[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 75 (Friday, April 18, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19160-19161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-9633]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 030227050-3082-02; I.D. 020603D]
RIN 0648-AQ34


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Spiny Dogfish 
Fishery; 2003 Specifications

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

ACTION: Final rule; final specifications.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues final specifications for the 2003 spiny dogfish 
fishery. This final rule implements a commercial quota and possession 
limits for the 2003 fishing year to address overfishing of the spiny 
dogfish resource. The intent of this action is to comply with 
implementing regulations for the Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which 
require NMFS to publish measures for the upcoming fishing year that 
will prevent overfishing of this resource.

DATES: The 2003 final specifications are effective from May 1, 2003, 
through April 30, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents used by the Spiny Dogfish 
Monitoring Committee; the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), the Final 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) contained within the RIR, and 
the Environmental Assessment (EA) are available from the Northeast 
Regional Office, National Marine Fisheries Service, One Blackburn 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. The EA/RIR/FRFA is also accessible 
via the Internet at http://www.nero.nmfs.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Jay Dolin, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978)281-9259, fax (978)281-9135, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule for this action was 
published in the Federal Register on March 10, 2003, (68 FR 11346). The 
comment period closed on March 25, 2003.

Background

    The spiny dogfish fishery is managed under an FMP developed jointly 
by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the New England 
Fishery Management Council (Councils). The implementing regulations for 
the dogfish fishery are found at 50 CFR part 648, subpart L.
    Pursuant to 50 CFR 648.230, the Administrator, Northeast Region, 
NMFS, (Regional Administrator) implements measures for the 2003 fishing 
year to assure that the target fishing mortality rate (F), as specified 
in the FMP, is not exceeded. The target F and management measures 
(i.e., semi-annual commercial quota and possession limits) are 
summarized below. Detailed background information regarding the 
development of the proposed specifications for the 2003 spiny dogfish 
fishery was provided in the preamble to the proposed rule (68 FR 11346, 
March 10, 2003) and is not repeated here.

Annual Commercial Quota and Possession Limits

    The FMP specifies a target F of 0.03 for 2003 to be attained 
through a commercial quota, and possibly other management measures. 
This final rule implements a commercial quota of 4 million lb (1.81 
million kg) for the 2003 fishing year that is allocated on a semi-
annual basis as follows: Quota Period 1 (May 1-October 31) is allocated 
57.9 percent of the 4-million lb (1.81-million kg) quota, or 2,316,000 
lbs (1,050,512 kg), and Quota Period 2 (November 1-April 30) is 
allocated 42.1 percent of the 4-million lb (1.81-million kg) quota, or 
1,684,000 lbs (763,849 kg).
    This final rule also maintains the existing possession limits of 
600 lb (272 kg) and 300 lb (136 kg) for Quota Period 1 and Quota Period 
2, respectively, to allow for the retention of spiny dogfish caught 
incidentally while fishing for other species throughout the entire 
fishing year.

Comments and Responses

    One set of written comments was submitted during the comment period 
in response to the proposed rule. The comments were prepared by a group 
of environmental organizations, including The Ocean Conservancy, 
Natural Resources Defense Council, National Audubon Society, and 
Environmental Defense.
    NMFS considered the organizations' comments in making the decision 
to issue this final rule.
    Comment 1: The environmental organizations supported a quota of no 
more than the 4-million lb (1.81-million kg) commercial quota, despite 
urging NMFS to consider a commercial quota lower than 4 million lb 
(1.81-million kg) for the upcoming fishing season. They also supported 
the proposed possession limits and strongly opposed higher possession 
limits, which would result in a directed fishery and potentially derail 
rebuilding efforts.
    Response: NMFS is implementing the 4-million lb (1.81-million kg) 
commercial quota and 600-lb (272-kg)/300-lb (136-kg) possession limits 
for Quota Period 1 and 2, respectively, consistent with the Monitoring 
Committee recommendation to maintain fishing mortality targets and 
rebuilding objectives of the FMP. The Monitoring Committee did not 
comment on a lower quota because the 4-million lb (1.81-million kg) 
commercial quota is consistent with the FMP's fishing mortality target. 
Any further reduction in landings would have to be considered in light 
of potential increased spiny dogfish discards.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    The preamble of the proposed rule referenced trip limits, when, in 
fact, this final rule implements possession limits--defined as the 
maximum amount that can be landed in any one 24-hr period (calendar 
day). In contrast, a trip limit is not tied to a specific time 
interval. Thus, having a trip limit as opposed to a possession limit 
could encourage a directed fishery consisting of multiple trips per 
day.

