80_FR_80937 80 FR 80689 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2016-2018 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications

80 FR 80689 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2016-2018 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 248 (December 28, 2015)

Page Range80689-80695
FR Document2015-32562

NMFS issues final specifications for the 2016-2018 summer flounder and scup fisheries, and the 2016 and 2017 black sea bass fishery. This final rule specifies allowed harvest limits for both commercial and recreational fisheries. This action prohibits federally permitted commercial fishing vessels from landing summer flounder in Delaware in 2016 due to continued quota repayment from previous years' overages. This action also reduces the 2016 black sea bass commercial quota to account for a catch overage in 2014. These actions are necessary to comply with regulations implementing the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, and to ensure compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The intent of this action is to establish harvest levels and other management measures to ensure that these species are not overfished or subject to overfishing in 2016-2018.

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 248 (Monday, December 28, 2015)
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 248 (Monday, December 28, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 80689-80695]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32562]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 150903814-5999-02]
RIN 0648-XE171


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder, 
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2016-2018 Summer Flounder, Scup, 
and Black Sea Bass Specifications

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

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS issues final specifications for the 2016-2018 summer 
flounder and scup fisheries, and the 2016 and 2017 black sea bass 
fishery. This final rule specifies allowed harvest limits for both 
commercial and recreational fisheries. This action prohibits federally 
permitted commercial fishing vessels from landing summer flounder in 
Delaware in 2016 due to continued quota repayment from previous years' 
overages. This action also reduces the 2016 black sea bass commercial 
quota to account for a catch overage in 2014. These actions are 
necessary to comply with regulations implementing the Summer Flounder, 
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, and to ensure 
compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act. The intent of this action is to establish harvest 
levels and other management measures to ensure that these species are 
not overfished or subject to overfishing in 2016-2018.

DATES: Effective January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the specifications document, consisting of an 
Environmental Assessment (EA), Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(IRFA), and other supporting documents used by the Summer Flounder, 
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committees and Scientific and 
Statistical Committee (SSC), are available from Dr. Christopher Moore, 
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Suite 201, 
800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. The specifications document is 
also accessible via the Internet at http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov. The Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) consists of the IRFA, public comments and 
responses contained in this final rule, and the summary of impacts and 
alternatives contained in this final rule. Copies of the small entity 
compliance guide are available from John K. Bullard, Regional 
Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9218.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission cooperatively manage the summer flounder, 
scup, and black sea bass fisheries under the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 
Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Fishery

[[Page 80690]]

specifications in these fisheries include various catch and landing 
subdivisions, such as the species-specific acceptable biological catch 
(ABC), commercial and recreational sector annual catch limits (ACLs), 
annual catch targets (ACTs), and the sector-specific landing limits 
(i.e., the commercial fishery quota and recreational harvest limit) 
established for the up to three fishing years at a time. The FMP and 
its implementing regulations establish the Council's process for 
establishing specifications. Requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 
including the 10 national standards, also apply to specifications.
    The management units specified in the FMP include summer flounder 
(Paralichthys dentatus) in U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the 
southern border of North Carolina northward to the U.S./Canada border, 
scup (Stenotomus chrysops), and black sea bass (Centropristis striata) 
in U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean from 35[deg] 13.3' N. lat. (the 
latitude of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Buxton, NC) northward to the 
U.S./Canada border. Detailed background information regarding the 
status of the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass stocks and the 
development of the 2016-2018 specifications for these fisheries was 
provided in the proposed specifications (November 9, 2015; 80 FR 69179) 
and is not repeated here.
    NMFS will establish the 2016 recreational management measures 
(i.e., minimum fish size, possession limits, and fishing seasons) for 
summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass by publishing proposed and 
final rules in the Federal Register at a later date.

2016-2018 Specifications

    This action establishes the following specifications:

                  Table 1--Summary of the 2016-2018 Summer Flounder and Scup Specifications and 2016-2017 Black Sea Bass Specifications
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                       Summer flounder                  Scup             Black Sea Bass
                                                                                 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    2016     2017     2018     2016     2017     2018     2016     2017
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overfishing Limit (OFL).......................  million lb......................    18.06    19.82    22.40    35.80    32.09    29.68      n/a      n/a
                                                mt..............................    8,194    8,991   10,159   16,238   14,556   13,464        a      n/a
ABC...........................................  million lb......................    16.26    15.86    15.68    31.11    28.40    27.05     6.67     6.67
                                                mt..............................    7,375    7,193    7,111   14,110   12,881   12,270    3,024    3,024
Commercial ACL/ACT............................  million lb......................     9.42     9.19     9.10    24.26    22.15    21.10     3.15     3.15
                                                mt..............................    4,275    4,168    4,127   11,006   10,047    9,571    1,428    1,428
Recreational ACL/ACT..........................  million lb......................     6.83     6.67     6.56     6.84     6.25     5.95     3.52     3.52
                                                mt..............................    3,100    3,025    2,984    3,104    2,834    2,699    1,597    1,597
Commercial Quota..............................  million lb......................     8.12     7.91     7.89    20.47    18.38    17.34     2.70     2.71
                                                mt..............................    3,685    3,590    3,581    9,284    8,337    7,866    1,226    1,226
Recreational Harvest Limit....................  million lb......................     5.42     5.28     5.26     6.09     5.50     5.21     2.82     2.82
                                                mt..............................    2,457    2,393    2,387    2,763    2,495    2,361    1,280    1,280
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The process describing the calculation of the commercial and 
recreational ACLs, commercial quotas, and recreational harvest limits 
was presented in the November 9, 2015, proposed rule, and is not 
repeated here. The specific discard values projected for each fishery 
and sector are described in more detail below.

Summer Flounder

    This rule implements the Council's ABC recommendation and the 
commercial and recreational catch limits associated with that ABC for 
fishing years 2016-2018.
    As described in the proposed rule, these specifications are based 
on a deviation from the Council's normal procedures. Had the standard 
Risk Policy been followed, the drastic reduction in available catch 
could have had substantial economic impacts. The 2016 and 2017 ABCs 
have a higher risk of overfishing than would be allowed under the 
Council's Risk Policy, but the 2018 ABC has a lower risk of overfishing 
than the Risk Policy requires. Each of the ABCs established in this 
rule have a less than 50-percent probability of resulting in 
overfishing. Further, the projected biomass is the same under either 
the standard Risk Policy or the deviation from the Risk Policy used in 
these specifications. Because the OFLs are projected to increase 
modestly over the next three years, the specifications established in 
this rule are relatively stable. The SSC has requested a stock 
assessment update for next summer and intends to evaluate the available 
information to determine if the 2017 and 2018 ABCs remain appropriate. 
Fishing under these catch limits for 2016 through 2018 is not expected 
to compromise the summer flounder stock, nor will fishing at this level 
present an unacceptably high likelihood of overfishing.
    This action makes no other changes to the Federal commercial summer 
flounder management measures.

                                           Table 2--2016-2018 Summer Flounder Specifications and Calculations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        2016                            2017                            2018
                                                          ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             million lb          mt          million lb          mt          million lb         mt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL......................................................           18.06           8,194           19.82           8,991          22.4           10,159
ABC......................................................           16.26           7,375           15.86           7,193          15.7            7,111
ABC Landings Portion.....................................           13.54           6,142           13.19           5,983          13.2            5,968
ABC Discards Portion.....................................            2.72           1,233            2.67           1,210           2.52           1,143
Commercial ACL...........................................            9.43           4,275            9.19           4,168           9.1            4,127
Commercial ACT...........................................            9.43           4,275            9.19           4,168           9.1            4,127
Projected Commercial Discards............................            1.30             590            1.28             579           1.21             547
Commercial Quota.........................................            8.12           3,685            7.91           3,590           7.89           3,581

[[Page 80691]]

 
Recreational ACL.........................................            6.84           3,100            6.67           3,025           6.58           2,984
Recreational ACT.........................................            6.84           3,100            6.67           3,025           6.58           2,984
Projected Recreational Discards..........................            1.42             643            1.39             631           1.32             596
Recreational Harvest Limit...............................            5.42           2,457            5.28           2,393           5.26           2,387
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Table 3 presents the 2016 summer flounder allocations for each 
state. Consistent with the quota-setting procedures for the FMP, summer 
flounder overages are determined based upon landings for the period 
January-October 2015, plus any previously unaccounted for overages. 
Table 3 summarizes the commercial summer flounder percent shares as 
outlined in Sec.  648.102 (c)(1)(i), the resultant 2016 commercial 
quotas, the quota overages as described above, and the final adjusted 
2016 commercial quotas. The 2015 quota overage is determined by 
comparing landings for January through October 2015, plus any landings 
in 2014 in excess of the 2014 quota, that were not previously addressed 
in the 2015 specifications, for each state. For Delaware, this includes 
continued repayment of overharvest from previous years. Table 4 
presents the initial 2017 and 2018 allocations by state. The 2017 and 
2018 state quota allocations are preliminary and are subject to change 
if there are overages of states' quotas carried over from a previous 
fishing year. Notice of any commercial quota adjustments to account for 
overages will be published in the Federal Register prior to the start 
of the respective fishing year.

