[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46820-46822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-18674]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 120907427-3652-02]
RIN 0648-BC51


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Reef Fish Management Measures

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to implement management measures 
described in a framework action to the Fishery Management Plan for the 
Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP), as prepared by the 
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule 
revises the vermilion snapper recreational bag limit, revises the 
yellowtail snapper stock annual catch limit (ACL), and removes the 
requirement for reef fish vessels to have onboard and use a venting 
tool when releasing reef fish. The purpose of this rule is to help 
achieve optimum yield (OY) and prevent overfishing of vermilion and 
yellowtail snapper, reduce the unnecessary burden to fishers associated 
with venting reef fish, and minimize bycatch and bycatch mortality.

DATES: This rule is effective September 3, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the framework action, which includes an 
environmental assessment, regulatory impact review, and Regulatory 
Flexibility Act analysis, may be obtained from the Southeast Regional 
Office Web site at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/GrouperSnapperandReefFish.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Hood, Southeast Regional Office, 
NMFS, telephone 727-824-5305; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef fish fishery of the Gulf is managed 
under the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the Council and is implemented 
through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act).
    On May 7, 2013, NMFS published a proposed rule for the framework 
action and requested public comment (78 FR 26607). The proposed rule 
and the framework action outline the rationale for the actions 
contained in this final rule. A summary of the actions implemented by 
this final rule is provided below.

Management Measures Contained in This Final Rule

    Through this final rule, NMFS establishes a 10-vermilion snapper 
recreational bag limit within the 20-fish aggregate reef fish bag 
limit, increases the Gulf yellowtail snapper ACL from 725,000 lb 
(328,855 kg), round weight, to 901,125 lb (408,743 kg), round weight, 
and removes the requirement to have onboard and use venting tools when 
releasing reef fish. All weights discussed in this final rule are in 
round weight.

[[Page 46821]]

Vermilion Snapper Recreational Bag Limit

    Vermilion snapper is currently included within the Gulf reef fish 
aggregate recreational bag limit of 20 fish. The Council's Reef Fish 
Advisory Panel (RFAP) recommended that the Council take action to 
constrain the recreational harvest of vermilion snapper because of 
significant recent increases in recreational landings. In 2011, 
recreational landings were approximately 1.15 million lb (521,631 kg), 
compared to 457,000 lb (207,292 kg) in 2010. The Council decided that 
the vermilion snapper bag limit should be restricted to 10 fish within 
the overall 20-fish aggregate reef fish bag limit to help constrain 
vermilion snapper recreational harvest and to minimize the opportunity 
for the vermilion snapper stock ACL to be exceeded by slowing the rate 
of potential future increases in the recreational harvest.

Yellowtail Snapper ACL

    In the Gulf, the yellowtail snapper ACL is managed with a single 
stock ACL. Additionally, because yellowtail snapper in the U.S. 
comprise a single stock, landings from both the South Atlantic and Gulf 
regions are combined for stock assessment purposes. The resulting 
acceptable biological catch (ABC) is allocated among both regions with 
75 percent of the ABC assigned to South Atlantic jurisdiction and 25 
percent of the ABC assigned to Gulf jurisdiction. Currently, the stock 
ABC is 2.9 million lb (1.3 million kg), with 725,000 lb (328,855 kg) 
allocated to the Gulf. This Gulf ABC value is used to determine the 
Gulf yellowtail snapper stock ACL, where the ACL is equal to the ABC, 
which was established through the Gulf's Generic ACL/Accountability 
Measures (AM) Amendment (76 FR 82044, December 29, 2011).
    In 2012, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) 
conducted a benchmark stock assessment of yellowtail snapper. The 
assessment indicated that the yellowtail snapper stock was not 
overfished or undergoing overfishing. As a result of that stock status 
and the fact that the yellowtail snapper biomass is greater than what 
is needed to support harvesting at the maximum sustainable yield, the 
South Atlantic and Gulf Council's Scientific and Statistical Committees 
(SSCs) agreed to set the overall stock ABC at 4.05 million lb (1.94 
million kg). Using the 25 percent Gulf allocation of the overall stock 
ABC, the ABC for Gulf yellowtail snapper was determined to be 1.012 
million lb (0.459 million kg).
    For setting the Gulf yellowtail snapper ACL, the Council applied 
its ACL control rule to the ABC to account for management uncertainty. 
Following the control rule, the ACL was reduced by 11 percent from the 
Gulf allocation of the ABC. This results in a Gulf yellowtail snapper 
ACL of 901,125 lb (408,743 kg).

