[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 99 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27978-27985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13504]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 960805216-7111-06; I.D. 121796B]
RIN 0648-AH06


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Regulatory Amendment 
to the Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 
Sea Bass Fisheries; Commercial Quota Harvested for Delaware and New 
Hampshire

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

ACTION: Final rule; commercial quota harvest.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to implement approved measures 
contained in a regulatory amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for 
the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries (FMP). This 
regulatory amendment revises the allocation and management of the 
commercial scup quota. As a consequence of this rule, NMFS further 
announces that no commercial scup quota is available for the States of 
Delaware and New Hampshire for the 1997 Summer period, which ends 
October 31, 1997.

EFFECTIVE DATE: May 20, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the regulatory amendment are available upon 
request from David R. Keifer, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South New Street, 
Dover, DE 19901.
    Comments regarding burden-hour estimates for collection-of-
information requirements contained in this final rule should be sent to 
Andrew A. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Regional Administrator, 1 Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930, and to the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Washington, D.C. 20502 
(Attention: NOAA Desk Officer).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 508-281-9221.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This final rule implements approved measures 
contained in the regulatory amendment to the FMP, which was prepared by 
the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission). Background concerning 
the development of this regulatory amendment was provided in the notice 
of proposed rulemaking (62 FR 5375, February 5, 1997), and is not 
repeated here.
    This rulemaking revises the manner in which the annual commercial 
quota is allocated to the scup fishery. With this revision, the total 
annual allowable catch (TAC) for the commercial fishery

[[Page 27979]]

is allocated into two Winter periods: January-April (Winter I) and 
November-December (Winter II); and one Summer period: May-October 
(Summer). Based on historical landings data, the quota is allocated to 
each period as follows: Winter I--45.11 percent; Summer--38.95 percent; 
and Winter II--15.94 percent. Discard estimates for each period are 
subtracted from the TAC for each period to derive the commercial quota 
for each period. The quota for each of the two Winter periods is 
allocated on a coastwide basis to the coastal states from Maine to 
North Carolina. During these Winter periods, coastwide landings (trip) 
limits, recommended by the Council and Commission as part of the annual 
fishing measures and implemented by the states, are in effect. This 
regulatory amendment specifies that during the 1997 Winter II period, 
the landings limit will be 12,000 lb (5,443 kg) for vessels with a 
Federal scup moratorium permit. During the Summer period, the quota is 
distributed among the coastal states based on the percentage shares 
specified in this regulatory amendment. The states are responsible for 
the management of their respective quotas.

Disapproved Measure

    NMFS announces the disapproval of the de minimus provision 
specified in this regulatory amendment because it violates national 
standard 7, raises questions of consistency with national standard 1, 
and appears to be arbitrary and capricious. This measure would require 
an annual examination of state landings to determine if a state should 
be granted de minimus status. De minimus is defined as landings in a 
state during the Summer period that are less than 0.1 percent of the 
overall Summer quota. This determination was to be based on landings 
for the last preceding year for which data are available. The de 
minimus measure imposes an administrative burden and cost without 
conferring any demonstrable administrative or conservation benefit. 
Consequently, this provision contravenes the requirements of national 
standard 7.
    In the preamble to the proposed rule to implement this regulatory 
amendment, NMFS noted that the de minimus provision was unclear and 
invited comments specific to the operation of this provision. The 
Council and the State of Delaware's Division of Fish and Wildlife 
submitted comments to interpret the provision. However, the comments 
did not address NMFS' concern that it is not clear from the record if a 
de minimus state must close its state fishery when its quota is 
harvested. A state's failure to close its fishery when its quota is 
harvested would prevent the attainment of the exploitation rate 
reduction goals in the FMP, since vessels without Federal permits 
fishing exclusively in that state's waters could continue to land scup. 
This would result in overfishing and renders the measure inconsistent 
with national standard 1.
    If de minimus status does not, at the very least, require a state 
to impose landing constraints, the provision would encourage owners of 
vessels that have not traditionally landed in that state to land 
amounts of scup much larger than they could land in their home port 
states. This could result in the state's de minimus quota being rapidly 
exceeded and compound the overfishing situation if a de minimus state 
is not required to close its fishery when its de minimus quota is 
harvested.
    Further, the standard established to determine de minimus status 
(examination of landing data for the last year for which data are 
available) appears arbitrary and capricious. Landings in the 
intervening time period in the state under consideration for de minimus 
status could well exceed the threshold for such status. Thus, such a 
determination would not reflect accurately the true status of the 
state.
    Last, the de minimus provision submitted by the Council and 
Delaware included measures that went beyond the scope of measures taken 
to public hearing. For instance, the Council suggested prohibiting scup 
landings by any federally permitted vessels in a state granted de 
minimus status. To implement this provision at this point would be 
inconsistent with the Administrative Procedure Act because the public 
has had no opportunity to participate in this measure's development or 
to comment on it. Also, note that Table 2 in this final rule lists the 
states and their percent shares for the Summer period commercial quota. 
These percent shares are the same as were listed in the proposed rule. 
However, had the de minimus provision been approved, these percent 
shares would have changed.

