[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 179 (Thursday, September 15, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56985-57000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-23682]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 110627355-1539-02]
RIN 0648-BB08


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast (NE) 
Multispecies Fishery; Framework Adjustment 46

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

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This final rule partially approves Framework Adjustment (FW) 
46 to the NE Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which 
increases the haddock incidental catch cap allocated to the Atlantic 
midwater trawl herring fishery to 1 percent of the Georges Bank (GB) 
haddock Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) and to 1 percent of the Gulf 
of Maine (GOM) haddock ABC, thereby, adjusting final fishing year (FY) 
2011 specifications for the other fishery components of these ABCs. In 
addition, this action modifies the method for estimating haddock catch 
in the herring fishery and the relevant accountability measures (AMs) 
such that, upon attainment of the cap, the midwater trawl herring fleet 
may not catch or land herring in excess of the incidental catch limit 
(2,000 lb (907.2 kg)) in or from the appropriate haddock stock area. In 
addition, in this action NMFS disapproves measures in FW 46 that would 
have required open access herring vessels using midwater trawl gear to 
report total kept catch, and notify the Office of Law Enforcement, 
prior to landing. NMFS also disapproves a measure to require all 
midwater trawl vessels to report gear used on each trip into the Gulf 
of Maine or Georges Bank. FW 46 was developed by the New England 
Fishery Management Council (Council) to address the haddock incidental 
catch cap in the Atlantic herring fishery to allow the herring fishery 
to achieve optimum yield, by establishing a better opportunity to fully 
harvest the available herring quota, while providing incentives for the 
midwater trawl fishery to minimize haddock catch and, ensuring that 
haddock catch is adequately controlled and monitored.

DATES: This rule is effective September 14, 2011, except for Sec.  
648.10(l), which will become effective September 28, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Copies of FW 46, its Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), the 
final environmental assessment (EA) prepared for this action, and the 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) prepared by the Council 
are available from Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England 
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 
01950. A Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) was prepared for 
this final rule and is comprised of the EA, the preamble, and the 
Classification sections of the final rule. The FW 46 EA/RIR/IRFA are 
also accessible via the Internet at http://www.nefmc.org/nemulti/index.html or http://www.nero.noaa.gov. Written comments regarding the 
burden-hour estimates or other aspects of the collection-of-information 
requirements contained in this rule should be submitted to the Regional 
Administrator at the address above and to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) by e-mail at [email protected], or fax to (202) 
395-7285.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Vasquez, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, phone: 978-281-9166, fax: 978-281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule to implement measures in FW 
46 was published on July 19, 2011 (76 FR 42663), soliciting public 
comment through August 3, 2011. After review of all public comments, 
NMFS has approved several of the proposed measures in FW 46, 
determining that approved measures, as listed below, are consistent 
with the goals of the FMP as described in Amendment 16 to the FMP, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act), and other applicable laws. These final measures are 
unchanged from those that were proposed.

Background

    The Atlantic herring fishery is currently allocated a sub-Annual 
Catch Limit (ACL) of haddock that is equal to 0.2 percent of the 
combined GOM and GB haddock ABCs, to account for haddock that is 
incidentally caught in the herring fishery. When this cap is reached, 
herring vessels are restricted to an incidental possession limit of 
2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring per trip in specific portions of the GOM 
and GB, which effectively closes these areas to directed herring 
fishing. The Council initiated FW 46 in January 2011 to address 
industry concerns that the haddock incidental catch cap was becoming 
too constraining on the herring fishery, particularly given the 
increased, healthy biomass of haddock on GB and the fact that the 
commercial groundfish fishery is not likely able to harvest its own 
sub-ACL for these stocks. An early effective closure of the directed 
herring fishery as a result of catching the incidental catch cap could 
result in thwarting fishery participants from potentially achieving 
optimum yield and limiting the supply of herring bait to the lobster 
fishery. For example, in FY 2010, the herring fishery was constrained 
by the cap and had to modify its behavior, which may have resulted in 
up to $5.5 million in foregone herring from Herring Management Area 3. 
Thus, the Council developed FW 46 to revise the haddock incidental 
catch cap for the Atlantic herring fishery to allow for the achievement 
of optimum yield through establishing a better opportunity to fully 
harvest the available herring quota, while providing incentives for the 
midwater trawl herring fishery to minimize haddock catch, and ensuring 
that haddock catch is adequately controlled and monitored. A complete 
discussion of the development of FW 46 and the pre-FW 46 haddock 
incidental catch cap measures and their rationale appears in the 
preamble to the proposed rule and is not repeated here.

[[Page 56986]]

Disapproved Measures

Requirement for Open Access Vessels To Report Total Kept Catch

    FW 46, as submitted by the Council, required all midwater trawl 
vessels (including any vessel issued an open access incidental herring 
permit (Category D)) to report total catch kept. NMFS has partially 
disapproved this measure as it applies to a Category D vessel, because 
it determined that additional reporting by Category D vessels is not 
necessary at this time and would be an unnecessary reporting burden 
contrary to National Standard 7 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, given that 
weekly VTR submissions (as implemented by a recent regulatory amendment 
to the Atlantic Herring FMP, 76 FR 54385; September 1, 2011) is 
sufficient to monitor this small component of the herring fishery.

Requirement for Midwater Trawl Vessels To Report Gear

    In addition, although FW 46, as submitted by the Council, also 
required a midwater trawl vessel to report gear when reporting total 
kept catch prior to landing, in this rule, NMFS disapproves that 
measure because NMFS has determined that it would not be necessary for 
the timely monitoring of the proposed haddock incidental catch caps 
and, therefore, would be an unnecessary reporting burden contrary to 
National Standard 7 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Requirement for Open Access Vessels To Submit a Pre-Landing Hail

    Although FW 46, as submitted by the Council, proposed to expand the 
current pre-landing hail requirements to all vessels using midwater 
trawl gear, NMFS disapproves that measure as it applied to an open 
access herring permit holder (Category D). Because Category D permits 
represent a small portion of the herring fishery, accounting for very 
little of the Atlantic herring landings (0.5 percent in FY 2010), and 
rarely using midwater trawl gear in applicable Areas (Category A 
vessels accounted for all landings by midwater trawl gear in FY 2008-
2010), NMFS believes that requiring pre-landing hails of Category D 
vessels is an unnecessary reporting burden at this time, and is 
contrary to National Standard 7 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Approved Measures

Incidental Catch Cap for Midwater Trawl Vessels

    To achieve the stated purposes of this action to maximize 
opportunities to fish for herring on GB, provide incentives to minimize 
the bycatch of haddock in the herring fishery, and reduce unnecessary 
economic impacts on the herring fishery, FW 46 replaces the current 
combined GOM and GB haddock incidental catch cap with separate stock-
specific caps for the GOM and GB haddock stocks, equal to 1 percent of 
the GOM haddock ABC and 1 percent of the GB haddock ABC, respectively. 
These caps apply to all vessels with a Federal Atlantic herring permit 
of any category using midwater trawl gear (both single and paired 
midwater trawl vessels) in Herring Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3. 
The stock-specific caps better account for differences between these 
two stocks and eliminate the possibility that catches of one stock 
could trigger the closure of both stock areas. The amount of the cap is 
calculated according to the procedures established by Amendment 16 for 
the setting of ACLs and sub-ACLs for various components of the fishery 
for each stock, and the cap calculation method revised by FW 44 to the 
FMP (see Appendix III to FW 44, available on the Council's Web site at 
http://www.nefmc.org/nemulti/index.html). The net result is that the 
GOM haddock catch cap is calculated based on one percent of the GOM 
haddock ABC (deducted from the sub-ABC allocated to commercial 
fisheries, which includes the Federal commercial groundfish fishery, 
state waters fishery, the Atlantic herring fishery, and the other 
commercial sub-component) with a subsequent reduction for management 
uncertainty. Similarly, the GB haddock incidental catch cap is based on 
one percent of the GB haddock ABC, and a reduction for management 
uncertainty (deducted from the ABC available to U.S. fishermen). 
Because FW 46 increases the percentage shares of the GOM and GB haddock 
sub-ABCs that are allocated to the herring midwater trawl fishery, the 
ACE available to sectors declines slightly, as does the amount of the 
ACL available to common pool groundfish fishing vessels.
    As noted in FW 46, these final measures are being implemented in-
season, after the beginning of the 2011 Northeast multispecies (May 1, 
2011-April 30, 2012) and herring (January 1, 2011-December 31, 2011) 
fishing years (FY). Therefore, this final rule revises the FY 2011 and 
FY 2012 sub-ACLs specified for the GOM haddock and GB haddock stocks in 
the FW 44 and FW 45 final rules, respectively (75 FR 18356; April 9, 
2010 and 76 FR 23042; April 25, 2011) (see Table 1). The sub-ACLs 
published here supersede all other sub-ACLs specified for GOM and GB 
haddock in previous rules. Given that the haddock cap for the midwater 
trawl herring fishery is monitored based on the groundfish FY, upon 
publication of this final rule, NMFS will use observer data and other 
available data and information from applicable herring trips to 
estimate haddock catches by the herring fishery since the start of FY 
2011 (beginning May 1, 2011). The catch estimate will then be counted 
against the increased stock-specific haddock caps.

                   Table 1--Total ACL, Sub-ACL, and ACL-Subcomponents for FY 2011 and FY 2012
                                               [Mt, live weight] *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Total ACL          Groundfish sub-ACL        Mid-water trawl
                                         ------------------------------------------------     herring fishery
                  Stock                                                                  -----------------------
                                            FY 2011     FY 2012     FY 2011     FY 2012     FY 2011     FY 2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOM haddock.............................         833         699       1,086         912          11           9
GB haddock **...........................      32,611      27,632      30,580      25,911         318         270
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The GOM haddock allocations to the recreational groundfish fishery for FY 2011 and FY 2012 remain unchanged
  from the FW 44 final rule. FY 2011 and FY 2012 ACL-subcomponents not listed here also remain unchanged from
  the FW 44 and FW 45 final rules.
** Due to the need to re-specify the U.S. ABCs for GB haddock for FY 2012, consistent with the U.S./Canada
  Resource Sharing Understanding, all sub-components of the ABCs for GB haddock for FY 2012 will be re-specified
  when information on the Canadian TACs is available.


[[Page 56987]]


   Table 2--Distribution of Groundfish Sub-ACL Between Common Pool and Sector Vessels for FY 2011 and FY 2012
                                                [Mt, live weight]
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                                            Groundfish sub-ACL      Common pool sub-ACL       Sector sub-ACL
                  Stock                  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            FY 2011     FY 2012     FY 2011    FY 2012 *    FY 2011    FY 2012 *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOM haddock.............................       1,086         912           8           6         770         647
GB haddock **...........................      30,580      25,911         187         158      30,393      25,753
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The FY 2012 common pool and sector sub-ACLs are based on final FY 2011 sector rosters submitted to NMFS May 1,
  2011. It is almost certain that the FY 2012 sub-ACLs for the common pool and sectors will change and be re-
  specified prior to FY 2012 due to annual changes in sector rosters.
** Due to the need to re-specify the U.S. ABCs for GB haddock for FY 2012, consistent with the U.S./Canada
  Resource Sharing Understanding, all sub-components of the ABCs for GB haddock for FY 2012 will be re-specified
  when information on the Canadian TACs is available.


