was overfished
and undergoing overfishing, and incorporated the updated SRFS
recreational catch estimates. Therefore, the Council and NMFS used
Amendment 56 to develop a rebuilding plan and review the sector
allocations to determine whether an adjustment was appropriate. The
review incorporated into Amendment 56 included an evaluation of
allocation options, and all of the relevant ecological, economic,
social, and performance factors identified in the relevant Council and
NMFS polices and guidance, including the Council's Allocation Policy
and NMFS' Procedural Directive 01-119-01.
Comment 19: Automatic reallocation based on SRFS is arbitrary, and
retrospectively adjusting historical landings estimates from 30 years
ago is fraught with uncertainty. Allocation decisions should not be
based on SRFS data until the accuracy of the data is resolved.
Response: NMFS disagrees that there was an automatic reallocation
and that is not appropriate to use SRFS data to adjust the commercial-
recreational allocation percentages in Amendment 56. Amendment 56
included an alternative to retain the current allocation percentages
and an alternative to adjust those percentages using SRFS calibrated
landings. As explained in response to Comment 17, the Council
recommended, and NMFS agrees, that it is appropriate to adjust the
allocation to 65 percent recreational: 35 percent commercial based on
the same 1986 through 2005 time series with updated SRFS landings
estimates. Although there is uncertainty related to the SRFS
calibration, as explained previously, this was reviewed and approved by
peer-review through the NMFS Office of Science and Technology in May
2022. NMFS has determined that SRFS landings estimates are best
scientific information available, and thus that it was appropriate to
use these estimates to inform the allocation decision recommended by
the Council in Amendment 56 and being implemented in this final rule.
Comment 20: Revised estimates of recreational landings based on
SRFS do not provide all of the necessary information for allocation
decisions. Had SRFS been used initially in the stock assessment, it
would have generated higher OFLs, ABCs, and ACLs for both sectors,
allowing the commercial sector to increase its harvest.
Response: NMFS disagrees that it is appropriate to speculate on
possible changes to commercial landings and the commercial-recreational
allocation had SRFS data been available to use in prior stock
assessments. NS 2 requires that management measures be based on the
best scientific data available and calibrated SRFS recreational catch
estimates were not available to use prior to the SEDAR 72 SRFS Update.
Even if it were appropriate and correct to assume that the stock ACL
would have been higher had this new data been available previously, it
does not automatically follow that commercial harvest would have been
larger. As noted in the Regulatory Flexibility Act
[[Page 40430]]
Analysis in Chapter 6 of Amendment 56, the average commercial landings
of gag from 2017 through 2021 were only 492,401 lb (223,349 kg), well
below the commercial quota of 939,000 lb (425,923 kg).
Comment 21: The Council passed a motion to delay implementing new
use of FES until the pilot study examining issues with the design of
FES has been completed and deemed consistent with best scientific
information available. If this analysis was done for SRFS, it is
reasonable to assume the same result, so proceeding with reallocation
in Amendment 56 is premature and inconsistent with recent Council
actions.
Response: At its January 2024 meeting, the Council passed a motion
to delay decisions about whether to change allocations of ACLs between
the commercial and recreational sectors that were based on MRIP-FES
data. SEDAR 72 and Amendment 56 both use recreational landings data
based on SRFS to recommend catch levels for the recreational harvest of
gag. NMFS disagrees that approving and implementing Amendment 56 is
inconsistent with the Council's decision to delay potential actions
that involve commercial-recreational allocations and use data generated
from MRIP-FES or that it is reasonable to assume that the results of
the pilot studies are applicable to SRFS. The MRIP-FES collects
recreational trip information for specified 2-month periods, and over
the course of the previous year. The Council's motion was in response
to the results of one pilot study conducted by the NMFS Office of
Science and Technology that evaluated a potential source of bias in
MRIP-FES effort questions; specifically, the order in which two
questions were presented. This pilot study found that estimates for
private angler effort were generally 30 to 40 percent lower for shore
and private boat modes than produced from the current design. However,
the study was conducted over a relatively short period (6 months) using
a smaller sample size than the full FES sample. NMFS is currently
conducting a larger scale follow-up study. It is unknown whether this
larger scale study will produce the same results as the initial pilot
study. Information about the study, next steps, and the anticipated
timeline can be found at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/recreational-fishing-data/fishing-effort-survey-research-and-improvements">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/recreational-fishing-data/fishing-effort-survey-research-and-improvements</a>.
The Council's motion reflects the Council's intention to defer
recommendations related to any changes to commercial-recreational
allocations that incorporate MRIP-FES data until the ongoing research
to determine the impacts of these changes to the survey is complete.
The motion is not relevant to NMFS' review and implementation of the
updated allocation percentages in Amendment 56, which are based in part
on the calibrated time series of SRFS estimates of private recreational
effort as incorporated into the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run and are separate from
MRIP-FES. SRFS creates a universe of reef fish anglers by requiring
anyone who harvests certain reef fish from a private vessel in Florida
to obtain the State Reef Fish Angler designation, which, makes an
angler eligible to receive a questionnaire in the mail that asks about
their fishing activity in the previous month. More information on the
SRFS questionnaire can be found at <a href="https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/fishstats/srfs/program/">https://myfwc.com/research/saltwater/fishstats/srfs/program/</a>. The SRFS questionnaire is more
narrowly focused than the MRIP-FES questionnaire. Therefore, NMFS does
not believe it is reasonable to assume that the potential bias
identified with the MRIP-FES questionnaire would be indicative of
similar bias with SRFS.