Approved Measures: Implementation of the Revised Quota System

    A coastwide commercial quota for scup was implemented on January 1, 
1997. Final specifications, effective March 11, 1997 (62 FR 12105, 
March 14, 1997), apportioned a quota of 6.0 million lb (2.7 million kg) 
to the commercial scup fishery. This quota was derived by subtracting 
an estimated 1997 discard of 1.103 million lb (0.5 million kg) from the 
7.103 million lb (3.2 million kg) allocated to the commercial sector. 
This regulatory amendment specifies that any quota harvested between 
January 1, 1997, and April 30, 1997, will count against the Winter I 
allocation. Any landings in excess of the 1997 Winter I allocation will 
be deducted from the allocation for the 1997 Winter II period. Landings 
in excess of the total of both 1997 Winter periods will be deducted 
from 1998 Winter periods. This deduction would not affect the Summer 
allocation in either year. However, current data show approximately 
800,000 lb (362,874 kg) have been landed through March 22, 1997. 
Therefore, an overage of the Winter I allocation, specified in the 
table below, would be unlikely. As such, no adjustment is necessary to 
the Winter II allocation. However, if additional data become available 
that show landings during this time are in excess of the Winter I 
allocation, an adjustment will be made and the public informed through 
notification in the Federal Register.
    A summary of the 1997 allocations for the three periods is shown in 
Table 1.

                              Table 1.--Period Allocations of Commercial Scup Quota                             
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         Quota allocation       
                Period                  Percent       TAC \1\      Discards \2\  -------------------------------
                                                                                     (pounds)       (kilograms) 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\3\-----
WINTER I.............................      45.11       3,204,163         497,563       2,706,600       1,227,693
SUMMER...............................      38.95       2,766,619         429,619       2,337,000       1,060,045
WINTER II............................      15.94       1,132,218         175,818         956,400         433,816
                                      --------------------------------------------------------------------------
    TOTAL............................     100.00       7,103,000       1,103,000       6,000,000      2,721,554 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Total Allowable Catch, in pounds.    \2\ Discard estimates, in pounds.    \3\ Kilograms are as converted    
  from pounds.                                                                                                  


[[Page 27980]]

    The 1997 commercial quota for the Summer period (2,337,000 lb; 
1,060,045 kg), apportioned among the states according to the percentage 
shares specified in Sec. 648.120(d)(3), is presented in Table 2.

      Table 2.--Summer Period (May-October) Commercial Quota Shares     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   1997 allocation      
             State                  Share   ----------------------------
                                  (percent)    (pounds)     (kilograms) 
----------------------------------------------------------------\1\-----
Maine..........................     0.13042        3,048          1,383 
New Hampshire..................     0.00004            1              0 
Massachusetts..................    15.49117      362,029        164,214 
Rhode Island...................    60.56588    1,415,425        642,026 
Connecticut....................     3.39884       79,431         36,029 
New York.......................    17.05295      398,527        180,769 
New Jersey.....................     3.14307       73,453         33,318 
Delaware.......................     0.00000            0              0 
Maryland.......................     0.01288          301            137 
Virginia.......................     0.17787        4,157          1,886 
North Carolina.................     0.02688          628            285 
                                ----------------------------------------
    Total......................   100.00000    2,337,000     1,060,045  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds and do not add to the        
  converted total due to rounding.                                      

    Section 648.121(b) requires the Administrator, Northeast Region, 
NMFS (Regional Administrator) to monitor the Summer period state 
commercial quotas and determine the date when a state commercial quota 
is harvested. NMFS is required to publish notification in the Federal 
Register advising a state and notifying vessel and dealer permit 
holders that, effective upon a specific date, a state's Summer period 
commercial quota has been harvested and that no Summer period 
commercial quota is available for landing scup in that state for the 
remainder of the period. Because the amount of commercial quota that is 
allocated for the Summer period to the State of New Hampshire is 1 lb 
(less than 1 kg) and to the State of Delaware is 0 lb (0 kg), the 
Regional Administrator has determined that no quota is available for 
landings in those states for the Summer period.
    The regulations at Sec. 648.4(b) provide that Federal permit 
holders agree, as a condition of the permit, not to land scup in any 
state that the Regional Administrator has determined no longer has 
commercial quota available. Therefore, effective 0001 hours May 20, 
1997, until 2400 hours, October 31, 1997, landings of scup in New 
Hampshire or Delaware by vessels holding commercial Federal fisheries 
permits are prohibited, unless quota becomes available through a 
transfer and is announced in the Federal Register. Federally permitted 
dealers are also advised that they may not purchase scup from federally 
permitted vessels that land in New Hampshire or Delaware for the 
remainder of the Summer period or until quota becomes available through 
a transfer.

