Fishery Management Plans of St. Croix and St. Thomas and St. John; Spiny Lobster Management Measures

Issuing agencies

Abstract

NMFS proposes regulations to implement Framework Action 4 under both the St. Croix Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and the St. Thomas and St. John FMP, as prepared by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council). The proposed rule would update annual catch limits (ACLs) for spiny lobster in St. Croix and in St. Thomas and St. John. The purpose of this proposed rule and Framework Action 4 is to update management reference points for spiny lobster consistent with the most recent stock assessments to prevent overfishing and achieve optimum yield (OY).

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 199 (Friday, October 16, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 199 (Friday, October 16, 2026)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 65711-65713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21205]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 261013-0004]
RIN 0648-BO61


Fishery Management Plans of St. Croix and St. Thomas and St. 
John; Spiny Lobster Management Measures

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement Framework Action 4 
under both the St. Croix Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and the St. 
Thomas and St. John FMP, as prepared by the Caribbean Fishery 
Management Council (Council). The proposed rule would update annual 
catch limits (ACLs) for spiny lobster in St. Croix and in St. Thomas 
and St. John. The purpose of this proposed rule and Framework Action 4 
is to update management reference points for spiny lobster consistent 
with the most recent stock assessments to prevent overfishing and 
achieve optimum yield (OY).

DATES: Written comments must be received by November 16, 2026.

ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available 
at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2026-2146">https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2026-2146</a>. You may 
submit comments on the proposed rule, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2026-
2146, by either of the following methods:
    <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 enter NOAA-NMFS-2026-2146 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter 
or attach your comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Submit all written comments to Maria Lopez-Mercer, 
Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, 
FL 33701.
    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), 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).
    Electronic copies of Framework Action 4, which includes an 
environmental assessment, a regulatory impact review, and a Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis, may be obtained from the Southeast 
Regional Office website at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/framework-action-4-under-st-croix-and-st-thomas-and-st-john-fishery-management-plans">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/framework-action-4-under-st-croix-and-st-thomas-and-st-john-fishery-management-plans</a>.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Stephenson, NMFS Southeast 
Regional Office, 727-824-5305, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d9aab8abb8b1f7aaadbca9b1bcb7aab6b799b7b6b8b8f7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7f0c1e0d1e17510c0b1a0f171a110c10113f11101e1e51181009">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Spiny lobster is managed as an individual 
stock under both the St. Croix FMP and the St. Thomas and St. John FMP. 
The FMPs were prepared by the Council, approved by the Secretary of 
Commerce, and implemented by NMFS through regulations at 50 CFR part 
622 under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

Background

    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that NMFS, with advice from the 
regional fishery management councils, prevent overfishing and achieve, 
on a continuing basis, the OY from federally managed fish stocks to 
ensure that fishery resources are managed for the greatest overall 
benefit to the nation, particularly with respect to providing food 
production and recreational opportunities, and protecting marine 
ecosystems.
    This action is proposed under the statutory authority of section 
302(h)(6) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which requires the Council to 
develop ACLs for each managed fishery, and section 303(a)(1) for the 
conservation and management of the fishery to prevent overfishing and 
to promote the long-term health and stability of the fishery.
    The St. Croix FMP and the St. Thomas and St. John FMP contain 
status determination criteria (SDC), other management reference points, 
and management measures for federally managed stocks, including spiny 
lobster, applicable in Federal waters off the respective island 
management area. Federal regulations at 50 CFR part 622 subparts T and 
U describe management measures for St. Croix and for St. Thomas and St. 
John, respectively, including the current ACLs for spiny lobster. 
Federal waters around St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John extend 
seaward from 3 nautical miles (5.6 kilometers) from shore of each 
island district to the offshore boundary of the U.S. Caribbean 
exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
    For spiny lobster, each FMP specifies SDC, such as the maximum 
fishing mortality threshold (MFMT), minimum stock size threshold 
(MSST), overfishing limit (OFL), and other management reference points 
such as the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) proxy, and acceptable 
biological catch (ABC).
    Unless otherwise noted, all weights in this proposed rule are 
described in pounds (lb) round weight. Framework Amendment 2 under the 
St. Croix FMP and St. Thomas and St. John FMP updated the SDC and other 
management reference points for each spiny lobster stock based on the 
2022 Update Assessments to the Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review 
57 spiny lobster stock assessments (SEDAR 57 Update) and 
recommendations from the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee 
(SSC). The final rule implementing Framework Amendment 2 (89 FR 34168, 
April 30, 2024) updated the ACLs for the St. Croix spiny lobster stock 
(137,254 lb; 62,257 kilograms (kg)) and the St. Thomas and St. John 
spiny lobster stock (133,207 lb; 60,422 kg).
    In September 2025, the SEDAR spiny lobster stock assessments were 
completed for St. Croix and St. Thomas and St. John (SEDAR 91). The 
Council's SSC reviewed the SEDAR 91 spiny lobster stock assessments at 
its September 2025 meeting and determined them to be useful for 
management advice for each stock. The SSC recommended spiny lobster 
ABCs for each management area that were derived from the assessment-
projected OFLs using a sigma value (i.e., an