                                      Table 3--Final State-by-State Commercial Summer Flounder Allocations for 2016
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                2016 Initial quota         Overages through October 31,      Adjusted 2016 quota, less
                                            FMP Percent  --------------------------------              2015                          overages
                  State                        share                                     ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                lb              kg              lb              kg              lb              kg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine....................................        0.04756           3,864           1,753               0               0           3,864           1,753
New Hampshire............................        0.00046              37              17               0               0              37              17
Massachusetts............................        6.82046         554,097         251,334               0               0         554,097         251,334
Rhode Island.............................       15.68298       1,274,091         577,917               0               0       1,274,091         577,918
Connecticut..............................        2.25708         183,366          83,173               0               0         183,366          83,173
New York.................................        7.64699         621,244         281,791               0               0         621,244         281,792
New Jersey...............................       16.72499       1,358,744         616,315               0               0       1,358,744         616,316
Delaware.................................        0.01779           1,445             656         -48,846         -22,156         -47,401         -21,501
Maryland.................................        2.0391          165,657          75,141               0               0         165,657          75,141
Virginia.................................       21.31676       1,731,781         785,522               0               0       1,731,781         785,523
North Carolina...........................       27.44584       2,229,709       1,011,378               0               0       2,229,709       1,011,379
                                          --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total................................      100             8,124,035       3,684,997               0               0       8,122,590           1,753
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes: Kilograms are as converted from pounds and may not necessarily add due to rounding. Total quota is the sum for all states with an allocation. A
  state with a negative number has a 2015 allocation of zero (0). Total adjusted 2016 quota, less overages, does not include negative allocations.


                   Table 4--2016-2018 Proposed Initial Summer Flounder State Commercial Quotas
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            2017 Quota                      2018 Quota
              State                 FMP Percent  ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                       share            lb              kg              lb              kg
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine............................        0.04756           3,764           1,707           3,755           1,703
New Hampshire....................        0.00046              36              17              36              16
Massachusetts....................        6.82046         539,812         244,854         538,459         244,240
Rhode Island.....................       15.68298       1,241,244         563,019       1,238,133         561,607
Connecticut......................        2.25708         178,639          81,029         178,191          80,826
New York.........................        7.64699         605,228         274,527         603,711         273,838
New Jersey.......................       16.72499       1,323,715         600,427       1,320,397         598,921
Delaware.........................        0.01779           1,408             639           1,404             637
Maryland.........................        2.0391          161,387          73,204         160,982          73,020
Virginia.........................       21.31676       1,687,135         765,271       1,682,906         763,353
North Carolina...................       27.44584       2,172,227         985,305       2,166,781         982,835
                                  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total........................      100             7,914,596       3,589,997       7,894,754       3,580,997
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Delaware Summer Flounder Closure

    Table 3 shows that, for Delaware, the amount of overharvest from 
previous years is greater than the amount of commercial quota allocated 
to Delaware for 2016. As a result, there is no quota available for 2016 
in Delaware. The regulations at Sec.  648.4(b) provide that Federal 
permit holders, as a condition of

[[Page 80692]]

their permit, must not land summer flounder in any state that the 
Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, has determined no longer 
has commercial quota available for harvest. Therefore, landings of 
summer flounder in Delaware by vessels holding commercial Federal 
summer flounder permits are prohibited for the 2016 calendar year, 
unless additional quota becomes available through a quota transfer and 
is announced in the Federal Register. Federally permitted dealers are 
advised that they may not purchase summer flounder from federally 
permitted vessels that land in Delaware for the 2016 calendar year, 
unless additional quota becomes available through a transfer, as 
mentioned above.

Scup

    This rule implements the Council's ABC recommendation and the 
commercial and recreational catch limits associated with that ABC for 
fishing years 2016-2018. The scup management measures specify that the 
ABC is equal to the sum of the commercial and recreational sector ACLs. 
As described in the proposed rule, the ACLs and ACTs are set equal to 
each other for both sectors, sector-specific projected discards are 
removed, and the specifications for 2016-2018 are as shown in Table 5.

                                     Table 5--2016-2018 Scup Specifications
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            2016                       2017                       2018
                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  million lb        mt       million lb        mt       million lb        mt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL............................         35.8        16,238         32.09       14,556         29.7        13,464
ABC............................         31.11       14,110         28.4        12,881         27.1        12,270
ABC Landings Portion...........         26.56       12,047         23.88       10,832         22.6        10,227
ABC Discards Portion...........          4.55        2,063          4.52        2,049          4.5         2,043
Commercial ACL.................         24.26       11,006         22.15       10,047         21.1         9,571
Commercial ACT.................         24.26       11,006         22.15       10,047         21.1         9,571
Projected Commercial Discards..          3.8         1,721          3.77        1,710          3.76        1,705
Commercial Quota...............         20.47        9,284         18.38        8,337         17.3         7,866
Recreational ACL...............          6.84        3,104          6.25        2,834          5.95        2,699
Recreational ACT...............          6.84        3,104          6.25        2,834          5.95        2,699
Projected Recreational Discards          0.75          342          0.75          339          0.75          338
Recreational Harvest Limit.....          6.09        2,763          5.5         2,495          5.21        2,361
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If there is a commercial overage applicable to the scup commercial 
quota, notice will be published prior to the start of the each fishing 
year. No commercial quota overage is applicable to 2016; therefore, no 
adjustment to the 2016 quota is necessary.
    The scup commercial quota is divided into three commercial fishery 
quota periods. The period quotas are detailed in Table 6.

                                        Table 6--Commercial Scup Quota Allocations for 2016-2018 by Quota Period
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                 2016 Quota             2017 Initial quota         2018 Initial quota
                      Quota period                        Percent share --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               lb            mt           lb            mt           lb            mt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I................................................          45.11       9,232,987      4,188       8,291,190      3,761       7,822,778      3,548
Summer..................................................          38.95       7,972,176      3,616       7,158,986      3,247       6,754,538      3,064
Winter II...............................................          15.94       3,262,554      1,480       2,929,762      1,329       2,764,245      1,254
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................         100.0       20,467,716      9,284      18,379,939      8,337      17,341,562      7,866
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Metric tons are as converted from pounds and may not necessarily total due to rounding.

    The quota period possession limits are shown in Table 7. The Winter 
I possession limit will drop to 1,000 lb (454 kg) upon attainment of 80 
percent of that period's allocation. If the Winter I quota is not fully 
harvested, the remaining quota is transferred to Winter II. The Winter 
II possession limit may be adjusted (in association with a transfer of 
unused Winter I quota to the Winter II period) via notification in the 
Federal Register. The regulations specify that the Winter II possession 
limit increases consistent with the increase in the quota, as described 
in Table 8.

                           Table 7--Commercial Scup Possession Limits by Quota Period
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Federal possession limits (per
                                                                                               trip)
                           Quota period                            Percent share -------------------------------
                                                                                        lb              kg
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I.........................................................          45.11          50,000          22,680
Summer...........................................................          38.95             N/A             N/A
Winter II........................................................          15.94          12,000           5,443
                                                                  ----------------------------------------------
    Total........................................................         100.0              N/A             N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 80693]]


     Table 8--Potential Increase in 2016-2018 Winter II Possession Limits Based on the Amount of Unused Scup Rolled Over From Winter I to Winter II
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Initial Winter II possession limit                 Rollover from Winter I to Winter II           Increase in initial         Final Winter II
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Winter II possession     possession limit after
                                                                                                                limit            rollover from Winter I
                                                                                                     --------------------------       to Winter II
                  lb                        kg                 lb                       kg                                     -------------------------
                                                                                                           lb           kg           lb           kg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12,000...............................        5,443                0-499,999                0-226,796            0            0       12,000        5,443
12,000...............................        5,443          500,000-999,999          226,796-453,592        1,500          680       13,500        6,123
12,000...............................        5,443      1,000,000-1,499,999          453,592-680,388        3,000        1,361       15,000        6,804
12,000...............................        5,443      1,500,000-1,999,999          680,389-907,184        4,500        2,041       16,500        7,484
12,000...............................        5,443      2,000,000-2,500,000        907,185-1,133,981        6,000        2,722       18,000        8,165
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Black Sea Bass

    This rule implements the Council's revised ABC recommendation and 
the commercial and recreational catch limits associated with that ABC 
for fishing years 2016 and 2017. As described in the proposed rule for 
this action, the Council's SSC revised its recommendation for the 2016 
and 2017 black sea bass ABC in September 2015 based on additional 
analysis that relies more on measures of current abundance than the 
prior constant catch approach. The Council and the Commission's Black 
Sea Bass Board have also revised their recommendations for 2016 and 
2017, as outlined in the proposed rule to this action. Specifications 
for 2018 will be made following the completion of a new stock 
assessment in late 2016.
    A commercial quota overage from fishing year 2014 is applicable to 
the 2016 black sea bass commercial quota. As a result, the regulations 
at 684.143(a)(2) require that the exact amount of the overage, in 
pounds, be deducted from a subsequent single year's commercial quota. 
The 2016 commercial quota is reduced by 8,896 lb (4,035 kg) from 
2,711,686 lb (1,230 mt) to 2,702,867 lb (1,226 mt). The 2016 commercial 
quota values in Table 9 include this deduction. Should a commercial 
quota or ACL accountability measure be necessary in 2017, notification 
will be published in the Federal Register prior to the start of the 
fishing year.