                        Table 3--Final ACE Each Sector Would Receive by Stock for FY 2011
                                        [1,000 lb and mt, live weight] *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        GOM Haddock           GB Haddock west
                   Sector name (defined below)                   -----------------------------------------------
                                                                   1,000 lb       mt       1,000 lb       mt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FGS.............................................................       22.43       10.17     2932.44     1330.13
MPBS............................................................        1.31        0.60        3.89        1.77
NCCS............................................................        5.83        2.64       55.98       25.39
NEFS 2..........................................................      314.38      142.60     5303.39     2405.58
NEFS 3..........................................................      211.05       95.73       74.26       33.68
NEFS 4..........................................................      103.17       46.80     2466.58     1118.82
NEFS 5..........................................................        5.56        2.52     1810.76      821.35
NEFS 6..........................................................       65.35       29.64     1348.52      611.68
NEFS 7..........................................................        9.64        4.37     1749.59      793.60
NEFS 8..........................................................        3.68        1.67     2696.94     1223.31
NEFS 9..........................................................       80.58       36.55     5524.58     2505.91
NEFS 10.........................................................       44.32       20.10      144.18       65.40
NEFS 11.........................................................       42.94       19.48       16.57        7.52
NEFS 12.........................................................       14.73        6.68        1.22        0.55
NEFS 13.........................................................       14.70        6.67     6869.34     3115.88
PCCGS...........................................................       36.78       16.68       14.58        6.62
SHS 1...........................................................      688.04      312.09    13301.48     6033.45
SHS 3...........................................................       26.04       11.81      899.84      408.16
TSS.............................................................        7.95        3.60      668.28      303.13
All Sectors Combined............................................     1698.46      770.41    45882.44    20811.93
Common Pool.....................................................       16.74        7.59      282.35      128.07
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Georges Bank Cod Fixed Gear Sector (FGS), Maine Permit Banking Sector (MPBS), Northeast Coastal Communities
  Sector (NCCS), Northeast Fishery Sector (NEFS), Port Clyde Community Groundfish Sector (PCCGS), Sustainable
  Harvest Sector (SHS), and Tri-State Sector.
* All ACE values for sectors outlined in Table 3 assume that each sector Moratorium Right Identifier has a valid
  permit for FY 2011. ACE values are based on final FY 2011 sector rosters submitted May 1, 2011.

    This final rule revises the current haddock catch cap monitoring 
requirements such that only the haddock catches from vessels issued a 
Federal Atlantic herring permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear in 
Atlantic Herring Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3 (GOM and GB) will be 
counted against the incidental haddock catch caps. Haddock catch 
reported by observers on observed herring trips using midwater trawl 
gear in Herring Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3 will be extrapolated 
to estimate total haddock catch by the herring midwater trawl fleet in 
these herring management areas, for purposes of monitoring the 
attainment of each stock-specific cap. This extrapolation method 
contrasts to monitoring methods used prior to this rule, in which 
haddock caught was derived only from summing the reports of observers, 
dealers, vessels, and law enforcement officials.
    FW 46 states that NMFS will develop the extrapolation methodology 
and post it on the Northeast Regional Office Web site (See ADDRESSES), 
and that NMFS will monitor and post catches of haddock by the herring 
fishery at least monthly on its Web site. NMFS intends to use the 
cumulative methodology it currently uses to extrapolate catches of 
butterfish in the Loligo squid fishery and to estimate discards by 
sector vessels in the groundfish fishery, to extrapolate haddock 
catches by the herring midwater trawl fishery. This method is described 
in detail on the Northeast Regional Office Web site (http://www.nero.noaa.gov/ro/fso/reports/reports_frame.htm) and is summarized 
briefly here. This method derives a ratio of the kept catch (or 
discards) of the species in question to the total weight of all species 
kept on observed trips (total kept), based on all observed trips as of 
a certain date (cumulative sums of landings or discards and total kept 
of all species). The ratio is then expanded to a total catch estimate 
by applying the ratio to the total kept of all species from all trips 
by the applicable component of the fishery. For example, an observed 
haddock catch rate would be derived from the ratio of the sum of all 
haddock catch to the sum of all species kept on observed herring 
midwater trawl trips in Herring Management Areas 1A, 1B, and 3 to date. 
This rate would then be applied to the total weight of all species kept 
from all midwater trawl trips in

[[Page 56988]]

these same areas to date, to estimate total haddock catch by the 
herring midwater trawl fleet in each of the GOM and GB haddock stock 
areas.
    A vessel with a Category A and/or B Atlantic herring permit is 
still required to land all haddock brought on deck or pumped into the 
hold, and may land up to 100 lb (45 kg) total of other regulated NE 
multispecies (Sec.  648.86(k)) per trip, but is prohibited from selling 
any groundfish for human consumption. In addition, these groundfish 
possession restrictions are revised to allow a Category C or D vessel 
and fishing any part of a trip with midwater trawl gear in Herring 
Management Areas 1A, 1B, or 3, to possess and land haddock and up to 
100 lb (45 kg) of other groundfish, consistent with the revised scope 
of the cap. Consistent with the current requirements for a Category A 
or B vessel, such a Category C or D vessel is required to land all 
haddock, but is prohibited from selling it for human consumption. 
Additionally, NMFS has revised the regulations at Sec.  648.86(k) to 
clarify that the 100 lb (45 kg) NE multispecies possession limit is 
meant to apply to NE. multispecies other than haddock.
    FW 46 eliminates the current AM where all vessels issued an 
Atlantic herring permit are prohibited from possessing or landing 
herring in excess of the incidental herring limit in the entire GOM/GB 
Herring Exemption Area, once the combined GOM/GB haddock cap is 
reached. FW 46 instead establishes smaller, stock-specific AM areas 
(the ``Herring GOM Haddock AM Area'' and the ``Herring GB Haddock AM 
Area''), which would only apply to a herring vessel using midwater 
trawl gear in the GOM and GB, upon attainment of the cap. The intent of 
this measure is to make the haddock catch caps less constraining on the 
herring fishery by accounting for differences between the haddock 
stocks, and by limiting the AMs to the herring midwater trawl fleet, 
which has been primarily responsible for haddock catches in the herring 
fishery. If the Regional Administrator determines that the haddock 
incidental catch cap for a specific haddock stock has been caught, any 
vessel issued a herring permit and using midwater trawl gear would be 
prohibited from fishing for, possessing, or landing herring in excess 
of 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) per trip in or from the applicable AM Area (see 
Tables 2 and 3). Additionally, the haddock possession/landing limit for 
the applicable AM Area would be reduced to 0 lb (0 kg) for herring 
midwater trawl vessels and all Category A and B vessels. For example, 
if the GOM haddock catch cap were reached, the herring possession limit 
would be reduced to the incidental catch level (2,000 lb (907 kg)) in 
the Herring GOM Haddock AM Area (see Table 2) for any vessel issued a 
herring permit and fishing any part of a trip with midwater trawl gear. 
Upon reaching the fishery haddock cap, a Category A or B vessel 
(regardless of gear used) or a Category C or D vessel fishing with 
midwater trawl gear would not be able to possess/land any haddock, but 
would still be able to land up to 100 lb (45 kg) of other NE. 
multispecies from the applicable AM area. In addition, in this example, 
a midwater trawl vessel would still be able to retain herring in or 
from areas of 1A, 1B, or 3 that do not overlap with the Herring GOM 
Haddock AM Area. A herring vessel that fishes both inside and outside 
of an AM Area for which the haddock cap has been triggered on a given 
trip would be required to comply with the most restrictive measures, 
meaning the vessel is restricted to the 2,000 lb (907 kg) herring 
possession limit for that trip. The reduced haddock possession/landing 
limit would not apply to a herring vessel that also holds a NE 
multispecies permit when it is on a declared NE. multispecies trip.

                  Table 2--Herring GOM Haddock AM Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Point                   N. latitude         W. longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HGA1...........................  (\1\)                69[deg]20'
HGA............................  43[deg]40'           69[deg]20'
HGA3...........................  43[deg]40'           69[deg]00'
HGA4...........................  43[deg]20'           69[deg]00'
HGA5...........................  43[deg]20'           (\2\)
HGA6...........................  42[deg]20'           (\3\)
HGA7...........................  42[deg]20'           70[deg]00'
HGA8...........................  (\4\)                70[deg]00'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The intersection of the Maine coastline and 69[deg]20' W. long.
\2\ The intersection of the U.S./Canada maritime boundary and 43[deg]20'
  N. lat.
\3\ The intersection of the U.S./Canada maritime boundary and 42[deg]20'
  N. lat.
\4\ The intersection of the north-facing shoreline of Cape Cod, MA, and
  70[deg]00' W. long.


                   Table 3--Herring GB Haddock AM Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Point                   N. latitude         W. longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HBA1...........................  42[deg]20'           70[deg]00'
HBA2...........................  42[deg]20'           (\1\)
HBA3...........................  40[deg]30'           (\1\)
HBA4...........................  40[deg]30'           66[deg]40'
HBA5...........................  39[deg]50'           66[deg]40'
HBA6...........................  39[deg]50'           68[deg]50'
HBA7...........................  (\2\)                68[deg]50'
HBA8...........................  41[deg]00'           (\3\)
HBA9...........................  41[deg]00'           69[deg]30'
HBA10..........................  41[deg]10'           69[deg]30'
HBA11..........................  41[deg]10'           69[deg]50'
HBA12..........................  41[deg]20'           69[deg]50'
HBA13..........................  41[deg]20'           (\4\)
HBA14..........................  (\5\)                70[deg]00'
HBA15..........................  (\6\)                70[deg]00'
HBA16..........................  (\7\)                70[deg]00'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The intersection of the U.S./Canada maritime boundary.
\2\ The intersection of the boundary of Closed Area I and 68[deg]50' W.
  long.
\3\ The intersection of the boundary of Closed Area I and 41[deg]00' N.
  lat.
\4\ The intersection of the east-facing shoreline of Nantucket, MA, and
  41[deg]20' N. lat.
\5\ The intersection of the north-facing shoreline of Nantucket, MA, and
  70[deg]00' W. long.
\6\ The intersection of the south-facing shoreline of Cape Cod, MA, and
  70[deg]00' W. long.
\7\ The intersection of the north-facing shoreline of Cape Cod, MA, and
  70[deg]00' W. long.