[[Page 65712]]

estimate of scientific uncertainty) of 0.5 and a risk of overfishing 
value of 0.45.
    The SSC Chair presented the updated spiny lobster ABC 
recommendations for St. Croix and for St. Thomas and St. John at the 
December 2025 Council meeting. The Council accepted those 
recommendations and initiated development of Framework Action 4 to 
update management reference points for spiny lobster under the St. 
Croix FMP and the St. Thomas and St. John FMP to prevent overfishing 
and achieve OY, consistent with the requirements of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act.
    In Framework Action 4, the Council recommended a 5 percent 
management uncertainty buffer for the St. Croix spiny lobster stock 
(i.e., the ACL equals 95 percent of the ABC) and no management 
uncertainty buffer for the St. Thomas and St. John spiny lobster stock 
(i.e., the ACL equals the ABC). Given the increase in the spiny lobster 
ABC in St. Croix, the Council recommended using 5 percent management 
uncertainty buffer consistent with previous management of the stock. 
Given the decrease in the spiny lobster ABC in St. Thomas and St. John, 
the Council recommended no buffer between ABC and ACL to minimize 
potential future economic impacts of the reduced harvest opportunity.
    Because the preferred alternative for St. Thomas and St. John 
reflects no management uncertainty in the buffer between the ACL and 
the ABC, the Council requested the Southeast Fisheries Science Center 
(SEFSC) provide an interim assessment for SEDAR 91 by December 2027, to 
update OFL projections and inform catch levels using additional 
information (e.g., a fishery-dependent abundance index), which was not 
used in the SEDAR 91 stock assessments.

Management Measures Contained in This Proposed Rule

    If implemented, this proposed rule would revise the ACLs for spiny 
lobster in St. Croix and in St. Thomas and St. John based on the 
results of SEDAR 91. The spiny lobster ACL in St. Croix would increase 
from 137,254 lb (62,257 kg) to 176,760 lb (80,177 kg). The spiny 
lobster ACL in St. Thomas and St. John would decrease from 133,207 lb 
(60,422 kg) to 132,964 lb (60,311 kg).
    The updated ACLs are based upon the best scientific information 
available (SEDAR 91) and are expected to better protect against the 
risk of overfishing the stock in relation to the current ACLs, thus 
ensuring, to the greatest extent practicable, continued access to the 
resource in future years.
    The most recent year of St. Croix spiny lobster landings available 
(i.e., 2024) are well below the current and proposed ACL. The most 
recent year of St. Thomas and St. John spiny lobster landings available 
(i.e., 2024) are slightly below the current and proposed ACL. For St. 
Thomas and St. John, if future spiny lobster landings were to reach or 
exceed the proposed ACL, then the Council could request that the SSC 
reevaluate the ABC in Framework Action 4 using the SEDAR 91 interim 
assessment provided by the SEFSC to determine if the ABC could be 
increased.

Measures in Framework Action 4 not Codified in This Proposed Rule

    In addition to the ACL revisions described in this proposed rule, 
consistent with SEDAR 91, Framework Action 4 revises the MSY proxy, 
MFMT, MSST, OFL, and ABC values for spiny lobster under the St. Croix 
FMP and the St. Thomas and St. John FMP.
    For St. Croix, the MSY proxy would increase from 127,742 lb (57,943 
kg) to 168,852 lb (76,590 kg), the MFMT would decrease from 0.203 to 
0.197, the MSST would increase from 23 billion eggs to 30.45 billion 
eggs, the OFL would increase from 163,823 lb (74,309 kg) to 210,977 lb 
(95,968 kg), and the ABC would increase from 144,478 lb (65,534 kg) to 
186,063 lb (84,398 kg).
    For St. Thomas and St. John, the MSY proxy would decrease from 
133,601 lb (60,600 kg) to 130,230 lb (59,071 kg), the MFMT would 
decrease from 0.244 to 0.243, the MSST would decrease from 21.3 billion 
eggs to 20.82 billion eggs, the OFL would decrease from 158,993 lb 
(75,118 kg) to 150,768 lb (68,387 kg), and the ABC would decrease from 
140,218 lb (63,602 kg) to 132,964 lb (60,311 kg).
    Consistent with SEDAR 91, the updated management reference points 
in Framework Action 4 are expected to better protect against the risk 
of overfishing while achieving, on a continuing basis, the OY for the 
spiny lobster stock in St. Croix and in St. Thomas and St. John 
relative to the current reference points, thus ensuring, to the 
greatest extent practicable, continued access to the resource in future 
years.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the framework action, the FMPs, other provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further 
consideration after public comment.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Senior Lead 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 certification follows. All 
monetary estimates in the following analysis are in 2024 dollars.
    A description of this proposed rule, why it is being considered, 
and the objectives of this proposed rule are contained in the SUMMARY 
and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION sections of this proposed rule.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the statutory basis for this 
proposed rule. No duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting Federal 
rules have been identified. In addition, no new reporting, record-
keeping, or other compliance requirements are introduced by this 
proposed rule.
    This proposed rule would increase the St. Croix spiny lobster ACL 
from 137,254 lb (62,257 kg) to 176,760 lb (80,177 kg) and reduce the 
St. Thomas and St. John spiny lobster ACL from 133,207 lb (60,422 kg) 
to 132,964 lb (60,311 kg). It would apply to all commercial fishing 
businesses and recreational fishermen that harvest Caribbean spiny 
lobster in Federal waters under the St. Croix FMP and St. Thomas and 
St. John FMP.
    The RFA requires NMFS to describe the impact of the proposed rule 
on small entities (5 U.S.C. 603). Small entities include small 
businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions 
(5 U.S.C. 601(3)-(6)). Because recreational fishermen are not 
businesses, organizations, or governmental jurisdictions, they fall 
outside the scope of this analysis.
    During 2020-2024, the number of commercial fishers reporting spiny 
lobster landings averaged 30 fishers in St. Croix and 37 fishers in St. 
Thomas and St. John. These values indicate stable participation across 
years, with slightly higher levels of activity in St. Thomas and St. 
John compared to St. Croix.
    Recent fishery-wide revenue estimates for the U.S. Virgin Islands 
(USVI) are limited due to incomplete price data for several years. 
However, broad historical estimates suggest that the USVI commercial 
fishery as a whole has generated on the order of $5-6 million annually 
in past years. This figure is

