Proposed Rule2024-16002
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; 2024-2026 Small-Mesh Multispecies Specifications
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 22, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
NMFS proposes small-mesh multispecies specifications for the 2024 fishing year, and projected specifications for fishing years 2025 and 2026, as recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council. This action also further reduces the recommended acceptable biological catch for southern red in order to comply with the requirements outlined in Framework Adjustment 62 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. This action is necessary to establish allowable harvest levels and other management measures consistent with the most recent scientific information. This rule also informs the public of the proposed fishery specifications and provides an opportunity for comment.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 140 (Monday, July 22, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59034-59036]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16002]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 240716-0197; RTID 0648-XD769]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast
Multispecies Fishery; 2024-2026 Small-Mesh Multispecies Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes small-mesh multispecies specifications for the
2024 fishing year, and projected specifications for fishing years 2025
and 2026, as recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council.
This action also further reduces the recommended acceptable biological
catch for southern red in order to comply with the requirements
outlined in Framework Adjustment 62 to the Northeast Multispecies
Fishery Management Plan. This action is necessary to establish
allowable harvest levels and other management measures
[[Page 59035]]
consistent with the most recent scientific information. This rule also
informs the public of the proposed fishery specifications and provides
an opportunity for comment.
DATES: Comments must be received by August 6, 2024.
ADDRESSES: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) has
prepared a draft environmental assessment (EA) for this action that
describes the proposed measures and other considered alternatives and
analyzes the impacts of the proposed measures and alternatives. The
Council submitted a draft of the specifications to NMFS that includes
the draft EA, a description of the Council's preferred alternatives,
the Council's rationale for selecting each alternative, and a
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis. Copies of the draft of the
specifications, the draft EA, RFA analysis, and information on the
economic impacts of this proposed rulemaking are available upon request
from: Dr. Cate O'Keefe, Executive Director; New England Fishery
Management Council; 50 Water Street; Newburyport, MA 01950; and
accessible via the internet in documents available at: <a href="https://www.nefmc.org/library/2024-2026-small-mesh-multispecies-whiting-specifications">https://www.nefmc.org/library/2024-2026-small-mesh-multispecies-whiting-specifications</a>.
A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available at
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2024-0077">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2024-0077</a>. You may submit
comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2024-0077, by either
of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and
enter NOAA-NMFS-2024-0077 in the Search box (note: copying and pasting
the FDMS Docket Number directly from this document may not yield search
results). Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields,
and enter or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 282-8456.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The small-mesh multispecies fishery comprises three species of
hakes that are managed as five stocks: Northern and southern silver
hake; northern and southern red hake; and offshore hake. Southern
silver hake and offshore hake are often grouped together for management
purposes and collectively referred to as ``southern whiting.'' The New
England Fishery Management Council manages the small-mesh multispecies
fishery within the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
(FMP). This action proposes catch limit specifications for the 2024
small-mesh multispecies fishery, and projects specifications for
fishing years 2025 and 2026, based on the Council's recommendations.
This rule proposes to implement the Council's recommended catch
limits for northern silver hake, southern whiting, and northern red
hake. Pursuant to section 305(d), this rule proposes to reduce the
recommended acceptable biological catch (ABC) for southern red hake by
25 percent in order to comply with the requirements established in
Framework Adjustment 62 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP (87 FR 3694,
January 25, 2022). Framework 62 established a rebuilding plan for
southern red hake that requires the ABC be set to 75 percent of the
fishing mortality rate at maximum sustainable yield (F<INF>MSY</INF>).
However, the overfishing limit (OFL) for red hake has been unknown
since the spring of 2020, when a peer review of the management track
assessment rejected a new empirical approach that would have updated
the reference points for the stock. The peer review further stated that
the current index-based method was inappropriate moving forward. Based
on this, the Council set the 2021-2023 specifications to reduce the ABC
to equal 75 percent of F<INF>MSY</INF>. At its October 27, 2023,
meeting, the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) met
to discuss the specifications for small-mesh multispecies stocks. When
setting the ABC for southern red hake, the SSC did not reduce the
recommended ABC as required by Framework 62. The SSC's rationale for
that decision was that, although exploitation is low, the low stock
biomass may be a result of reduced stock productivity producing weak
year classes and that the recommended ABC is not likely to result in
overfishing and will support rebuilding goals for the stock. Based on
the SSC's rationale, the Council submitted recommended specifications
without the required reduction. This rule proposes to reduce the
recommended ABCs in order to comply with the rebuilding plan for
southern red hake. The fishery has not landed more than 76 percent of
the proposed total allowable landings; therefore, we do not anticipate
that this additional reduction to the annual catch limit (ACL) would
impact the fishery as a whole.