Comment 22: Action 3 in Amendment 56, which reallocates gag away
from commercial fishermen to the recreational sector, is not consistent
with the purpose and need of Amendment 56 and violates the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. Providing greater allocation to the recreational sector,
which accounts for the vast majority of discards and discard mortality,
will not allow the stock to rebuild as projected in this rebuilding
plan.
Response: The allocation percentages recommended by the Council in
Amendment 56 do not reduce the probability of rebuilding the gag stock.
The OFLs and ABCs recommended by the SSC were derived from SEDAR 72,
which accounts for dead discards by both sectors, and the risk of
overfishing the stock is the same for both of the allocation
alternatives considered by the Council. As explained in response to
Comment 10, NMFS expects the combined management measures in Amendment
56 (i.e., reduction in catch limits, increased buffer between the
recreational ACL and ACT, and change in recreational season start date)
to rebuild the stock as projected. Therefore, NMFS has determined that
the allocation percentages recommended in Amendment 56 are consistent
with the purpose and need statement.
Comment 23: The rule does not clarify how any overage of the
recreational ACL in 2023 will be addressed in 2024 given that the 2023
ACL is derived in part from MRIP-FES data and the 2024 ACL is derived
in part from SRFS data. The amendment should include clarity
surrounding the calibration and consistency of the catch limits [of
data used from the different recreational surveys].
Response: Regulations at 50 CFR 622.41(d)(2)(iii) require that if
gag are overfished and gag recreational landings exceed the applicable
ACL, NMFS will reduce the ACL for that following year by the amount of
the ACL overage in the prior fishing year, and reduce the ACT by the
amount of the ACL overage in the prior fishing year, unless the best
scientific information available determines that a greater, lesser, or
no overage adjustment is necessary. NMFS has determined that
recreational landings in 2023 exceeded the recreational ACL as
specified in the interim regulations and that adjustments to the 2024
recreational ACL and ACT are appropriate. To reconcile the different
data used to specify the 2023 and 2024 ACLs, NMFS has determined what
the 2023 recreational ACL would have been after calibrating from MRIP-
FES to SRFS data, and intends to use 2023 SRFS estimates to determine
the overage of that recreational ACL. That overage will then be
deducted from the 2024 recreational ACL and ACT as specified in
Amendment 56 and this final rule. The 2024 commercial ACL and ACT will
not be effected, and the rebuilding projections as specified in
Amendment 56 will also remain unchanged. More information will be made
available when NMFS publishes the temporary rule specifying the 2024
recreational catch limits.
Reference
Harford, W.J., S.R. Sagarese, and M. Karnauskas. 2019. Coping with
information gaps in stock productivity for rebuilding and achieving
maximum sustainable yield for grouper-snapper fisheries. Fish and
Fisheries 20(2):303-321.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is
consistent with Amendment 56, the FMP, other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
There is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to establish an
effective date for this final rule of less than 30 days after the date
of publication. On November 28, 2023, NMFS published a temporary rule
to withhold a portion of
[[Page 40431]]
the commercial allocation of gag for the 2024 fishing year in
anticipation of the reduction in the commercial quota in this final
rule (88 FR 83040). If this final rule is not effective on June 1,
2024, the regulations at 50 CFR 622.22(a)(4) require NMFS to distribute
the previously withheld commercial allocation to shareholders. NMFS was
unable to publish this final rule 30 days in advance of June 1, 2024,
because NMFS received several significant comments on the proposed
rule, which required more time than anticipated to consider and provide
responses. If allocation is distributed on or after June 1, NMFS would
be unable to withdraw that allocation from the shareholder accounts and
commercial harvest would not be constrained to the reduced catch limits
for gag in his final rule. Allowing this additional commercial harvest
would be contrary to the public interest because it could result in
overfishing of gag and would be inconsistent with the approved
rebuilding plan in Amendment 56 that was developed as required by
section 304(e)(4) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Further, a 30-day delay
in the effective date of this final rule would also cause confusion by
allowing the recreational season for gag to open for a brief period
beginning on June 1, 2024. And if this rule became effective after a
30-day delay, the recreational season would close again and not reopen
until September 1, 2024. Having this final rule effective on June 1,
2024, avoids any confusion about when recreational fishing is allowed.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866. The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides
the legal basis for this final rule. No duplicative, overlapping, or
conflicting Federal rules have been identified.
A final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) was prepared. The
FRFA incorporates the initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), a
summary of the significant issues raised by the public comments in
response to the IRFA, NMFS' responses to those comments, and a summary
of the analyses completed to support the action. NMFS' response to one
public comment regarding the Executive Order 12866 analysis is in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of the preamble (see Comment 4 in the
Comments and Responses section). A copy of the full analysis is
available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). A summary of the FRFA follows.
The objective of this final rule is to use the best scientific
information available to end overfishing of gag and rebuild the stock
to a level commensurate with MSY, consistent with the authority under
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. All monetary estimates in the following
analysis are in 2021 dollars.
