[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 91 (Monday, May 12, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 25305-25307]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11739]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 021223329-3112-02; I.D. 121302A]
RIN 0648-AQ26


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; 2003 Specifications 
for the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues 2003 specifications for the Atlantic bluefish 
fishery, including total allowable harvest levels (TAL), state-by-state 
commercial quotas, and a recreational harvest limit and possession 
limit for Atlantic bluefish off the east coast of the United States. 
The intent of the specifications is to conserve and manage the bluefish 
resource and provide for sustainable fisheries.

DATES: Effective June 11, 2003, through December 31, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, including the Environmental 
Assessment (EA) and Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (FRFA), and Essential Fish Habitat Assessment 
(EFHA) are available from: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, 
Northeast Regional Office, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930-2298. The EA/RIR/FRFA/EFHA are accessible via the Internet at 
http://www.nero.nmfs.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul H. Jones, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
978-281-9273, fax 978-281-9135, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing the FMP prepared by 
the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) appear at 50 CFR 
part 648, subparts A and J. Regulations requiring annual specifications 
are found at Sec.  648.160. The FMP requires that the Council 
recommend, on an annual basis, TAL,

[[Page 25306]]

which is comprised of a commercial quota and recreational harvest 
limit. Proposed 2003 initial bluefish specifications were published on 
January 6, 2003 (68 FR 533), with a comment period ending January 21, 
2003. The final specifications are unchanged from those that were 
proposed.

Final Specifications

2003 TAL

    For the 2003 fishery, the stock rebuilding program in the FMP would 
restrict the fishing mortality rate (F) to 0.41. However, the 2001 
fishery (the most recent fishing year for which F can be calculated) 
produced an F of only 0.246. In accordance with the FMP, the TAL 
proposed for 2003 is set to achieve F=0.246. The resulting TAC is 39.5 
million lb (17.9 million kg). The TAL is calculated by deducting 
discards, estimated at 2.2 million lb (0.99 million kg) for 2003, from 
the TAC. Therefore, the TAL for 2003 is 37.293 million lb (16.916 
million kg).

2003 Commercial Quotas and Recreational Harvest Limits

    If the TAL for the 2003 fishery were allocated based on the 
percentages specified in the FMP, the commercial quota would be 6.339 
million lb (2.875 million kg), with a recreational harvest limit of 
30.953 million lb (10.500 million kg). However, recreational landings 
from the last several years were much lower than the recreational 
allocation for 2003, ranging between 8.30 and 15.5 million lb (3.74 and 
7.05 million kg). Based upon the last several years of landings, it is 
estimated that the recreational fishery will not land its 30.953 
million-lb (12.153 million-kg) harvest limit in 2003 and, therefore, 
this allows a commercial quota of up to 10.5 million lb (4.76 million 
kg) to be specified. This action transfers 4.161 million lb (1.887 
million kg) from the 2003 recreational allocation of 30.953 million lb 
(12.153 million kg), resulting in 26.793 million lb (12.153 million kg) 
for the 2003 recommended recreational harvest limit, and a proposed 
commercial quota of 10.5 million lb (4.744 million kg). The 2003 
commercial quota would be the same amount as was allocated in 2002 and 
implemented by NMFS and the states under the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic 
Bluefish. Also implemented is a recreational possession limit of 15 
fish per person (same as in 2002) and a 141,900-lb (64,365-kg) research 
set-aside (RSA).
    The 2003 state commercial quotas are listed in the table below, 
based on the percentages specified in the FMP less the RSA allocation.

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                              State                                      Percent of Quota        2003 Commercial Quota (lb)   2003 Commercial Quota(kg)
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ME...............................................................                       0.6685                       69,925                       31,718
NH...............................................................                       0.4145                       43,357                       19,667
MA...............................................................                       6.7167                      702,570                      318,684
RI...............................................................                       6.8081                      712,131                      323,021
CT...............................................................                       1.2663                      132,456                       60,082
NY...............................................................                      10.3851                    1,086,286                      492,736
NJ...............................................................                      14.8162                    1,549,782                      702,977
DE...............................................................                       1.8782                      196,461                       89,114
MD...............................................................                       3.0018                      313,990                      142,425
VA...............................................................                      11.8795                    1,242,601                      563,640
NC...............................................................                      32.0608                    3,353,575                    1,521,172
SC...............................................................                       0.0352                        3,682                        1,670
GA...............................................................                       0.0095                          994                          451
FL...............................................................                      10.0597                    1,052,249                      477,297
Total............................................................                     100.0000                   10,460,058                    4,744,652
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Comments and Responses