Comments and Responses

    Written comments from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of 
Marine Fisheries (MA-DMF); the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive 
Office of Environmental Affairs, Office of Coastal Zone Management (MA-
OCZM); the State of Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife (Delaware); 
the Council; three fishing industry associations; one U.S. Congressman; 
and six members of the public were received during the public comment 
period, which ended on March 7, 1997. One association letter was 
accompanied by a petition that was signed by 314 individuals. Several 
written comments were also received during the public comment period 
that were not relevant to the proposed rule for this regulatory 
amendment. Those comments are not addressed here.
    Comment: Delaware and the Council submitted a comment to explain 
the de minimus provision. Specifically, Delaware interpreted the 
provision to include the following points, and the Council concurred: 
(1) De minimus status would be valid for 1 year; (2) de minimus quota 
would be equal to 0.1 percent of the coastwide summer total and that 
amount would be subtracted from the remainder prior to allocation to 
the other states; (3) no landings of scup would be permitted by 
federally permitted fishing vessels in states granted de minimus 
status; (4) to apply for de minimus status, a state must show 
``reasonable steps'' were taken to assure landings would not exceed its 
de minimus allocation; (5) landings in excess of a de minimus state's 
allocation would be taken off next year's allocation; (6) states 
granted de minimus status would submit an annual report to the 
Monitoring Committee, the Council, and the Board, detailing scup 
landings and compliance.
    Response: For the reasons noted in the preamble of this final rule, 
NMFS has disapproved the provision to grant de minimus status to 
states. As noted in the preamble, the clarification submitted did not 
clarify adequately the measures and actually raised new concerns about 
the provision.
    Comment: One industry association urged disapproval because of the 
rapid pace used to develop the quota measure. The association felt that 
there was inadequate time for constructive discussion of the 
alternatives.
    Response: Amendment 8 to the FMP, approved on July 29, 1996 (61 FR 
43420, August 23, 1996), stressed the Council's intention to revise the 
coastwide commercial quota allocation system contained within it. Since 
the Council contemplated revisions in Amendment 8, those changes are 
promulgated through this regulatory amendment, instead of a plan 
amendment. However, a regulatory amendment does not exempt an action 
from full public participation afforded under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). Public 
hearings for this regulatory amendment were held from September 10, 
1996,

[[Page 27981]]