Amendment 56 revises the MSY, OY, and SDC for gag based on the
results of the updated SEDAR 72 SRFS Run as reviewed by the Council's
SSC. The definition of MSY changes from F<INF>MAX</INF> to the yield
when fishing at F<INF>40%SPR</INF>. The definition of MFMT changes from
being equal to F<INF>MAX</INF> to being equal to the fishing mortality
at the MSY proxy (i.e., F<INF>40%SPR</INF>). The definition of MSST
changes from 50 percent of the biomass at F<INF>MAX</INF> to 50 percent
of the biomass at the new MSY proxy. OY is currently defined as 75
percent of the yield at F<INF>MAX</INF>. The new definition of OY is
conditional on whether a rebuilding plan is in place. Specifically, if
the stock is under a rebuilding plan, OY will be equal to the stock
ACL. However, if the stock is not under a rebuilding plan, OY will be
equal to 90 percent of MSY or its proxy.
Amendment 56 also revises the sector allocation of the stock ACL
from 39 percent commercial and 61 percent recreational to approximately
35 percent commercial and 65 percent recreational. Amendment 56 also
establishes a rebuilding plan based on the amount of time the stock is
expected to take to rebuild based on the yield when fishing at 75
percent of F<INF>40%SPR</INF>, which is equal to 18 years. In turn, the
rebuilding plan in combination with the new sector allocation changes
the OFL, ABC, stock ACL, commercial ACL, and the recreational ACL.
Based on the current allocation of the stock ACL between sectors, the
OFL, ABC, stock ACL, commercial ACL, recreational ACL, commercial
quota, and recreational ACT would be 4.180 million lb (1.896 million
kg), 3.120 million lb (1.415 million kg), 3.120 million lb (1.415
million kg), 1.217 million lb (0.552 million kg), 1.903 million lb
(0.863 million kg), and 0.939 million lb (0.426 million kg), and 1.708
million lb (0.775 million kg), respectively, in 2024 and future years
if no action was taken. The recreational portion of the OFL, ABC, stock
ACL, the recreational ACL, and the recreational ACT would be based on
MRIP-CHTS data. Under the new sector allocation and rebuilding plan,
the OFL, ABC, stock ACL, recreational ACL, commercial ACL, recreational
ACT, and commercial quota are reduced in 2024 but subsequently increase
through 2028 as indicated in tables 1 and 2 earlier in this rule. The
recreational portion of the revised OFL, ABC, stock ACL, the
recreational ACL, and the recreational ACT are based on recreational
landings estimates used in the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run. Therefore, the
different stock ACLs and recreational ACLs and ACTs are not directly
comparable.
This final rule also revises the buffer between the recreational
ACL and ACT, which is currently 10.25 percent (i.e., the recreational
ACT is 89.75 percent of the recreational ACL). Under this final rule,
the buffer between the recreational ACL and ACT is approximately 20
percent (i.e., the recreational ACT is approximately 80 percent of the
recreational ACL).
In addition, this final rule also modifies the buffer between the
commercial ACL and quota, and sets the quota equal to the ACT. The
commercial quota is currently set at approximately 77 percent of the
commercial ACL. The commercial ACT is not codified in regulations. This
final rule sets the commercial ACT equal to approximately 95 percent of
the commercial ACL and sets commercial quota equal to the commercial
ACT. Thus, the commercial quota is approximately 95 percent of the
commercial ACL.
Lastly, this final rule changes the recreational season start date
and modifies the recreational AMs for gag. Specifically, the
recreational season start date is changed from June 1 to September 1
each year. The current AM requires NMFS to prohibit harvest when the
recreational ACL is projected to be met, whereas this final rule
requires NMFS to prohibit harvest when the recreational ACT is
projected to be met. The current AM also requires NMFS to maintain the
recreational ACT for the following fishing year at the level of the
prior year's ACT unless the best scientific information available
determines that maintaining the prior year's ACT is unnecessary. This
provision is removed under this final rule. Given these individual
actions, this final rule is expected to regulate commercial fishing
businesses that possess gag shares in the GT-IFQ program and for-hire
fishing businesses that target gag.
The gag commercial quota is allocated annually based on the
percentage of gag shares in each IFQ account. For example, if an
account possesses 1 percent of the gag shares and the commercial quota
is 1 million lb (0.45 million kg), then that account would receive
10,000 lb (4,536 kg) of commercial quota for gag. Although it is common
for a single IFQ account with gag shares to be held by a single
business, some businesses have multiple IFQ accounts with gag shares.
As of July 8, 2021, there were 536 IFQ accounts, of which 506 IFQ
accounts held gag shares. These accounts and gag
[[Page 40432]]
shares were owned by 455 businesses. Thus, NMFS assumes this final rule
would regulate 455 commercial fishing businesses.
A valid charter vessel/headboat permit for Gulf reef fish is
required to legally harvest gag on a recreational for-hire fishing
trip. NMFS does not possess complete ownership data regarding
businesses that hold a charter vessel/headboat permit for Gulf reef
fish, and thus potentially harvest gag. Therefore, it is not currently
feasible to accurately determine affiliations between vessels and the
businesses that own them. As a result, for purposes of this analysis,
NMFS assumes each for-hire vessel is independently owned by a single
business, which is expected to result in an overestimate of the actual
number of for-hire fishing businesses regulated by this final rule.