    FW 46 implements an automatic haddock sub-ACL reduction as an 
additional AM, if the herring midwater trawl fishery haddock catch 
exceeds the incidental catch cap for the AM area in a given FY. If it 
is determined that the total catch of haddock by herring midwater trawl 
vessels exceeds either of the herring midwater trawl fishery GOM or GB 
haddock sub-ACLs for a FY, that sub-ACL would be reduced by the amount 
of the overage in the following FY. For example, if final accounting of 
the FY 2011 total haddock midwater trawl catch in the GOM haddock stock 
area indicates that the GOM haddock incidental catch cap had been 
exceeded by 5 mt, the FY 2012 GOM haddock sub-ACL for the herring 
midwater trawl fishery would be reduced by 5 mt to account for the 
overage that occurred during FY 2011. Any reductions to the midwater 
trawl haddock sub-ACLs would be announced by NMFS, consistent with the 
Administrative Procedure Act (APA), in the Federal Register, prior to 
the start of the next groundfish FY (May 1). Although not addressed by 
FW 46, NMFS has added language to Sec.  648.90(a)(5)(iii), under the 
authority provided to the Secretary under Section 305(d) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act to promulgate regulations necessary to carry out 
an FMP, to clarify that if final catch accounting indicating an overage 
were not completed until after the end of a groundfish FY, the overage 
would still be applied to the final specifications for the next 
groundfish fishing year after which the overage occurred. This would be 
consistent with the process and timing NMFS has developed for applying 
and announcing overage paybacks for sectors in the NE multispecies 
fishery.
    Any vessel with a limited access herring permit (Category A, B, and 
C

[[Page 56989]]

permits) using midwater trawl gear is required to report total kept 
catch by modified haddock stock area through daily Vessel Monitoring 
System (VMS) catch reports. A final rule published on September 1, 2011 
(76 FR 54385), implemented requirements in the Atlantic Herring FMP for 
a limited access herring vessel (including any vessel with a herring 
limited access incidental permit) to submit daily catch reports through 
VMS to report herring catch by herring management area. Upon the 
effective date of this final rule, a limited access herring vessel 
fishing with midwater trawl gear in Herring Management Areas 1A, 1B, or 
3 is now also required to report total weight kept of all species 
(including herring, mackerel, groundfish, and any other fish kept) by 
modified haddock stock area in these daily reports.
    The Council has initiated development of Amendment 5 to the 
Atlantic Herring FMP, which considers several alternatives that address 
interactions between the herring fishery and the groundfish fishery, 
and measures designed to improve catch monitoring. If approved, 
Amendment 5 would likely modify monitoring and reporting requirements 
for the herring fishery, including those that NMFS will use to monitor 
the proposed haddock incidental catch caps. Therefore, this rule 
provides the authority to the Regional Administrator to revise the 
reporting requirements implemented through this final rule, if the RA 
determines that revisions to such requirements are necessary to allow 
for the effective monitoring of the haddock incidental catch caps.
    Any Category A and B vessel intending to use midwater trawl or 
purse seine gear on a declared herring trip, and any vessel issued a 
Category C and/or D herring permit and intending to fish or fishing any 
part of a trip with midwater trawl gear in Herring Management Areas 1A, 
1B, or 3, is now required to notify the NMFS Northeast Fisheries 
Observer Program (NEFOP) at least 72 hrs prior to beginning a trip, and 
declare whether or not it intends to fish any part of a trip in Closed 
Area I (CAI).
    A vessel issued a Category A or B permit, and on a declared herring 
trip fishing with midwater trawl or purse seine gear, and a vessel 
issued a Category C permit that fishes any part of a trip with midwater 
trawl gear in Herring Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, is now 
required to notify the NMFS Office of Law Enforcement through VMS of 
the time and place of offloading at least 6 hrs prior to crossing the 
VMS demarcation line, or at least 6 hrs prior to landing, if fishing 
inside the VMS demarcation line.
    Any federally permitted herring dealer or processor (including at-
sea processors) that culls or separates out non-herring catch in the 
course of normal operations is now required to separate out all haddock 
offloaded from any vessel issued any Federal herring permit that fished 
in Herring Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3 with midwater trawl gear, and any 
vessel issued a Category A and/or B permit, regardless of gear used or 
area fished. In addition, such haddock may not be sold for any purpose 
and must be retained for at least 12 hrs on land to allow inspection by 
enforcement officials.
    This final rule also revises the CA I restrictions regarding 
observers and net slippage for midwater trawl vessels, which are 
currently applicable to only Category A and B herring permit holders, 
by expanding these restrictions to any vessel issued a herring permit 
that fishes with midwater trawl gear in CA I. Thus, any vessel issued a 
herring permit is prohibited from fishing in CA I with midwater trawl 
gear without an observer. In addition, no vessel issued a herring 
permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear in CA I may release fish 
from the codend of the net, transfer fish to another vessel that is not 
carrying a NMFS-approved observer, or otherwise discard fish at sea, 
unless the fish has first been brought aboard the vessel and made 
available for sampling and inspection by the observer. All exemptions 
from the current requirements continue to apply to any vessel now 
subject to these restrictions.

Comments and Responses

    There were six comments received on the proposed measures from one 
member of the public, three fishing industry organizations, and two 
coalitions of fishing and marine industry and environmental. Four 
commenters generally or partially supported the proposed measures, and 
two commenters generally opposed the action.
    Comment 1: Lund's Fisheries, Inc., and the O'Hara Corporation 
supported the proposed action and the Cape Cod Commercial Hook 
Fishermen's Association (CCCHFA) and the Coalition for the Atlantic 
Herring Fishery's Orderly, Informed, and Responsible Long Term 
Development (CHOIR) offered partial support for the proposed action. 
Lund's Fisheries, Inc., and O'Hara Corporation supported the increase 
in the haddock incidental catch cap to 1 percent, because it would 
allow the herring fishery to more fully utilize the available GB 
herring quota, while encouraging the midwater trawl fishery to avoid 
haddock. They requested that NMFS move as quickly as possible to 
implement the measures in order to minimize adverse economic impacts to 
the herring fishery in FY 2011. CCCHFA supported maintaining a bycatch 
cap and extrapolating haddock catches across the fleet, but commented 
that increasing the incidental catch cap would reduce incentives for 
the midwater trawl fishery to avoid haddock. CHOIR also partially 
supported the increase in the cap, but only over other less restrictive 
measures considered by the Council, and noted concern that FW 46 would 
establish a precedent for allowing increasing bycatch in the herring 
fishery.
    Response: NMFS agrees that the proposed action will allow the 
herring fishery to achieve optimum yield through establishing a better 
opportunity to fully harvest the available herring quota. Contrary to 
comments made by CCCHFA, NMFS believes that the measures implemented by 
this final rule maintain incentives for herring midwater trawl vessels 
to avoid haddock catches and ensure that haddock catch is adequately 
controlled and monitored, as outlined further in the response to 
Comment 2 below. In addition, concerns expressed by CHOIR about the 
potential for this action to establish a precedent for future bycatch 
increases by the herring fishery are addressed in the response to 
Comment 2 below. Thus, NMFS has approved FW 46 as proposed, and is 
implementing these measures as soon as possible in order to minimize 
impacts to the fishery.
    Comment 2: The Herring Alliance, CCCHFA, and one member of the 
public opposed increasing the haddock incidental catch cap. The Herring 
Alliance and CCCHFA commented that the current cap is an effective 
measure to reduce bycatch in the herring fishery, but commented that 
increasing the cap reduces incentives to avoid haddock, and is 
inconsistent with National Standard 9, and other related provisions of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. They request NMFS disapprove the increase in 
the cap and instead work with the Council to develop measures to reduce 
bycatch in the herring fishery. They also asserted that FW 46 does not 
create meaningful incentives for herring vessels to avoid haddock, and 
therefore does not meet the objectives of FW 46. The Herring Alliance 
also questioned the need for the haddock cap increase, when FY 2010 was 
the first year the herring fishery had caught more than half the cap 
amount. CHOIR also suggested that FW 46 would establish a

[[Page 56990]]

precedent for allowing increasing bycatch in the herring fishery. 
Finally, one member of the public proposed a 75-percent decrease in 
haddock bycatch from previous years.
    Response: In evaluating the approvability of FW 46 measures, in 
light of this comment the other comments received, NMFS considered 
several competing mandates and considerations set forth in the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act. With respect to this particular comment, NMFS 
considered the requirements of National Standard 1, which requires that 
FMPs prevent overfishing while achieving optimum yield; National 
Standard 8, which requires the consideration of the importance of the 
herring fishery to communities in order to achieve sustained 
participation of such communities and, to the extent practicable 
minimize adverse impacts on such communities; and National Standard 9, 
which requires an FMP to reduce bycatch, to the extent practicable. FW 
46 represents an acceptable balance of these standards. As more fully 
described below, the framework increases the opportunity for the 
herring fishery to achieve optimum yield, while still preventing 
overfishing and with no adverse impact on the health of the herring or 
groundfish stocks, most notably haddock. Because of the greater 
opportunity for the herring fishery to achieve optimum yield, fishing 
communities involved in the herring fishery are more likely to be 
positively impacted without any perceivable detriment to other 
fisheries or communities, such as those more dependent on the 
groundfish fishery. Concerns about minimizing haddock bycatch, to the 
extent that haddock incidental catch is considered bycatch as defined 
by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, are more than adequately accounted for and 
allayed in the balancing of the practicability standard of National 
Standard 9. As described in Framework 46 and below, the opportunity 
provided by these measures for ensuring the achievement of optimum 
yield of Atlantic herring presents little or no possibility of 
undermining conservation objectives for haddock stocks in light of the 
healthy, abundant status of those stocks, and the wide gap between the 
ACL and actual catch of haddock by the groundfish fishery.
    NMFS agrees with the Council that the haddock catch cap is an 
effective measure to create incentives to avoid haddock and, thus, has 
approved the catch cap for the herring fishery. NMFS believes, in light 
of Magnuson-Stevens Act provisions as discussed above, that the revised 
cap represents a better balance of controlling incidental catch and 
bycatch of haddock and other stocks, reducing uncertainty in the 
fishery, and providing the herring fishery a better opportunity to 
achieve optimum yield. Although maintaining the current cap at 0.2 
percent of the combined GOM and GB haddock ABCs may have created a 
greater incentive for the midwater trawl fleet to avoid haddock, due to 
the lower relative current amount, this alternative was not practicable 
because it failed to meet other stated objectives of FW 46 and 
competing National Standards discussed above. Moreover, the approved 
measures increase the haddock catch cap, and revise the cap and 
associated AMs to be specific to those areas and gears that are 
primarily responsible for haddock catches, thereby substantially 
reducing the risk of negative economic impacts to the entire herring 
fleet, while still maintaining an incentive for that component of the 
fishery to avoid haddock. While the haddock catch cap is increased from 
0.2 to 1 percent, a separate cap is established for each haddock stock, 
eliminating the possibility that the entire cap could be caught in one 
haddock stock area and threaten mortality targets for that haddock 
stock. Furthermore, FW 46 introduces a more comprehensive and effective 
method for more accurately estimating haddock catches across the fleet 
that will provide more direct control on total haddock catches by the 
midwater trawl fishery and reduce uncertainty for the herring fishery. 
Because this new method significantly differs from the current method 
of merely summing actual observed catches, it is not possible to 
conclude that the 1-percent haddock cap will result in a five-fold 
increase in the amount of haddock that may be caught by the herring 
fishery, as alleged by the commenters. For example, extrapolating 
haddock catches observed in 2006 under the current method showed that 
the estimated total catch of haddock was potentially nearly four times 
the 0.2-percent cap. Since the existing cap only counted observed 
catches of haddock, it did not monitor the overall catches of haddock 
by the entire fleet. In fact, when all of these changes are considered 
together, Framework 46 should result in more direct control on the 
total haddock catch by the fleet than the current 0.2-percent cap.
    Furthermore, as described in the EA, the magnitude of catches from 
one stock area, as a proportion of biomass of these stocks, is not 
likely to have negative biological impacts on the status of the haddock 
stocks, or any effect on the populations of marine mammals or seabirds. 
In contrast, the revised haddock cap measures are likely to provide 
substantial economic benefits to the herring fishery, when compared to 
the no action alternative, without any negative biological impacts. 
Given these social and economic benefits, and that there is almost no 
likelihood of negative biological impacts, FW 46 achieves its stated 
objectives while minimizing bycatch to the extent practicable, 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standards.
    The herring fishery may be expected to be constrained under the 
current system more in future years than in the past. Although the 
herring fishery has not previously come close to achieving the cap, 
except for FY 2010, the herring fishery effort may be expected to 
increase in Area 3 as a result of area TAC allocations specified for 
the herring fishery in recent years. The Council reduced Area 1A TAC 
allocations through the FY 2010-2012 herring fishery specifications (75 
FR 48874; August 12, 2010) to address concerns about the 
disproportionate amount of effort that exists on this inshore component 
of the herring stock, despite the fact that its constitutes only 
approximately 18 percent of the available biomass. The EA for the 2010-
2012 herring specifications noted that higher Area 3 TACs (compared to 
Area 1A) might provide an opportunity for the herring fleet to regain 
yield lost from the Area 1A TAC reductions, but raised concerns that 
this effort might be inhibited by haddock bycatch measures. Given these 
steps by the Council to shift herring fishery effort to the offshore 
stock component, and continued declines in both herring and haddock 
stock biomasses and, subsequently, sub-ACLs, the herring fishery may be 
expected to bump up against the cap more frequently in future years 
under the no action alternative.
    NMFS cannot prevent the Council from considering or proposing 
future changes to the haddock catch cap for the herring fishery. 
However, as noted above, any such change must be consistent with 
applicable law, including the competing mandates and considerations set 
forth in the Magnuson-Stevens Act under National Standards 1, 8, and 9. 
If any future changes to the haddock catch cap for the herring fishery 
are proposed, NMFS will evaluate that action on its own merit, 
independent from any previous management action, based on these and 
other national standards and applicable law, and consider further 
public