through September 12, 1996, in coastal communities from Buzzards Bay, 
MA, to Cape May Courthouse, NJ. This schedule of hearings invited 
widespread public input into the development of the regulatory 
amendment, including its alternatives. This schedule is entirely 
consistent with the legal requirements that pertain to the fishery 
management plan development process.
    Comment: Two commenters urged disapproval of the regulatory 
amendment as inconsistent with national standard 4. One U.S. 
Congressman recommended disapproval of the regulatory amendment because 
of the Summer allocations to the states and his concern about the 
Massachusetts allocation. One individual requested that NMFS disapprove 
the regulatory amendment, because he feels it is based on inaccurate 
data, fails to address differing discard rates by gear type, and 
imposes no effort control on gear types with high discard rates. This 
commenter believes that national standard 4 is violated by both the 
coastwide quota approved under Amendment 8 to the FMP and this 
regulatory amendment.
    Response: For the reasons noted in this preamble, NMFS determined 
all measures except de minimus to be consistent with the national 
standards and all other applicable laws. NMFS disagrees that annual 
allocations, or their distribution in either Amendment 8 or this 
regulatory amendment, violate national standard 4. For the most part, 
the distribution of the allocations is on a coastwide basis. During the 
Winter period coastwide quotas, all industry participants will operate 
under uniform landings limits regardless of where they are fishing or 
in which state they reside. A coastwide quota does not have a 
discriminatory effect between residents of different states, as such a 
measure is indifferent to the location of the fishing effort that 
results in its harvest. While many would like to see higher annual 
quotas, that desire conflicts with the conservation goals established 
in Amendment 8, which are consistent with the principal focus of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act to prevent overfishing and to rebuild overfished 
stocks, of which scup is one. This approach to management does not 
raise any issues with respect to national standard 4. Further, the 
state-by-state quota system in the Summer period established by this 
regulatory amendment is equally consistent with national standard 4.
    National standard 4 requires that any allocation be fair and 
equitable to all participants in the fishery. This requirement does not 
translate into a management scheme in which all state quotas have to be 
the same or similar. The fair and equitable aspect of national standard 
4, as applied to this regulatory amendment, relates to the manner in 
which the allocation is assigned to the states. In this instance, 
during the Summer period, the assignment of the quota to the states is 
based on the same formula. Each state receives a percentage of the 
quota based on the percentage of the overall catch represented by the 
states' landings data from 1983 through 1992. The states are going to 
share the quota differently since their historical percentage of the 
overall landings are different. The historical landings data are the 
best available data upon which to base the allocation system. Use of 
these data is consistent with the requirements of national standard 2. 
Further, the regulatory amendment specifies that those percentages may 
be revised if additional data are provided to indicate that a state's 
landings data were incomplete.
    This regulatory amendment cannot impose effort control on gear 
types with high discard rates because at the present time such 
information is not available for analysis. The issue is addressed 
elsewhere in this preamble.
    Comment: Two industry associations expressed their belief that the 
data available are inadequate for use as a basis for management.
    Response: NMFS disagrees that available data are not sufficient to 
support the measures in this regulatory amendment. The measures rely 
upon the best scientific data available from both NMFS and the states. 
While data are lacking for certain elements of this fishery--notably 
landings from some states' inshore handline fisheries--this regulatory 
amendment does contain the provision to allow states to revise their 
summer shares based on amended data for the historical period. Further, 
if gear-specific data become available, that data could be reflected in 
the annual quota calculation.
    Comment: The MA-DMF commented that the regulatory amendment 
violates national standard 9 because it fails to reduce bycatch.
    Response: To begin addressing discards in the scup fishery, and 
bycatch of scup in other fisheries, the final specifications for the 
1997 scup fishery revised gear requirements for the commercial sector 
of this fishery. Specifically, the minimum codend mesh for otter trawl 
vessels was increased to 4.5 inches (11.43 cm), triggered by the 
harvest of a threshold of 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) from November through 
April, and 1,000 lb (453 kg) from May through October. The intent of 
this measure is to encourage offshore vessels that target squid with 
1.875 inch (4.76 cm) mesh, to move off concentrations of scup, unless 
the vessel intends to continue fishing with the larger mesh. As the 
regulatory amendment calls for discards to be subtracted from a 
period's TAC, there is further incentive to discard less, as lower 
levels of discards could also be reflected in the annual quota 
calculation. This approach is consistent with national standard 9 that 
directs, in part, that to the extent practicable, bycatch should be 
minimized.
    Comment: One industry association expressed concern about the 
adequacy of data available to estimate discards (referring to the 
estimate as ``subjective'') and also about the methods for using those 
data in calculating the quotas.
    Response: Since the estimate of scup discards are the best 
available data at this time, it would be inappropriate to characterize 
these data as ``subjective.'' The term ``subjective'' implies that the 
estimates are modified by individual bias, when, in fact, the estimates 
used are based on direct observations from sea sampling and landings. 
These data are the best scientific information available to NMFS. The 
estimation methodology has been reviewed and accepted by the NMFS Stock 
Assessment Workshop process, which is a peer-reviewed process involving 
participants from academia, Federal and state agencies, and industry.
    With this regulatory amendment, the discard estimates attributable 
to a period are to be subtracted from that period's TAC. The first step 
in estimating a TAC (used to determine the quota) is estimating current 
stock size. That stock size estimate is based on an analysis of the 
effects of both discards and landings. The target exploitation rate, 
including the effects of both discards and landings, is then ``plugged 
into'' the current stock size to determine the TAC. It is assumed that 
the observed discard pattern (including the ratio of discards to 
landings of fish at each age) in a given year will persist in the year 
for which the TAC is allocated. Thus, the TAC equals landings plus 
discards. If discards are not subtracted from the TAC, and the entire 
TAC is allowed as landings, then the target exploitation rate will be 
substantially exceeded.
    Comment: Three industry associations, two individuals, and the MA-
DMF questioned the adequacy of discard data used in calculating the 
commercial quota. Concern was expressed about inadequate sea sampling 
of offshore freezer trawler vessels and the lack of specific action to 
reduce discards. The MA-DMF

[[Page 27982]]