NMFS also does not have data indicating how many for-hire vessels
actually harvest gag in a given year. However, in 2020, there were
1,289 vessels with valid charter vessel/headboat permits for Gulf reef
fish. Further, gag is only targeted and almost entirely harvested in
waters off the west coast of Florida. Of the 1,289 federally permitted
vessels, 803 were homeported in Florida. Of these 803 federally
permitted vessels, 62 are primarily used for commercial fishing rather
than for-hire fishing purposes, and thus are not considered for-hire
fishing businesses (i.e., 1,227 vessels are for-hire fishing
businesses). In addition, 46 of these permitted vessels are considered
headboats, which are considered for-hire fishing businesses. However,
headboats take a relatively large, diverse set of anglers to harvest a
diverse range of species on a trip, and therefore do not typically
target a particular species exclusively. Therefore, NMFS assumes that
no headboat trips would be canceled, and thus no headboats would be
directly affected by this final rule.
However, charter vessels often target gag. Of the 803 vessels with
a valid charter vessel/headboat permit for Gulf reef fish that are
homeported in Florida, 695 vessels are charter vessels. A recent study
reported that 76 percent of charter vessels with a valid charter
vessel/headboat permit in the Gulf were active in 2017, i.e., 24
percent were not fishing. A charter vessel would only be directly
affected by this final rule if it is used to go fishing. Given this
information, NMFS' best estimate of the number of charter vessels that
are likely to harvest gag in a given year is 528, and thus NMFS
estimates this final rule would regulate 528 charter fishing
businesses.
For RFA purposes, NMFS has established a small business size
standard for businesses, including their affiliates, whose primary
industry is commercial fishing (50 CFR 200.2). A business primarily
involved in the commercial fishing industry 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 its combined
annual receipts (revenue) are not in excess of $11 million for all of
its affiliated operations worldwide. NMFS does not collect revenue data
specific to commercial fishing businesses that have IFQ accounts;
rather, revenue data are collected for commercial fishing vessels in
general. It is not possible to assign revenues earned by commercial
fishing vessels back to specific IFQ accounts and the businesses that
possess them because quota is often transferred across many IFQ
accounts before it is used by the business on a vessel for harvesting
purposes, and specific units of quota cannot be tracked. However, from
2017 through 2021, the maximum annual gross revenue earned by a single
commercial fishing vessel was about $3.25 million. Based on this
information, all commercial fishing businesses regulated by this final
rule are determined to be small entities for the purpose of this
analysis.
For other industries, the Small Business Administration has
established size standards for all major industry sectors in the United
States, including for-hire businesses (North American Industry
Classification System code 487210). A business primarily involved in
for-hire fishing 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 annual receipts (revenue)
not in excess of $12.5 million for all its affiliated operations
worldwide. The maximum annual gross revenue for a single headboat in
the Gulf was about $1.38 million in 2017. On average, annual gross
revenue for headboats in the Gulf is about three times greater than
annual gross revenue for charter vessels, reflecting the fact that
businesses that own charter vessels are typically smaller than
businesses that own headboats. Based on this information, all charter
fishing businesses regulated by this final rule are determined to be
small businesses for the purpose of this analysis.
NMFS expects this final rule to regulate 455 of the 536 businesses
with IFQ accounts, or approximately 85 percent of those commercial
fishing businesses. Further, NMFS expects this final rule would
regulate 528 of the 1,227 for-hire fishing businesses with valid
charter vessel/headboat permits for Gulf reef fish, or approximately 43
percent of those for-hire fishing businesses. NMFS has determined that,
for the purpose of this analysis, all regulated commercial and for-hire
fishing businesses are small entities. Based on this information, NMFS
expects the final rule to affect a substantial number of small
entities.
Because NMFS does not collect revenue and cost data for the
commercial fishing businesses that are expected to be regulated by this
final rule, direct estimates of their economic profits are not
available. However, economic theory suggests that annual allocation
(quota) prices should reflect expected annual economic profits, which
allows economic profits to be estimated indirectly. Further, the 455
businesses with gag shares also own shares in the other IFQ share
categories and thus are expected to earn profits from their ownership
of these shares as well, i.e., red snapper, red grouper, shallow-water
grouper, deep-water grouper, and tilefish.
However, economic profits will only be realized if the allocated
quota is used for harvesting purposes. For example, practically all of
the commercial quota of red snapper has been used for harvesting in
recent years, and so it is assumed that all of that quota will be
harvested in the foreseeable future. Important management changes have
occurred for red grouper, which partly resulted in 96 percent of the
commercial quota being harvested in 2021. Thus, this analysis also
assumes that all of the red grouper quota will be harvested in the
future as well. However, only 82 percent of the deep-water grouper
quota, 38 percent of the shallow-water grouper quota, and 73 percent of
the tilefish quota was harvested from 2017 through 2021, and that is
expected to continue in the foreseeable future. For gag, the quota
utilization rate from 2017 through 2021 was approximately 52 percent.
Given these quota utilization rates in combination with average annual
allocation prices from 2017 through 2021 and annual commercial quotas
in 2021, NMFS estimates that the total expected economic profits for
commercial fishing businesses with gag shares are at least $29.4
million per year at the present time. This estimate does not account
for any economic profits that may accrue to businesses with gag shares
that also own commercial fishing vessels that harvest non-IFQ species.
Such profits are likely to be small because harvest of IFQ species
accounts for around 84 percent of commercial IFQ vessels' annual
revenue and
[[Page 40433]]
economic profits from the harvest of non-IFQ species tend to be smaller
than those from IFQ species. Given that there are 455 businesses with
gag shares, NMFS expects the average annual economic profit per
commercial fishing business is at least $64,620.
