[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 205 (Monday, October 26, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 54945-54947]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25754]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 0907221160-91168-01]
RIN 0648-AY01


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Monkfish 
Fishery

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 is proposing a regulatory amendment to the Monkfish 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to allow projects funded through the 
Monkfish Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program to carryover unused monkfish 
RSA days-at-sea (DAS) into the following fishing year. Given the most 
recent information on the status of monkfish stocks, the regulation 
that prohibits monkfish RSA DAS to be carried over to the next fishing 
year is no longer necessary. In addition, this action would provide 
researchers with flexibility to complete research funded through the 
Monkfish RSA Program.

DATES:  Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. eastern 
standard time, on November 25, 2009.

ADDRESSES:  You may submit comments, identified by RIN number 0648-
AY01, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Anna Macan.
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930. Mark the outside of the envelope: ``Comments on Monkfish RSA DAS 
Regulatory Amendment.''
    Instructions: All comments received are 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.

[[Page 54946]]

    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted via Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, 
WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Anna Macan, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone (978) 281-9165, fax (978) 281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The monkfish fishery is jointly managed by the New England and Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Councils, with the New England Council having the 
administrative lead. The fishery extends from Maine to North Carolina, 
and is divided into two management units: The Northern Fishery 
Management Area (NFMA) and the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA).
    The Monkfish RSA Program was implemented through Amendment 2 to the 
Monkfish FMP, and 500 DAS are set aside annually from the total number 
of DAS allocated to limited access monkfish vessels to encourage 
vessels to participate in cooperative research. Because the amendment 
was silent on this issue of whether RSA DAS allocated to a research 
project should be allowed to be carried over to the following fishing 
year, during the rulemaking for Amendment 2, NMFS implemented a 
regulation that prohibited the carryover of unused monkfish RSA DAS 
(Sec.  648.92(c)(1)(v)). This regulation was not an element of the RSA 
program as proposed by the Councils in Amendment 2 to the FMP, but 
rather was implemented in the final rule for the amendment under NMFS's 
administrative authority, under section 305(d) of the Magnunson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). NMFS 
took this approach due, in part, to the status of the stock at the 
time; at the time the amendment was being implemented, monkfish were 
considered overfished in both areas, with little sign of rebuilding. 
Since the stock is now considered to be rebuilt, the restriction on 
carrying over RSA DAS has become less of a concern.
    Recent experience has demonstrated that researchers who participate 
in the monkfish RSA program have often been unable to use all of their 
allocated RSA DAS within the fishing year for which the grants were 
issued. Reasons such as unsafe weather conditions, unexpected DAS 
adjustments (e.g., Framework Adjustment 4 to the FMP), higher than 
expected fuel costs, and delayed grant approval have caused RSA DAS to 
go unused, resulting in loss of fishing revenue and corresponding 
research funding.
    Allowing RSA DAS carryover would improve the success of the 
Monkfish RSA Program and would be consistent with the rationale for 
allowing commercial DAS carryover, detailed in the original FMP (e.g., 
to reduce the incentive to operate in unsafe conditions at the end of 
the fishing year).
    NMFS considered four options for how monkfish RSA DAS could be 
carried over, as follows:
    Option 1: Allow a specific number of DAS to be carried over by each 
project. For example, each project could be allowed to carry over up to 
four unused DAS to be used in the following fishing year. This option 
would be consistent with the current carryover policy for commercial 
vessels (which limits each vessel to four carryover DAS). However, this 
does not take into account variations in the number of monkfish RSA DAS 
granted to each project or the number of vessels that may be involved.
    Option 2: Allow for a fixed percentage of RSA DAS carryover based 
on current commercial carryover policy. Because monkfish vessels are 
currently allowed to carryover 4 of their allocated 31 DAS, 
representing 13 percent of their base DAS allocation, this 13 percent 
could be applied to each project's RSA DAS as well. For example, if a 
project were granted 200 RSA DAS in fishing year (FY) 2009, up to 26 of 
these DAS could be carried over to FY 2010. Unlike Option 1, this 
percentage-based scheme would allow for those projects given more RSA 
DAS the opportunity to carryover more DAS. The carryover percentage for 
RSA DAS would be adjusted annually with any changes in the carryover 
allocation to commercial vessels, accounting for changes in the 
management of the fishery. If carryover DAS are discontinued in the 
commercial fishery, no rollover DAS would be allowed for RSA.
    Option 3: Allow for projects to rollover of all unused RSA DAS into 
the following fishing year.
    Option 4: Status quo, NMFS retains its conservative approach and 
does not allow for the carryover of RSA DAS.
    Option 3, the rollover of all RSA DAS, is NMFS's preferred 
alternative. The annual allocation of 500 DAS to the monkfish RSA 
program is a small percentage of the total DAS allocated to the 
fishery. Since 2006, when the program was first implemented, around 2 
percent of the allocated DAS have been RSA DAS. In 2008, only 346.88 
(69.38 percent) of the 500 RSA DAS awarded to various projects were 
used. The unused 2008 RSA DAS of 153.12 days would have represented 
less than 1 percent of the total 2009 allocated DAS, had the rollover 
of all unused RSA DAS been allowed in 2009. When considering fishing 
effort for 2008, the used RSA DAS represented less than 7 percent of 
the total DAS used. Furthermore, the biological impacts of the 500 RSA 
DAS have already been assessed in Amendment 2 and because monkfish is 
considered a data poor stock, the research generated from these 
projects outweigh any minimal biological impacts associated with 
rollover of RSA DAS.
    The other three non-preferred options either do not allow for the 
carryover of RSA DAS, or do not allow for all RAS DAS to be carried 
over. As a result, these options would not maximize the recovery of 
revenue that is needed to fund the research projects. If RSA funding 
cannot be realized, researchers may have to abandon their projects or 
seek support from other sources that often result in a lengthy review 
process. Therefore, NMFS considers option 3 as the best approach to 
successfully implement the Monkfish RSA Program. Also, had the 500 
monkfish DAS set aside for research instead remained in the commercial 
fishery pool, some of these DAS would have been able to be carried over 
to the next fishing year under existing regulations. If carryover DAS 
are discontinued in the commercial fishery, NMFS would reconsider 
whether rollover of RSA DAS would be allowed under the Monkfish RSA 
Program.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined that this 
proposed rule is consistent with the Monkfish FMP, other provisions of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further 
consideration after public comment.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    The entities affected by this action are research institutions 
and universities, which are the groups that apply for and are issued 
grants through the Monkfish RSA Program. The proposed action to 
allow carryover of monkfish RSA DAS into the next fishing year would 
provide researchers the flexibility