contends that the treatment of the discard data is inequitable to the 
Massachusetts fishery.
    Response: The amount of discard data that may be collected is 
dependent on the amount of funding available for sea sampling in a 
given year. NMFS notes that sea sampling is especially difficult for 
the scup fishery, as the fishery is pursued over a wide geographic 
range as well as a wide range of seasons and gear types. However, this 
regulatory amendment and the existing FMP rely on data that are the 
best available scientific information.
    Comment: Three industry associations and one U.S. Congressman felt 
the regulations gave no consideration to past conservation actions 
taken by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and that Massachusetts lacks 
effective participation in fishery management plans administered 
jointly by the Council and Commission. Some of these commenters felt 
that this apparent lack of participation by Massachusetts was in 
violation of national standard 4.
    Response: The allocation of commercial quota is based on data for a 
state's historical fishery from the base years of 1983 through 1992 and 
includes all data supplied by NMFS and the states for those years. 
Measures adopted by Massachusetts in 1992 and subsequent years, 
including a ban on night dragging and minimum fish size, are 
commendable and excellent conservation measures for the scup stock. 
However, those measures do not impact the landings during the base 
years that define the historical fishery in this regulatory amendment.
    This regulatory amendment, as well as the FMP, was prepared jointly 
by the Council and the Commission, with assistance provided by the New 
England Fishery Management Council. Massachusetts effectively 
participated in the development of this regulatory amendment through 
two of those bodies: The New England Fishery Management Council, on 
which Massachusetts holds a voting seat, and the Commission, which 
votes on actions independent of the Council by way of the Summer 
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board (Board). A representative of 
Massachusetts chairs the Commission's Board. Massachusetts' 
participation, or any lack thereof, does not raise any issues with 
respect to national standard 4 that have not been addressed above.
    Comment: One industry association made a specific request to 
eliminate wasteful, harmful fishing practices and encourage 
conservation by exempting handlines, scup pots, and weirs from the 
quota plan.
    Response: The commercial quota is one of the major conservation 
measures to achieve the target exploitation rates of the FMP. The FMP 
specifically requires that all scup landed for sale in a state, 
regardless of where or how it is harvested, count against the quota. 
Therefore, there is no provision in the regulations to exempt the catch 
taken by any specific gear type from the quota. The commenter did not 
elaborate on how such an exemption from the quota by a user group would 
discourage wasteful and harmful fishing practices or encourage 
conservation. The commenter offered no alternative that would allow the 
inshore industry to assist in meeting the reductions in exploitation 
mandated by the FMP.
    Comment: One industry association and one individual felt this 
regulatory amendment discriminated against specific gear types because 
the discard deduction does not distinguish between different fishing 
methods.
    Response: The data presently available do not provide the basis to 
manage individual gear types differently. However, the regulatory 
amendment does provide a mechanism that will allow future consideration 
of gear differences, should such data become available.
    Comment: Two individuals expressed concern that the quota would be 
caught early in the fishing year and that there would be no fishery for 
the summer inshore commercial fishery in Massachusetts.
    Response: This regulatory amendment incorporates language to 
address specifically this concern. Any overages that occur in the 1997 
Winter I allocation, and made prior to implementation of this 
regulatory amendment, will be taken off the 1997 Winter II and 
subsequent Winter periods. In 1998 and beyond, overages in a period's 
allocation will be deducted from that period the following year. In no 
scenario will an overage from a winter fishery impact a Summer period 
allocation.
    Comment: One industry association and one member of the public 
commented that this regulatory amendment would financially devastate 
coastal communities. The association noted that almost all of its 
members derive greater than 50 percent of their income from the 
commercial harvest of scup. They feared that between May 1 and May 15 
or 20, when trap fishermen and handliners normally start harvesting, 
the quota could be filled by draggers issued a Massachusetts Coastal 
Access vessel permit. As a result, Massachusetts' fishery would close 
before they could fish. This early closure would result in financial 
devastation for the coastal communities in which they do business.
    Response: Under this rule, the commercial quota for the Summer scup 
fishery (May through October) will be managed on a state-by-state 
basis. This regulatory amendment requires the full cooperation of the 
states in order for the entire FMP to be successful. The states may 
implement their Summer allocation in a manner that best suits their 
individual fisheries. Massachusetts may choose to implement its quota 
using trip limits or other measures to preserve quota for particular 
sectors of its industry. Such measures, implemented by the State, would 
serve to mitigate the financial impacts of the Summer quota. The 
Assistant General Council for Legislation and Regulation of the 
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration, when this rule was proposed, that 
this rule is not expected to have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. That certification, including the 
reasons for it, was published in the preamble to the proposed rule (62 
FR 5375, February 5, 1997). This regulatory amendment is intended to 
preserve the historical pattern of commercial harvest of scup by 
seasons, thus reducing the impact on small entities that may otherwise 
be felt under a coastwide quota with no method of controlling the rate 
of harvest.
    Comment: One industry group and one member of the public expressed 
concern for participants in the recreational fishery because of the 
belief that the group, although large in number, receives very little 
quota and will be negatively impacted by this regulatory amendment.
    Response: This regulatory amendment has no impact on the 
recreational fishery. The recreational sector of the fishery is 
currently operating under a target harvest limit that is not revised by 
this action. Final specifications for the commercial and recreational 
scup fisheries were published on March 14, 1997 (62 FR 12105). Those 
specifications allocate 6.0 million lb (2.7 million kg) to the 
commercial sector and 1.947 million lb (0.88 million kg) to the 
recreational sector. Neither allocation is changed by this regulatory 
amendment.
    Comment: The MA-CZM commented that the Council should consider 
measures other than quota to control fishing (e.g., ban night trawling, 
etc.), as Massachusetts did several years ago.
    Response: The commercial quota revised by this action is but one of 
several measures implemented under

[[Page 27983]]