[[Page 56991]]

comment before making a final decision to approve or disapprove any 
such future action.
    Regarding the suggestions to disapprove the measure or require a 
75-percent reduction in haddock bycatch from previous years, NMFS can 
only approve, disapprove, or partially approve a Council action, but 
cannot modify the measures proposed in FW 46. Reducing the haddock cap 
by 75 percent from previous years represents a new management proposal 
and, as such, would require consideration and action by the Council as 
well as an opportunity for public comment on the measure. NMFS approved 
the measures proposed in FW 46 because they are consistent with the 
objectives of FW 46 and the NE Multispecies FMP, and other applicable 
laws, and will allow the prosecution of the herring fishery, while 
minimizing haddock catches by the herring fishery to the extent 
practicable.
    Comment 3: The Herring Alliance commented that FW 46 does not meet 
its objective to encourage midwater trawl vessels to fish offshore 
simply by facilitating herring fishing in Herring Management Area 3, 
because Herring Management Area 3 also contains inshore fishing grounds 
where the herring fleet may encounter the inshore component of the 
herring stock.
    Response: NMFS believes that, based upon the biology and ecology of 
the herring stock, and the definition of the herring management areas, 
FW 46 achieves its objective to encourage vessels to fish offshore. The 
herring stock complex is assessed as a unit stock, but is comprised of 
inshore (GOM) and offshore (GB) stock components. The stock components 
segregate during spawning and mix during feeding and migration. The 
herring management areas were developed in recognition of these 
different stock components and, despite mixing of components, provide a 
method to manage the fishing mortality of each stock component somewhat 
independently. According to the EA that accompanied the 2010-2012 
herring fishery specifications, while some mixing may occur, most 
fishing mortality on the inshore stock component occurs in Areas 1A, 
1B, and 2, and fishing mortality on the offshore component occurs in 
Area 3. The purpose of FW 46 is to address the haddock catch cap, while 
achieving the four stated objectives, including providing incentives 
for midwater trawl vessels to fish offshore. FW 46 was not initiated to 
address or redefine Herring Management Areas established by the 
Atlantic Herring FMP. To the extent that Area 3 represents the 
``offshore'' component of the herring fishery effort and the area where 
the majority of fishing effort on the offshore component of the herring 
stock occurs, FW 46 reduces the risk of an early closure of this area, 
thereby facilitating further development of the offshore fishery in 
this area.
    Comment 4: Three commenters commented on the scope of the proposed 
measures. The Herring Alliance supported focusing the scope of the cap 
on midwater trawl vessels and establishing a separate cap for each 
haddock stock, but commented that Category C and D herring vessels 
should be excluded from the proposed measures, because they do not have 
documented catches of haddock or herring with midwater trawl gear in 
the areas of concern. Lund's Fisheries, Inc. supported excluding Area 2 
from the cap and AMs, because this area is critical to the winter 
mackerel fishery.
    Response: NMFS agrees that having separate caps for each haddock 
stock will provide more direct control on fishing mortality for each 
haddock stock resulting from herring midwater trawl fishery operations 
and more direct accountability for those vessels actually responsible 
for haddock catches. NMFS also agrees that revising the cap to focus on 
those areas and gears where haddock catches have been observed achieves 
FW 46's objectives, and is necessary to reduce the impact of the cap on 
the herring fishery as a whole by eliminating unnecessary restrictions 
on those segments of the fishery that have historically not had much 
interaction with haddock.
    The Council intended that the cap measures apply to all midwater 
trawl vessels, regardless of herring permit category, because this is 
the gear with documented catches of haddock. Although only Category A 
and B vessels have documented landings with midwater trawl gear, there 
is no prohibition on Category C or D vessels using midwater trawl gear, 
which is the gear most likely to catch haddock incidentally. The 
application of the measures to a Category C or D vessel imposes no 
burden unless such vessel chooses to use midwater trawl gear, in which 
case the relevance of the regulations are justified. Furthermore, 
future modifications to the Atlantic Herring FMP may change incentives 
and result in changes in fishing practices, such that Category C and/or 
D vessels begin to target herring using midwater trawl gear. If 
Category C and D midwater trawl vessels were excluded from these 
measures at this time, such changes in fishing behavior might undermine 
the FW 46 measures in the future. Thus, NMFS has approved FW 46 
measures regarding Category C and D vessels, as proposed, because they 
are preventative in nature and consistent with the stated objectives of 
the action. However, the FW 46 requirements (including reporting 
requirements) only apply to vessels with Category C and D permits when 
fishing with midwater trawl gear in Areas 1A, 1B and/or 3. Category C 
or D vessels fishing with purse seine or otter trawl gear, or midwater 
trawl gear in Area 2, will be unaffected by this action.
    Comment 5: Three commenters supported extrapolating haddock catches 
to the entire herring midwater trawl fleet, because this increases 
accountability and provides more accurate monitoring. The Herring 
Alliance further supported extrapolating the haddock catches back to 
the start of FY 2011, if these measures are implemented mid-season. The 
Herring Alliance and CCCHFA commented that the proposed rule should 
have provided more detail on the extrapolation methodology NMFS intends 
to use to monitor the cap, so the public could have an opportunity to 
comment on it. The Herring Alliance requested that NMFS clarify how 
observed trips that encounter haddock, but do not retain any catch, and 
observed trips that have slipped tows, will be handled in the 
extrapolation. The Herring Alliance suggested that these fishing 
practices would undermine the extrapolation methodology and that NMFS 
should conduct an analysis of the observer effect in the herring fleet, 
and extend the CAI no-slippage provisions currently in place to all 
trips by Category A and B vessels, to facilitate more accurate 
observations. The Herring Alliance and CCCHFA both requested that NMFS 
post haddock catch cap monitoring updates on its Web site weekly, 
instead of monthly, consistent with how the cap is currently monitored.
    Response: NMFS agrees that the extrapolation of haddock catches to 
the entire midwater trawl fleet will increase accountability for total 
haddock catches by the herring fishery and provide more accurate catch 
estimates that are less sensitive to changes in observer coverage 
rates, and has approved that measure. As stated in the proposed rule, 
NMFS intends to use the same methodology that it uses to monitor 
butterfish catch in the Loligo fishery and groundfish discards by 
sector vessels in the NE multispecies fishery. These methodologies are 
described in detail on NERO's Web site (http://www.nero.noaa.gov/ro/fso/reports/reports_frame.htm), and were

[[Page 56992]]

summarized in the preamble to the proposed rule. According to this 
methodology, only discards and kept fish from observed tows to date are 
used in the calculation of an observed haddock catch rate for the 
applicable stock area. The numerator for the catch rate on a given date 
is generated by summing the observed haddock catch from all observed 
tows in the applicable stock area as of that date. Similarly, the 
denominator is the cumulative sum of all kept catch on all observed 
tows in the applicable stock area to date. Thus, haddock catches in a 
tow that was sampled by the observer would be added to the numerator, 
and if this haddock was the only catch retained (because it must be 
landed if brought on board), then this amount would be added to the 
denominator to generate a cumulative discard rate for all observed tows 
up to that date. Thus, the haddock catch rate is a cumulative rate made 
up of all observed tows across the fleet, not an individual catch rate 
for each observed trip or vessel. Tows that are slipped, or partially 
slipped, on an observed trip will not be incorporated into the 
extrapolation, because such tows are not considered to be ``observed'' 
by the observer. Although such slippage is of concern, and is a source 
of uncertainty, the NE Multispecies FMP takes into account such 
uncertainty in the method of calculating ABCs. Specifically, the sub-
ABCs of GOM and GB haddock allocated to the midwater trawl fishery are 
reduced by 7 percent, as prescribed by FW 44, before arriving at the 
actual sub-ACLs that are monitored, in order to account for such 
management uncertainty in this component of the fishery.
    Currently, the herring trips applied to the haddock catch cap are 
updated on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of data. NMFS 
intends to continue to update the haddock catch cap monitoring pages on 
its Web site on a weekly basis, provided the necessary data are 
available. Midwater trawl vessels will be reporting the ``kept all'' 
amount daily through their VMS catch reports, which will be used to 
extrapolate observed haddock catches. However, preliminary trip-summary 
information from observed midwater trawl trips catching groundfish is 
available within approximately 72 hrs of landing. Thus, while the total 
weight to which the haddock catch rates are applied to derive an 
estimate of the total catch of haddock may be updated almost daily, the 
frequency of updates to the haddock catch rates that are extrapolated 
will be limited by the availability of observer data.
    Comment 6: The Herring Alliance supported the proposal to require 
midwater trawl vessels fishing both inside and outside an AM area on 
the same trip when an AM is in place to comply with the most 
restrictive possession limits. However, the Herring Alliance suggested 
that NMFS prohibit herring vessels from towing midwater trawls across 
the boundaries between different haddock AM areas, since this inhibits 
the observer's ability to accurately assign catch from such tows to the 
proper area.
    Response: NMFS has approved the requirement that vessels comply 
with the most restrictive measures when fishing both inside and outside 
an effective AM area on the same trip. With respect to the suggestion 
that NMFS prohibit midwater trawl vessels from towing across haddock 
stock areas, this would further complicate the regulations and be 
overly restrictive for herring midwater trawl vessels. The regulation 
as approved represents a balance between the need to implement and 
enforce possession limits and monitor catch and the industry's need for 
flexibility to fish and target herring.
    Comment 7: The Herring Alliance commented that NMFS should clarify 
the description of the overage payback provision to clarify that any 
overage reduction to the haddock sub-ACL in response to an overage 
would apply in the year immediately following the year in which the 
overage occurred, even if final accounting of haddock catch by the 
herring fleet occurs after the end of the year in which the overage 
occurred.
    Response: The Herring Alliance is correct, the overage reduction 
would apply in the year immediately following the year in which the 
overage occurred, even if final catch accounting is not completed until 
after the end of the FY. Although not directly addressed by FW 46, NMFS 
has added language to Sec.  648.90(a)(5)(iii), under the authority 
provided to the Secretary by Section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
to promulgate regulations necessary to carry out an FMP, to clarify 
that if final catch accounting indicating an overage were not completed 
until after the end of a groundfish FY, the overage would still be 
applied to the final specifications for the next groundfish fishing 
year after which the overage occurred.
    Comment 8: The Herring Alliance commented that NMFS should revise 
the method of calculating the GOM haddock catch cap such that the 
herring midwater trawl fishery is allocated 1 percent of the commercial 
sub-ABC and not 1 percent of the overall ABC, because this would be 
consistent with how shares are specified for the other commercial 
components of the commercial sub-ABC.
    Response: The method of specifying the herring midwater trawl 
fishery haddock sub-ACL was implemented through FW 44 to the NE 
Multispecies FMP. FW 46 only revises the percentage that is applied to 
determine the herring fishery's share of the commercial sub-ABC, but 
does not revise the method of dividing the ABC into its various 
components. Revising the method of calculation would be outside the 
scope of FW 46 and NMFS's authority to approve, disapprove, or 
partially approve this action. FW 44 incorporated the haddock catch cap 
into the ACL and AM system implemented by Amendment 16, but endeavored 
to be consistent with the method of identifying the 0.2-percent share 
allocated to the herring fishery that was implemented by FW 43, which 
was based upon the Target TAC. Thus, the 1 percent is applied to the 
ABC, but deducted from the commercial sub-ABC, because the ABC is 
analogous to the Target TACs that were the basis for the original 0.2-
percent haddock catch cap allocated to the herring fishery through FW 
43. Secondly, because management uncertainty is considered separately 
for each component of the ABC, the first step in the calculation 
procedure must be the dividing of the ABC into components, prior to 
making the deduction for management uncertainty. In other words, 
although the haddock ABC is the initial basis for the calculation of 
the haddock sub-ACL for the herring fishery, the net amount allocated 
to the herring fishery reflects a deduction for management uncertainty. 
Any modifications to this distribution of the GOM haddock ABC would 
require further Council action.
    Comment 9: The Herring Alliance commented that NMFS should require 
all Category A and B midwater trawl vessels to report all groundfish 
catch through their daily VMS catch reports, in order to facilitate the 
monitoring of groundfish bycatch thresholds in the groundfish closed 
areas.
    Response: FW 46 was developed to address the haddock catch cap for 
the herring fishery, and was not intended to address groundfish bycatch 
in the closed areas. Requiring midwater trawl vessels to report all 
groundfish catch through daily VMS catch reports would be outside the 
scope of this action and NMFS's authority to promulgate the measures of 
FW 46 through the regulations. Groundfish bycatch in closed areas is 
monitored based on

