[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 177 (Thursday, September 12, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56171-56173]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22212]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 130402313-3748-02]
RIN 0648-BD15


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; 
Regulatory Amendment 2

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 Regulatory Amendment 
2 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Queen Conch Resources of 
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) (Regulatory Amendment 
2), as prepared by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council). 
This final rule revises the commercial trip limit for queen conch in 
the Caribbean exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to be compatible with the 
trip limit in USVI territorial waters. The purpose of this provision is 
to improve the compatibility of Federal and USVI territorial 
regulations for queen conch in order to facilitate enforcement efforts 
while ensuring the long-term health of the queen conch resource. This 
final rule also changes the regulations specifying the queen conch 
fishing season to correct an inadvertent change to the text that 
occurred in a prior rulemaking. The revision better reflects the 
original and current intent of the Council.

DATES: This rule is effective October 15, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of Regulatory Amendment 2, which includes 
an environmental assessment, a Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis, and 
a regulatory impact review (RIR), may be obtained from the Southeast 
Regional Office Web site at: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maria del Mar Lopez, Southeast

[[Page 56172]]

Regional Office, NMFS, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The queen conch fishery in the U.S. 
Caribbean is managed under the FMP for the Queen Conch Resources of 
Puerto Rico and the USVI (Queen Conch FMP). The Queen Conch 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 June 7, 2013, NMFS published a proposed rule for Regulatory 
Amendment 2 and requested public comment (78 FR 34311). The proposed 
rule and Regulatory Amendment 2 outline the rationale for the actions 
contained in the final rule. A summary of the actions implemented by 
this final rule is provided below.

Management Measures Contained in This Final Rule

    This final rule revises the commercial trip limit to 200 queen 
conch per vessel per day from the current 150 queen conch per licensed 
commercial fisher per day. The purpose of this provision is to improve 
the compatibility of Federal and USVI territorial regulations for queen 
conch in order to facilitate enforcement efforts while ensuring the 
long-term health of the queen conch resource.

Other Changes Contained in This Final Rule

    This final rule also changes the language in 50 CFR 622.491 to 
correct an inadvertent change to the text specifying the queen conch 
fishing season. Fishing for queen conch is only allowed from November 1 
through May 31, and only in the area east of 64[deg]34' W. longitude 
which includes Lang Bank east of St. Croix, USVI. In the rest of the 
Caribbean EEZ, there is a prohibition on the harvest and possession of 
queen conch. This revision corrects a mistake that occurred in prior 
rule-making (Regulatory Amendment 1; 76 FR 23907, April 29, 2011), in 
which the sentence was restructured, resulting in an inadvertent change 
in the meaning. This rule revises the codified text to its previous 
form. Changing the codified text to its previous form reflects the 
original and current intent of the Council.

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received two comments on the proposed rule and Regulatory 
Amendment 2. A Federal agency stated it had no comments on the actions 
in Regulatory Amendment 2. The other comment was unrelated to the 
actions contained in Regulatory Amendment 2 and the proposed rule and, 
therefore, is not addressed here.