Amendment 8 to control fishing mortality in the scup fishery. Other 
measures include a moratorium on new entrants into the fishery, gear 
restrictions, minimum fish size, pot/trap requirements, and a target 
harvest level for the recreational fishery. Generally, controls on 
fishing gear, such as mesh and escape vent sizes, control the rate of 
mortality on sublegal fish, i.e., fish that are not yet vulnerable to 
the gear. The quota measures constrain the number of legal sized fish 
that may be removed from a stock. These two measures combined are 
intended to achieve the goals of the FMP to reduce overfishing on the 
scup stock.
    Comment: The MA-DMF commented that the mixed species/discard 
problem is not resolved with minimum fish and mesh size requirements. 
The MA-DMF strongly advocates large season/area closures in offshore 
waters, particularly during the fall through spring seasons to reduce 
the discard of small scup.
    Response: NMFS agrees that such measures may be prudent for this 
fishery, and deserve to be seriously considered for implementation in 
1998.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    This final rule implements the provisions of the regulatory 
amendment by amending 50 CFR part 648, Fisheries of the Northeastern 
United States. As a result of the President's Regulatory Reinvention 
Initiative, regulatory language for all of the fishery management plans 
within the purview of the Council and the New England Fishery 
Management Council were consolidated into part 648. In some cases, this 
final rule mentions fisheries other than scup in the regulatory 
language. The regulations governing these other fisheries have not been 
amended here and their mention in the regulatory language is merely to 
reduce confusion for the reader.
    In Sec. 648.14, paragraph (a)(89), the phrase ``fish for, catch or 
retain'' is revised to read ``fish for, catch and retain, or land'' to 
clarify the prohibition on landing more than the limit.
    Since the measure to grant de minimus status to a state was 
disapproved by NMFS, in Sec. 648.120, paragraphs (b)(2) through (b)(8) 
are redesignated as (b)(4) through (b)(10) and proposed paragraphs 
(b)(4) and (e) are removed from the regulations.
    The paragraph specifying states' shares in proposed 
Sec. 648.120(d)(7) is corrected to read ``(d)(3),'' and the requirement 
that the Council and Commission recommend to the Regional Administrator 
that the seasonal allocations in paragraph (d)(1) be revised as a 
result of changes in landings data available from the states for the 
base years 1983-92, is added.
    Proposed Sec. 648.120(f) is redesignated as Sec. 648.120(e).

Classification

    This rule will enhance the efficiency of the Fishery Management 
Plan for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries, and 
offer benefits in implementing the commercial quota provisions of this 
joint plan by redistributing the quota in the manner already approved 
by the Commission. In order to realize these benefits, this rule must 
be effective as close as possible to May 1, the start of the 1997 
Summer period. Therefore, there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) 
not to delay for 30 days the effective date of these regulations but to 
make them effective upon the date of filing for public inspection at 
the Office of the Federal Register.
    The Regional Administrator determined that this regulatory 
amendment is necessary for the conservation and management of the scup 
fishery and that it is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and 
other applicable laws.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of E.O. 12866.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is 
required to respond to nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for 
failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), unless that 
collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number.
    This rule contains a collection-of-information requirement subject 
to the PRA. The state request to transfer quota has been approved by 
OMB under control number 0648-0202 and is estimated to average 1 hour 
per response. The estimated response time includes the time for 
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden 
estimate, or any other aspect of the collection of information, 
including suggestions for reducing the burden, to NMFS and OMB (see 
ADDRESSES).
    The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the 
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration, when this rule was proposed, that 
the management measures contained in this regulatory amendment will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The reasons for this certification are contained in the 
certification, which was published as part of the preamble to the 
proposed rule (62 FR 5375, February 5, 1997) and are not repeated here.
    NMFS received several comments from representatives of the 
Massachusetts inshore fishery regarding the economic impacts of this 
rulemaking, but none specifically addressing this certification. These 
comments were addressed in the Comments/Response section of this final 
rule. The commenters noted primarily that many participants in the 
inshore segment of the Massachusetts fishery derive a significant 
portion of their income from the harvest of scup during the Summer 
period. Other comments stressed that many of the landings from this 
segment of the fishery are not represented in the scup landings 
database. The commenters have come forward with concerns that can not 
be confirmed by the scup landings database. Without specific data on 
the level of fishing historically undertaken by the inshore segment of 
the commercial scup fishery, it is impossible to analyze the economic 
impacts on the inshore Massachusetts fishery versus the fishery as a 
whole. If the inshore fishery is taken as a distinct universe of 
participants for the purpose of determining impacts under RFA, it is 
conceivable that this action may meet the criteria for significant 
impact, as the commenters claim. However, NMFS cannot confirm that 
claim because data are lacking for that segment of the fishery. The 
comments did not provide any information changing the basis for the 
certification. As a result, no regulatory flexibility analysis was 
prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: May 16, 1997.
Gary Matlock,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.

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

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

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

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

    2. In Sec. 648.4, paragraph (b) is revised to read as follows:

[[Page 27984]]

Sec. 648.4  Vessel and individual commercial permits.