[[Page 54947]]

necessary to complete research projects funded through the Monkfish 
RSA Program. In recent years, researchers have stated that factors 
such as regulatory changes, increased fuel costs, and delayed grant 
approval, have greatly impacted their ability to use all of the 
monkfish RSA DAS within the fishing year for which they were 
granted. For example, in fishing year 2007 (the second year of the 
program), 367 monkfish RSA DAS were allocated, but 296 DAS were 
used, leaving 71 monkfish RSA DAS unused. However, in fishing year 
2008, the number of unused monkfish RSA DAS doubled to 153 out of a 
total of 500 monkfish RSA DAS allocated.
    This action is administrative in nature and will not have any 
economic impacts on small entities. This action would allow 
researchers issued grants under the Monkfish RSA Program the ability 
to fulfill those grant obligations by providing them the opportunity 
to complete their research projects if, for unforeseen 
circumstances, they are unable to utilize all of their monkfish RSA 
DAS during the fishing year for which those DAS were granted. 
Therefore, because this action makes only a minor administrative 
change to the Monkfish RSA Program to ensure that this program 
functions as intended, it will not have any economic effect on small 
entities.
    As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not 
required and none has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: October 20, 2009.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Assistant Administrator For Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set out 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.  648.92, paragraph (c)(1)(v) is revised to read as 
follows:


Sec.  648.92  Effort-control program for monkfish limited access 
vessels.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (v) If the Regional Administrator determines that the annual 
allocation of research DAS will not be used in its entirety once all of 
the grant awards have been approved, the Regional Administrator shall 
reallocate the unallocated research DAS as exempted DAS to be 
authorized as described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, and 
provide notice of the reallocation of DAS in the Federal Register. Any 
allocated research DAS that are not used during the fishing year for 
which they are granted may be carried over into the next fishing year. 
Any unallocated research DAS may not be carried over into the next 
fishing year.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. E9-25754 Filed 10-23-09; 8:45 am]
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