[[Page 56993]]

complete, audited observer data, which contain latitudinal and 
longitudinal data that can be used assign to catch to the closed areas. 
Such data are not available until approximately 90 days after 
completion of the observed trip. Requiring midwater trawl vessels to 
report groundfish catch in daily VMS catch reports would not assist in 
obtaining more timely observer data, and would be an unnecessary 
reporting burden. Furthermore, Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring FMP, 
currently under development by the Council, is focusing on other issues 
related to the monitoring of the herring fishery, including catch of 
groundfish by the herring fishery in closed areas.
    Comment 10: The Herring Alliance took issue with the descriptions 
of the need and objectives for FW 46 in the EA, alleging they did not 
reflect the original purpose of the action.
    Response: The National Environmental Policy Act requires that an EA 
briefly specify the underlying purpose and need to which the agency is 
responding in proposing alternatives, including the proposed action (40 
CFR 1502.13). The need is the underlying purpose of the action, while 
the stated objectives of the action are its intended goals. Thus, 
Section 3.2 of the EA separately describes the underlying need of FW 
46--the need to take action to modify the provisions adopted in FW 43 
to reflect current conditions in the fishery and to prevent the catch 
cap from unnecessarily constraining the herring fishery on GB, in 
addition to several other reasons--and the stated objectives of the 
action, which are those adopted by the Council at its January 2011 
meeting. Furthermore, the Council approved FW 46 and the EA as 
consistent with their intent and goals at its April 2011 meeting.
    Comment 11: The Herring Alliance made several suggestions to 
improve analyses in the EA, commenting that the EA relied only on 
dealer reports to analyze the occurrence of haddock being sold as bait. 
The Herring Alliance alleges the dealer reports are not accurate 
because dealers are not compliant with the requirement to report by 
species. They also commented that the EA did not analyze the presence 
of other evidence (other than catch of bottom-dwelling species), such 
as the presence of mud or rocks in the gear, when analyzing the degree 
of bottom contact by midwater trawl gear, and did not adequately 
address the possibility of localized haddock depletion due to 
concentrated midwater trawl fishing. They further commented that the 
analysis used to determine the ``practicability'' of the proposed 
action with respect to National Standard 9 should have been described 
in more detail and should have incorporated the cost of bycatch 
reduction and mitigation strategies.
    Response: Although additional or different information may have 
been used in the analysis of dealer reports for haddock bait sales or 
observer reports for the degree of midwater trawl contact with the sea 
floor, the analysis contained in FW 46 was based on the best available 
information and sufficient to assess the impacts of the proposed action 
relative to the no action alternative and alternative to the proposed 
action. In the absence of data other than dealer reports, there is no 
other firm basis to assume or estimate the amount of haddock that might 
be sold as bait when mixed with herring. The dealer data is compiled 
according to a transparent process that is relevant, timely, and 
inclusive of the herring fishery. NMFS utilizes validation and 
verification techniques as part of its standard procedures. In 
addition, haddock reported as bait would not be expected to be a common 
occurrence in the dealer reports, because the selling of culled haddock 
by dealers for any purpose is prohibited by the regulations. 
Regardless, the presence or absence of haddock in the bait supply would 
not affect the precision of haddock catch estimates under the approved 
measures, because dealer reports will no longer be used to monitor the 
haddock catch cap (only observer reports will be used in the 
calculation of total haddock catch). Furthermore, Amendment 5 to the 
Herring FMP, which is under the development by the Council to address 
monitoring and reporting requirements in the herring fishery, is 
considering weighmaster systems, among other alternatives, to improve 
catch reporting by vessels and dealers.
    The EA addressed the issue of localized haddock and other 
groundfish depletion by examining the presence and absence of 
groundfish fishing effort in an area before and after midwater trawl 
fishing effort in Section 8.4.2. The EA concluded that a strong 
relationship could not be determined, but the analysis did not support 
the idea that groundfish effort is displaced by midwater trawl 
activity, suggesting that groundfish may still be present in an area 
after midwater trawl activity.
    Finally, it is not clear what bycatch reduction or mitigation 
strategies the commenter is referring to that could have been 
incorporated into the practicability analysis. The Council did not 
consider gear modifications or other reduction strategies in the 
development of FW 46, and it is not clear how the EA analysis could 
predict the extent to which any bycatch reduction or mitigation 
strategies would be undertaken by herring vessels in response to the 
cap, except to cease fishing operations in Area 3, as they did in FY 
2010. The EA analysis concluded that the level of bycatch associated 
with the proposed action was practicable according to the National 
Standard Guidelines because the stock-specific caps would eliminate the 
remote possibility that the entire cap could be caught in the GOM 
haddock stock area and, thus, there would be almost no likelihood that 
haddock bycatch associated with the proposed action would have any 
impacts on the status of haddock stocks, or any effect on the 
population status of marine mammals or seabirds. It concluded further 
that the stock-specific caps will incentivize the midwater trawl 
fishery to reduce incidental catch and bycatch of haddock by avoiding 
fishing in areas and times where haddock are encountered in order to 
avoid an effective closure of the directed herring fishery. In 
addition, the increased, separate caps increased the likelihood that 
the herring GB quota would be harvested, providing opportunity for the 
herring fishery to achieve optimum yield, minimizing impacts on fishing 
practices and providing economic and cultural benefits.
    In contrast, the EA concluded that the no action alternative, which 
maintained the current cap measures, was not practicable according to 
National Standard 9. The EA concluded that, although bycatch of haddock 
and other species under the current system would likely be lower than 
under the increased cap because the current cap would be more 
constraining if observer coverage levels remain high, there existed a 
small risk that a large portion of the shared cap could be caught in 
the GOM, threatening mortality targets for the GOM haddock stock. In 
addition, the current shared cap would have adverse effects on the 
economic, social, and cultural status of the herring fishery, which are 
mitigated under the increased stock-specific caps.
    Thus, the approved measures represent a balance between allowing 
the herring fishery opportunity to achieve optimum yield, while 
providing incentives for the midwater trawl fishery to minimize haddock 
catch, and ensuring that haddock catch is adequately controlled and 
monitored.
    Comment 12: The Herring Alliance took issue with the EA analysis of 
foregone herring yield, because the EA did not consider the fact that 
the herring

[[Page 56994]]

fleet has never fully harvested the Area 3 sub-ACL.
    Response: The EA did not suggest that the herring fishery would 
necessarily catch the full Area 3 sub-ACL in absence of the haddock 
cap, but attempted to quantify the potential economic impacts that 
might result if the haddock cap in fact precluded the full utilization 
of the herring quota in Area 3. This analysis was based on the fact 
that the herring fleet is capable of achieving catches as high as the 
current Area 3 sub-ACL, as evidenced by their landings in 2001. Thus, 
the EA was merely analyzing the potential impacts that may result if 
the herring fleet were to be able to achieve the Area 3 sub-ACL, or at 
least catch more than it has in past years, if participation in the 
offshore fishery increases.
    Comment 13: The Herring Alliance questioned the conclusion in the 
EA that the haddock catch cap was a driver of the low Atlantic mackerel 
catches in FY 2010, suggesting it was not supported by the analysis.
    Response: Section 8.4.1 of the EA clearly stated that the low 
landings of mackerel in 2010 are likely due to fish availability and 
other factors. The EA acknowledged that vessels that participate in 
both the herring and mackerel fishery may have reduced mackerel effort 
as a result of concern over the haddock catch cap, which is a possible 
indirect economic impact of the haddock catch cap. However, the EA 
clearly noted that more information and analysis would be necessary to 
make a clear determination about causality.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is 
consistent with the NE Multispecies FMP, other provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1), the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries finds good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness 
provision of the APA. The Atlantic herring fishery is allocated a 
portion of the allowable catch of GOM and GB haddock each year, to 
account for incidental catch of haddock in the herring midwater trawl 
fleet. When this cap is reached or exceeded, all herring vessels are 
restricted to very low incidental possession limits for herring in a 
large portion of their fishing grounds in the GOM and GB, thereby 
effectively closing the areas to directed fishing because such low 
possession limits do not permit an economically viable fishing trip. In 
FY 2010, the catch of haddock primarily by the herring midwater trawl 
fleet reached approximately 81 percent of the haddock catch cap, and in 
October 2010, the herring midwater trawl fleet voluntarily moved to 
avoid fishing in areas with high haddock catch. As a result, fishing 
and processing operations were unnecessarily interrupted and the 
industry likely incurred increased operational costs. In addition, some 
of the GB herring TAC was not harvested, potentially resulting in lost 
economic yield for a large portion of the Atlantic herring fishery. 
This final rule implements measures in FW 46 that increase the haddock 
catch cap, thus reducing the risk that the cap would be constraining. 
If the stock-specific cap is reached, midwater trawl fishing for 
herring in that stock area would be restricted--unlike the current 
combined cap that, if reached, closes a large portion of the GOM and GB 
area to the entire herring fishery.
    Summer and early fall are typically when herring fishery effort on 
GB and interactions with haddock are highest. Beginning in September, 
the restrictive haddock catch cap may force the herring fleet to 
curtail prematurely its fishing operations in Area 3 in order to avoid 
triggering the AMs. It is important that the revised haddock catch cap 
and accountability measures be implemented as soon as possible, before 
October 2011, in order to avert an effective early end to the herring 
fishing season on GB. After September 2011 these measures would have 
limited utility to herring fishery participants until summer 2012. 
Thus, delaying implementation would result in short-term adverse 
economic impacts to Atlantic herring vessels and associated shoreside 
facilities and fishing communities.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of Executive Order (E.O.) 12866.
    This final rule does not contain policies with Federalism or 
``takings'' implications as those terms are defined in E.O. 13132 and 
E.O. 12630, respectively.
    A FRFA was prepared for this final rule, as required by section 604 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The FRFA, which includes the 
summary in this rule and the analyses contained in FW 46 and its 
accompanying EA/RIR/FRFA, describes the economic impact the measures 
proposed in FW 46 would have on small entities. A description of the 
action, why it is being considered, and the legal basis for this action 
are contained in FW 46 and the preamble to this rule.
    No issues were raised by public comments specifically in response 
to the IRFA or with respect to the economic impacts of this action. 
Accordingly, no changes were made from the proposed rule as the result 
of any such comments.

