Proposed Rule2025-16240
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking To Establish a Control Date for the Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish Recreational For-Hire Fisheries
Primary source
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Published
August 25, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
This advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeks comment on the benefits or disadvantages of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) potentially recommending future restrictions for the federally permitted recreational for-hire fisheries for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. The Council requested NMFS establish a control date while managers consider if, and how, participation may be affected through the ongoing Recreational Sector Separation and Data Collection Amendment. NMFS is informing the public of the new control date to promote awareness of the potential changes to eligibility criteria for future access and to discourage speculative entry into the Federal for-hire fisheries.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 162 (Monday, August 25, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 162 (Monday, August 25, 2025)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 41375-41376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-16240]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 250813-0136]
RIN 0648-BN65
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Advanced Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking To Establish a Control Date for the Summer
Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish Recreational For-Hire
Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeks comment on
the benefits or disadvantages of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council (Council) potentially recommending future restrictions for the
federally permitted recreational for-hire fisheries for summer
flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. The Council requested
NMFS establish a control date while managers consider if, and how,
participation may be affected through the ongoing Recreational Sector
Separation and Data Collection Amendment. NMFS is informing the public
of the new control date to promote awareness of the potential changes
to eligibility criteria for future access and to discourage speculative
entry into the Federal for-hire fisheries.
DATES: Comments must be received by September 24, 2025.
ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available
at: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2025-0029">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2025-0029</a>. You may
submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2025-0029, by
the following method:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and type NOAA-NMFS-2025-0029 in the Search box.
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
https://www.regulations.gov
[[Page 41376]]
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: Savannah Lewis, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9348, or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0e5d6f786f60606f6620426b79677d4e60616f6f20696178"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="89dae8ffe8e7e7e8e1a7c5ecfee0fac9e7e6e8e8a7eee6ff">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This advance notice of proposed rulemaking
establishes February 11, 2025, as the new control date for potential
use in determining historical or traditional participation in the
Federal for-hire summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish
fisheries. NMFS seeks comment on the benefits or disadvantages of the
Council potentially recommending future restrictions, resulting in
subsequent rulemakings from NMFS, which may utilize this date. The
summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries are
jointly managed by the Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (Commission). Under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, NMFS approved the Fishery
Management Plans (FMPs) and implements them through regulations at 50
CFR part 648 subparts G-J.
As part of their ongoing Recreational Reform Initiative, the
Council and Commission are considering potential revisions to the
federally permitted for-hire fisheries for summer flounder, scup, black
sea bass, and bluefish through the Recreational Sector Separation
Amendment. At its February 2025 meeting, the Council voted to request
that NMFS establish a control date of February 11, 2025, for federally
permitted recreational for-hire participants in these for-hire
fisheries. There is currently no control date for these fisheries, and
Federal permits to participate in these fisheries are currently
available on an open access basis.
The purpose of a control date is to enable the Council to inform
current and potential participants that it is considering whether to
recommend restrictions that limit participation in a fishery. The
Council is considering recommending a future action that may use the
control date as a reference point when determining fishery access
criteria as management measures are developed, and may use this control
date for establishing qualification criteria. Consideration of a
control date does not commit the Council to develop a recommendation
for any particular management regime or criteria for participation in
the fishery. If the Council decides to recommend an amendment to the
FMPs to restrict participation in the Federal for-hire summer flounder,
scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries in relation to this
control date, an analysis of the specific administrative, biological,
economic, and social effects will be prepared at that time. If NMFS
were to implement future actions recommended by the Council, NMFS would
need to publish a proposed rule containing the amendments to the
respective FMPs in the Federal Register with a public comment period
and issue a final rule.
NMFS is therefore informing current and potential fishery
participants in the Federal for-hire recreational fisheries for summer
flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish that began participating
after February 11, 2025 that they may not be ensured participation
under future management of these fisheries should NMFS codify further
restrictions as recommended by the Council.
The Federal for-hire permits for these for-hire components are
currently open access and available to be applied for by anyone with a
valid vessel registration. Control dates exist for these four fisheries
for only the commercial sectors; there are no prior control dates for
these four for-hire fisheries.
Publication of the control date does not have any immediate impact
on fishery participants or fishing privileges. The Council may choose
to make recommendations using additional criteria or different
qualification criteria that do not incorporate the new control date.
Control dates are intended to discourage speculative entry or fishing
activity while managers consider if, and how, participation in the
fishery may be affected. The Council may also choose to recommend NMFS
take no further action to control entry or access to the for-hire
fisheries. This action proposes no changes to the Federal recreational
management measures for any of these species.
Dated: August 13, 2025.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-16240 Filed 8-22-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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