                                Table 9--Black Sea Bass 2016-2017 Specifications
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               2016                            2017
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    million lb          mt          million lb          mt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC.............................................            6.67           3,024            6.67           3,024
ABC Landings Portion............................            5.53           2,510            5.53           2,510
ABC Discards Portion............................            1.13             514            1.13             514
Commercial ACL..................................            3.15           1,428            3.15           1,428
Commercial ACT..................................            3.15           1,428            3.15           1,428
Projected Commercial Discards...................            0.44             198            0.44             198
Commercial Quota................................            2.70           1,226            2.71           1,230
Recreational ACL................................            3.52           1,597            3.52           1,597
Recreational ACT................................            3.52           1,597            3.52           1,597
Projected Recreational Discards.................            0.70             317            0.70             317
Recreational Harvest Limit......................            2.82           1,280            2.82           1,280
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comments and Responses

    On November 9, 2015, NMFS published proposed specifications for 
Summer Flounder, Scup and Sea Bass for public notice and comment, and 
four comments were received. Generally, the four comments each stated 
that the proposed specifications were overly conservative for all three 
species, particularly for black sea bass and scup. One commenter 
asserted that the SSC's scup recommendation should not be considered 
the best available scientific information because it is based on a 
scientific uncertainty buffer that is double what the Stock Assessment 
Working Group recommended. Two other commenters noted that the increase 
in the black sea bass population in southern New England is negatively 
impacting the lobster fishery and that the quotas should be increased 
or measures should be set so that the recreational season can last 
longer into the fall. A recreational fishing group commented that NMFS 
should set the summer flounder ABC equal to the OFL in each year, 
despite the SSC's recommendation, because precaution is applied 
``excessively'' throughout the stock assessment and SSC process. The 
group also stated that there should be no quota reductions for summer 
flounder until a sex-specific stock assessment can be conducted. This 
comment also asserted that the scup catch limits are overly 
conservative, but spoke in support of the revised black sea bass ABC 
recommendation.
    No changes to the proposed specifications were made as a result of 
these comments. The specifications are based on the SSC's advice and 
the best available scientific information. The Council applied its Risk 
Policy to derive the scup and black sea bass specifications. The summer 
flounder specifications deviate from that Risk Policy, but are less 
conservative than the Risk Policy and closer to the commenter's request 
than had the Council used the Policy. However, as stated previously, 
the summer flounder specifications will not result in an unacceptably 
high likelihood of overfishing. For scup, the SSC deliberated on the 
stock assessment working group's advice, but determined additional 
scientific uncertainty had not been adequately incorporated, as is 
their purview. NMFS does not disagree with the SSC's recommendation and 
we are implementing the specifications as recommended by the Council.

[[Page 80694]]

Classification

    The Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS, determined that 
this final rule is necessary for the conservation and management of the 
summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries and that it is 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay of effectiveness 
period for this rule, to ensure that the final specifications are in 
place on January 1, 2016. This action establishes specifications (i.e., 
annual quotas) for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass 
fisheries.
    This rule is being issued at the earliest possible date. 
Preparation of the proposed rule was dependent on the submission of the 
EA/IRFA in support of the specifications that is developed by the 
Council. A complete document was received by NMFS in early October 
2015. Documentation in support of the Council's recommended 
specifications is required for NMFS to provide the public with 
information from the environmental and economic analyses as required in 
rulemaking. The proposed rule published on November 9, 2015, with a 15-
day comment period ending November 24, 2015. Publication of the 
adjusted summer flounder quota at the start of the fishing year that 
begins January 1, 2015, is required by the order of Judge Robert Doumar 
in North Carolina Fisheries Association v. Daley.
    If the 30-day delay in effectiveness is not waived, there will be 
no quota specifications for the affected fisheries on January 1, 2016, 
which would significantly confuse the public and substantially 
complicate the cooperative management regime governing these fisheries. 
The summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries are all 
expected, based on historic participation and harvest patterns, to be 
very active at the start of the fishing season in 2016. Without these 
specifications in place on January 1, 2016, individual states will be 
unable to set commercial possession and/or trip limits, which apportion 
the catch over the entirety of the calendar year. NMFS will be unable 
to control harvest in any way, as there will be no quotas in place for 
any of the three species until the regulations are effective. NMFS will 
be unable to control harvest or close the fishery, should landings 
exceed the quotas. All of these factors could result in a race for 
fish, wherein uncontrolled landings could occur. Disproportionately 
large harvest occurring within the first weeks of 2016 could have 
distributional effects on other quota periods, and would disadvantage 
some gear sectors or owners and operators of smaller vessels that 
typically fish later in the fishing season. There is no historic 
precedent by which to gauge the magnitude of harvest that might occur, 
should quotas for these three species not be in place during the first 
weeks of 2016. It is reasonable to conclude that the commercial fishing 
fleet possesses sufficient capacity to exceed the established quotas 
for these three species before the regulations would become effective, 
should quotas not be in place on January 1, 2016. Should this occur, 
the fishing mortality objectives for all three species would be 
compromised, thus undermining the intent of the rule.
    For these reasons, a 30-day delay in effectiveness would be 
contrary to the public interest, and NMFS is waiving the requirement.
    These specifications are exempt from the procedures of Executive 
Order 12866.
    This final rule does not duplicate, conflict, or overlap with any 
existing Federal rules.
    A FRFA was prepared pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 604(a), and incorporates 
the IRFA, a summary of the significant issues raised by the public 
comments in response to the IRFA, NMFS's responses to those comments, 
and a summary of the analyses completed to support the action. A copy 
of the EA//IRFA is available from the Council (see ADDRESSES).
    The preamble to the proposed rule included a detailed summary of 
the analyses contained in the IRFA, and that discussion is not repeated 
here.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

A Summary of Significant Issues Raised by the Public in Response to the 
Summary of the Agency's Assessment of Such Issues, and a Statement of 
Any Changes Made in the Final Rule as a Result

    No changes to the proposed rule were required to be made as a 
result of public comments. None of the comments received raised 
specific issues regarding the economic analyses summarized in the IRFA 
or the economic impacts of the rule more generally. A summary of the 
comments received, and our responses, can be found above in the 
``Comments and Responses'' section of this rule's preamble.

Description and Estimate of Number of Small Entities to Which the Rule 
Will Apply

    The Small Business Administration defines a small business in the 
commercial harvesting sector as a firm with receipts (gross revenues) 
of up to $5.5 and $20.5 million for shellfish and for finfish business, 
respectively. A small business in the recreational fishery is a firm 
with receipts of up to $7.5 million. The categories of small entities 
likely to be affected by this action include commercial and charter/
party vessel owners holding an active Federal permit for summer 
flounder, scup, or black sea bass, as well as owners of vessels that 
fish for any of these species in state waters. The Council estimates 
that the 2016-2018 specifications could affect 952 small entities and 8 
large entities, assuming average revenues for the 2012-2014 period.

Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 
Requirements

    No additional reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance 
requirements are included in this final rule.

Description of the Steps the Agency Has Taken To Minimize the 
Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities Consistent With the 
Stated Objectives of Applicable Statutes

    Specification of commercial quotas and possession limits is 
constrained by the conservation objectives set forth in the FMP and 
implemented at 50 CFR part 648 under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. Economic impacts of changes in year-to-year quota 
specifications may be offset by adjustments to such measures as 
commercial fish sizes, changes to mesh sizes, gear restrictions, or 
possession and trip limits that may increase efficiency or value of the 
fishery. The Council recommended no such measures, and so none are 
implemented in this final rule. Therefore, the economic impact analysis 
of the action is evaluated on the different levels of quota specified 
in the alternatives. The ability of NMFS to minimize economic impacts 
for this action is constrained by quota levels that provide the maximum 
availability of fish while still ensuring that the required objectives 
and directives of the FMP, its implementing regulations, and the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act are met. In particular, the Council's SSC has made 
recommendations for the 2016-2017 ABC level for all three stocks, and 
the 2018 ABC level for scup

[[Page 80695]]

and black sea bass. NMFS considers these recommendations to be 
consistent with National Standard 2 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which 
requires that the best available scientific information be used in 
fishery decision making.
    The economic analysis for the 2016-2018 specifications assessed the 
impacts for quota alternatives that achieve the aforementioned 
objectives. The Council analyzed four sets of combined catch limit 
alternatives for the 2016-2018 summer flounder, scup, and black sea 
bass fisheries. Please see the EA and IRFA for a detailed discussion on 
each alternative.
    Through this final rule, NMFS implements Alternative 1 (the 
Council's preferred alternative), as modified by the Council's revised 
recommendation for black sea bass. This alternative consists of the 
quota levels that pair the lowest economic impacts to small entities 
and meet the required objectives of the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act. The respective specifications contained in this final rule for all 
three species were selected because they satisfy NMFS' obligation to 
implement specifications that are consistent with the goals, 
objectives, and requirements of the FMP, its implementing regulations, 
and the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The fishing mortality rates associated 
with the catch limits for all three species all have acceptable 
likelihoods of preventing overfishing in any of the next three years.
    Alternative 3 for each species, contained the most restrictive 
options (i.e., lowest total landing levels) for each fishery have the 
highest potential adverse economic impacts on small entities in the 
form of potential foregone fishing opportunities.. Some of the catch 
limits associated with Alternatives 3 pre-date the ABC framework, thus 
the information for these alternatives is presented in terms of landing 
levels. Alternative 3 was not preferred by the Council of NMFS because 
the other alternatives considered are expected have lower adverse 
impacts on small entities while achieving the stated objectives of 
sustaining the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass stocks, 
consistent with the FMP and Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    Alternative 4 contained the least restrictive catch limits for each 
fishery and would have the lowest economic impacts on small entities. 
This alternative is not consistent with the goals and objectives of the 
FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Act because it would implement catch 
limits much higher than the recommendations of the Council's SSC. This 
could result in overfishing of the resources and substantially 
compromise the mortality and/or stock rebuilding objectives for each 
species, contrary to laws and regulations.
    Alternative 2 (status quo), would maintain the current 2015 ABCs 
for each fishery, and would, in the short-term, have negligible 
economic impacts on small entities. For summer flounder and scup, this 
alternative is not consistent with the goals and objectives of the FMP 
and the Magnuson-Stevens Act because it would leave in place ABCs 
higher than the recommendations of the Council's SSC. This could result 
in overfishing of the resources and substantially compromise the 
mortality and/or stock rebuilding objectives for each species, contrary 
to laws and regulations. For black sea bass, this alternative is more 
restrictive than is necessary and would have unnecessary negative 
economic impacts.
    Likewise, a ``true'' no action alternative, wherein no quotas are 
established for the coming fishing year, was excluded from analysis 
because it is not consistent with the goals and objectives of the FMP 
and the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Small Entity Compliance Guide