Venting Tools

    A venting tool is a device intended to deflate the abdominal cavity 
of a fish to release the fish with minimal damage. Currently, Gulf reef 
fishermen must possess venting tools onboard and use them when 
releasing reef fish. This requirement was implemented through Amendment 
27 to the FMP (73 FR 5117, January 29, 2008). The venting tool 
requirement was implemented to reduce bycatch and discard mortality in 
the reef fish fishery. However, several recent scientific studies have 
questioned the usefulness of venting tools in preventing discard 
mortality in fish, particularly those caught in deep waters. In 
addition, some fish caught in shallow waters may not need to be vented, 
and attempts at venting may damage fish by improper venting techniques 
and increased handling time while the fish are out of the water. 
Finally, the current requirement to use a venting tool may prevent 
fishermen from using other devices such as fish descenders, which are 
devices that take the fish back to depth without puncturing them. 
Because of these factors, the Council voted to remove the venting tool 
requirement for the Gulf reef fishery. This provides fishermen with 
more discretion when they release reef fish, but does not prohibit the 
use of venting tools or other release devices by fishers.

Additional Management Measure Contained in the Framework Action

    Vermilion snapper in the Gulf is managed with a single stock ACL. 
The current ACL for the Gulf vermilion snapper stock is 3.42 million lb 
(1.55 million kg), and was set through the Gulf's Generic ACL/AM 
Amendment (76 FR 82044, December 29, 2011). This ACL was established 
based on 1999-2008 landings data and was adjusted to account for 
scientific and management uncertainty per the Council's ABC and ACL 
control rules developed in the Generic ACL/AM Amendment.
    In 2011, a vermilion snapper update stock assessment was performed 
through the Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) process 
(SEDAR 9 Update) and used data through 2010. The assessment indicated 
that the stock was not overfished nor undergoing overfishing. Based on 
the SEDAR 9 Update, the Council's SSC recommended that the vermilion 
snapper stock ABC be set at 4.41 million lb (2.00 million kg) in 2013, 
4.34 million lb (1.97 million kg) in 2014, and 4.33 million lb (1.96 
million kg) in 2015, 2016, and subsequent years.
    The Council reviewed several alternatives for setting the Gulf 
vermilion snapper stock ACL that ranged from maintaining it at the 
current 3.42 million lb (1.55 million kg) to setting it equal to the 
ABC. Recommendations by the Council's RFAP and public testimony from 
vermilion snapper fishermen to the Council indicated that the stock 
condition appeared to be declining in recent years. Given this 
information, and considering that the last year of data used in the 
update assessment was 2010, the Council recommended, as a precaution, 
not to increase the vermilion snapper stock ACL at this time. Therefore 
the vermilion snapper stock ACL will remain at 3.42 million lb (1.55 
million kg).

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received a total of 18 comment submissions on the framework 
action and the proposed rule. Of these comment submissions, 11 were 
generally opposed to the rule, 4 were generally in favor of the rule, 2 
were in favor of some aspects of the rule and against other aspects, 
and one was from a Federal agency that had no objection to the 
framework action or the proposed rule. The comments specific to this 
framework action or proposed rule can be generally categorized as 
either for or against the bag limit, and for or against eliminating the 
venting tool requirement. NMFS agrees with those comments supporting 
the bag limit and eliminating the venting tool requirement. NMFS 
responds to the remaining comments as follows.
    Comment 1: A 10-fish vermilion snapper recreational bag limit 
within the 20-fish reef fish aggregate bag limit is too restrictive and 
unnecessary.
    Response: NMFS disagrees. This final rule implements a 10-fish 
vermilion snapper bag limit as a precautionary measure due to concern 
about the status of the vermilion snapper stock. Members of the 
Council's RFAP who target vermilion snapper expressed concern that the 
stock appears to be declining in recent years and that stock status 
does not match the projections in the SEDAR 9 Update assessment. 
Therefore, the RFAP recommended setting the ACL below the ABC level 
recommended by the Council's SSC. In addition, the Council received 
similar comments through public testimony.