    One comment was received from a U.S. Congressman from New Jersey on 
the proposed specifications.
    Comment: The commenter opposes the transfer of allocation from the 
recreational sector to the commercial sector because he believes it is 
unfair to anglers who endure strict regulations. He believes it fails 
to reward recreational fishers who do not fully attain their allocation 
and negates the conservation benefits created by their underharvest of 
bluefish.
    Response: The poundage transfer provision was included in Amendment 
1 to the FMP (Amendment 1) to ensure that commercial landings would not 
be reduced unnecessarily if the recreational fishery is not expected to 
attain its harvest limit. The FMP stipulates that such a transfer may 
be made if the recreational fishery is not projected to land its 
harvest limit for the upcoming year. Recreational landings from the 
last several years were much lower than the recreational allocation for 
2003, ranging between 8.30 and 15.5 million lb (3.74 and 7.05 million 
kg). Since the recreational fishery is not projected to land its 
harvest limit in 2003, this allows the specification of a commercial 
quota of up to 10.5 million lb (4.76 million kg). The TAL for 2003 is 
37.293 million lb (16.916 million kg). This is consistent with an F of 
0.246 which is actually less than the maximum level of F of 0.410, 
specified in the FMP as the rebuilding target for 2003. A commercial 
harvest of 10.5 million lb (4.76 million kg) does not result in 
overfishing based on the overfishing definition in the FMP. Overfishing 
occurs when F is greater than Fmsy = 0.4 (the F that 
produces maximum sustainable yield). Since the stock condition is 
improving, and the overall TAL maintains a very low F, there is no 
reason to reduce allowed landings by the commercial sector. The 
transfer is not constraining to recreational fishermen, since the 
remaining recreational harvest limit is more than double the average 
recreational landings over the last several years.

Classification

    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    NMFS prepared a FRFA for this action. The FRFA includes a summary 
of the analyses in support of these specifications. A copy of the FRFA 
is available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). A summary of the FRFA, which 
includes the initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) and 
applicable sections of the 2003 specifications package, follows:
    The reasons why this action is being taken by the agency, and the 
objectives of this final rule are explained in the preamble to the 
proposed rule and are not repeated here. This action does not

[[Page 25307]]