    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, a small entity compliance guide will be sent 
to all holders of Federal permits issued for the summer flounder, scup, 
and black sea bass fisheries. In addition, copies of this final rule 
and guide (i.e., permit holder letter) are available from NMFS (see 
ADDRESSES) and at the following Web site: http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: December 21, 2015.
Eileen Sobeck,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-32562 Filed 12-24-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P



                                                                 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2015 / Rules and Regulations                                        80689

                                                snapper-grouper are on board a vessel in                   (a) * * *                                          summer flounder and scup fisheries,
                                                fillet form when harvested lawfully in                     (1) Dolphin. (i) In the Atlantic EEZ—              and the 2016 and 2017 black sea bass
                                                Bahamian waters, two fillets of snapper-                10, not to exceed 60 per vessel,                      fishery. This final rule specifies allowed
                                                grouper, regardless of the length of each               whichever is less, except on board a                  harvest limits for both commercial and
                                                fillet, is equivalent to one snapper-                   headboat, 10 per paying passenger.                    recreational fisheries. This action
                                                grouper. The skin must remain intact on                    (ii) In the Atlantic EEZ and lawfully              prohibits federally permitted
                                                the entire fillet of any snapper-grouper                harvested in Bahamian waters (as per                  commercial fishing vessels from landing
                                                carcass.                                                § 622.276(b))—10, not to exceed 60 per                summer flounder in Delaware in 2016
                                                *      *     *     *     *                              vessel, whichever is less, except on                  due to continued quota repayment from
                                                                                                        board a headboat, 10 per paying                       previous years’ overages. This action
                                                ■ 4. In § 622.192, add paragraph (k) to
                                                                                                        passenger. For the purposes of this                   also reduces the 2016 black sea bass
                                                read as follows:                                        paragraph, for determining how many                   commercial quota to account for a catch
                                                § 622.192   Restrictions on sale/purchase.              dolphin are on board a vessel in fillet               overage in 2014. These actions are
                                                                                                        form when harvested lawfully in                       necessary to comply with regulations
                                                *     *    *      *    *
                                                                                                        Bahamian waters, two fillets of dolphin,              implementing the Summer Flounder,
                                                  (k) Snapper-grouper possessed
                                                                                                        regardless of the length of each fillet, is           Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery
                                                pursuant to the bag and possession
                                                                                                        equivalent to one dolphin. The skin                   Management Plan, and to ensure
                                                limits specified in § 622.187(a)(3) may
                                                                                                        must remain intact on the entire fillet of            compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens
                                                not be sold or purchased.
                                                                                                        any dolphin carcass.                                  Fishery Conservation and Management
                                                ■ 5. Revise § 622.276 to read as follows:                  (2) Wahoo. (i) In the Atlantic EEZ—                Act. The intent of this action is to
                                                § 622.276   Landing fish intact.
                                                                                                        2.                                                    establish harvest levels and other
                                                                                                           (ii) In the Atlantic EEZ and lawfully              management measures to ensure that
                                                   (a) Dolphin or wahoo in or from the                  harvested in Bahamian waters (as per
                                                Atlantic EEZ must be maintained with                                                                          these species are not overfished or
                                                                                                        § 622.276(b))—2. For the purposes of                  subject to overfishing in 2016–2018.
                                                head and fins intact, except as specified               this paragraph, for determining how
                                                in paragraph (b) of this section. Such                                                                        DATES: Effective January 1, 2016,
                                                                                                        many wahoo are on board a vessel in
                                                fish may be eviscerated, gilled, and                    fillet form when harvested lawfully in                through December 31, 2018.
                                                scaled, but must otherwise be                           Bahamian waters, two fillets of wahoo,                ADDRESSES: Copies of the specifications
                                                maintained in a whole condition. The                    regardless of the length of each fillet, is           document, consisting of an
                                                operator of a vessel that fishes in the                 equivalent to one wahoo. The skin must                Environmental Assessment (EA), Initial
                                                EEZ is responsible for ensuring that fish               remain intact on the entire fillet of any             Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA),
                                                on that vessel in the EEZ are maintained                wahoo carcass.                                        and other supporting documents used
                                                intact and, if taken from the EEZ, are                                                                        by the Summer Flounder, Scup, and
                                                                                                        *       *     *    *     *
                                                maintained intact through offloading                                                                          Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committees
                                                                                                        ■ 7. In § 622.279, add paragraph (d) to
                                                ashore, as specified in this section.                                                                         and Scientific and Statistical Committee
                                                                                                        read as follows:                                      (SSC), are available from Dr.
                                                   (b) In the Atlantic EEZ, dolphin or
                                                wahoo lawfully harvested in Bahamian                    § 622.279    Restrictions on sale/purchase.           Christopher Moore, Executive Director,
                                                waters are exempt from the requirement                  *      *    *     *     *                             Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
                                                that they be maintained with head and                      (d) Dolphin or wahoo possessed                     Council, Suite 201, 800 North State
                                                fins intact, provided that the skin                     pursuant to the bag and possession                    Street, Dover, DE 19901. The
                                                remains intact on the entire fillet of any              limits specified in § 622.277(a)(1)(ii) and           specifications document is also
                                                dolphin or wahoo carcasses, valid                       (a)(2)(ii) may not be sold or purchased.              accessible via the Internet at http://
                                                Bahamian fishing and cruising permits                                                                         www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov.
                                                                                                        [FR Doc. 2015–32555 Filed 12–24–15; 8:45 am]
                                                are on board the vessel, each person on                                                                       The Final Regulatory Flexibility
                                                                                                        BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
                                                the vessel has a valid government                                                                             Analysis (FRFA) consists of the IRFA,
                                                passport with current stamps and dates                                                                        public comments and responses
                                                from The Bahamas, and the vessel is in                  DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE                                contained in this final rule, and the
                                                transit through the Atlantic EEZ with                                                                         summary of impacts and alternatives
                                                fishing gear appropriately stowed. For                  National Oceanic and Atmospheric                      contained in this final rule. Copies of
                                                the purpose of this paragraph, a vessel                 Administration                                        the small entity compliance guide are
                                                is in transit through the Atlantic EEZ                                                                        available from John K. Bullard, Regional
                                                when it is on a direct and continuous                   50 CFR Part 648                                       Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region,
                                                course through the Atlantic EEZ and no                                                                        National Marine Fisheries Service, 55
                                                                                                        [Docket No. 150903814–5999–02]
                                                one aboard the vessel fishes in the EEZ.                                                                      Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA
                                                For the purpose of this paragraph,                      RIN 0648–XE171                                        01930–2298.
                                                fishing gear appropriately stowed means                                                                       FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                that terminal gear (i.e., hook, leader,                 Fisheries of the Northeastern United                  Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst,
                                                sinker, flasher, or bait) used with an                  States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and                    (978) 281–9218.
                                                automatic reel, bandit gear, buoy gear,                 Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2016–2018
                                                                                                                                                              SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                handline, or rod and reel must be                       Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black
                                                disconnected and stowed separately                      Sea Bass Specifications                               Background
                                                from such fishing gear. Sinkers must be                 AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries                       The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
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                                                disconnected from the down rigger and                   Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and                  Management Council and the Atlantic
                                                stowed separately.                                      Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),                    States Marine Fisheries Commission
                                                ■ 6. In § 622.277, revise paragraphs                    Commerce.                                             cooperatively manage the summer
                                                (a)(1) and (2) to read as follows:                      ACTION: Final rule.                                   flounder, scup, and black sea bass
                                                                                                                                                              fisheries under the Summer Flounder,
                                                § 622.277   Bag and possession limits.                  SUMMARY:   NMFS issues final                          Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery
                                                *      *     *       *      *                           specifications for the 2016–2018                      Management Plan (FMP). Fishery


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                                                80690                Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2015 / Rules and Regulations

