83 FR 8236 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Scup Fishery; Framework Adjustment 10

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 38 (February 26, 2018)

Page Range		8236-8238
FR Document		2018-03828

NMFS proposes modifications to the commercial scup quota periods, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The proposed change would move the month of October from the Summer Period to the Winter II Period. This rule is intended to increase fishing opportunities by allowing for more scup to be landed by extending the Winter II Period when possession limits are higher.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 38 (Monday, February 26, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8236-8238]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03828]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 170919912-8142-01]
RIN 0648-BH26

Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Scup Fishery;
Framework Adjustment 10

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes modifications to the commercial scup quota
periods, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
The proposed change would move the month of October from the Summer
Period to the Winter II Period. This rule is intended to increase
fishing opportunities by allowing for more scup to be landed by
extending the Winter II Period when possession limits are higher.

DATES: Comments must be received by 5 p.m. local time, on March 13,
2018.

ADDRESSES: An environmental assessment (EA) was prepared for this
action and describes the proposed measures and other considered
alternatives, and provides an analysis of the impacts of the proposed
measures and alternatives. Copies of the Scup Commercial Quota Period
Modification Framework, including the EA, are available on request from
Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
These documents are also accessible via the internet at http://www.mafmc.org/s/Scup_quota_period_framework_draftEA_Nov2017.pdf.
You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2018-0001, by either of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
1. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0001,
2. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields,
and
3. Enter or attach your comments.
--OR--
Mail: Submit written comments to Michael Pentony, Regional
Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope,
``Comments on the Proposed Rule to Modify the Scup Commercial Quota
Periods.''
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Gilbert, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281-9244.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

General Background

Scup (Stenotomus chrysops) is managed jointly by the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission through the Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass Fishery
Management Plan (FMP). The management unit specified in the FMP for
scup is 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. The scup stock is not overfished and it is not
experiencing overfishing.
Currently, the scup commercial quota is broken into three periods:
Winter I (January 1 through April 30) receives 45.11 percent of the
annual quota; Summer (May 1 through October 31) receives 38.95 percent;
and Winter II (November 1 through December 31) receives an initial
15.94 percent with any unused Winter I quota rolled over into Winter
II. Federal trip limits are imposed during the two Winter Periods;
states impose landing restrictions during the Summer Period. The
Council established these quota periods in 1997 to recognize that there
are two commercial fishing fleets (62 FR 27978; May 22, 1997). Larger
vessels harvest scup offshore during the winter months and smaller
vessels harvest scup inshore during the summer. Without the quota
periods and Federal trip limits, the larger vessels would be able to
fish the full annual quota early in the year, leaving no quota for the
smaller inshore fleet.
The scup stock was declared rebuilt in 2009 based on the findings
of a stock assessment. The commercial scup quota nearly doubled between
2010 and 2011. From 2011 to 2016, commercial scup landings have been 20
to 47 percent below the annual commercial quota. Stakeholders have
stated that the more restrictive possession limits during the Summer
Period, compared to the Winter I and II Periods, have prevented
fishermen from landing high volumes of scup when they are available.
This limits the ability of the fishery to achieve the annual commercial
quota and results in forgone yield.

Proposed Action

In order to address these limits on the ability of the fishery to
achieve the annual commercial quota, this action would move the month
of October from the Summer Period to the Winter II Period (Table 1).
This action would facilitate more landings at higher possession limits
during longer periods of time. This change would be effective for
October 2018 and is expected to have positive socioeconomic impacts
compared to maintaining the status quo quota periods.
This action only considers a change to the seasons of the three
quota periods. It is not changing the possession limits or the amount
of quota allocated annually to each period.

[[Page 8237]]

Table 1--Proposed Commercial Quota Period Dates
[Percent shares and possession limits remain unchanged]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal possession limits (per trip)
Quota period Percent share Dates --------------------------------------
lb kg
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I.......................... 45.11 January 1-April 30... 50,000............... 22,680
Summer............................ 38.95 May 1-September 30... N/A.................. N/A
Winter II......................... 15.94 October 1-December 31 12,000 (initial)..... 5,443
---------------- ---------------
Total......................... 100.0 N/A.................. N/A.................. N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Council has reviewed the proposed rule regulations as drafted
by NMFS and deemed them to be necessary and appropriate as specified in
section 303(c) of the MSA.