contain any reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements. 
This action is taken under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and 
regulations at 50 CFR part 648.
    One comment was submitted on the proposed rule, but it was not 
specific to the IRFA. NMFS has responded to the comment in the Comments 
and Responses section of the preamble to this final rule. No changes 
were made to the proposed rule as a result of the comment received.
    Commercial landings for bluefish are reported from Maine through 
North Carolina through NMFS Northeast dealer reports, and from South 
Carolina through Florida through a state trip ticket commercial 
landings reporting program. An active participant in the commercial 
sector was defined as being any vessel that reported having landed one 
or more pounds of bluefish during calendar year 2001. All vessels are 
considered to be small entities. Of the active vessels in 2001, 846 
landed bluefish from Maine to North Carolina. The dealer data do not 
cover vessel activity in the South Atlantic. State trip ticket report 
data indicate that 1,092 vessels landed bluefish in North Carolina. 
Bluefish landings in South Carolina and Georgia represented less than 
1/10 of 1 percent of total landings. Therefore, the analysis assumed 
that no vessels from those states would be affected by this proposed 
action. In addition, 214 vessels landed bluefish to dealers on 
Florida's east coast in 2001. In recent years, approximately 2,063 
party/charter vessels caught bluefish.
    The Council analyzed three TAL alternatives. The preferred 
alternative examined the impacts on the industry that would result from 
a TAL of 37.293 million lb (16.916 million kg), allocated to the 
commercial sector (10.460 million lb (4.74 million kg)) and 
recreational sector (26.691 million lb (12.107 million kg)), with an 
RSA of 141,900 million lb (64,356 kg). Alternative 2 considered a TAL 
of 37.293 million lb (16.916 million kg), allocated to the commercial 
sector (6.315 million lb (2.864 million kg) and recreational sector 
(30.835 million lb (13.986 million kg)), with an RSA of 141,900 lb 
(64,365 kg). Alternative 3 provides for a lower commercial quota and 
higher recreational quota than Alternative 1. Starting from the same 
TAL of 37.293 million lb (16.916 million kg), the commercial quota in 
this alternative is 9.546 million lb (4.329 million kg), and the 
recreational quota is 27.604 million lb (12.521 million kg), with an 
RSA of 141,900 lb (64,365 kg).
    On a coastwide basis, the preferred alternative would allow for 
less than a 1-percent decrease in total allowable commercial landings 
for bluefish in 2003 versus the 2002 commercial quota, due to the 
amount specified for the RSA. The 2003 recreational harvest limit would 
be 63 percent higher than the estimated recreational landings in 2002. 
According to dealer data, 650 federally permitted commercial vessels 
would be expected to incur revenue losses of less than 5 percent and 
193 commercial vessels would incur revenue gains of 24 percent. The 
revenue increase expected in 2003 are primarily due to the fact that 
the New York quota was adjusted downward in 2002 due to overages in 
2001. Thus, New York shows a positive proportional change in quota from 
2002 to 2003 (see section 5.1.3 of the RIR/FRFA). In addition, economic 
analysis of South Atlantic Trip Ticket Report data indicated that 
changes in quota levels from 2002 to 2003 are expected to result in 
small reductions in revenue for fishermen that land bluefish in North 
Carolina (1.44 percent) and minimal reductions for fishermen that land 
bluefish in Florida (0.07 percent).
    Alternative 2 would result in a 40-percent decrease in the total 
allowable commercial landings for bluefish in 2003 versus 2002. The 
2003 recreational harvest limit would be 88 percent higher than the 
estimated recreational landings in 2002. Under this scenario, according 
to Northeast dealer data, a total of 103 commercial vessels would incur 
revenue losses of 5 to 39 percent, and 740 commercial vessels would 
incur revenue losses of less than 5 percent of their total ex-vessel 
revenue. Also, evaluation of South Atlantic Trip Ticket Reports 
indicate an average of 6.1 and 0.03-percent reductions in revenue for 
fishermen that land bluefish in North Carolina and Florida, 
respectively.
    Alternative 3 would result in a 9-percent decrease in the total 
allowable commercial landings for bluefish in 2003 versus 2002. The 
2003 recreational harvest limit would be 69 percent higher than the 
estimated recreational landings in 2002. Under this scenario, based on 
Northeast dealer data, a total of 28 commercial vessels would incur 
revenue losses from 5 to 10 percent, 626 commercial vessels would incur 
revenue losses of less than 5 percent and 189 commercial vessels would 
incur an increase in revenue of 14 percent. The revenue increase for 
these 189 vessels expected in 2003 is primarily due to the fact that 
the New York quota was adjusted downward in 2002 due to overages in 
2001. Thus, New York shows a positive proportional change in quota from 
2002 to 2003 (see section 5.3.3 of the RIR/FRFA). Also, evaluation of 
South Atlantic Trip Ticket Reports indicate reduction in revenues of 
1.44 and 0.07-percent for fishermen that land bluefish in North 
Carolina and Florida, respectively.
    The Council further analyzed the impacts on revenues of the 
proposed RSA amount for all three alternatives. The social and economic 
impacts of this proposed RSA are minimal. Assuming the full RSA is 
allocated for bluefish, the set-aside amount could be worth as much as 
$45,480 dockside, based on a 2001 price of $0.32 per pound. Assuming an 
equal reduction among all 834 active dealer reported vessels, this 
could mean a reduction of about $55 per individual vessel. Changes in 
the recreational harvest limit would be insignificant (less than 1 
percent decrease), if 2 percent of the TAL is used for research. It is 
unlikely that there would be negative impacts. A copy of this analysis 
is available from the Regional Administrator (see ADDRESSES) and is 
also available at the following web site: http://www.nero.noaa.gov.

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

    Dated: May 6, 2003.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-11739 Filed 5-9-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S