                                                specifications in these fisheries include                                the 10 national standards, also apply to                         stocks and the development of the
                                                various catch and landing subdivisions,                                  specifications.                                                  2016–2018 specifications for these
                                                such as the species-specific acceptable                                     The management units specified in                             fisheries was provided in the proposed
                                                biological catch (ABC), commercial and                                   the FMP include summer flounder                                  specifications (November 9, 2015; 80 FR
                                                recreational sector annual catch limits                                  (Paralichthys dentatus) in U.S. waters of                        69179) and is not repeated here.
                                                (ACLs), annual catch targets (ACTs), and                                 the Atlantic Ocean from the southern
                                                                                                                                                                                             NMFS will establish the 2016
                                                the sector-specific landing limits (i.e.,                                border of North Carolina northward to
                                                                                                                         the U.S./Canada border, scup                                     recreational management measures (i.e.,
                                                the commercial fishery quota and                                                                                                          minimum fish size, possession limits,
                                                                                                                         (Stenotomus chrysops), and black sea
                                                recreational harvest limit) established                                                                                                   and fishing seasons) for summer
                                                                                                                         bass (Centropristis striata) in U.S.
                                                for the up to three fishing years at a                                                                                                    flounder, scup, and black sea bass by
                                                                                                                         waters of the Atlantic Ocean from 35°
                                                time. The FMP and its implementing                                                                                                        publishing proposed and final rules in
                                                                                                                         13.3′ N. lat. (the latitude of Cape
                                                regulations establish the Council’s                                      Hatteras Lighthouse, Buxton, NC)                                 the Federal Register at a later date.
                                                process for establishing specifications.                                 northward to the U.S./Canada border.
                                                Requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens                                                                                                      2016–2018         Specifications
                                                                                                                         Detailed background information
                                                Fishery Conservation and Management                                      regarding the status of the summer                                 This action establishes the following
                                                Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), including                                    flounder, scup, and black sea bass                               specifications:
                                                  TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF THE 2016–2018 SUMMER FLOUNDER AND SCUP SPECIFICATIONS AND 2016–2017 BLACK SEA
                                                                                       BASS SPECIFICATIONS
                                                                                                                                                               Summer flounder                       Scup                    Black Sea Bass

                                                                                                                                                            2016    2017       2018       2016       2017        2018        2016          2017

                                                Overfishing Limit (OFL) ............               million lb ....................................          18.06    19.82      22.40      35.80      32.09      29.68          n/a          n/a
                                                                                                   mt ..............................................        8,194    8,991     10,159     16,238     14,556     13,464            a          n/a
                                                ABC ...........................................    million lb ....................................          16.26    15.86      15.68      31.11      28.40      27.05         6.67         6.67
                                                                                                   mt ..............................................        7,375    7,193      7,111     14,110     12,881     12,270        3,024        3,024
                                                Commercial ACL/ACT ..............                  million lb ....................................           9.42     9.19       9.10      24.26      22.15      21.10         3.15         3.15
                                                                                                   mt ..............................................        4,275    4,168      4,127     11,006     10,047      9,571        1,428        1,428
                                                Recreational ACL/ACT .............                 million lb ....................................           6.83     6.67       6.56       6.84       6.25       5.95         3.52         3.52
                                                                                                   mt ..............................................        3,100    3,025      2,984      3,104      2,834      2,699        1,597        1,597
                                                Commercial Quota ....................              million lb ....................................           8.12     7.91       7.89      20.47      18.38      17.34         2.70         2.71
                                                                                                   mt ..............................................        3,685    3,590      3,581      9,284      8,337      7,866        1,226        1,226
                                                Recreational Harvest Limit .......                 million lb ....................................           5.42     5.28       5.26       6.09       5.50       5.21         2.82         2.82
                                                                                                   mt ..............................................        2,457    2,393      2,387      2,763      2,495      2,361        1,280        1,280



                                                  The process describing the calculation                                 deviation from the Council’s normal                              Because the OFLs are projected to
                                                of the commercial and recreational                                       procedures. Had the standard Risk                                increase modestly over the next three
                                                ACLs, commercial quotas, and                                             Policy been followed, the drastic                                years, the specifications established in
                                                recreational harvest limits was                                          reduction in available catch could have                          this rule are relatively stable. The SSC
                                                presented in the November 9, 2015,                                       had substantial economic impacts. The                            has requested a stock assessment update
                                                proposed rule, and is not repeated here.                                 2016 and 2017 ABCs have a higher risk                            for next summer and intends to evaluate
                                                The specific discard values projected for                                of overfishing than would be allowed                             the available information to determine if
                                                each fishery and sector are described in                                 under the Council’s Risk Policy, but the                         the 2017 and 2018 ABCs remain
                                                more detail below.                                                       2018 ABC has a lower risk of                                     appropriate. Fishing under these catch
                                                Summer Flounder                                                          overfishing than the Risk Policy                                 limits for 2016 through 2018 is not
                                                                                                                         requires. Each of the ABCs established                           expected to compromise the summer
                                                   This rule implements the Council’s
                                                                                                                         in this rule have a less than 50-percent                         flounder stock, nor will fishing at this
                                                ABC recommendation and the
                                                                                                                         probability of resulting in overfishing.                         level present an unacceptably high
                                                commercial and recreational catch
                                                limits associated with that ABC for                                      Further, the projected biomass is the                            likelihood of overfishing.
                                                fishing years 2016–2018.                                                 same under either the standard Risk                                 This action makes no other changes to
                                                   As described in the proposed rule,                                    Policy or the deviation from the Risk                            the Federal commercial summer
                                                these specifications are based on a                                      Policy used in these specifications.                             flounder management measures.
                                                                                     TABLE 2—2016–2018 SUMMER FLOUNDER SPECIFICATIONS AND CALCULATIONS
                                                                                                                                      2016                                         2017                                    2018

                                                                                                                      million lb                       mt             million lb             mt               million lb              mt
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                                                OFL ..........................................................                 18.06                        8,194             19.82               8,991              22.4              10,159
                                                ABC ..........................................................                 16.26                        7,375             15.86               7,193              15.7               7,111
                                                ABC Landings Portion .............................                             13.54                        6,142             13.19               5,983              13.2               5,968
                                                ABC Discards Portion ..............................                             2.72                        1,233              2.67               1,210               2.52              1,143
                                                Commercial ACL ......................................                           9.43                        4,275              9.19               4,168               9.1               4,127
                                                Commercial ACT ......................................                           9.43                        4,275              9.19               4,168               9.1               4,127
                                                Projected Commercial Discards ..............                                    1.30                          590              1.28                 579               1.21                547
                                                Commercial Quota ...................................                            8.12                        3,685              7.91               3,590               7.89              3,581



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                                                                      Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2015 / Rules and Regulations                                                                  80691

                                                                          TABLE 2—2016–2018 SUMMER FLOUNDER SPECIFICATIONS AND CALCULATIONS—Continued
                                                                                                                                       2016                                   2017                                   2018

                                                                                                                       million lb                mt              million lb               mt            million lb             mt

                                                Recreational ACL .....................................                             6.84               3,100                 6.67               3,025             6.58               2,984
                                                Recreational ACT .....................................                             6.84               3,100                 6.67               3,025             6.58               2,984
                                                Projected Recreational Discards .............                                      1.42                 643                 1.39                 631             1.32                 596
                                                Recreational Harvest Limit .......................                                 5.42               2,457                 5.28               2,393             5.26               2,387



                                                   Table 3 presents the 2016 summer                                        commercial quotas, the quota overages                     years. Table 4 presents the initial 2017
                                                flounder allocations for each state.                                       as described above, and the final                         and 2018 allocations by state. The 2017
                                                Consistent with the quota-setting                                          adjusted 2016 commercial quotas. The                      and 2018 state quota allocations are
                                                procedures for the FMP, summer                                             2015 quota overage is determined by                       preliminary and are subject to change if
                                                flounder overages are determined based                                     comparing landings for January through                    there are overages of states’ quotas
                                                upon landings for the period January-                                      October 2015, plus any landings in 2014                   carried over from a previous fishing
                                                October 2015, plus any previously                                          in excess of the 2014 quota, that were                    year. Notice of any commercial quota
                                                unaccounted for overages. Table 3                                          not previously addressed in the 2015                      adjustments to account for overages will
                                                summarizes the commercial summer                                           specifications, for each state. For                       be published in the Federal Register
                                                flounder percent shares as outlined in                                     Delaware, this includes continued                         prior to the start of the respective
                                                § 648.102 (c)(1)(i), the resultant 2016                                    repayment of overharvest from previous                    fishing year.