Proposed Specifications
This action proposes the Council's recommended 2024 and projected
2025-2026 small-mesh multispecies catch specifications, with southern
red hake adjusted as required by the rebuilding plan. The proposed
catch limits would increase annual quotas for northern silver hake and
decrease the quota for southern whiting and both red hake stocks (table
1). Specifications for fishing years 2025 and 2026 are projected to be
the same as the proposed 2024 limits. These specifications are based on
the most recent assessment update using the best scientific information
available.
Table 1--Small-Mesh Multispecies Specifications for Fishing Years 2024-2026 (Metric Tons), With the Percent
Change in the Total Allowable Landings (TAL) From Fishing Year 2020
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACL percent
OFL ABC Annual catch TAL change from
limit (ACL) 2023
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern Red Hake............... Unknown 3,129 2973 213 -9
Northern Silver Hake............ 79,473 40,868 38,825 31,347 +100
Southern Red Hake............... Unknown ** 1,370 1,301 234 -9
[[Page 59036]]
Southern Whiting *.............. 35,419 20,149 19,142 13,881 -51
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Southern whiting includes both southern silver hake and offshore hake.
** The Council recommended ABC was 1,826 mt, a 21 percent increase from 2023.
The Council did not recommend changes to any other regulations for
the small-mesh multispecies fishery. Therefore, all other fishery
management measures would remain unchanged under the proposed action.
The Council will review the projected 2025 and 2026 specifications to
determine if any changes need to be made prior to their final
implementation. Changes may occur if quota overages trigger
accountability measures, or if new stock information results in changes
to the ABC recommendations. We will publish a notice prior to the 2025
fishing year to confirm the specifications or announce any necessary
changes.
Classification
NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to section 305(d) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The
reason for using this regulatory authority is that in a previous action
taken pursuant to section 304(b), the Council designed the FMP to
authorize NMFS to set specifications pursuant to section 305(d). See 50
CFR part 648.90(b). Further pursuant to MSA section 305(d), this action
is necessary to carry out the Northeast Multispecies FMP because the
Council-recommended specifications for southern red hake are not
compliant with the rebuilding plan implemented by Framework 62 to the
FMP. The NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed
rule is consistent with the Northeast Multispecies FMP and other
applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
This action is exempt from review under E.O. 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The factual basis for this determination is as follows.
The proposed action would impact all permitted vessels or
affiliated groups that participate in small-mesh multispecies
fisheries. The Council considered any business with at least one open
access Northeast multispecies K permit or other Northeast multispecies
permit that allows possession of hakes in this evaluation, as well as
any active entities that landed any small-mesh multispecies for
commercial sale in 2022. To estimate the number of commercial business
entities that may experience impacts from the proposed action on
fishery specification (2024-2026), active small-mesh multispecies
entities landing small-mesh multispecies are defined as those entities
containing permits that are directly regulated and that landed small-
mesh multispecies as recent as in 2022 for commercial sale. In 2022,
there were 247 business entities landing small-mesh multispecies
(southern whiting, silver, and/or red hake), of which 245 (99 percent)
were small business entities, that could potentially be affected by the
proposed specification measures for 2024-2026. There were two large
entities landing small-mesh multispecies, but they only landed small-
mesh multispecies worth about $69,000 in aggregate (or 0.2-percent of
their total income from fishing). On average, small entities derived
approximately 5.37 percent of total entity fishing income from small-
mesh multispecies. From 2018-2022, the number of business entities
engaged in small-mesh species landings has declined but the average
revenue per entity has increased.
The purpose of this action was previously outlined in the preamble
to this proposed rule and is not repeated here. As proposed, this
action would decrease the available catch limits for southern whiting
(51 percent from 2023) and both red hake stocks (9 percent from 2023)
and increase available catch limits for northern silver hake (100-
percent increase from 2023). Although three of the proposed quotas
would decrease from previous years, they remain higher than landings
for any of the stocks for at least the last 3 years; therefore, the
reduction is not expected to be restrictive to the fishery or result in
reductions in revenue.
The Council's analyses indicate that the overall economic impact of
proposed action is expected to be slightly positive, and that the
proposed specifications are not expected to substantially change
fishing effort, risk of overfishing, prices/revenues, or fishery
behavior. Therefore, the Council concluded, and NMFS agrees, that this
action would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small businesses. As a result, an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis is not required and none has been prepared.
This action would not establish any new reporting or record-keeping
requirements.
This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: July 16, 2024.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-16002 Filed 7-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 22, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.