Classification

    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    This action establishes annual quotas and maintains the current 
possession limits for the spiny dogfish fishery, which are used to 
control the harvest of spiny dogfish and to restrict landings when 
quotas are attained. This action must be taken immediately at the start 
of the 2003 fishing year on May 1, 2003, to conserve this resource. It 
would be inconsistent with the conservation goals of the FMP to delay 
implementation of the quota provisions because a hiatus in harvest 
restrictions represented by the quota would allow for an unrestricted 
harvest and, if spiny dogfish are congregated in areas where other 
species are being targeted, or targeted by some vessels, the Period 1 
quota will quickly be attained. In the absence of a commercial quota, 
there would be no ability to close the fishery to prevent further 
increases in fishing mortality and potential deleterious effects to 
rebuilding efforts. In addition, because this final rule maintains 
measures implemented in the 2002 specifications, there is no 
requirement for participants to come into compliance with any new gear 
requirements. Therefore, the AA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(3) to partially waive the 30-day

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delayed effectiveness period for the implementation of the 2003 Federal 
spiny dogfish quota.
    NMFS and the Mid-Atlantic Council prepared a FRFA for this action. 
The FRFA includes comments on the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (IRFA), the discussion and the responses contained in the 
preamble to this final rule, and a summary of the analyses prepared in 
support of this action. Copies of the analysis are available from the 
Regional Administrator (see ADDRESSES). The preamble to the proposed 
rule included a detailed summary of the analyses contained in the IRFA, 
and that entire discussion is not repeated here. A summary of the FRFA 
follows:
    The reason that action is being taken by the agency and the 
objectives of this final rule are explained in the preambles to the 
proposed rule and this final rule and are not repeated here. This 
action does not contain any new collection-of-information, reporting, 
recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements. It does not duplicate, 
overlap, or conflict with any other Federal rules.

Public Comments

    The single set of comments received on the measures contained in 
the proposed rule did not specifically reference the IRFA analyses of 
the expected impacts of the proposed possession limit levels on small 
entities.

Number of Small Entities

    The small entities considered in the analysis include 280 vessels 
that have reported spiny dogfish landings to NMFS in 2001 (the most 
recent year for which there are vessel-specific data). In addition, 
there are vessels that are not subject to the Federal reporting 
requirements because they fish exclusively in state waters.
    Furthermore, there are a large number of vessels that have been 
issued Federal spiny dogfish permits, but have not fished for spiny 
dogfish in recent years (a total of 2,825 vessels were issued the 
permit in 2001). Because these vessels have obtained spiny dogfish 
permits, it is presumed that these vessels are interested in the 
fishery but have chosen not to participate under the restrictive 
possession limits. If any of these vessels should choose to participate 
in the upcoming fishing year, they might experience revenue increases 
associated with landings of spiny dogfish, but those increases cannot 
be estimated because it is impossible to determine both the number of 
vessels that would participate and their fishing behavior (e.g., level 
of effort).

Minimizing Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities

    This FRFA summary includes a discussion of minimizing significant 
economic impacts on small entities. The IRFA analyzed three 
alternatives: Alternative 1 is implemented by this action (commercial 
quota of 4 million lb (1.81 million kg) and possession limits of 600 lb 
(272 kg) and 300 lb (136 kg) for Quota Period 1 and Quota Period 2, 
respectively); both Alternative 2 (commercial quota of 8.8 million lb 
(4 million kg) and possession limits of 7,000 lb (3,175 kg) and 5,000 
lb (2,273 kg) for quota periods 1 and 2, respectively) and Alternative 
3 (no quota or possession limits) would have a lower economic impact on 
small entities, but neither meets the conservation objectives of the 
FMP. Alternatives 2 and 3 could not be implemented without amending the 
FMP to modify the F target specified in the rebuilding program.
    The FMP determined that the spiny dogfish stock could not support a 
directed fishery as would be the case under Alternatives 2 and 3. In 
the absence of a directed fishery, long-term profitability and solvency 
issues cannot be computed with a great degree of confidence. The 
information necessary to perform a profitability assessment is not 
available. Therefore, we have used changes in gross revenues in lieu of 
profitability. The potential changes in 2003 revenues under the 4-
million lb (1.81-million kg) quota were evaluated relative to landings 
and revenues derived during 2001: 4.94 million lb (2.25 million kg) of 
landings, valued at $1,126,000. The analysis is based on the last full 
fishing year of landings data for 280 vessels. The reduction in gross 
revenues to the fishery as a whole for 2003 was estimated to be about 
$214,259, or about $765 per vessel, compared to fishing year 2001. It 
is only due to the landings for 2001 being in excess of the quota that 
this quota specification for spiny dogfish is expected to result in a 
reduction in revenues.
    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 letter to permit holders that also serves as 
the small entity compliance guide (the guide) was prepared. Copies of 
this final rule are available from the Northeast Regional Office, and 
the guide, i.e., permit holder letter, will be sent to all holders of 
permits issued for the spiny dogfish fishery. The guide and this final 
rule will be available upon request (see ADDRESSES).

    Dated: April 15, 2003.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-9633 Filed 4-17-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S