                                                                          TABLE 3—FINAL STATE-BY-STATE COMMERCIAL SUMMER FLOUNDER ALLOCATIONS FOR 2016
                                                                                                                              2016 Initial quota               Overages through October 31,             Adjusted 2016 quota, less
                                                                                         FMP Percent                                                                       2015                                 overages
                                                              State                        share                             lb                  kg                    lb                 kg                lb                 kg

                                                Maine ...........................                 0.04756                     3,864                 1,753                   0                  0              3,864               1,753
                                                New Hampshire ...........                         0.00046                        37                    17                   0                  0                 37                  17
                                                Massachusetts .............                       6.82046                   554,097               251,334                   0                  0            554,097             251,334
                                                Rhode Island ................                    15.68298                 1,274,091               577,917                   0                  0          1,274,091             577,918
                                                Connecticut ..................                    2.25708                   183,366                83,173                   0                  0            183,366              83,173
                                                New York .....................                    7.64699                   621,244               281,791                   0                  0            621,244             281,792
                                                New Jersey ..................                    16.72499                 1,358,744               616,315                   0                  0          1,358,744             616,316
                                                Delaware ......................                   0.01779                     1,445                   656             ¥48,846            ¥22,156           ¥47,401             ¥21,501
                                                Maryland ......................                   2.0391                    165,657                75,141                   0                  0            165,657              75,141
                                                Virginia .........................               21.31676                 1,731,781               785,522                   0                  0          1,731,781             785,523
                                                North Carolina ..............                    27.44584                 2,229,709             1,011,378                   0                  0          2,229,709           1,011,379

                                                      Total ......................             100                        8,124,035             3,684,997                     0                   0       8,122,590                 1,753
                                                   Notes: Kilograms are as converted from pounds and may not necessarily add due to rounding. Total quota is the sum for all states with an al-
                                                location. A state with a negative number has a 2015 allocation of zero (0). Total adjusted 2016 quota, less overages, does not include negative
                                                allocations.

                                                                           TABLE 4—2016–2018 PROPOSED INITIAL SUMMER FLOUNDER STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTAS
                                                                                                                                                                            2017 Quota                           2018 Quota
                                                                                                                                             FMP Percent
                                                                                        State                                                  share                   lb                 kg                lb                 kg

                                                Maine ...................................................................................         0.04756                 3,764             1,707             3,755              1,703
                                                New Hampshire ...................................................................                 0.00046                    36                17                36                 16
                                                Massachusetts .....................................................................               6.82046               539,812           244,854           538,459            244,240
                                                Rhode Island ........................................................................            15.68298             1,241,244           563,019         1,238,133            561,607
                                                Connecticut ..........................................................................            2.25708               178,639            81,029           178,191             80,826
                                                New York .............................................................................            7.64699               605,228           274,527           603,711            273,838
                                                New Jersey ..........................................................................            16.72499             1,323,715           600,427         1,320,397            598,921
                                                Delaware ..............................................................................           0.01779                 1,408               639             1,404                637
                                                Maryland ..............................................................................           2.0391                161,387            73,204           160,982             73,020
                                                Virginia .................................................................................       21.31676             1,687,135           765,271         1,682,906            763,353
                                                North Carolina ......................................................................            27.44584             2,172,227           985,305         2,166,781            982,835
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                                                      Total ..............................................................................     100                    7,914,596          3,589,997        7,894,754           3,580,997



                                                Delaware Summer Flounder Closure                                           years is greater than the amount of                       available for 2016 in Delaware. The
                                                                                                                           commercial quota allocated to Delaware                    regulations at § 648.4(b) provide that
                                                  Table 3 shows that, for Delaware, the                                    for 2016. As a result, there is no quota                  Federal permit holders, as a condition of
                                                amount of overharvest from previous


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                                                80692                 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2015 / Rules and Regulations

                                                their permit, must not land summer                                          Federal Register. Federally permitted                                         commercial and recreational catch
                                                flounder in any state that the                                              dealers are advised that they may not                                         limits associated with that ABC for
                                                Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region,                                     purchase summer flounder from                                                 fishing years 2016–2018. The scup
                                                NMFS, has determined no longer has                                          federally permitted vessels that land in                                      management measures specify that the
                                                commercial quota available for harvest.                                     Delaware for the 2016 calendar year,                                          ABC is equal to the sum of the
                                                Therefore, landings of summer flounder                                      unless additional quota becomes                                               commercial and recreational sector
                                                in Delaware by vessels holding                                              available through a transfer, as                                              ACLs. As described in the proposed
                                                commercial Federal summer flounder                                          mentioned above.                                                              rule, the ACLs and ACTs are set equal
                                                permits are prohibited for the 2016                                                                                                                       to each other for both sectors, sector-
                                                                                                                            Scup
                                                calendar year, unless additional quota                                                                                                                    specific projected discards are removed,
                                                becomes available through a quota                                            This rule implements the Council’s                                           and the specifications for 2016–2018 are
                                                transfer and is announced in the                                            ABC recommendation and the                                                    as shown in Table 5.

                                                                                                                      TABLE 5—2016–2018 SCUP SPECIFICATIONS
                                                                                                                                                        2016                                              2017                                 2018

                                                                                                                                         million lb                   mt                 million lb                mt             million lb            mt

                                                OFL ............................................................................                  35.8                 16,238                        32.09          14,556                29.7          13,464
                                                ABC ............................................................................                  31.11                14,110                        28.4           12,881                27.1          12,270
                                                ABC Landings Portion ...............................................                              26.56                12,047                        23.88          10,832                22.6          10,227
                                                ABC Discards Portion ................................................                              4.55                 2,063                         4.52           2,049                 4.5           2,043
                                                Commercial ACL ........................................................                           24.26                11,006                        22.15          10,047                21.1           9,571
                                                Commercial ACT ........................................................                           24.26                11,006                        22.15          10,047                21.1           9,571
                                                Projected Commercial Discards ................................                                     3.8                  1,721                         3.77           1,710                 3.76          1,705
                                                Commercial Quota .....................................................                            20.47                 9,284                        18.38           8,337                17.3           7,866
                                                Recreational ACL .......................................................                           6.84                 3,104                         6.25           2,834                 5.95          2,699
                                                Recreational ACT .......................................................                           6.84                 3,104                         6.25           2,834                 5.95          2,699
                                                Projected Recreational Discards ...............................                                    0.75                   342                         0.75             339                 0.75            338
                                                Recreational Harvest Limit .........................................                               6.09                 2,763                         5.5            2,495                 5.21          2,361



                                                  If there is a commercial overage                                          commercial quota overage is applicable                                          The scup commercial quota is divided
                                                applicable to the scup commercial                                           to 2016; therefore, no adjustment to the                                      into three commercial fishery quota
                                                quota, notice will be published prior to                                    2016 quota is necessary.                                                      periods. The period quotas are detailed
                                                the start of the each fishing year. No                                                                                                                    in Table 6.
                                                                              TABLE 6—COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA ALLOCATIONS FOR 2016–2018 BY QUOTA PERIOD
                                                                                                                                                       2016 Quota                                2017 Initial quota                     2018 Initial quota
                                                                    Quota period                                Percent share
                                                                                                                                                     lb                     mt                       lb                 mt                lb               mt

                                                Winter I .................................................                    45.11                9,232,987                 4,188               8,291,190               3,761           7,822,778           3,548
                                                Summer ................................................                       38.95                7,972,176                 3,616               7,158,986               3,247           6,754,538           3,064
                                                Winter II ................................................                    15.94                3,262,554                 1,480               2,929,762               1,329           2,764,245           1,254

                                                      Total ..............................................                  100.0                20,467,716                  9,284              18,379,939               8,337          17,341,562           7,866
                                                   Note: Metric tons are as converted from pounds and may not necessarily total due to rounding.


                                                  The quota period possession limits                                        I quota is not fully harvested, the                                           II period) via notification in the Federal
                                                are shown in Table 7. The Winter I                                          remaining quota is transferred to Winter                                      Register. The regulations specify that
                                                possession limit will drop to 1,000 lb                                      II. The Winter II possession limit may be                                     the Winter II possession limit increases
                                                (454 kg) upon attainment of 80 percent                                      adjusted (in association with a transfer                                      consistent with the increase in the
                                                of that period’s allocation. If the Winter                                  of unused Winter I quota to the Winter                                        quota, as described in Table 8.

                                                                                                TABLE 7—COMMERCIAL SCUP POSSESSION LIMITS BY QUOTA PERIOD
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Federal possession limits (per
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         trip)
                                                                                                              Quota period                                                                            Percent share
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   lb                 kg
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                                                Winter I ........................................................................................................................................                 45.11             50,000              22,680
                                                Summer .......................................................................................................................................                    38.95                N/A                 N/A
                                                Winter II .......................................................................................................................................                 15.94             12,000               5,443

                                                      Total ......................................................................................................................................               100.0                    N/A                   N/A




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                                                                      Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2015 / Rules and Regulations                                                                            80693

                                                 TABLE 8—POTENTIAL INCREASE IN 2016–2018 WINTER II POSSESSION LIMITS BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF UNUSED SCUP
                                                                                 ROLLED OVER FROM WINTER I TO WINTER II
                                                 Initial Winter II possession limit                               Rollover from Winter I to Winter II                              Increase in initial Winter II      Final Winter II possession
                                                                                                                                                                                        possession limit                limit after rollover from
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Winter I to Winter II
                                                           lb                        kg                               lb                                        kg                        lb              kg                lb            kg

                                                12,000      ..............              5,443                      0–499,999                                   0–226,796                       0                0           12,000            5,443
                                                12,000      ..............              5,443                500,000–999,999                             226,796–453,592                   1,500              680           13,500            6,123
                                                12,000      ..............              5,443             1,000,000–1,499,999                            453,592–680,388                   3,000            1,361           15,000            6,804
                                                12,000      ..............              5,443             1,500,000–1,999,999                            680,389–907,184                   4,500            2,041           16,500            7,484
                                                12,000      ..............              5,443             2,000,000–2,500,000                          907,185–1,133,981                   6,000            2,722           18,000            8,165



                                                Black Sea Bass                                                              than the prior constant catch approach.                            amount of the overage, in pounds, be
                                                                                                                            The Council and the Commission’s                                   deducted from a subsequent single
                                                   This rule implements the Council’s                                       Black Sea Bass Board have also revised                             year’s commercial quota. The 2016
                                                revised ABC recommendation and the                                          their recommendations for 2016 and                                 commercial quota is reduced by 8,896 lb
                                                commercial and recreational catch                                           2017, as outlined in the proposed rule                             (4,035 kg) from 2,711,686 lb (1,230 mt)
                                                limits associated with that ABC for                                         to this action. Specifications for 2018                            to 2,702,867 lb (1,226 mt). The 2016
                                                fishing years 2016 and 2017. As                                             will be made following the completion                              commercial quota values in Table 9
                                                described in the proposed rule for this                                     of a new stock assessment in late 2016.                            include this deduction. Should a
                                                action, the Council’s SSC revised its                                          A commercial quota overage from                                 commercial quota or ACL accountability
                                                recommendation for the 2016 and 2017                                        fishing year 2014 is applicable to the                             measure be necessary in 2017,
                                                black sea bass ABC in September 2015                                        2016 black sea bass commercial quota.                              notification will be published in the
                                                based on additional analysis that relies                                    As a result, the regulations at                                    Federal Register prior to the start of the
                                                more on measures of current abundance                                       684.143(a)(2) require that the exact                               fishing year.