Most of these economic profits (84 percent) are the result of
owning red snapper shares. Only approximately $502,930 (or 1.7 percent)
of the expected economic profits is due to the ownership of gag shares.
This final rule is only expected to affect economic profits from the
ownership of gag shares.
Specifically, the action that changes the sector allocation of the
stock ACL and implements a rebuilding plan, which changes the stock
ACL, reduces the commercial ACL and commercial quota from 1.217 million
lb (552,022 kg) and 939,000 lb (425,923 kg) to 275,000 lb (124,738 kg)
and 212,000 lb (96,162 kg) on average from 2024 through 2028. However,
average annual commercial landings of gag from 2017 through 2021 were
only 492,401 lb (223,349 kg), noticeably below the commercial quota.
Because average annual landings exceed the commercial quotas for 2024
through 2028, it is assumed all of the proposed commercial quota will
be harvested in each year through 2028, and the expected average
reduction in annual commercial landings will be 280,401 lb (127,188
kg). Initially, NMFS expects the reduction in commercial landings to
increase the average ex-vessel price of gag from $6.10 per lb to $7.78
per lb, or by $1.68 per lb, in 2024. However, NMFS expects the increase
in ex-vessel price to gradually decrease through 2028 as the quota and
landings increase, resulting in an ex-vessel price of $6.96 in 2028.
The increase in the ex-vessel price would partially offset the adverse
effects of the landings reduction. Based on the above information, NMFS
expects a reduction in annual ex-vessel revenue for gag of
approximately $1.57 million on average, or about $3,451 on average per
commercial fishing business. Given an average annual allocation price
of $1.03 per lb for gag from 2017 through 2021, NMFS expects the
reduction in commercial landings of gag to reduce economic profits to
these commercial fishing businesses by about $288,813, or by
approximately $635 per commercial fishing business. Thus, NMFS expects
economic profits to be reduced by around 1 percent on average per
commercial fishing business as a result of the action to change the
sector allocation and implement a rebuilding plan that reduces the
stock ACL.
The action that sets the commercial ACT equal to 95 percent of the
commercial ACL and sets the commercial quota equal to the commercial
ACT causes the commercial quota to be equal to 95 percent of the
commercial ACL as opposed to approximately 77 percent of the commercial
ACL. As such, this action is expected to increase the commercial quota
relative to what it would be otherwise. The increase still yields
commercial quotas below the recent average commercial landings, and
thus NMFS assumes all of the expected increase in the quota will be
harvested. Specifically, NMFS expects the average annual increase in
the commercial quota and landings from 2024 through 2028 to be about
48,527 lb (22,011 kg), which would increase average annual revenue by
$267,371, or by about $588 per commercial fishing business. Again,
assuming an average annual allocation price of $1.03 per lb, NMFS
expects economic profit to commercial fishing businesses to increase by
$49,983 per year, or about $110 per commercial fishing business, as a
result of this action.
Combining these expected increases in revenue and profits with the
decreases discussed earlier, NMFS expects this final rule to decrease
average revenue for commercial fishing businesses by about $1.31
million per year from 2024 through 2028, or by $2,868 per commercial
fishing business. The total reduction in economic profits for
commercial fishing businesses is expected to be $238,830, or $525 per
commercial fishing business, which represents a decrease of about 0.8
percent.
According to the most recent estimates of economic returns for
charter vessels, average annual economic profit per charter vessel is
$27,948. The action to change the sector allocation and implement a
rebuilding plan, which would change the stock ACL, would change the gag
recreational ACL from its current value of 1.903 million lb (863,186
kg) to 510,000 lb (231,332 kg) on average from 2024 through 2028. As
explained previously, the current and new recreational ACLs are not
directly comparable because they are based, in part, on recreational
landings estimates derived from different surveys. However, average
recreational landings from 2017 through 2021 were approximately 1.265
million lb (573,794 kg). Given that average recreational landings have
been considerably greater than the recreational ACT in this final rule,
all of the recreational ACT is expected to be harvested in the future.
NMFS expects the reduction in the recreational ACT to reduce the
recreational season length from 214 days to 25 days in 2024. However,
the season length is expected to steadily increase to 120 days by 2028
and the average season length from 2024 through 2028 is expected to be
64 days. The reduction in the season length would reduce the number of
angler trips targeting gag on charter vessels. From 2024 through 2028,
the average reduction in angler trips targeting gag on charter vessels
is expected to be 20,976 trips per year. Net Cash Flow per Angler Trip
(CFpA) is the best available estimate of profit per angler trip by
charter vessels. According to a recent study (available from NMFS see
ADDRESSES), CFpA on charter vessels is estimated to be $150 per angler
trip. Thus, NMFS estimates the total reduction in charter vessel
profits from this action to be $3.146 million per year. The average
reduction in economic profit per charter fishing business would
therefore be about $5,960, or approximately 21.3 percent of their
current economic profit, per year.