Description and Estimate of Number of Small Entities to Which the Final 
Rule Will Apply

    Regulated entities include businesses owning vessels engaged in the 
Atlantic herring and NE multispecies fisheries. These measures would 
affect regulated entities engaged in commercial fishing for herring. 
Because the measures reduce the available GOM and GB haddock ABC for 
the groundfish fishery, vessels permitted in this fishery are 
potentially regulated by this action. However, because only 
approximately 17 percent of the haddock GOM and GB ABCs was landed in 
FY 2010 (and similar under-capture of available quota is expected in FY 
2011-2012), it is not expected that NE multispecies permitted vessels 
would be affected by this action in the near-term or foreseeable 
future. The size standard for commercial fishing entities (NAICS code 
114111) is $4 million in sales. Although multiple vessels may be owned 
by a single owner, available tracking of ownership is not readily 
available to reliably ascertain affiliated entities. Therefore, for 
purposes of analysis, each permitted vessel is treated as a single 
entity. In 2008 and 2009, one vessel exceeded $4 million in gross sales 
in each year, while in 2010, two vessels exceeded that threshold 
amount. During calendar year 2010, 86 vessels were issued a limited 
access herring permit. Therefore, because 2 entities operating in 2010 
exceeded the gross sales threshold defining a large entity, 84 small 
commercial fishing entities were both regulated and potentially 
affected by the proposed action.

Description of Steps the Agency Has Taken to Minimize the Economic 
Impact on Small Entities Consistent With the Stated Objectives of 
Applicable Statutes

    In total, six alternatives to the action implemented by this final 
rule were considered during the development of FW 46. Detailed 
descriptions of all the alternatives considered are available in the FW 
46 EA (See ADDRESSES). Four alternatives were rejected by the Council 
and the Groundfish Oversight Committee because they were difficult to 
implement and monitor, could not be implemented legally through a 
framework adjustment, and/or did not

[[Page 56995]]

meet the stated objectives of the framework. As detailed in the 
proposed rule for this action, the two other alternatives considered, 
including the no action alternative that would have maintained the 
haddock catch cap for the herring fishery at 0.2 percent of the 
combined GOM and GB haddock ABC, and a second alternative that would 
have incorporated the catch of haddock in the Atlantic herring fishery 
into the sub-ACL for other sub-components of the haddock fisheries, 
with options for AMs that would have implemented the proposed action as 
a backstop. The no action alternative was not selected because it would 
not maximize the chance for the GB herring TAC to be caught or exercise 
firm control over haddock catches by the herring fishery compared to 
the preferred alternative. The second alternative considered was not 
selected because it presented the least direct limitation on herring 
fishery haddock catches when compared to the preferred alternative and 
the no action alternatives and, thus, failed to provide adequate 
incentives for midwater trawl vessels to fish offshore and to minimize 
haddock incidental catch, as required by the framework's stated 
objectives.
    The economic impacts of this action on affected regulated small 
entities are positive and not different from economic impacts to large 
entities. NMFS disapproved measures as they apply to open access 
vessels that would have resulted in differential impacts to entities 
that represent a de minimus portion of the directed herring fishery. 
This action would have no short-term measurable economic impacts to 
vessels participating in the groundfish fishery, because it implements 
small allocations of haddock to the herring fishery that would have no 
effect on current groundfish revenues, based on most recent fishing 
activities, and only minor effects, if any, on possible future 
revenues, as these small allocations are unlikely to constrain the 
groundfish fishery or allow the herring fishery to displace groundfish 
effort. This action is likely to have a positive impact on large and 
small vessels participating in the Atlantic herring fishery, as it 
greatly reduces the possibility that a haddock catch cap would result 
in AMs that restrict the fishery to incidental catch limits throughout 
a large portion of the GOM and GB. This is because, unlike the no 
action alternative, the measures implemented by this final rule 
increase the haddock catch cap applicable to the herring fishery. Based 
on observed levels of haddock bycatch in the herring fishery and recent 
reductions in herring fishing effort (through greatly reduced ACLs in 
2010), a 1-percent haddock catch cap is unlikely to be reached in the 
short-term, but provides a backstop and establishes a mechanism to 
estimate fleet-wide bycatch on a real-time basis. This will provide 
more effective controls over the bycatch of haddock in the herring 
fishery compared to the no action alternative. In addition, contrary to 
existing measures that would be maintained under the no action 
alternative, this action separates the GOM and GB haddock stocks and 
related catch, thereby reducing the overall impact of an effective 
directed fishery closure, if one were to occur. It also eliminates 
impacts on purse seine and otter trawl vessels (typically smaller 
fishing operations) by restricting the cap and the AM to midwater trawl 
vessels only. Because this action makes it more likely that the haddock 
catch cap will not constrain herring fishing beyond levels anticipated 
in the Atlantic Herring FMP, this action will not result in a decline 
in revenue for the herring fishery and may increase fishing 
opportunities for the herring mid-water trawl fleet regardless of size 
for several months relative to baseline conditions that would result if 
the no action alternative would be maintained. Opportunities to 
prosecute the offshore fishery (Area 3, GB) and fully harvest the 
herring optimum yield should be higher under the proposed action than 
under baseline conditions. The precise magnitude of the positive impact 
is uncertain, though the offshore areas (Areas 2 and 3) of the herring 
fishery generated approximately $17 million in gross herring revenues 
in calendar year 2009, and the revenues from fishing trips expected to 
be unconstrained due to the proposed action represent a relatively 
small fraction of that total.
    This action and alternatives are described in detail in FW 46, 
which includes an EA, RIR, and FRFA (See ADDRESSES).

Description of the Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements

    This final rule contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to review and approval by OMB under the PRA. The requirement 
for limited access vessels using midwater trawl gear to report total 
kept catch via daily VMS catch reports has been approved by OMB on 
September 6, 2011, under OMB Control Number 0648-0202. This action does 
not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any other Federal rules.
    This action would expand some reporting requirements implemented 
through FW 43 to monitor the current herring fishery haddock incidental 
catch cap, to include additional herring permit categories. Limited 
access herring permit holders fishing with midwater trawl gear in 
Herring Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3 would be required to report 
total kept catch by haddock stock area via daily VMS catch reports. The 
proposed Atlantic herring regulatory amendment would require daily VMS 
catch reporting by limited access herring vessels for quota monitoring 
purposes, and the burden to the public of those catch report 
submissions has been analyzed in that regulatory amendment (76 FR 
34947; June 15, 2011). This action would modify that proposed report to 
add two additional fields and thereby increase the cost per submission 
for limited access vessels that fish with midwater trawl gear in the 
GOM or on GB. Based on historic participation in the herring midwater 
trawl fishery, this change is expected to increase the total annual 
burden to the public for herring VMS catch reporting by $160 to $2,482, 
or $26 per entity. This action would also expand the requirements for 
Category A and B vessels to notify the Northeast Fishery Observer 
Program by phone of their intent to take a trip, and to submit a pre-
landing hail to enforcement via VMS, to additional permit categories 
when fishing with midwater trawl gear in the GOM or on GB. However, no 
Category C or D vessels have reported landing herring or mackerel using 
midwater trawl gear in the GOM or GB. Thus, based on historic 
participation in the herring midwater trawl fishery, this action would 
not be expected to change the reporting burden associated with these 
requirements. In addition, applying the requirement to submit a CA I 
Midwater Trawl Codend Release Affidavit to additional permit categories 
is not expected to change the reporting burden associated with this 
affidavit, based on historic participation in the CA I herring fishery.
    Public reporting burden for these requirements includes the time 
for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering 
and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information.

Small Entity Compliance Guide

    Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1966 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

[[Page 56996]]

explain the actions a small entity is required to take to comply with a 
rule or group of rules. As part of this rulemaking, a small entity 
compliance guide will be sent to all holders of permits issued for the 
herring fishery and the NE. multispecies fishery. In addition, copies 
of this final rule and guide (i.e., permit holder letter are available 
from the Regional Administrator (see ADDRESSES) and may be found at the 
following Web site: http://www.nero.noaa.gov.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 9, 2011.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended 
as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:

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


0
2. In Sec.  648.10, add paragraph (l) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.10  VMS and DAS requirements for vessel owners/operators.

* * * * *
    (l) Area-specific reporting requirements for limited access 
Atlantic herring vessels fishing in Atlantic Herring Management Areas 
1A, 1B, and 3--(1) Reporting requirements for vessel operators. The 
owner or operator of any vessel issued a limited access herring permit 
that fishes any part of a tow with midwater trawl gear (including 
midwater pair-trawl gear) in Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, as 
defined at Sec.  648.200(f)(1) and (f)(3), must report the estimated 
total amount of all species retained (in pounds, landed weight) from 
each of the GOM and GB modified haddock stock areas as defined in 
paragraph (l)(2) of this section, via the required reporting method 
specified for Atlantic herring owners or operators at Sec.  
648.7(b)(2)(i), unless otherwise specified by Sec.  648.201.
    (2) GOM and GB Modified Haddock Stock Areas. For the sole purpose 
of the area-specific reporting requirements in paragraph (l)(2) of this 
section, the GOM and GB Modified Haddock Stock Areas are defined in 
paragraphs (l)(2)(i) and (l)(2)(ii) of this section. Copies of a map 
depicting these areas are available from the Regional Administrator 
upon request.
    (i) GOM Modified Haddock Stock Area. The GOM Modified Haddock Stock 
Area is bounded on the east by the U.S./Canadian maritime boundary and 
straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated:

                     GOM Modified Haddock Stock Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Point                   N. latitude         W. longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GMH1...........................  (\1\)                (\1\)
GMH2...........................  42[deg]20'           (\2\)
GMH4...........................  42[deg]20'           70[deg]00'
GMH4...........................  (\3\)                70[deg]00'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The intersection of the shoreline and the U.S.-Canada maritime
  boundary.
\2\ The intersection of 42[deg]20 N. lat. and the U.S./Canada maritime
  boundary.
\3\ The intersection of the Cape Cod, MA, coastline and 70[deg] 00' W.
  long.

    (ii) GB Modified Haddock Stock Area. The GB Modified Haddock Stock 
Area is bounded on the east by the U.S./Canadian maritime boundary and 
straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated:

                     GB Modified Haddock Stock Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Point                   N. latitude         W. longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GBM1...........................  (\1\)                70[deg]00'
GBM2...........................  42[deg]20'           70[deg]00'
GBM3...........................  42[deg]20'           (\2\)
GBM4...........................  40[deg]30'           (\2\)
GBM5...........................  40[deg]30'           66[deg]40'
GBM6...........................  39[deg]50'           66[deg]40'
GBM7...........................  39[deg]50'           70[deg]00'
GBM8...........................  (\3\)                70[deg]00'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The intersection of the North-facing shoreline of Cape Cod, MA and
  70[deg]00' W. long.
\2\ The U.S.-Canada maritime boundary as it intersects with the EEZ.
\3\ The intersection of the South-facing shoreline of Cape Cod, MA and
  70[deg]00' W. long.