                                                                                                           TABLE 9—BLACK SEA BASS 2016–2017 SPECIFICATIONS
                                                                                                                                                                                       2016                                      2017

                                                                                                                                                                          million lb               mt               million lb           mt

                                                ABC ..................................................................................................................             6.67                 3,024               6.67              3,024
                                                ABC Landings Portion .....................................................................................                         5.53                 2,510               5.53              2,510
                                                ABC Discards Portion ......................................................................................                        1.13                   514               1.13                514
                                                Commercial ACL ..............................................................................................                      3.15                 1,428               3.15              1,428
                                                Commercial ACT .............................................................................................                       3.15                 1,428               3.15              1,428
                                                Projected Commercial Discards ......................................................................                               0.44                   198               0.44                198
                                                Commercial Quota ...........................................................................................                       2.70                 1,226               2.71              1,230
                                                Recreational ACL .............................................................................................                     3.52                 1,597               3.52              1,597
                                                Recreational ACT ............................................................................................                      3.52                 1,597               3.52              1,597
                                                Projected Recreational Discards .....................................................................                              0.70                   317               0.70                317
                                                Recreational Harvest Limit ..............................................................................                          2.82                 1,280               2.82              1,280



                                                Comments and Responses                                                      and that the quotas should be increased                            available scientific information. The
                                                                                                                            or measures should be set so that the                              Council applied its Risk Policy to derive
                                                  On November 9, 2015, NMFS                                                 recreational season can last longer into                           the scup and black sea bass
                                                published proposed specifications for                                       the fall. A recreational fishing group                             specifications. The summer flounder
                                                Summer Flounder, Scup and Sea Bass                                          commented that NMFS should set the                                 specifications deviate from that Risk
                                                for public notice and comment, and four                                     summer flounder ABC equal to the OFL                               Policy, but are less conservative than
                                                comments were received. Generally, the                                      in each year, despite the SSC’s                                    the Risk Policy and closer to the
                                                four comments each stated that the                                          recommendation, because precaution is                              commenter’s request than had the
                                                proposed specifications were overly                                         applied ‘‘excessively’’ throughout the                             Council used the Policy. However, as
                                                conservative for all three species,                                         stock assessment and SSC process. The                              stated previously, the summer flounder
                                                particularly for black sea bass and scup.                                   group also stated that there should be no                          specifications will not result in an
                                                One commenter asserted that the SSC’s                                       quota reductions for summer flounder
                                                scup recommendation should not be                                                                                                              unacceptably high likelihood of
                                                                                                                            until a sex-specific stock assessment can
                                                considered the best available scientific                                                                                                       overfishing. For scup, the SSC
                                                                                                                            be conducted. This comment also
                                                information because it is based on a                                                                                                           deliberated on the stock assessment
                                                                                                                            asserted that the scup catch limits are
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                                                scientific uncertainty buffer that is                                       overly conservative, but spoke in                                  working group’s advice, but determined
                                                double what the Stock Assessment                                            support of the revised black sea bass                              additional scientific uncertainty had not
                                                Working Group recommended. Two                                              ABC recommendation.                                                been adequately incorporated, as is their
                                                other commenters noted that the                                               No changes to the proposed                                       purview. NMFS does not disagree with
                                                increase in the black sea bass                                              specifications were made as a result of                            the SSC’s recommendation and we are
                                                population in southern New England is                                       these comments. The specifications are                             implementing the specifications as
                                                negatively impacting the lobster fishery                                    based on the SSC’s advice and the best                             recommended by the Council.


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                                                80694            Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2015 / Rules and Regulations

                                                Classification                                          occurring within the first weeks of 2016              Description and Estimate of Number of
                                                   The Administrator, Greater Atlantic                  could have distributional effects on                  Small Entities to Which the Rule Will
                                                Region, NMFS, determined that this                      other quota periods, and would                        Apply
                                                final rule is necessary for the                         disadvantage some gear sectors or                        The Small Business Administration
                                                conservation and management of the                      owners and operators of smaller vessels               defines a small business in the
                                                summer flounder, scup, and black sea                    that typically fish later in the fishing              commercial harvesting sector as a firm
                                                bass fisheries and that it is consistent                season. There is no historic precedent                with receipts (gross revenues) of up to
                                                with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and                       by which to gauge the magnitude of                    $5.5 and $20.5 million for shellfish and
                                                other applicable laws.                                  harvest that might occur, should quotas               for finfish business, respectively. A
                                                   The Assistant Administrator for                      for these three species not be in place               small business in the recreational
                                                Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause                       during the first weeks of 2016. It is                 fishery is a firm with receipts of up to
                                                under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the                   reasonable to conclude that the                       $7.5 million. The categories of small
                                                30-day delay of effectiveness period for                commercial fishing fleet possesses                    entities likely to be affected by this
                                                this rule, to ensure that the final                     sufficient capacity to exceed the                     action include commercial and charter/
                                                specifications are in place on January 1,               established quotas for these three                    party vessel owners holding an active
                                                2016. This action establishes                           species before the regulations would                  Federal permit for summer flounder,
                                                specifications (i.e., annual quotas) for                become effective, should quotas not be                scup, or black sea bass, as well as
                                                the summer flounder, scup, and black                    in place on January 1, 2016. Should this              owners of vessels that fish for any of
                                                sea bass fisheries.                                     occur, the fishing mortality objectives               these species in state waters. The
                                                   This rule is being issued at the earliest            for all three species would be                        Council estimates that the 2016–2018
                                                possible date. Preparation of the                       compromised, thus undermining the                     specifications could affect 952 small
                                                proposed rule was dependent on the                      intent of the rule.                                   entities and 8 large entities, assuming
                                                submission of the EA/IRFA in support                       For these reasons, a 30-day delay in               average revenues for the 2012–2014
                                                of the specifications that is developed                 effectiveness would be contrary to the                period.
                                                by the Council. A complete document
                                                                                                        public interest, and NMFS is waiving                  Description of Projected Reporting,
                                                was received by NMFS in early October
                                                                                                        the requirement.                                      Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance
                                                2015. Documentation in support of the
                                                Council’s recommended specifications                       These specifications are exempt from               Requirements
                                                is required for NMFS to provide the                     the procedures of Executive Order                       No additional reporting,
                                                public with information from the                        12866.                                                recordkeeping, or other compliance
                                                environmental and economic analyses                        This final rule does not duplicate,                requirements are included in this final
                                                as required in rulemaking. The                          conflict, or overlap with any existing                rule.
                                                proposed rule published on November                     Federal rules.                                        Description of the Steps the Agency Has
                                                9, 2015, with a 15-day comment period
                                                                                                           A FRFA was prepared pursuant to 5                  Taken To Minimize the Significant
                                                ending November 24, 2015. Publication
                                                                                                        U.S.C. 604(a), and incorporates the                   Economic Impact on Small Entities
                                                of the adjusted summer flounder quota
                                                                                                        IRFA, a summary of the significant                    Consistent With the Stated Objectives of
                                                at the start of the fishing year that begins
                                                                                                        issues raised by the public comments in               Applicable Statutes
                                                January 1, 2015, is required by the order
                                                                                                        response to the IRFA, NMFS’s responses                   Specification of commercial quotas
                                                of Judge Robert Doumar in North
                                                                                                        to those comments, and a summary of                   and possession limits is constrained by
                                                Carolina Fisheries Association v. Daley.
                                                   If the 30-day delay in effectiveness is              the analyses completed to support the                 the conservation objectives set forth in
                                                not waived, there will be no quota                      action. A copy of the EA//IRFA is                     the FMP and implemented at 50 CFR
                                                specifications for the affected fisheries               available from the Council (see                       part 648 under the authority of the
                                                                                                        ADDRESSES).
                                                on January 1, 2016, which would                                                                               Magnuson-Stevens Act. Economic
                                                significantly confuse the public and                       The preamble to the proposed rule                  impacts of changes in year-to-year quota
                                                substantially complicate the cooperative                included a detailed summary of the                    specifications may be offset by
                                                management regime governing these                       analyses contained in the IRFA, and that              adjustments to such measures as
                                                fisheries. The summer flounder, scup,                   discussion is not repeated here.                      commercial fish sizes, changes to mesh
                                                and black sea bass fisheries are all                                                                          sizes, gear restrictions, or possession
                                                expected, based on historic                             Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis                 and trip limits that may increase
                                                participation and harvest patterns, to be               A Summary of Significant Issues Raised                efficiency or value of the fishery. The
                                                very active at the start of the fishing                 by the Public in Response to the                      Council recommended no such
                                                season in 2016. Without these                           Summary of the Agency’s Assessment of                 measures, and so none are implemented
                                                specifications in place on January 1,                   Such Issues, and a Statement of Any                   in this final rule. Therefore, the
                                                2016, individual states will be unable to               Changes Made in the Final Rule as a                   economic impact analysis of the action
                                                set commercial possession and/or trip                   Result                                                is evaluated on the different levels of
                                                limits, which apportion the catch over                                                                        quota specified in the alternatives. The
                                                the entirety of the calendar year. NMFS                   No changes to the proposed rule were                ability of NMFS to minimize economic
                                                will be unable to control harvest in any                required to be made as a result of public             impacts for this action is constrained by
                                                way, as there will be no quotas in place                comments. None of the comments                        quota levels that provide the maximum
                                                for any of the three species until the                  received raised specific issues regarding             availability of fish while still ensuring
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                                                regulations are effective. NMFS will be                 the economic analyses summarized in                   that the required objectives and
                                                unable to control harvest or close the                  the IRFA or the economic impacts of the               directives of the FMP, its implementing
                                                fishery, should landings exceed the                     rule more generally. A summary of the                 regulations, and the Magnuson-Stevens
                                                quotas. All of these factors could result               comments received, and our responses,                 Act are met. In particular, the Council’s
                                                in a race for fish, wherein uncontrolled                can be found above in the ‘‘Comments                  SSC has made recommendations for the
                                                landings could occur.                                   and Responses’’ section of this rule’s                2016–2017 ABC level for all three
                                                Disproportionately large harvest                        preamble.                                             stocks, and the 2018 ABC level for scup