[[Page 46822]]

The Council did not increase the vermilion snapper ACL in response to 
those comments. The RFAP also recommended that the Council constrain 
vermilion snapper recreational harvest because of recent increases in 
landings, which increased from approximately 457,000 lb (207,292 kg) in 
2010 to 1.15 million lb (521,631 kg) in 2011. The RFAP was concerned 
that if such increases persist, the ACL could be exceeded. They 
recommended the Council set a recreational bag limit of 10 vermilion 
snapper within the 20-fish reef fish aggregate bag limit, which is 
expected to constrain recreational harvest, and should reduce the 
likelihood of the vermilion snapper ACL being exceeded. Given concern 
about the stock status and the recent increases in recreational 
landings, the Council took a precautionary approach and revised the 
vermilion snapper bag limit.
    Comment 2: Retain the venting tool requirement or require that some 
type of gear that reduces barotrauma, such as a fish descender, be 
onboard a vessel when reef fish fishing.
    Response: NMFS recognizes that the use of a venting tool can reduce 
the discard mortality rate of reef fish brought to the surface when 
used correctly for certain types of fish. However, requiring the use of 
venting tools can contribute to discard mortality when used incorrectly 
or with other types of fish, particularly those harvested from deeper 
waters. Recent research has determined that use of venting tools is of 
questionable usefulness. Depending on the species of fish to be vented, 
the size of the fish to be vented, and the circumstances surrounding 
the release of the fish, alternative methods of returning the fish to 
depth (e.g., rapid descent devices, recompression devices, etc.), or 
simply releasing the fish with no venting may be preferable. The 
venting tool requirement may also discourage fishermen from using other 
methods to return fish to deeper waters that might improve the chance 
of a reef fish species surviving catch and release, such as the use of 
a recompression device.
    Additionally, requiring some type of gear that reduces reef fish 
barotrauma poses management and enforcement problems. Removing the 
venting tool requirement will simplify Federal regulations and provide 
fishermen the flexibility to use other release devices that may be more 
effective than venting certain types of fish. This final rule does not 
preclude fishermen from using venting tools in the future, but simply 
removes the requirement to have them onboard and use them.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    On June 20, 2013, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a 
final rule revising the small business size standards for several 
industries effective July 22, 2013 (78 FR 37398). The rule increased 
the size standard for Finfish Fishing from $4.0 to $19.0 million, 
Shellfish Fishing from $4.0 to $5.0 million, and Other Marine Fishing 
from $4.0 to $7.0 million. Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 
and prior to SBA's June 20, 2013, final rule, a certification was 
developed for this action using SBA's former size standards. Subsequent 
to the June 20, 2013 rule, NMFS has reviewed the certification prepared 
for this action in light of the new size standards. Under the former, 
lower size standards, all entities subject to this action were 
considered small entities, thus they all would continue to be 
considered small under the new standards. NMFS has determined that the 
new size standards do not affect the analyses prepared for this action.

Classification

    The Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, has determined 
that this final rule and the framework action are necessary for the 
conservation and management of the Gulf reef fish fishery and are 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable law.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The factual basis for this determination was published in the 
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received 
regarding the certification and NMFS has not received any new 
information that would affect its determination. As a result, a 
regulatory flexibility analysis was not required and none was prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf, Reef fish, Venting tool, Vermilion 
snapper, Yellowtail snapper.

    Dated: July 29, 2013.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, performing the functions and 
duties of the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended 
as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH 
ATLANTIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:

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


0
2. In Sec.  622.30, paragraph (c) is removed and the introductory text 
is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  622.30  Required fishing gear.

    For a person on board a vessel to fish for Gulf reef fish in the 
Gulf EEZ, the vessel must possess on board and such person must use the 
gear as specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  622.38, paragraph (b)(5) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  622.38  Bag and possession limits.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (5) Gulf reef fish, combined, excluding those specified in 
paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(4) and paragraphs (b)(6) through (b)(7) 
of this section--20. In addition, within the 20-fish aggregate reef 
fish bag limit, no more than 2 fish may be gray triggerfish and no more 
than 10 fish may be vermilion snapper.
* * * * *

0
4. In Sec.  622.41, the second sentence of paragraph (n) is revised to 
read as follows:


Sec.  622.41  Annual catch limits (ACLs), annual catch targets (ACTs), 
and accountability measures (AMs).

* * * * *
    (n) * * * The stock ACL for yellowtail snapper is 901,125 lb 
(408,743 kg), round weight.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2013-18674 Filed 8-1-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P