* * * * *
    (b) Permit conditions. Any person who applies for a fishing permit 
under this section must agree as a condition of the permit that the 
vessel and the vessel's fishing activity, catch, and pertinent gear 
(without regard to whether such fishing occurs in the EEZ or landward 
of the EEZ, and without regard to where such fish or gear are 
possessed, taken or landed), are subject to all requirements of this 
part, unless exempted from such requirements under this part. All such 
fishing activities, catch, and gear will remain subject to all 
applicable state requirements. Except as otherwise provided in this 
part, if a requirement of this part and a management measure required 
by a state or local law differ, any vessel owner permitted to fish in 
the EEZ for any species managed under this part must comply with the 
more restrictive requirement. Owners and operators of vessels fishing 
under the terms of a summer flounder moratorium, scup moratorium, or 
black sea bass moratorium permit must also agree not to land summer 
flounder, scup, or black sea bass, respectively, in any state after 
NMFS has published a notification in the Federal Register stating that 
the commercial quota for that state or period has been harvested and 
that no commercial quota is available for the respective species. A 
state not receiving an allocation of summer flounder, scup, or black 
sea bass, either directly or through a coastwide allocation, is deemed 
to have no commercial quota available. Owners or operators fishing for 
surf clams and ocean quahogs within waters under the jurisdiction of 
any state that requires cage tags are not subject to any conflicting 
Federal minimum size or tagging requirements. If a surf clam and ocean 
quahog requirement of this part differs from a surf clam and ocean 
quahog management measure required by a state that does not require 
cage tagging, any vessel owners or operators permitted to fish in the 
EEZ for surf clams and ocean quahogs must comply with the more 
restrictive requirement while fishing in state waters. However, 
surrender of a surf clam and ocean quahog vessel permit by the owner by 
certified mail addressed to the Regional Administrator allows an 
individual to comply with the less restrictive state minimum size 
requirement, as long as fishing is conducted exclusively within state 
waters. If the commercial black sea bass quota for a period is 
harvested and the coast is closed to the possession of black sea bass 
north of 35 deg.15.3' N. lat., any vessel owners that hold valid 
commercial permits for both the black sea bass and the NMFS Southeast 
Region Snapper-Grouper fisheries may surrender their moratorium Black 
Sea Bass permit by certified mail addressed to the Regional 
Administrator and fish pursuant to their Snapper-Grouper permit, as 
long as fishing is conducted exclusively in waters, and landings are 
made, south of 35 deg.15.3' N. lat. A moratorium permit for the black 
sea bass fishery that is voluntarily relinquished or surrendered will 
be reissued upon the receipt of the vessel owner's written request 
after a minimum period of 6 months from the date of cancellation.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec. 648.14, paragraphs (a)(89) through (a)(101) are 
redesignated as (a)(90) through (a)(102), respectively, and a new 
paragraph (a)(89) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 648.14  Prohibitions.

    (a) * * *
    (89) Fish for, catch and retain, or land scup in or from the EEZ 
north of 35 deg.15.3' N. lat. in excess of the landing limit 
established pursuant to Sec. 648.120 (b)(2) and (b)(3).
* * * * *
    4. In Sec. 648.120, paragraph (b)(1) is revised, paragraphs (b)(2) 
through (b)(8) are redesignated as paragraphs (b)(4) through (b)(10), 
respectively, new paragraphs (b)(2) and (b)(3) are added, paragraphs 
(c) and (d) are revised, and paragraph (e) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 648.120  Catch quotas and other restrictions.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) The commercial quota for each of the three periods specified in 
paragraph (d)(1) of this section, to be set from a range of 0 to the 
maximum allowed to achieve the specified exploitation rate. The 
commercial quota will be established by estimating the annual total 
allowable catch (TAC), allocating it into the three periods, and 
deducting the discard estimates for each period.
    (2) Landing limits for the Winter I and Winter II periods.
    (3) Percent of landings attained at which the landing limit for the 
Winter I period will be reduced.
* * * * *
    (c) Annual fishing measures. The Demersal Species Committee shall 
review the recommendations of the Scup Monitoring Committee. Based on 
these recommendations and any public comment, the Demersal Species 
Committee shall recommend to the MAFMC measures necessary to assure 
that the specified exploitation rate will not be exceeded. The MAFMC 
shall review these recommendations and, based on these recommendations 
and any public comment, recommend to the Regional Administrator 
measures necessary to assure that the specified exploitation rate will 
not be exceeded. The MAFMC's recommendation must include supporting 
documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental and 
economic impacts of the recommendations. The Regional Administrator 
shall review these recommendations and any recommendations of the 
Commission. After such review, NMFS will publish a proposed rule in the 
Federal Register by October 15 to implement a commercial quota, 
specifying the amount of quota allocated to each of the three periods, 
landing limits for the Winter I and Winter II periods, the percentage 
of landings attained during the Winter I fishery at which the landing 
limits will be reduced, a recreational harvest limit and additional 
management measures for the commercial fishery. NMFS will publish a 
proposed rule in the Federal Register by February 15 to implement 
additional management measures for the recreational fishery, if the 
Regional Administrator determines that such measures are necessary to 
assure that the specified exploitation rate will not be exceeded. After 
considering public comment, NMFS will publish a final rule in the 
Federal Register to implement the annual measures.
    (d) Distribution of Commercial Quota. (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-October...........................................      38.95
Winter II--November-December.................................      15.94
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (2) The Winter I and Winter II commercial quotas will each be 
distributed to the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina on 
a coastwide basis.
    (3) The Summer commercial quota will be allocated to the coastal 
states from Maine through North Carolina, based upon the following 
percentages:

           Summer Period (May-October) Commercial Quota Shares          
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Share    
                          State                              (percent)  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine...................................................         0.13042
New Hampshire...........................................         0.00004

[[Page 27985]]