    3. In Sec.  648.14, revise paragraphs (k)(1)(i)(D); (r)(1)(vi)(A), 
(B), and (C); (r)(1)(vii)(E); (r)(1)(viii)(B); and (r)(2)(i) through 
(v); and add paragraphs (r)(1)(vi)(E) and (F) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.14  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (k) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (D) Any haddock, and up to 100 lb (45 kg) of other regulated NE. 
multispecies other than haddock, were harvested by a vessel issued an 
All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an Area 2 and 3 Limited 
Access Herring Permit on a declared herring trip, regardless of gear or 
area fished, or a vessel issued a Limited Access Incidental Catch 
Herring Permit and/or an Open Access Herring Permit that fished with 
midwater trawl gear, pursuant to the requirements in Sec.  648.80(d) 
and (e), and such fish are not sold for human consumption.
* * * * *
    (r) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (vi) * * *
    (A) For the purposes of observer deployment, fail to notify NMFS at 
least 72 hr prior to departing on a declared herring trip with a vessel 
issued an All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an Area 2 and 
3 Limited Access Herring Permit and fishing with midwater trawl or 
purse seine gear, or on a trip with a vessel issued a Limited Access 
Incidental Catch Herring Permit and/or an Open Access Herring Permit 
that is fishing with midwater trawl gear in Management Areas 1A, 1B, 
and/or 3, as defined in Sec.  648.200(f)(1) and (3), pursuant to the 
requirements in Sec.  648.80(d) and (e).
    (B) Possess, land, transfer, receive, sell, purchase, trade, or 
barter; or attempt to transfer, receive, sell, purchase, trade, or 
barter, or sell more than 2,000 lb (907 kg) of Atlantic herring per 
trip taken from the Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area 
and/or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, defined in 
Sec.  648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)(1), by a vessel issued an Atlantic herring 
permit and that fished with midwater trawl gear, after the haddock cap 
for the area(s) has been reached pursuant to Sec.  648.86(a)(3), unless 
all herring possessed or landed by the vessel was caught outside the 
applicable Accountability Measure Area(s).
    (C) Transit the Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area 
and/or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, defined in 
Sec.  648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)(1), with a vessel issued an Atlantic herring 
permit and that fished with midwater trawl gear, when the 2,000-lb 
(907.2 kg) limit specified in Sec.  648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)(1) is in place 
for the area being transited, in possession of more than 2,000 lb 
(907.2 kg) of herring, unless all herring on board was caught outside 
of the applicable Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area and/
or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, and all fishing 
gear is stowed and not available for immediate use, as required by 
Sec.  648.23(b).
* * * * *
    (E) Possess or land haddock taken from the Herring GOM Haddock 
Accountability Measure Area and/or the Herring GB Haddock 
Accountability Measure Area, defined in Sec.  648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)(1), 
by a vessel issued an Atlantic herring permit and

[[Page 56997]]

that fished with midwater trawl gear, after the haddock cap for the 
area(s) has been reached pursuant to Sec.  648.86(a)(3), unless all 
haddock possessed or landed by the vessel was caught outside the 
applicable Accountability Measure Area(s).
    (F) Transit the Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area 
and/or the Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area, defined in 
Sec.  648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)(1), with a vessel issued an Atlantic herring 
permit and that fished with midwater trawl gear, when the 0-lb (0-kg) 
haddock possession limit in Sec.  648.86(a)(3)(ii)(A)(1) is in place 
for the area being transited, in possession of haddock, unless all 
haddock on board was caught outside of the applicable Herring GOM 
Haddock Accountability Measure Area and/or the Herring GB Haddock 
Accountability Measure Area, and all fishing gear is stowed and not 
available for immediate use, as required by Sec.  648.23(b).
    (vii) * * *
    (E) Discard haddock at sea that has been brought on deck, or pumped 
into the hold, of a vessel issued an All Areas Limited Access Herring 
Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit fishing on 
a declared herring trip, regardless of gear or area fished, or on a 
trip with a vessel issued a Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring 
Permit and/or an Open Access Herring Permit fishing with midwater trawl 
gear, pursuant to the requirements in Sec.  648.80(d) and (e).
* * * * *
    (viii) * * *
    (B) Fail to notify the NMFS Office of Law Enforcement of the time 
and date of landing via VMS at least 6 hr prior to landing herring at 
the end of a declared herring trip, if a vessel has an All Areas 
Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access 
Herring Permit and is fishing with either midwater trawl or purse seine 
gear, or a Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring Permit and is 
fishing with midwater trawl gear in Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, 
as defined in Sec.  648.200(f)(1) and (3).
* * * * *
    (2) * * *
    (i) Sell, purchase, receive, trade, barter, or transfer haddock or 
other regulated NE. multispecies (cod, witch flounder, plaice, 
yellowtail flounder, pollock, winter flounder, windowpane flounder, 
redfish, white hake, and Atlantic wolffish); or attempt to sell, 
purchase, receive, trade, barter, or transfer haddock or other 
regulated NE. multispecies for human consumption; if the regulated NE. 
multispecies are landed by a vessel issued an All Areas Limited Access 
Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit 
fishing on a declared herring trip, regardless of gear or area fished, 
or by a vessel issued a Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring Permit 
and/or an Open Access Herring Permit fishing with midwater trawl gear 
pursuant to Sec.  648.80(d).
    (ii) Fail to comply with requirements for herring processors/
dealers that handle individual fish to separate out, and retain, for at 
least 12 hr, all haddock offloaded from a vessel issued an All Areas 
Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access 
Herring Permit that fished on a declared herring trip regardless of 
gear or area fished, or by a vessel issued a Limited Access Incidental 
Catch Herring Permit and/or an Open Access Herring Permit that fished 
with midwater trawl gear pursuant to Sec.  648.80(d).
    (iii) Sell, purchase, receive, trade, barter, or transfer; or 
attempt to sell, purchase, receive, trade, barter, or transfer; to 
another person, any haddock or other regulated NE. multispecies (cod, 
witch flounder, plaice, yellowtail flounder, pollock, winter flounder, 
windowpane flounder, redfish, white hake, and Atlantic wolffish) 
separated out from a herring catch offloaded from a vessel issued an 
All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited 
Access Herring Permit that fished on a declared herring trip regardless 
of gear or area fished, or by a vessel issued a Limited Access 
Incidental Catch Herring Permit and/or an Open Access Herring Permit 
that fished with midwater trawl gear pursuant to Sec.  648.80(d).
    (iv) While operating as an at-sea herring processor, fail to comply 
with requirements to separate out and retain all haddock offloaded from 
a vessel issued an All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an 
Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit that fished on a declared 
herring trip regardless of gear or area fished, or by a vessel issued a 
Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring Permit and/or an Open Access 
Herring Permit that fished with midwater trawl gear pursuant to Sec.  
648.80(d).
    (v) Fish with midwater trawl gear in Closed Area I, as specified at 
Sec.  648.81(a), without a NMFS approved observer onboard, if the 
vessel has been issued an Atlantic herring permit.
* * * * *

0
4. In Sec.  648.15, revise paragraphs (d)(1) and (e) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  648.15  Facilitation of enforcement.

* * * * *
    (d) Retention of haddock by herring dealers and processors. (1) 
Federally permitted herring dealers and processors, including at-sea 
processors, that cull or separate out from the herring catch all fish 
other than herring in the course of normal operations, must separate 
out and retain all haddock offloaded from a vessel issued an All Areas 
Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access 
Herring Permit that fished on a declared herring trip regardless of 
gear or area fished, or by a vessel issued a Limited Access Incidental 
Catch Herring Permit and/or an Open Access Herring Permit that fished 
with midwater trawl gear pursuant to Sec.  648.80(d). Such haddock may 
not be sold, purchased, received, traded, bartered, or transferred, and 
must be retained, after they have been separated, for at least 12 hr 
for dealers and processors on land, and for 12 hr after landing by at-
sea processors. The dealer or processor, including at-sea processors, 
must clearly indicate the vessel that landed the retained haddock or 
transferred the retained haddock to an at-sea processor. Authorized 
officers must be given access to inspect the haddock.
* * * * *
    (e) Retention of haddock by herring vessels using midwater trawl 
gear. A vessel issued an All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit and/or 
an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit fishing on a declared 
herring trip regardless of gear or area fished, or a vessel issued a 
Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring Permit and/or an Open Access 
Herring Permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear pursuant to Sec.  
648.80(d), may not discard any haddock that has been brought on the 
deck or pumped into the hold.

0
5. In Sec.  648.80, revise paragraphs (d)(4) through (d)(6), (d)(7)(i) 
and (d)(7)(ii) introductory text, and (e)(4) to read as follows:


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

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (4) The vessel does not fish for, possess or land NE. multispecies, 
except that a vessel issued an All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit 
and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit and fishing on a 
declared herring trip, regardless of gear or area fished, or a vessel 
issued a Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring Permit and/or an Open 
Access Herring Permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear pursuant to 
paragraph (d) of this section, may possess and land haddock

[[Page 56998]]

and other regulated multispecies consistent with the catch caps and 
possession restrictions in Sec.  648.86(a)(3) and (k). Such haddock or 
other regulated NE. multispecies may not be sold, purchased, received, 
traded, bartered, or transferred, or attempted to be sold, purchased, 
received, traded, bartered, or transferred for, or intended for, human 
consumption. Haddock or other regulated NE. multispecies that are 
separated out from the herring catch pursuant to Sec.  648.15(d) may 
not be sold, purchased, received, traded, bartered, or transferred, or 
attempted to be sold, purchased, received, traded, bartered, or 
transferred for any purpose. A vessel issued an All Areas Limited 
Access Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring 
Permit fishing on a declared herring trip, regardless of gear or area 
fished, or a vessel issued a Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring 
Permit and/or an Open Access Herring Permit and fishing with midwater 
trawl gear pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section, may not discard 
haddock that has been brought on the deck or pumped into the hold;
    (5) To fish for herring under this exemption, a vessel issued an 
All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited 
Access Herring Permit fishing on a declared herring trip, or a vessel 
issued a Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring Permit and/or an Open 
Access Herring Permit fishing with midwater trawl gear in Management 
Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, as defined in Sec.  648.200(f)(1) and (3), must 
provide notice of the following information to NMFS at least 72 hr 
prior to beginning any trip into these areas for the purposes of 
observer deployment: Vessel name; contact name for coordination of 
observer deployment; telephone number for contact; the date, time, and 
port of departure; and whether the vessel intends to engage in fishing 
in Closed Area I, as defined in Sec.  648.81(a), at any point in the 
trip; and
    (6) A vessel issued an All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit and/
or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit fishing on a declared 
herring trip with midwater trawl gear, or a vessel issued a Limited 
Access Incidental Catch Herring Permit and fishing with midwater trawl 
gear in Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, as defined at Sec.  
648.200(f)(1) and (3), must notify NMFS Office of Law Enforcement 
through VMS of the time and place of offloading at least 6 hr prior to 
crossing the VMS demarcation line on their return trip to port, or, for 
a vessel that has not fished seaward of the VMS demarcation line, at 
least 6 hr prior to landing. The Regional Administrator may adjust the 
prior notification minimum time through publication of a notice in the 
Federal Register consistent with the Administrative Procedure Act.
    (7) Fishing in Closed Area I. (i) No vessel issued a Federal 
Atlantic herring permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear, may fish, 
possess or land fish in or from, Closed Area I unless it has declared 
first its intent to fish in Closed Area I as required by paragraph 
(d)(5) of this section, and is carrying onboard a NMFS-approved 
observer.
    (ii) No vessel issued a Federal Atlantic herring permit and fishing 
with midwater trawl gear, when fishing any part of a midwater trawl tow 
in Closed Area I, may release fish from the codend of the net, transfer 
fish to another vessel that is not carrying a NMFS-approved observer 
(e.g., an Atlantic herring at-sea processing vessel or an Atlantic 
herring carrier vessel), or otherwise discard fish at sea, unless the 
fish has first been brought aboard the vessel and made available for 
sampling and inspection by the observer, except in the following 
circumstances:
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (4) The vessel does not fish for, possess, or land NE. 
multispecies, except that vessels that have an All Areas Limited Access 
Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit 
fishing on a declared herring trip may possess and land haddock or 
other regulated species consistent with possession restrictions in 
Sec.  648.86(a)(3) and (k), respectively. Such haddock or other 
regulated multispecies may not be sold, purchased, received, traded, 
bartered, or transferred, or attempted to be sold, purchased, received, 
traded, bartered, or transferred for, or intended for, human 
consumption. Haddock or other regulated species that are separated out 
from the herring catch pursuant to Sec.  648.15(d) may not be sold, 
purchased, received, traded, bartered, or transferred, or attempted to 
be sold, purchased, received, traded, bartered, or transferred for any 
purpose. A vessel issued an All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit 
and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit may not discard 
haddock that has been brought on the deck or pumped into the hold;
* * * * *

0
6. In Sec.  648.85, revise paragraph (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.85  Special management programs.

