[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 151 (Friday, August 6, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47798-47801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18050]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 040507144-4213-02; I.D.043004A]
RIN 0648-AQ85


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish 
Fishery

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

ACTION: Final rule, 2004 specifications

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues 2004 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 September 7, 2004, through December 31, 2004.

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: Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
978-281-9104, fax 978-281-9135, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing the FMP

[[Page 47799]]

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, which is comprised of a 
commercial quota and recreational harvest limit. This rule implements 
final specifications for the Atlantic bluefish fishery for 2004 that 
are unchanged from the proposed specifications published on May 19, 
2004 (69 FR 28875). A complete discussion of the development of these 
specifications is included in the proposed rule and is not repeated 
here. These measures are the same as those implemented for 2004 by the 
states under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's 
Interstate FMP.

Final Specifications

TAL

    For the 2004 fishery, the stock rebuilding program in the FMP 
restricts F to 0.31. However, the 2002 fishery (the most recent fishing 
year for which F can be calculated) produced an F of only 0.184. 
Therefore, in accordance with the FMP, the measures established for 
2004 were developed to achieve F=0.184. Projection results indicate 
that the bluefish stock will increase to an estimated biomass of 
165.853 million lb (365.504 million kg) in 2004. This biomass can 
produce a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 34.215 million lb (15.5 
million kg) in 2004 at F=0.184. The TAL for 2004 is derived from this 
value by subtracting estimated discards of 2.365 million lb (1.06 
million kg) from the TAC. This results in a TAL for 2004 of 31.85 
million lb (14.45 million kg).

Commercial Quota and Recreational Harvest Limit

    Consistent with the FMP and regulations governing the bluefish 
fishery, NMFS has transferred 5.085 million lb (2.036 million kg) from 
the initial 2004 recreational allocation of 26.435 million lb (11.990 
million kg) to the commercial fishery, resulting in a 2004 recreational 
harvest limit of 21.350 million lb (9.684 million kg) and a commercial 
quota of 10.5 million lb (4.76 million kg). The 2004 commercial quota 
would be the same as was allocated in 2003 and also as implemented by 
the states for 2004 under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 
Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Bluefish. 
A Notice of Request for Proposals was published in the Federal Register 
to solicit research proposals for 2004 that could utilize research set-
aside (RSA) TAC authorized by the FMP, based on research priorities 
identified by the Council (January 27, 2003; 68 FR 3864). One research 
project that would utilize bluefish RSA has been approved by the NOAA 
Grants Office. Therefore, a 297,750-lb (135,057-kg) RSA is specified. 
Due to the allocation of the bluefish RSA, the adjusted commercial 
quota for 2004 is 10.401 million lb (4.718 million kg) and the adjusted 
recreational harvest limit is 21.150 million lb (9.59 million kg).

Recreational Possession Limit

    A recreational possession limit of 15 fish will be maintained for 
the 2004 fishing year.

State Commercial Allocations

    The annual commercial quota for bluefish will be distributed to the 
states (See Table 1.), based on the percentages specified in the FMP, 
less the proposed RSA allocation.

                                                    Table 1.--Annual Bluefish State Commercial Quotas
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                                                                                                                 2004 Commercial       2004 Commercial
                   State                         % of quota          2004 Commercial       2004 Commercial       Quota (lb) With       Quota (kg) With
                                                                       Quota (lb)            Quota (kg)        Research Set-Aside    Research Set-Aside
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ME........................................                0.6685                70,193                31,839                69,536                31,541
NH........................................                0.4145                43,523                19,742                43,116                19,557
MA........................................                6.7167               705,254               319,901               698,660               316,907
RI........................................                6.8081               714,851               324,254               708,168               321,220
CT........................................                1.2663               132,962                60,311               131,719                59,747
NY........................................               10.3851             1,090,436               494,619             1,080,242               489,990
NJ........................................               14.8162             1,555,701               705,661             1,541,158               699,058
DE........................................                1.8782               197,211                89,454               195,367                88,617
MD........................................                3.0018               315,189               142,969               312,242               141,631
VA........................................               11.8795             1,247,348               565,793             1,235,687               560,498
NC........................................               32.0608             3,366,384             1,526,982             3,334,913             1,512,691
SC........................................                0.0352                 3,696                 1,676                 3,661                 1,661
GA........................................                0.0095                   998                   453                   988                   448
FL........................................               10.0597             1,056,269               479,121             1,046,394               474,636
Total.....................................              100.0000            10,500,015             4,762,727            10,401,851             4,744,652
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Comments and Responses

    One set of comments was received during the comment period on the 
proposed rule, as follows:
    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 their underharvest creates.
    Response: The poundage transfer provision was included in Amendment 
1 to the FMP (Amendment 1) to ensure that commercial landings would not 
be unnecessarily reduced 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 
2004, 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 2004, this allows the specification of a commercial 
quota of up to 10.5 million lb (4.76 million kg). The TAL for 2004 is 
31.85 million lb (14.45 million kg). This is consistent with an F of 
0.184 which is actually less than the maximum level of F of 0.310 
specified in the FMP as the rebuilding target for 2004. A commercial 
harvest of 10.5 million lb (4.76 million kg) does not result in 
overfishing based on the

[[Page 47800]]

overfishing definition in the FMP. Overfishing occurs when F is greater 
than Fmsy = 0.310 (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.
    Comment: The commenter believes that the proposed rule is not 
written in plain English since most readers would not know what F 
represents.
    Response: F is defined as ``fishing mortality rate'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of the proposed rule.

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 648 and has been 
determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), pursuant to section 
604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), has prepared a final 
regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) in support of the 2004 bluefish 
specifications. The FRFA describes the economic impact that this final 
rule will have on small entities.
    The FRFA incorporates the economic impacts summarized in the 
initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) summary found in the 
Classification section of the proposed rule, the comments on, and 
responses to the proposed rule, and the corresponding economic analyses 
prepared by Council for these specifications. For the most part, those 
impacts are not repeated here. A copy of the IRFA, the FRFA, the RIR 
and the EA are available from NMFS, Northeast Regional Office and on 
the Northeast Regional Office Website (see ADDRESSES). A description of 
the reasons why this action is being considered, and the objectives of, 
and legal basis for, the final rule is found in the preamble to the 
final rule and is not repeated here.
    One set of comments was submitted on the proposed rule, but it was 
not specific to the IRFA or the economic impact of the rule. 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 final rule as 
a result of the comments received.
    An active participant in the commercial bluefish fishery sector is 
defined as being any vessel that reported having landed one or more 
pounds of bluefish to NMFS-permitted dealers during calendar year 2002. 
Vessels fishing for bluefish with a Federal permit intending to sell 
their catch must do so to NMFS-permitted dealers. All vessels affected 
by this rulemaking have gross receipts less than $3.5 million and are 
considered to be small entities under the RFA. Since there are no large 
entities participating in this fishery, there are no disproportionate 
effects resulting from small versus large entities. Since costs are not 
readily available, vessel profitability cannot be determined directly. 
Therefore, changes in gross revenue were used as a proxy for 
profitability. Of the active, Federally-permitted vessels in 2002, 928 
landed bluefish from Maine to North Carolina. Dealer data do not cover 
vessel activity from South Carolina to Florida. South Atlantic Trip 
Ticket Report data indicate that 1,004 vessels landed bluefish in North 
Carolina, including those with Federal permits and those fishing only 
in state waters. These data also indicate that bluefish landings in 
South Carolina and Georgia represented less than 1/10 of 1 percent of 
total landings. Therefore, it was assumed that no vessels landed 
bluefish from those states. According to South Atlantic Trip Ticket 
Report data, 101 commercial vessels landed bluefish to dealers on 
Florida's east coast in 2002.
    In addition, in 2002, approximately 2,063 party/charter vessels 
caught bluefish in either state or Federal waters. All of these vessels 
are considered small entities under the RFA having gross receipts of 
less than $5 million annually. Since the possession limits would remain 
at 15 fish per person, there should be no impact on demand for party/
charter vessel fishing, and therefore, no impact on revenues earned by 
party/charter vessels.
    There are no recordkeeping, reporting, or other compliance 
requirements associated with these final specifications that would 
increase costs and negatively impact profitability of vessels 
prosecuting the bluefish fishery. In addition, none of the alternatives 
to these final specifications would further mitigate the economic 
impacts to vessels prosecuting the fishery. Therefore, there are no 
opportunities for vessels to further increase profits from 
implementation of alternatives other than those published as part of 
this rule.
    The Council analyzed three alternatives. The TAL recommendation and 
RSA are unchanged in the alternatives, as the TAL is the level that 
would achieve the target F in 2004, and the RSA is the amount allocated 
through the grants process. The difference between the preferred 
alternative (Alternative 1) and Alternatives 2 and 3, therefore, 
relates only to the manner in which the overall TAL is allocated 
between the commercial and recreational components of the bluefish 
fishery. Under Alternative 1, the commercial quota allocation is 10.401 
million lb (4.718 million kg), with a recreational harvest limit of 
21.150 million lb (9.68 million kg). Under Alternative 2, the 
commercial quota allocation is 5.363 million lb (2.433 million kg) with 
a recreational harvest limit of 26.188 million lb (11.878 million kg). 
Under Alternative 3, the commercial quota allocation is 9.493 million 
lb (4.346 million kg) with a recreational harvest limit of 22.058 
million lb (10.100 million kg).
    The preferred commercial quota represents a less than 1-percent 
decrease from the 2003 commercial quota, with the decrease due to the 
amount specified for the RSA. The 2004 recreational harvest limit would 
be 21 percent lower than the recreational harvest limit specified for 
2003. However, the recreational harvest limit would still be about 
twice the recreational landings for 2002. Bluefish landings for the 
2000-2002 period ranged from 29 to 59 percent lower than the 
recreational harvest limits specified in those years, and a projection 
based on preliminary recreational data for 2003 indicates that landings 
will be 46 percent lower than the recreational harvest limit specified 
for 2003. Therefore, under this alternative, no vessels would realize 
significant revenue reductions. A total of 928 vessels were projected 
to incur revenue losses as a result of the proposed commercial quota 
allocation, with 95 percent of those estimated to incur losses of less 
than 1 percent, and none to incur losses greater than 5 percent. The 
affected entities would be mostly smaller vessels that land bluefish in 
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. In addition, 
economic analysis of South Atlantic Trip Ticket Report data indicated 
that, on average, the slight reduction in the commercial quota from 
2003 to 2004 would be expected to result in small reductions in revenue 
for fishermen that land bluefish in North Carolina (0.05 percent) and 
Florida (0.03 percent).
    The allocations specified in Alternative 2 represent a 49-percent 
decrease in the commercial quota from the 2003 commercial quota, and a 
2-percent decrease in the recreational harvest limit from the 2003 
recreational harvest limit. The 2004 recreational harvest limit would 
be more than twice the 2003 projected recreational

[[Page 47801]]

landings. The reduction in the commercial quota would cause 15 vessels 
to have revenue losses of 50 percent or more, while 123 would have 
revenue losses from 5 to 49 percent. An additional 790 vessels would 
incur revenue losses of less than 5 percent of their total ex-vessel 
revenue. Also, evaluation of South Atlantic Trip Ticket Reports 
indicates an average of 4.43 and 0.03-percent reductions in revenue for 
fishermen that land bluefish in North Carolina and Florida, 
respectively.
    Alternative 3 represents a 9-percent decrease in the total 
allowable commercial landings for bluefish in 2003 versus 2004. The 
2004 recreational harvest limit would be 17 percent lower than the 
estimated recreational landings in 2003. Under this scenario, a total 
of 53 vessels would incur revenue losses from 5 to 19 percent due to 
the reduction in the commercial quota. An additional 875 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 reduction in revenues of 0.82 and 0.05-percent for 
fishermen that land bluefish in North Carolina and Florida, 
respectively.
    The Council further analyzed the impacts on revenues of the 
proposed RSA specified in all three alternatives. The social and 
economic impacts of this proposed RSA are expected to be minimal. 
Assuming the full RSA is allocated for bluefish, the set-aside amount 
could be worth as much as $101,235 dockside, based on a 2002 price of 
$0.34 per pound for bluefish. Assuming an equal reduction among all 928 
active dealer reported vessels, this could mean a reduction of about 
$109 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 Council 
(see ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated:August 2, 2004.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 04-18050 Filed 8-5-04; 8:45 am]
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