                                                                        
Massachusetts...........................................        15.49120
Rhode Island............................................        60.56589
Connecticut.............................................         3.39884
New York................................................        17.05295
New Jersey..............................................         3.14307
Delaware................................................         0.00000
Maryland................................................         0.01286
Virginia................................................         0.17789
North Carolina..........................................         0.02690
Total...................................................       100.00000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (4) All scup landed for sale in any state during either Winter I or 
Winter II shall be applied against the coastwide commercial quota for 
that period, regardless of where the scup were harvested. All scup 
landed for sale in a state during the Summer period shall be applied 
against that state's summer commercial quota, regardless of where the 
scup were harvested.
    (5) All scup landed for sale in any state during the period January 
1, 1997, through April 30, 1997, shall be applied against the coastwide 
commercial quota for the 1997 Winter I period, regardless of where the 
scup were harvested. Any landings during that time in excess of the 
1997 Winter I commercial quota will be subtracted from the 1997 Winter 
II period's allocation. Any overage beyond the 1997 Winter II 
allocation will be deducted from subsequent winter periods.
    (6) Beginning in 1997, any overages of the commercial quota landed 
in any state during the Summer period will be deducted from that 
state's Summer period quota for the following year. Beginning in 1998, 
any overages of the commercial quota landed in any Winter period will 
be subtracted from the period's allocation for the following year.
    (7) Based upon any changes in the landings data available from the 
states for the base years 1983-92, the Commission and the Council may 
recommend to the Regional Administrator that the states' shares 
specified in paragraph (d)(3) of this section and the period 
allocations specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section be revised. 
The Council's and the Commission's recommendation must include 
supporting documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental 
and economic impacts of the recommendation. The Regional Administrator 
shall review the recommendation of the Commission and the Council. 
After such review, NMFS will publish a proposed rule in the Federal 
Register to implement a revision in the state shares. After considering 
public comment, NMFS will publish a final rule in the Federal Register 
to implement the changes in allocation.
    (e) Quota transfers and combinations. Any state implementing a 
state commercial quota for scup may request approval from the Regional 
Administrator to transfer part or all of its Summer period quota to one 
or more states. Two or more states implementing a state commercial 
quota for scup may request approval from the Regional Administrator to 
combine their quotas, or part of their quotas, into an overall regional 
quota. Requests for transfer or combination of commercial quotas for 
scup must be made by individual or joint letter(s) signed by the 
principal state official with marine fishery management responsibility 
and expertise, or his or her previously named designee, for each state 
involved. The letter(s) must certify that all pertinent state 
requirements have been met and identify the states involved and the 
amount of quota to be transferred or combined.
    (1) Within 10 working days following the receipt of the letter(s) 
from the states involved, the Regional Administrator shall notify the 
appropriate state officials of the disposition of the request. In 
evaluating requests to transfer a quota or combine quotas, the Regional 
Administrator shall consider whether:
    (i) The transfer or combination would preclude the overall Summer 
period quota from being fully harvested.
    (ii) The transfer addresses an unforeseen variation or contingency 
in the fishery.
    (iii) The transfer is consistent with the objectives of the Summer 
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP and the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    (2) The transfer of quota or the combination of quotas will be 
valid only for the Summer period for which the request was made and 
will be effective upon the filing by NMFS of a notification of approval 
of the quota transfer or combination with the Office of the Federal 
Register.
    (3) A state may not submit a request to transfer quota or combine 
quotas if a request to which it is party is pending before the Regional 
Administrator. A state may submit a new request when it receives notice 
that the Regional Administrator has disapproved the previous request or 
when notification of approval of the quota transfer or combination has 
been filed at the Office of the Federal Register.
    (4) If there is a quota overage among states involved in the 
combination of quotas at the end of the Summer period, the overage will 
be deducted from the following Summer period's quota for each of the 
states involved in the combined quota. The deduction will be 
proportional, based on each state's relative share of the combined 
quota for the previous Summer period. A transfer of quota or 
combination of quotas does not alter any state's percentage share of 
the overall Summer period quota specified in paragraph (d) of this 
section.
    5. Section 648.121 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 648.121  Closures.

    (a) Winter closures. The Regional Administrator will monitor the 
harvest of commercial quota for each Winter period based on dealer 
reports, state data, and other available information and shall 
determine the date when the commercial quota for a Winter period will 
be harvested. NMFS shall close the EEZ to fishing for scup by 
commercial vessels for the remainder of the indicated period by 
publishing notification in the Federal Register advising that, 
effective upon a specific date, the commercial quota for that period 
has been harvested, and notifying vessel and dealer permit holders that 
no commercial quota is available for landing scup for the remainder of 
the period.
    (b) Summer closure. The Regional Administrator will monitor the 
Summer period state commercial quota based on dealer reports, state 
data, and other available information, and shall determine the date 
when a state's commercial quota will be harvested. NMFS shall publish 
notification in the Federal Register advising a state that, effective 
upon a specific date, its Summer period commercial quota has been 
harvested and notifying vessel and dealer permit holders that no Summer 
period commercial quota is available for landing scup in that state for 
the remainder of the period.

[FR Doc. 97-13504 Filed 5-20-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P