* * * * *
    (d) Haddock incidental catch allowance for some Atlantic herring 
vessels. The haddock incidental catch allowance for a vessel issued a 
Federal Atlantic herring permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear in 
Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, as defined in Sec.  648.200(f)(1) 
and (3), is 1 percent of each of the ABCs for GOM haddock and GB 
haddock (U.S. catch only) specified according to Sec.  648.90(a)(4) for 
a particular NE. multispecies fishing year. Such haddock catch will be 
determined as specified in Sec.  648.86(a)(3)(ii).
* * * * *

0
7. In Sec.  648.86, revise paragraphs (a)(3)(i), (a)(3)(ii)(A)(1) and 
(2), and (k); and add paragraphs (a)(3)(ii)(A)(3) and (4) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  648.86  NE. Multispecies possession restrictions.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (i) Incidental catch allowance for some Atlantic herring vessels. A 
vessel issued an All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an 
Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit fishing on a declared 
herring trip, regardless of gear or area fished, or a vessel issued a 
Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring Permit and/or an Open Access 
Herring Permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear pursuant to Sec.  
648.80(d), may only possess and land haddock, in accordance with 
requirements specified in Sec.  648.80(d) and (e).
    (ii) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (1) When the Regional Administrator has determined that the 
incidental catch allowance for a given haddock stock as specified in 
Sec.  648.85(d), has been caught, no vessel issued an Atlantic herring 
permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear in the applicable stock 
area, i.e., the Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure (AM) Area or 
Herring GB Haddock AM Area, as defined in paragraphs (a)(3)(ii)(A)(2) 
and (3) of this section, may fish for, possess, or land herring in 
excess of 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) per trip in or from that area, unless all 
herring possessed and landed by the vessel were caught outside the 
applicable AM Area and the vessel complies with the gear stowage 
provisions specified in Sec.  648.23(b) while transiting the AM Area. 
Upon this determination, the haddock possession limit is reduced to 0 
lb (0 kg) for a vessel issued a Federal Atlantic herring permit and 
fishing with midwater trawl gear or for a vessel issued an All Areas 
Limited Access Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access 
Herring Permit fishing on a declared herring trip, regardless of area 
fished or gear used, in the applicable AM area, unless the vessel also 
possesses a NE. multispecies

[[Page 56999]]

permit and is operating on a declared (consistent with Sec.  648.10(g)) 
NE. multispecies trip. In making this determination, the Regional 
Administrator shall use haddock catches observed by NMFS-approved 
observers by herring vessel trips using midwater trawl gear in 
Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, as defined in Sec.  648.200(f)(1) 
and (3), expanded to an estimate of total haddock catch for all such 
trips in a given haddock stock area.
    (2) Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area. The Herring 
GOM Haddock AM Area is defined by the straight lines connecting the 
following points in the order stated (copies of a map depicting the 
area are available from the Regional Administrator upon request):

             Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Point                   N. latitude         W. longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HGA1...........................  (\1\)                69[deg]20'
HGA............................  43[deg]40'           69[deg]20'
HGA3...........................  43[deg]40'           69[deg]00'
HGA4...........................  43[deg]20'           69[deg]00'
HGA5...........................  43[deg]20'           (\2\)
HGA6...........................  42[deg]20'           (\3\)
HGA7...........................  42[deg]20'           70[deg]00'
HGA8...........................  (\4\)                70[deg]00'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The intersection of the Maine coastline and 69[deg]20' W. long.
\2\ The intersection of the U.S./Canada maritime boundary and 43[deg]20'
  N. lat.
\3\ The intersection of the U.S./Canada maritime boundary and 42[deg]20'
  N. lat.
\4\ The intersection of the north-facing shoreline of Cape Cod, MA, and
  70[deg]00' W. long.

    (3) The Herring GB Haddock Accountability Measure Area. The Herring 
GB Haddock AM Area is defined by the straight lines connecting the 
following points in the order stated (copies of a map depicting the 
area are available from the Regional Administrator upon request):

             Herring GOM Haddock Accountability Measure Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Point                   N. latitude         W. longitude
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HBA1...........................  42[deg]20'           70[deg]00'
HBA2...........................  42[deg]20'           (\1\)
HBA3...........................  40[deg]30'           (\1\)
HBA4...........................  40[deg]30'           66[deg]40'
HBA5...........................  39[deg]50'           66[deg]40'
HBA6...........................  39[deg]50'           68[deg]50'
HBA7...........................  (\2\)                68[deg]50'
HBA8...........................  41[deg]00'           (\3\)
HBA9...........................  41[deg]00'           69[deg]30'
HBA10..........................  41[deg]10'           69[deg]30'
HBA11..........................  41[deg]10'           69[deg]50'
HBA12..........................  41[deg]20'           69[deg]50'
HBA13..........................  41[deg]20'           (\4\)
HBA14..........................  (\5\)                70[deg]00'
HBA15..........................  (\6\)                70[deg]00'
HBA16..........................  (\7\)                70[deg]00'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The intersection of the U.S./Canada maritime boundary.
\2\ The intersection of the boundary of Closed Area I and 68[deg]50' W.
  long.
\3\ The intersection of the boundary of Closed Area I and 41[deg]00' N.
  lat.
\4\ The intersection of the east-facing shoreline of Nantucket, MA, and
  41[deg]20' N. lat.
\5\ The intersection of the north-facing shoreline of Nantucket, MA, and
  70[deg]00' W. long.
\6\ The intersection of the south-facing shoreline of Cape Cod, MA, and
  70[deg]00' W. long.
\7\ The intersection of the north-facing shoreline of Cape Cod, MA, and
  70[deg]00' W. long.

    (4) The haddock incidental catch caps specified are for the NE 
multispecies fishing year (May 1-April 30), which differs from the 
herring fishing year (January 1-December 31). If the haddock incidental 
catch allowance is attained by the herring midwater trawl fishery for 
the GOM or GB, as specified in Sec.  648.85(d), the 2,000-lb (907.2-kg) 
limit on herring possession in the applicable AM Area, as described in 
paragraph (a)(3)(ii)(A)(2) or (3) of this section, shall be in effect 
until the end of the NE. multispecies fishing year. For example, the 
2011 haddock incidental catch cap is specified for the period May 1, 
2011-April 30, 2012, and the 2012 haddock catch cap would be specified 
for the period May 1, 2012-April 30, 2013. If the catch of haddock by 
herring midwater trawl vessels reached the 2011 incidental catch cap at 
any time prior to the end of the NE. multispecies fishing year (April 
30, 2012), the 2,000-lb (907.2-kg) limit on possession of herring in 
the applicable AM Area would extend through April 30, 2012. Beginning 
May 1, 2012, the 2012 catch cap would go into effect.
* * * * *
    (k) Other regulated NE. multispecies possession restrictions for 
some Atlantic herring vessels. A vessel issued an All Areas Limited 
Access Herring Permit and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring 
Permit on a declared herring trip, regardless of area fished or gear 
used, or a vessel issued a Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring 
Permit and/or an Open Access Herring Permit and fishing with midwater 
trawl gear pursuant to Sec.  648.80(d), may possess and land haddock, 
and up to 100 lb (45 kg), combined, of other regulated NE. 
multispecies, other than haddock, in accordance with the requirements 
in Sec.  648.80(d) and (e). Such fish may not be sold for human 
consumption.
* * * * *

0
8. In Sec.  648.90, revise paragraph (a)(4)(iii)(D), and add paragraph 
(a)(5)(iii) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.90  NE. multispecies assessment, framework procedures and 
specifications, and flexible area action system.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (4) * * *
    (iii) * * *
    (D) Haddock catch by the Atlantic herring fishery. One percent each 
of the GOM haddock and GB haddock ABC (U.S. share only) shall be 
allocated to the Atlantic herring fishery, pursuant to the restrictions 
in Sec. Sec.  648.85(d) and 648.86(a)(3), and pursuant to the process 
for specifying ABCs and ACLs described in paragraph (a)(4) of this 
section. An ACL based on this ABC shall be determined using the process 
described in paragraph (a)(4)(i) of this section.
* * * * *
    (5) * * *
    (iii) AMs if the incidental catch cap for the Atlantic herring 
fishery is exceeded. At the end of the NE. multispecies fishing year, 
NMFS shall evaluate Atlantic herring fishery catch using VTR, VMS, IVR, 
observer data, and any other available information to determine whether 
a haddock incidental catch cap has been exceeded based upon the 
cumulative catch of vessels issued an Atlantic herring permit and 
fishing with midwater trawl gear in Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3. 
If the catch of haddock by all vessels issued an Atlantic herring 
permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear in Management Areas 1A, 1B, 
and/or 3, exceeds the amount of the incidental catch cap specified in 
Sec.  648.85(d) of this section, then the appropriate incidental catch 
cap shall be reduced by the overage on a pound-for-pound basis during 
the following fishing year. Any overage reductions shall be announced 
by the Regional Administrator in the Federal Register, accordance with 
the Administrative Procedure Act, prior to the start of the next NE. 
multispecies fishing year after which the overage occurred, if 
possible, or as soon as possible thereafter if the overage is not 
determined until after the end of the NE. multispecies fishing year in 
which the overage occurred.
* * * * *

0
9. In Sec.  648.201, revise paragraph (a)(2) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.201  AMs and harvest controls.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (2) If NMFS determines that the GOM and/or GB incidental catch cap 
for

[[Page 57000]]

haddock in Sec.  648.85(d) has been caught, a vessel issued a Federal 
Atlantic herring permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear in 
Management Areas 1A, 1B, and/or 3, as defined at Sec.  648.200(f)(1) 
and (3), may not fish for, possess, or land herring in excess of 2,000 
lb (907.2 kg) per trip in or from the applicable AM Area, unless all 
herring possessed and landed by a vessel were caught outside the 
applicable AM Area and the vessel complies with the gear stowage 
provisions specified in Sec.  648.23(b) while transiting the applicable 
AM Area. Upon determination that a haddock incidental catch cap has 
been reached, the haddock possession limit shall be reduced to 0 lb (0 
kg) for any vessel issued an All Areas Limited Access Herring Permit 
and/or an Areas 2 and 3 Limited Access Herring Permit fishing on a 
declared herring trip, regardless of area fished or gear used, or a 
vessel issued a Limited Access Incidental Catch Herring Permit and/or 
an Open Access Herring Permit and fishing with midwater trawl gear 
pursuant to Sec.  648.80(d), unless the vessel also possesses a 
Northeast multispecies permit and is operating on a declared 
(consistent with Sec.  648.10(g)) Northeast multispecies trip.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2011-23682 Filed 9-14-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P