In combination with the action to require NMFS to close the
recreational season based on when the recreational ACT, rather than the
recreational ACL, is projected to be met, the action to increase the
buffer between the recreational ACL and recreational ACT from 10.25
percent to 20 percent is expected to reduce the recreational season
length further from the action to change the sector allocation and
implement a rebuilding plan. Specifically, the season length is
expected to be further reduced by 2 days in 2024 (open for 23 days
instead of 25), though this reduction is expected to gradually increase
to 24 days by 2028 (open for 96 days instead of 120 days). The average
additional reduction in the recreational season length per year is
expected to be 12 days (open for 52 days instead of 64). Again, a
reduction in the season length is expected to reduce the number of
angler trips targeting gag on charter vessels. From 2024 through 2028,
the average reduction in angler trips targeting gag on charter vessels
is expected to be 2,125 trips per year. Based on an estimate of $150 in
economic profit per angler trip, NMFS estimates the reduction in
charter vessel profits from this action to be $318,690 per year. The
average reduction in economic profit per charter vessel $604 per year,
or about 2.2 percent on average per charter fishing business.
The action that changes the recreational season start date from
June 1 to September 1 is expected to increase the recreational season
length from 23 days to 59 days in 2024, and from 52 days to 81 days on
average from 2024 through 2028. However, because there
[[Page 40434]]
are many fewer charter trips targeting gag in the fall months
(September through December) compared to the summer months (June
through August), this action is expected to further decrease the number
of angler trips targeting gag on charter vessels. Although the
reduction in trips from 2024 through 2028 varies slightly from year to
year, the average reduction per year is 1,610 trips. Based on an
estimate of $150 in economic profit per angler trip, NMFS expects this
action to decrease economic profits for charter vessels by about
$241,500 per year, or by $456 per charter vessel. This would result in
a decrease of economic profits by around 1.6 percent on average per
charter fishing business.
Based on the above, NMFS expects the total reduction in target
trips by charter vessels per year as a result of this final rule to be
24,711 trips. NMFS expects this reduction in trips to reduce economic
profits for charter vessels by a total of about $3.707 million per
year, or approximately $7,020 per charter vessel. Thus, annual economic
profit per charter fishing business is expected to be reduced by
approximately 25.1 percent on average.
Six alternatives, including the status quo, were considered for the
actions to change the sector allocation of the stock ACL to 35 percent
to the commercial sector and 65 percent to the recreational sector,
establish a rebuilding plan of 18 years based on the amount of time the
stock is expected to take to rebuild if fished at the yield from
fishing at 75 percent of F<INF>40</INF><INF>%<INF>SPR</INF></INF>, and
change the catch levels for 2024 through 2028 as specified in table 1.
The status quo alternative would have retained the current sector
allocation of the stock ACL of 39 percent to the commercial sector and
61 percent to the recreational sector based on MRIP-CHTS recreational
landings data. The status quo alternative would not have established a
rebuilding plan or modified any of the catch limits based on MRIP-FES
and SRFS landings estimates. This alternative was not selected because
the sector allocation would have been based in part on MRFSS
recreational landings estimates, which is no longer consistent with the
best scientific information available and would effectively result in a
reallocation to the commercial sector of approximately four percent,
which the Council did not consider to be equitable. This alternative
also would not have rebuilt the gag stock or ended overfishing as
required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
A second alternative would have also retained the current sector
allocation of the stock ACL of 39 percent to the commercial sector and
61 percent to the recreational sector, but would have established a
rebuilding plan of 11 years assuming a fishing mortality rate of zero.
This alternative would have revised the OFL based on the projections
from the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run and would have set all of the other catch
levels through 2028 at zero. However, as with the status quo
alternative, the sector allocation would have been based in part on
MRFSS recreational landings data. Further, prohibiting harvest of gag
would not be expected to eliminate all fishing mortality, as some gag
would still be expected to be discarded and die as fishermen continue
fishing for other species that live in similar habitats as gag. This
alternative was not selected because, as discussed above, MRFSS is not
consistent with the best scientific information available, and would
result in a de facto reallocation from the recreational to the
commercial sector of approximately four percent, which the Council did
not considerable to be equitable. Further, because it is not feasible
to eliminate dead discards of gag when fishermen are targeting other
species, it is unlikely the stock would actually be rebuilt in 11
years. This alternative would have also resulted in significantly
larger adverse economic effects on commercial and charter fishing
businesses compared to the action in this final rule.
A third alternative would have also retained the current sector
allocation of the stock ACL of 39 percent to the commercial sector and
61 percent to the recreational sector. But, like the action in this
final rule, the third alternative would have established a rebuilding
plan of 18 years and changed the catch levels based on the projections
from the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run. This alternative would have ended
overfishing and rebuilt the stock in 18 years. But, as with the status
quo and the second alternative, the sector allocation of the stock ACL
would be based on MRFSS recreational landings data. Thus, this
alternative was not selected because MRFSS is not the best scientific
information available, and would effectively result in a reallocation
from the recreational sector to the commercial sector of approximately
four percent.
A fourth alternative would have also retained the current sector
allocation of the stock ACL of 39 percent to the commercial sector and
61 percent to the recreational sector, but would have established a
rebuilding plan of 22 years and changed the catch limits based on the
projections from the SEDAR 72 SRFS Run. This alternative would have
ended overfishing and rebuilt the stock while allowing greater harvest
and resulting in smaller adverse economic effects on commercial and
charter fishing businesses compared to the action in this final rule.
However, it was not selected because the stock is expected to take 4
more years to rebuild compared to the action in this final rule, and
the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires overfished stocks to be rebuilt in as
short a time period as possible, taking into account various factors.
This alternative was also not selected because the use of MRFSS
recreational landings data is not consistent with the best scientific
information available, and would effectively result in a reallocation
to the commercial sector of approximately four percent.