Classification

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP,
other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law,
subject to further consideration after public comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council conducted an evaluation
of the potential socioeconomic impacts of the proposed measures in
conjunction with an environmental assessment. According to the
commercial ownership database, 526 affiliate firms were issued scup
permits during the 2014-2016 period, with 517 of those business
affiliates categorized as small businesses and nine categorized as
large businesses. Scup represented approximately 1.2 percent of the
average receipts of the small entities considered and less than 1
percent of the average receipts of the large entities considered over
this time period. This action does not affect the for-hire recreational
fishery.
Analyses conducted in support of this action indicate that
modifications to the commercial quota periods will result in higher
scup landings and increased revenues when compared to current
conditions by increasing the scup possession limit during the month of
October. As such, this action is expected to increase potential fishing
opportunities available to small commercial fishing entities. Because
this rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is
not required and none has been prepared.
There are no new reporting or recordkeeping requirements contained
in any of the alternatives considered for this action.

Dated: February 21, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:

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

0
2. In Sec. 648.122, paragraph (c)(1) is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 648.122 Scup specifications.

* * * * *
(c) * * *
(1) The annual commercial quota will be allocated into three
periods, based on the following percentages:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Period Percent
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I--January-April...................................... 45.11
Summer--May-September........................................ 38.95
Winter II--October-December.................................. 15.94
------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 648.123, paragraph (a)(2)(ii) is revised to read as
follows:

Sec. 648.123 Scup accountability measures.

(a) * * *
(2) * * *
(ii) For the Winter I and Summer quota periods, landings in excess
of the allocation will be deducted from the appropriate quota period
for the following year in the final rule that establishes the annual
quota. The overage deduction will be based on landings for the current
year through September 30 and on landings for the previous calendar
year that were not included when the overage deduction was made in the
final rule that established the period quotas for the current year. If
the Regional Administrator determines during the fishing year that any
part of an overage deduction was based on erroneous landings data that
were in excess of actual landings for the period concerned, he/she will
restore the overage that was deducted in error to the appropriate quota
allocation. The Regional Administrator will publish notification in the
Federal Register announcing the restoration.
* * * * *
0
4. In Sec. 648.125, paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(5) are revised to read
as follows:

Sec. 648.125 Scup gear restrictions.

(a) * * *
(1) Minimum mesh size. No owner or operator of an otter trawl
vessel that is issued a scup moratorium permit may possess more than
1,000 lb (454 kg) of scup from October 1 through April 30, or more than
200 lb (91 kg) of scup from May 1 through September 30, unless fishing
with nets that have a minimum mesh size of 5.0-inch (12.7-cm) diamond
mesh, applied throughout the codend for at least 75 continuous meshes
forward of the terminus of the net, and all other nets are stowed and
not available for immediate use as defined in Sec. 648.2.
* * * * *
(5) Stowage of nets. The owner or operator of an otter trawl vessel
retaining 1,000 lb (454 kg) or more of scup from October 1 through
April 30, or 200 lb (90.7 kg) or more of scup from May 1 through
September 30, and subject to the minimum mesh requirements in paragraph
(a)(1) of this section, and the owner or operator of a midwater trawl
or other trawl vessel subject to the minimum size requirement in Sec.
648.126, may not have available for immediate use any net, or any piece
of net, not meeting the minimum mesh size requirement, or

[[Page 8238]]

mesh that is rigged in a manner that is inconsistent with the minimum
mesh size. A net that is stowed and not available for immediate use as
defined in Sec. 648.2, and that can be shown not to have been in
recent use, is considered to be not available for immediate use.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2018-03828 Filed 2-23-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P

$8238 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 38 / Monday, February 26, 2018 / Proposed Rules mesh that is rigged in a manner that is available for immediate use as defined have been in recent use, is considered inconsistent with the minimum mesh in § 648.2, and that can be shown not to to be not available for immediate use. size. A net that is stowed and not * * * * * [FR Doc. 2018–03828 Filed 2–23–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:05 Feb 23, 2018 Jkt 244001 PO 00000 Frm 00040 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 9990 E:\FR\FM\26FEP1.SGM 26FEP1$

Document Created: 2018-02-24 01:00:37
Document Modified: 2018-02-24 01:00:37

Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Proposed Rules
Action		Proposed rule; request for comments.
Dates		Comments must be received by 5 p.m. local time, on March 13, 2018.
Contact		Emily Gilbert, Fishery Policy Analyst, (978) 281-9244.
FR Citation		83 FR 8236
RIN Number		0648-BH26

83 FR 8236 - Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Scup Fishery; Framework Adjustment 10

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCENational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 38 (February 26, 2018)

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration