[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 83 (Tuesday, April 29, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23175-23177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-9353]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 080123074-8572-01]
RIN 0648-AW31


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Scallop Dredge Exemption Areas; Addition of 
Monkfish Incidental Catch Trip Limits

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

ACTION: Proposed rule, request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to modify the regulations implementing the 
Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to create 
three Scallop Exemptions that are identical to the current scallop 
exemptions, except for the addition of an incidental monkfish catch 
limit. These new scallop exemptions would be restricted to vessels 
issued either a General Category Atlantic sea scallop permit or a 
limited access Atlantic sea scallop permit (when not fishing under a 
scallop days-at-sea (DAS) limitation), when fishing for scallops with 
small dredge gear (combined width not to exceed 10.5 ft (3.2 m)). 
Vessels that land an incidental catch of monkfish within these new 
scallop exemptions would be required to possess a valid monkfish 
Incidental Catch permit. The intent of this action is to allow small 
scallop dredge vessels to land monkfish that they are currently 
discarding consistent with the bycatch reduction objectives of the FMP 
and National Standard 9 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern daylight 
time, on May 14, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-AW31, by any 
one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov
     Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Timothy Cardiasmenos
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, 
Northeast Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, One Blackburn 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. Please write on the envelope: 
Comments on the Addition of

[[Page 23176]]

a Monkfish Incidental Catch Limit within the Existing Scallop 
Exemptions (RIN 0648-AW31).
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov, without 
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Cardiasmenos, Fishery 
Management Specialist, (978) 281-9204, FAX (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Current regulations, implemented under Framework Adjustment 9, and 
expanded under Amendment 7 to the FMP, contain a NE multispecies 
fishing mortality and bycatch reduction measure that is applied to the 
Gulf of Maine (GOM), Georges Bank (GB), and Southern New England (SNE) 
Exemption Areas. This measure prohibits vessels from fishing in these 
areas unless they are fishing under a NE multispecies or a scallop DAS 
allocation, are fishing with exempted gear, are fishing under the Small 
Vessel Handgear (A or B) or Party/Charter permit restrictions, or are 
fishing in an exempted fishery. The procedure for adding, modifying, or 
deleting fisheries from the list of exempted fisheries is found in 
Sec.  648.80. A fishery may be exempted by the Administrator, Northeast 
Region, NMFS (RA), after consultation with the New England Fishery 
Management Council (Council), if the RA determines, based on available 
data or information, that the bycatch of regulated species is, or can 
be reduced to, on average, less than 5 percent per trip, by weight on 
board, and that such exemption will not jeopardize the fishing 
mortality objectives of the FMP.
    At present, there are three scallop exemptions for scallop dredge 
vessels when fishing under the scallop General Category permit, or 
under the limited access scallop permit when not fishing under a 
scallop DAS. They are referred to as: The GOM Scallop Dredge Exemption 
Area, established in Framework 21 (February 1997); the SNE Scallop 
Dredge Exemption Area, established in Amendment 13 (April 2004); and 
the Great South Channel (GSC) Scallop Dredge Exemption Area, 
established by the authority of the RA (August 2006). On November 2, 
2007, a request was submitted on behalf of the General Category scallop 
fleet to establish an incidental monkfish catch limit, of 50 lb (23 kg) 
tail weight or 166 lb (75 kg) whole weight per trip, consistent with 
the Monkfish FMP, within the three scallop exemptions. This rule 
proposes three new exemptions, identical to the existing scallop 
exemption areas, described at Sec.  648.80(a)(11)(i)(A), 
(a)(18)(ii)(A), and (b)(11)(ii)(A), with the addition of a 50-lb (23-
kg) tail weight or 166-lb (75-kg) whole weight incidental monkfish 
catch limit per trip, provided the fishery does not jeopardize the 
fishing mortality objectives of the FMP.
    The data analyzed for this action consists of observer data from 
both General Category and limited access scallop dredge trips within 
the GOM, GSC, and SNE scallop exemption areas from 2001 to 2007. A 
total of 85 General Category trips and 198 limited access trips were 
observed during that period. Bycatch rates were calculated on a trip-
by-trip basis by adding up the total weight of NE multispecies, 
scallops (in-shell weight), and all other catch on each observed trip, 
and then calculating the percentage of the total catch represented by 
regulated NE multispecies. The percent bycatch of regulated NE 
multispecies in the exemption areas ranged from 0 to 10.33 percent in 
General Category trips (N=85), and 0 to 8.6 percent in limited access 
trips (N=198). The mean percent bycatch of regulated NE multispecies by 
weight of the total catch across all areas in the General Category and 
limited access fisheries was less than 1 percent. From a total of 85 
observed General Category trips into the exemption areas, the mean 
percent bycatch was 0.97 percent of the total catch. From the 198 
observed limited access scallop dredge trips into those same areas, the 
mean percent bycatch was estimated to be 0.93 percent of the total 
catch.
    Monkfish discards were analyzed within this same dataset. Monkfish 
discards within the current exemption areas ranged from 0 to 611 lb (0-
277 kg) tail weight per trip in the General Category fishery (N=85). 
From a total of 85 General Category trips into the current exemption 
areas, the mean monkfish discard was 48.1 lb (22 kg) tail weight per 
trip, and the mean trip was 0.44 days (11 hr). The proposed level of 
monkfish incidental bycatch within the scallop exemption areas is 50 lb 
(23 kg) tail weight or 166 lb (75 kg) whole weight per trip. This level 
of monkfish fishing mortality from scallop dredge vessels is within the 
allowable limit specified under Framework 4 of the Monkfish FMP 
(October 22, 2007, i.e., 150 lb (68 kg) tail weight or 498 lb (226 kg) 
whole weight per trip).

GSC Scallop Dredge Exemption Area

    From a total of 38 observed General Category trips into the current 
GSC Scallop Exemption, the mean monkfisk catch per trip was 28.98 lb 
(13 kg) tail weight, and only 1 trip discarded more than 150 lb (68 kg) 
tail weight. Monkfish bycatch ranged between 0-302.71 lb (0-137 kg) 
tail weight per trip.

GOM Scallop Dredge Exemption Area

    From a total of 29 observed General Category trips into the GOM 
Scallop Exemption, the mean monkfish catch per trip was 40.6 lb (18 kg) 
tail weight, and only 3 trips discarded in excess of 150 lb (68 kg) 
tail weight. Monkfish bycatch ranged between 0-425 lb (0-193 kg) tail 
weight per trip.

SNE Scallop Dredge Exemption Area

    From a total of 18 observed General Category trips into the SNE 
Scallop Exemption, the mean monkfish catch per trip was 100.5 lb (46 
kg) tail weight, and only 3 trips discarded more than 150 lb (68 kg) 
tail weight. Monkfish bycatch ranged between 0-611 lb (277 kg) tail 
weight per trip.
    The observed level of monkfish discard within the current scallop 
exemptions, as detailed above, is consistent with the proposed monkfish 
incidental catch limits. This level of monkfish fishing mortality in 
the General Category scallop dredge fleet was previously analyzed 
within Framework 4 to the Monkfish FMP (October 22, 2007). Since the 
data indicate that the proposed monkfish incidental catch limit is 
currently being discarded, no change in fishing behavior is expected, 
and it is not anticipated that there will be an increase in regulated 
species bycatch. The proposed scallop exemptions, identical to the 
existing scallop exemptions with the addition of an incidental catch of 
monkfish, are therefore expected to meet both the bycatch and the 
fishing mortality requirements of the regulations.

Proposed Measures

GOM, SNE, and the GSC Scallop Dredge Exemption Areas

    Based on the analysis of available data, the bycatch of regulated 
species by scallop dredge vessels is less than, on average, 5 percent 
per trip, by weight on board, within the exemption areas and the 
monkfish bycatch is consistent with

[[Page 23177]]

the incidental catch level analyzed within the Monkfish FMP. The data 
analysis shows that, on average, scallop dredge vessels are currently 
discarding 48.1 lb (22 kg) tail weight of monkfish per trip within the 
three exemption areas, a level consistent with the proposed level of 
monkfish incidental catch (50 lb (23 kg) tail weight or 166 lb (75 kg) 
whole weight per trip). In addition, there are no data to suggest that 
modifying the present exemptions to accommodate a monkfish incidental 
catch at 50 lb (23 kg) tail weight or 166 lb (75 kg) whole weight per 
trip would cause a shift in effort towards monkfish or NE multispecies. 
Therefore, the RA has determined that a monkfish incidental catch of 50 
lb (23 kg) tail weight or 166 lb (75 kg) whole weight per trip, within 
the GOM, SNE, and GSC Scallop Exemptions, meets the exemption 
requirements specified in Sec.  648.80(a)(8), and would not be 
inconsistent with the monkfish fishing mortality goals of the Monkfish 
FMP.
    Therefore, this rule proposes to create three scallop exemptions 
(GOM, SNE, and GSC), identical to the existing scallop exemptions, with 
the addition of a 50-lb (23-kg) tail weight or 166-lb (75-kg) whole 
weight per trip monkfish incidental catch possession limit. These new 
scallop exemptions would be restricted to vessels issued either a 
General Category Atlantic sea scallop permit or a limited access sea 
scallop permit (when not fishing under a scallop DAS limitation), when 
fishing with small dredges (combined width not to exceed 10.5 ft (3.2 
m)). Vessels that land an incidental catch of monkfish within these new 
scallop exemptions would be required to possess, and have onboard, a 
monkfish Incidental Catch permit.

Classification

    NMFS has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with the 
FMP and preliminarily determined that the rule is consistent with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other 
applicable laws.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    An Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was not prepared, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 603, as it has been determined that this 
rulemaking would not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act. A description of the reasons why this action is being considered, 
as well as the objectives of and legal basis for this proposed rule is 
found in the preamble to this proposed rule. There are no Federal rules 
that duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the proposed rule. This 
action proposes to create three scallop exemptions for General Category 
scallop vessels, or limited access scallop vessels not fishing on a DAS 
allocation, identical to the current scallop exemptions, with the 
addition of an incidental catch of monkfish. This action was 
categorically excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act, as 
an action that includes minor technical additions, corrections, or 
changes to an FMP.
    The economic impacts of the proposed action are expected to be 
minimal and positive. This action would allow the General Category 
scallop fleet, while fishing under a scallop exemption, to land up to 
50 lb (23 kg) tail weight or 166 lb (75 kg) whole weight of monkfish 
per trip, in addition to scallops. This would allow the fleet to 
utilize these resources in a manner consistent with the bycatch and 
mortality objectives of the FMP. The proposed incidental catch of 
monkfish is small, and as such is expected to minimally increase 
revenues for scallop dredge vessels fishing under the General Category 
permit provisions.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: April 23, 2008.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons stated in the preamble 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 
to be 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.  648.80, paragraphs (a)(8)(iv) introductory text, 
(a)(11)(i)(A), (a)(18)(ii)(A), and (b)(11)(ii)(A) are revised to read 
as follows:


Sec.  648.80  NE Multispecies regulated mesh areas and restrictions on 
gear and methods of fishing.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (8) * * *
    (iv) Unless otherwise specified within the exempted fisheries 
authorized under this paragraph (a)(8), incidental catch is restricted, 
at a minimum, to the following:
* * * * *
    (11) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) A vessel fishing in the GOM Scallop Dredge Fishery Exemption 
Area specified in this paragraph (a)(11) may not fish for, possess on 
board, or land any species of fish other than Atlantic sea scallops and 
up to 50 lb (23 kg) tail weight or 166 lb (75 kg) whole weight of 
monkfish per trip.
* * * * *
    (18) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (A) A vessel fishing in the Great South Channel Scallop Dredge 
Exemption Area specified in this paragraph (a)(18) may not fish for, 
possess on board, or land any species of fish other than Atlantic sea 
scallops and up to 50 lb (23 kg) tail weight or 166 lb (75 kg) whole 
weight of monkfish per trip.
* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (11) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (A) A vessel fishing in the SNE Scallop Dredge Exemption Area may 
not fish for, posses on board, or land any species of fish other than 
Atlantic sea scallops and up to 50 lb (23 kg) tail weight or 166 lb (75 
kg) whole weight of monkfish per trip.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E8-9353 Filed 4-28-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S