Like the action in this final rule, a fifth alternative would have
changed the sector allocation of the stock ACL to 35 percent to the
commercial sector and 65 percent to the recreational sector based in
part on recreational landings estimates from MRIP-FES, SRHS, and SRFS
for 1986 through 2005. As with the second alternative, the fifth
alternative would have also established a rebuilding plan of 11 years
assuming a fishing mortality rate of zero and used SEDAR 72 SRFS Run
projections to change the OFL. The other catch limits would have been
set at zero. As discussed earlier, prohibiting harvest of gag would not
be expected to eliminate all fishing mortality, as some gag would still
be expected to be discarded and die as fishermen continue fishing for
other species that live in similar habitats as gag. This alternative
was not selected because it is not feasible to eliminate dead discards
of gag when fishermen are targeting other species, and therefore it is
unlikely the stock would rebuild in 11 years. This alternative would
have also resulted in significantly larger adverse economic effects on
commercial and for-hire fishing businesses compared to the proposed
action.
Like the action in this final rule, a sixth alternative would have
changed the sector allocation of the stock ACL to 35 percent to the
commercial sector and 65 percent to the recreational sector based in
part on recreational landings estimates from MRIP-FES, SRHS, and SRFS
data for 1986 through 2005. However, this alternative would have also
established a rebuilding plan of 22 years. This alternative would be
based on the best scientific information available, end overfishing,
and rebuild the stock. This alternative would have also resulted in
higher catch limits and therefore resulted in small adverse economic
effects on commercial and for-
[[Page 40435]]
hire fishing businesses compared to the proposed action. However, this
alternative was not selected because it is expected to take 4 more
years to rebuild compared to the action in this final rule, and the
Magnuson-Stevens Act requires overfished stocks to be rebuilt in as
short a time as possible, taking into account various factors.
Two alternatives, including the status quo, were considered for the
action to increase the buffer between the recreational ACL and
recreational ACT from 10.25 percent to 20 percent. The status quo
alternative would have maintained the buffer between the recreational
ACL and recreational ACT at 10.25 percent based the yield at 75 percent
of F<INF>MAX</INF>. However, as explained previously, use of
F<INF>MAX</INF> as a proxy for F<INF>MSY</INF> is not consistent with
the best scientific information available.
The second alternative would have revised the recreational ACT
using the Council's ACL and ACT Control Rule based on recreational
landings data from 2018 through 2021. This alternative would have
resulted in a 10 percent buffer between the recreational ACL and ACT,
which would have left the buffer essentially unchanged. This
alternative was not selected because the Council concluded it was
necessary to increase the buffer between the ACL and ACT to reduce the
probability of the recreational sector exceeding its ACL, reduce the
likelihood of overfishing, and reduce the level of discards associated
with directed harvest, which together are expected to increase the
probability of meeting the 18-year timeline for rebuilding the gag
stock.
Two alternatives, including the status quo, were considered for the
action to set the commercial ACT equal to 95 percent of the commercial
ACL and set commercial quota equal to the commercial ACT. The status
quo alternative would have maintained commercial ACT, which is based on
the yield at 75 percent of F<INF>MAX</INF>, and a commercial quota set
at 86 percent of the commercial ACT. This alternative was not selected
because it is based on F<INF>MAX</INF>, which is no longer consistent
with the best scientific information available.
The second alternative would have set the commercial ACT equal to
86 percent of the commercial ACL and, like the action in this final
rule, set the commercial quota equal to the commercial ACT. This
alternative was not selected because the Council determined that a 14
percent buffer between the commercial ACL and ACT is too high and
unnecessarily limits commercial harvest due to reduced uncertainty in
the estimates of commercial landings and discards.
Three alternatives, including the status quo, were considered for
the action to change the recreational season start date from June 1 to
September 1 and require NMFS to close the recreational season based on
when the recreational ACT is projected to be met rather than the
recreational ACL. The status quo alternative would have maintained the
recreational season start date of June 1 and required NMFS to close the
recreational season based on when the recreational ACL is projected to
be met. This alternative was not selected mainly because it would have
resulted in a shorter average recreational season length (75 days)
compared to the action in this final rule (81 days) for 2024 through
2028. In general, a longer fishing season would result in more fishing
opportunities for both the private and for-hire components of the
recreational sector. Further, shifting fishing effort to a historically
low-effort month (September) may reduce the overall magnitude of
recreational discards compared to starting the season in June. Shifting
fishing pressure to the fall would also be expected to reduce directed
effort for gag in deeper waters, which may further reduce the
probability of harvesting or discarding dead male gag.
The second alternative would have retained the June 1 start date
for the recreational season. But, like the action in this final rule,
this alternative would have required NMFS to close the recreational
season based on when the recreational ACT is projected to be met. This
alternative was not selected mainly because it would have resulted in a
shorter average recreational season length (52 days) compared to the
action in this final rule (81 days) for 2024 through 2028. In general,
a longer fishing season would result in more fishing opportunities for
both the private recreational and for-hire components of the fishery.
Further, shifting fishing effort to a historically low-effort month
(September) may reduce the overall magnitude of recreational discards
compared to starting the season in June. Shifting fishing pressure to
the fall would be expected to reduce directed effort for gag in deeper
waters, which may further reduce the probability of harvesting or
discarding dead male gag.