[[Page 65713]]

presented only as a general indicator of scale and should not be 
interpreted as a precise current valuation.
    The estimated average annual revenue earned by commercial fishermen 
landing spiny lobster in St. Croix is approximately $54,325 per 
business from all landings. Of this total, about 58 percent is derived 
from spiny lobster landings.
    By contrast, commercial fishermen operating in St. Thomas and St. 
John earn an average of $67,607 per business annually from all 
landings, with approximately 72 percent of that revenue derived from 
spiny lobster.
    For RFA purposes only, NMFS has established a small business size 
standard for businesses, including their affiliates, whose primary 
industry is commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business primarily 
engaged in commercial fishing (North American Industry Classification 
System (NAICS) code 11411) is classified as a small business if it is 
independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of 
operation (including its affiliates), and has combined annual receipts 
not in excess of $11 million for all its affiliated operations 
worldwide. Based on available information, all commercial fishing 
businesses in St. Croix and in St. Thomas and St. John meet this 
definition and are therefore classified as small entities.
    Because cost data are unavailable, it is not possible to directly 
assess whether this proposed rule would significantly reduce profits 
for a substantial number of small entities. However, changes in gross 
revenue can still serve as a proxy of whether the proposed rule may 
lead to meaningful impacts on profitability.
    This proposed rule would increase the St. Croix spiny lobster ACL 
from 137,254 lb (62,257 kg) to 176,760 lb (80,177 kg). Because recent 
5-year average landings (34,402 lb; 15,604 kg) account for less than 20 
percent of the proposed limit and are well below the current limit, 
commercial fishing businesses in St. Croix would not be expected to 
experience any changes in gross revenue or profits, or any significant 
economic impacts. If effort scales up substantially in the future, 
though there is no expectation that it will, the revised ACL would 
allow for greater potential landings than under the current limit.
    This proposed rule would reduce the St. Thomas and St. John spiny 
lobster ACL from 133,207 lb (60,422 kg) to 132,964 lb (60,311 kg), 
which represents a small reduction of 243 lb (110 kg). Relative to 
recent 5-year average landings of 109,814 lb (49,811 kg), the fleet is 
expected to remain below the proposed ACL, indicating that the proposed 
reduction would not be expected to constrain current harvest levels and 
that the fishery is successfully optimizing its yield by operating near 
the maximum sustainable harvest levels. Because landings are expected 
to remain under the ACL, no actual short-term revenue loss is expected. 
In the future, if commercial spiny lobster landings increase, this 
proposed rule could result in a small aggregate reduction in annual 
revenue of $2,673 or approximately $72 per commercial fishing business, 
on average. Therefore, the economic impacts of the proposed action are 
not expected to be significant for the St. Thomas and St. John fishery.
    In conclusion, this proposed rule would not be expected to have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required 
and none has been prepared.
    This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Caribbean, Fisheries, Fishing, Spiny lobster.

    Dated: October 13, 2026.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 
CFR part 622 as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF AMERICA, 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.  622.480, revise paragraph (c)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.480  Annual catch limits (ACLs), annual catch targets (ACTs), 
and accountability measures (AMs).

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) The ACL is 176,760 lb (80,177 kg), round weight.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec.  622.515, revise paragraph (c)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.515  Annual catch limits (ACLs), annual catch targets (ACTs), 
and accountability measures (AMs).

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) The ACL is 132,964 lb (60,311 kg), round weight.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2026-21205 Filed 10-15-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P


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