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                                                                 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 248 / Monday, December 28, 2015 / Rules and Regulations                                       80695

                                                and black sea bass. NMFS considers                      overfishing of the resources and                      DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
                                                these recommendations to be consistent                  substantially compromise the mortality
                                                with National Standard 2 of the                         and/or stock rebuilding objectives for                National Oceanic and Atmospheric
                                                Magnuson-Stevens Act, which requires                    each species, contrary to laws and                    Administration
                                                that the best available scientific                      regulations.
                                                information be used in fishery decision                                                                       50 CFR Part 679
                                                                                                           Alternative 2 (status quo), would
                                                making.                                                                                                       [Docket No. 150126078–5999–02]
                                                   The economic analysis for the 2016–                  maintain the current 2015 ABCs for
                                                2018 specifications assessed the impacts                each fishery, and would, in the short-                RIN 0648–BE85
                                                for quota alternatives that achieve the                 term, have negligible economic impacts
                                                aforementioned objectives. The Council                  on small entities. For summer flounder                Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
                                                analyzed four sets of combined catch                    and scup, this alternative is not                     Zone Off Alaska; Revise Maximum
                                                limit alternatives for the 2016–2018                    consistent with the goals and objectives              Retainable Amounts for Skates in the
                                                summer flounder, scup, and black sea                    of the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens                   Gulf of Alaska
                                                bass fisheries. Please see the EA and                   Act because it would leave in place                   AGENCY:  National Marine Fisheries
                                                IRFA for a detailed discussion on each                  ABCs higher than the recommendations                  Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
                                                alternative.                                            of the Council’s SSC. This could result               Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
                                                   Through this final rule, NMFS                        in overfishing of the resources and                   Commerce.
                                                implements Alternative 1 (the Council’s                 substantially compromise the mortality                ACTION: Final rule.
                                                preferred alternative), as modified by                  and/or stock rebuilding objectives for
                                                the Council’s revised recommendation                    each species, contrary to laws and                    SUMMARY:    NMFS issues regulations to
                                                for black sea bass. This alternative                    regulations. For black sea bass, this                 reduce the maximum retainable amount
                                                consists of the quota levels that pair the                                                                    (MRA) of skates using groundfish and
                                                                                                        alternative is more restrictive than is
                                                lowest economic impacts to small                                                                              halibut as basis species in the Gulf of
                                                                                                        necessary and would have unnecessary
                                                entities and meet the required objectives                                                                     Alaska (GOA) from 20 percent to 5
                                                of the FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens                     negative economic impacts.
                                                                                                                                                              percent. Reducing skate MRAs is
                                                Act. The respective specifications                         Likewise, a ‘‘true’’ no action                     necessary to decrease the incentive for
                                                contained in this final rule for all three              alternative, wherein no quotas are                    fishermen to target skates and slow the
                                                species were selected because they                      established for the coming fishing year,              catch rate of skates in these fisheries.
                                                satisfy NMFS’ obligation to implement                   was excluded from analysis because it is              This final rule will enhance
                                                specifications that are consistent with                 not consistent with the goals and                     conservation and management of skates
                                                the goals, objectives, and requirements                 objectives of the FMP and the                         and minimize skate discards in GOA
                                                of the FMP, its implementing                            Magnuson-Stevens Act.                                 groundfish and halibut fisheries. This
                                                regulations, and the Magnuson-Stevens                                                                         final rule is intended to promote the
                                                Act. The fishing mortality rates                        Small Entity Compliance Guide
                                                                                                                                                              goals and objectives of the Magnuson-
                                                associated with the catch limits for all                                                                      Stevens Fishery Conservation and
                                                three species all have acceptable                          Section 212 of the Small Business
                                                                                                        Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of                Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens
                                                likelihoods of preventing overfishing in                                                                      Act), the Fishery Management Plan for
                                                any of the next three years.                            1996 states that, for each rule or group
                                                                                                        of related rules for which an agency is               Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP),
                                                   Alternative 3 for each species,                                                                            and other applicable laws.
                                                contained the most restrictive options                  required to prepare a FRFA, the agency
                                                                                                        shall publish one or more guides to                   DATES: Effective January 27, 2016.
                                                (i.e., lowest total landing levels) for each
                                                fishery have the highest potential                      assist small entities in complying with               ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the
                                                adverse economic impacts on small                       the rule, and shall designate such                    following documents may be obtained
                                                entities in the form of potential foregone              publications as ‘‘small entity                        from http://www.regulations.gov or from
                                                fishing opportunities.. Some of the catch               compliance guides.’’ The agency shall                 the NMFS Alaska Region Web site at
                                                limits associated with Alternatives 3                   explain the actions a small entity is                 http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov:
                                                pre-date the ABC framework, thus the                                                                             • The Environmental Assessment/
                                                                                                        required to take to comply with a rule
                                                information for these alternatives is                                                                         Regulatory Impact Review/Initial
                                                                                                        or group of rules. As part of this                    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/
                                                presented in terms of landing levels.                   rulemaking process, a small entity
                                                Alternative 3 was not preferred by the                                                                        RIR/IRFA) prepared for this action
                                                                                                        compliance guide will be sent to all                  (collectively referred to as the
                                                Council of NMFS because the other                       holders of Federal permits issued for the
                                                alternatives considered are expected                                                                          ‘‘Analysis’’);
                                                have lower adverse impacts on small
                                                                                                        summer flounder, scup, and black sea                     • The Alaska Groundfish Harvest
                                                                                                        bass fisheries. In addition, copies of this           Specifications Final Environmental
                                                entities while achieving the stated
                                                                                                        final rule and guide (i.e., permit holder             Impact Statement (Harvest
                                                objectives of sustaining the summer
                                                flounder, scup, and black sea bass                      letter) are available from NMFS (see                  Specifications EIS);
                                                stocks, consistent with the FMP and                     ADDRESSES) and at the following Web                      • The Harvest Specifications
                                                Magnuson-Stevens Act.                                   site: http://                                         Supplementary Information Report (SIR)
                                                   Alternative 4 contained the least                    www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov.               prepared for the final 2015 and 2016
                                                restrictive catch limits for each fishery                                                                     harvest specifications; and
                                                                                                          Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
                                                and would have the lowest economic                                                                               • The IRFA for the Gulf of Alaska
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                                                impacts on small entities. This
                                                                                                          Dated: December 21, 2015.                           Groundfish Harvest Specifications for
                                                alternative is not consistent with the                  Eileen Sobeck,                                        2015 and 2016 (Harvest Specifications
                                                goals and objectives of the FMP and the                 Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,                IRFA).
                                                Magnuson-Stevens Act because it would                   National Marine Fisheries Service.                    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                implement catch limits much higher                      [FR Doc. 2015–32562 Filed 12–24–15; 8:45 am]          Peggy Murphy, 907–586–7228.
                                                than the recommendations of the                         BILLING CODE 3510–22–P                                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS
                                                Council’s SSC. This could result in                                                                           published a proposed rule in the


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Document Created: 2018-03-02 09:24:23
Document Modified: 2018-03-02 09:24:23
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionRules and Regulations
ActionFinal rule.
DatesEffective January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2018.
ContactMoira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst, (978) 281-9218.
FR Citation80 FR 80689 
RIN Number0648-XE17

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