The third alternative would have changed the recreational season
start date to October 1. But, like the action in this final rule, this
alternative would have required NMFS to close the recreational season
based on when the recreational ACT is projected to be met. This
alternative was not selected because it would have resulted in a
shorter average recreational season length (63 days) compared to the
action in this final rule (81 days) for 2024 through 2028 and would
have also resulted in greater adverse effects to charter fishing
businesses. In general, a longer fishing season would be expected to
result in more fishing opportunities for both the private and for-hire
components of the recreational sector.
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule,
and shall designate such publications as ``small entity compliance
guides.'' The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is
required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of
this rulemaking process, NMFS prepared a fishery bulletin, which also
serves as a small entity compliance guide. Copies of this final rule
are available from the Southeast Regional Office, and the guide, i.e.,
fishery bulletin, will be sent to all known industry contacts in the
Gulf reef fish fishery and be posted at: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/tags/small-entity-compliance-guide?title=&field_species_vocab_target_id=&field_region_vocab_target_id%5B1000001121%5D=1000001121&sort_by=created">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/tags/small-entity-compliance-guide?title=&field_species_vocab_target_id=&field_region_vocab_target_id%5B1000001121%5D=1000001121&sort_by=created</a>. The guide and this final
rule will be available upon request.
This final rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Fisheries, Fishing, Gag, Gulf of Mexico.
Dated: May 6, 2024.
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
622 as follows:
PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH
ATLANTIC
0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 622.8, revise paragraph (c) to read as follows:
[[Page 40436]]
Sec. 622.8 Quotas--general.
* * * * *
(c) Reopening. When a species, species group, sector, or sector
component has been closed based on a projection of the applicable catch
limit (ACL, ACT, or quota) specified in this part being reached and
subsequent data indicate that the catch limit was not reached, the
Assistant Administrator may file a notification with the Office of the
Federal Register. Such notification may reopen the species, species
group, sector, or sector component to provide an opportunity for the
catch limit to be harvested.
3. In Sec. 622.34, revise paragraph (e) to read as follows:
Sec. 622.34 Seasonal and area closures designed to protect Gulf reef
fish.
* * * * *
(e) Seasonal closure of the recreational sector for gag. The
recreational harvest of gag in or from the Gulf EEZ is closed from
January 1 through August 31. During the closure, the bag and possession
limits for gag in or from the Gulf EEZ are zero.
* * * * *
0
4. In Sec. 622.39, revise paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(B) to read as follows:
Sec. 622.39 Quotas.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(iii) * * *
(B) Gag. See table 1.
Table 1 to Paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(B)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial quota in
Year lb (kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024.............................................. 147,000 (66,678)
2025.............................................. 204,000 (92,533)
2026.............................................. 255,000 (115,666)
2027.............................................. 313,000 (141,974)
2028+............................................. 383,000 (173,726)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
0
5. In Sec. 622.41, revise paragraph (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 622.41 Annual catch limits (ACLs), annual catch targets (ACTs),
and accountability measures (AMs).
* * * * *
(d) Gag--(1) Commercial sector. See table 1 for the commercial ACLs
in gutted weight. The commercial ACT for gag is equal to the applicable
commercial quota specified in Sec. 622.39(a)(1)(iii)(B). The IFQ
program for groupers and tilefishes in the Gulf of Mexico in Sec.
622.22 serves as the accountability measure for the commercial harvest
of gag.
Table 1 to Paragraph (d)(1)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial ACL in lb
Year (kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024.............................................. 155,000 (70,307)
2025.............................................. 215,000 (97,522)
2026.............................................. 269,000 (122,016)
2027.............................................. 330,000 (149,685)
2028+............................................. 404,000 (183,251)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Recreational sector. (i) See table 2 for the recreational ACLs
and ACTs in gutted weight.
Table 2 to Paragraph (d)(2)(i)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recreational ACL in Recreational ACT in
Year lb (kg) lb (kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2024........................ 288,000 (130,635) 230,000 (104,326)
2025........................ 399,000 (180,983) 319,000 (144,696)
2026........................ 499,000 (226,343) 399,000 (180,983)
2027........................ 613,000 (278,052) 490,000 (222,260)
2028+....................... 751,000 (340,648) 600,000 (272,155)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(ii) If the NMFS SRD estimates that gag recreational landings have
reached or are projected to reach the applicable recreational ACT
specified in paragraph (d)(2)(i) of this section, the AA will file a
notification with the Office of the Federal Register to close the
recreational sector for the remainder of the fishing year. On and after
the effective date of such a notification, the bag and possession
limits for gag in or from the Gulf EEZ are zero. These bag and
possession limits apply in the Gulf on board a vessel for which a valid
Federal charter vessel/headboat permit for Gulf reef fish has been
issued without regard to where such species were harvested, i.e., in
state or Federal waters.
(iii) In addition to the measures specified in paragraph (d)(2)(ii)
of this section, if the NMFS SRD estimates that gag recreational
landings have exceeded the applicable ACL specified in paragraph
(d)(2)(i) of this section and gag is overfished based on the most
recent Status of U.S. Fisheries Report to Congress, the following
measure will apply. The AA will file a notification with the Office of
the Federal Register, at or near the beginning of the following fishing
year, to reduce the recreational ACL for that following year by the
amount of the ACL overage in the prior fishing year, unless the best
scientific information available determines that a greater, lesser, or
no overage adjustment is necessary.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2024-10208 Filed 5-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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