Classification

    The Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, has determined 
that this final rule is necessary for the conservation and management 
of queen conch and is consistent with Regulatory Amendment 2, the Queen 
Conch FMP, 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 that this rule, if adopted, would not have a significant 
adverse economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The 
factual basis for this determination is as follows:
    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, an initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis was developed for this action using SBA's former 
size standards. Subsequent to the June 20, 2013 rule, NMFS has reviewed 
the analysis 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 entities under the new standards. NMFS 
has determined that the new size standards do not affect the analyses 
prepared for this action.
    This rule is expected to directly affect commercial fishermen in 
St. Croix, USVI, who harvest queen conch. Queen conch harvest in the 
EEZ of the U.S. Caribbean is restricted to the Lang Bank area off St. 
Croix and all queen conch harvest from this area is believed to be 
landed in St. Croix because of the prohibitive travel distances that 
would be required to land in other locations. As a result, the 
assessment of the number of commercial entities expected to be affected 
by this rule is based on St. Croix commercial trip ticket data.
    The USVI fishing year for all species is July 1 through June 30. 
Over the 2009/2010 through 2011/2012 fishing years, an average of 40 
fishermen (range of 30-48) per fishing year recorded landings of queen 
conch in St. Croix. The average total revenue per fishing year from the 
harvest of all marine species (queen conch and all other species) by 
these fishermen was approximately $2.6 million (nominal or un-inflated 
dollars), or approximately $64,000 per fisherman ($2.6 million/40). 
These estimates include all fishermen with recorded queen conch 
landings in St. Croix, regardless of where the queen conch were 
harvested (EEZ or territorial waters). Precise comparable estimates for 
fishermen who harvested queen conch in the EEZ are not available 
because the area of harvest was not provided on all trip tickets (area 
fished was not reported on trip tickets that accounted for 
approximately 11 percent of the average queen conch harvest per fishing 
year). However, an average of 17 fishermen (range of 9-23) per fishing 
year reported queen conch harvests from the EEZ. The average total 
revenue from the harvest of all marine species by these fishermen 
during this period was approximately $1.0 million (nominal or un-
inflated dollars), or approximately $60,000 per fishermen ($1.0 
million/17).
    The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established size 
criteria for all major industry sectors in the U.S. including fish 
harvesters. A business involved in marine fishing is classified as a 
small business if it is independently owned and operated, is not 
dominant in its field of operation (including its affiliates), and has 
combined annual receipts not in excess of $5 million (NAICS code 
114112, shellfish fishing), $7 million (NAICS code 114119, other marine 
fishing), and $19 million (NAICS code 114111, finfish fishing) for all 
its affiliated operations worldwide. Both average revenue estimates, 
approximately $64,000 for all fishermen with commercial queen conch 
landings and approximately $60,000 for fishermen who reported 
harvesting queen conch from the EEZ, are significantly lower than all 
of these SBA thresholds. As a result, all commercial fishermen expected 
to be affected by this rule are determined, for the purpose of this 
assessment, to be small business entities.
    This rule increases the number of queen conch that can be harvested 
per vessel per day if one licensed commercial fisherman is on board the 
vessel, and decreases the allowable harvest if multiple licensed 
commercial fishermen are on board. However, only 2 percent or fewer of 
the trips that harvest queen conch are believed to carry multiple 
licensed commercial

[[Page 56173]]

fishermen and no licensed commercial fishermen are known to exclusively 
fish with other licensed commercial fishermen on board. As a result, 
the effects of increasing the allowable queen conch harvest per vessel 
per day on trips with a single licensed commercial fisherman on board 
is expected to account for the majority of the economic impacts of this 
rule.
    The net direct economic effects of this rule cannot be quantified 
with available data. Increasing the number of queen conch that can be 
harvested per vessel per trip is expected to increase the average daily 
harvest and associated revenue per trip for trips on which queen conch 
are harvested. Total operating costs may be reduced if fishermen take 
fewer trips to harvest the queen conch annual catch limit (ACL). An 
increase in the revenue per trip and a decrease in operating costs 
results in an increase in profit to affected small entities.
    The queen conch commercial ACL in St. Croix is 50,000 lb (22,680 
kg) and queen conch harvest and possession in the EEZ is prohibited 
when the St. Croix ACL is reached. As a result, the total average 
annual revenue to all commercial fishermen from queen conch harvest is 
not expected to be affected by this rule other than as a result of a 
possible reduction in average price if increased harvest rates result 
in a derby fishery and depress prices. However, of the estimated 
average 40 fishermen who harvest queen conch per year, only an 
estimated average of 17 fishermen per year harvest queen conch in the 
EEZ. Closure of the fishery due to the ACL being reached has only 
occurred once since the 2008/2009 fishing year and approximately two-
thirds of the total queen conch harvest in St. Croix comes from 
territorial waters. As a result, any increased harvest rate that might 
occur in response to the increase in the trip limit in the EEZ may not 
significantly reduce the length of the open season and, thus, may have 
minimal to no effect on queen conch prices. Therefore, increasing the 
daily average harvest rate, which may occur as a result of the increase 
in the trip limit, may have only a small effect on increasing the 
likelihood of the fishery closing due to the ACL being reached and/or 
reducing the average price for queen conch.
    In addition to the effects described in the previous paragraph, 
fishing for, and revenue from, other species may increase as a result 
of this rule if fishermen are able to take fewer trips to harvest the 
queen conch ACL and increase fishing effort for other species. However, 
any increase in revenue from other species will be an indirect effect 
of this rule.
    This rule also changes the language in the codified text specifying 
the queen conch fishing season. This change corrects an inadvertent 
change to the text that occurred in a prior rulemaking, as discussed in 
the preamble. The revision better reflects the original and current 
intent of the Council. Queen conch fishing in the Caribbean EEZ has 
been consistent with the season specified by the change and, therefore, 
this change is not expected to result in any economic effects on any 
small entities.
    In summary, the average fisherman expected to be directly affected 
by this rule is expected to experience an increase in revenue and 
profit. However, the amount of this increase cannot be determined with 
available data.
    The information provided above supports a determination that this 
rule will have beneficial effects on affected small entities, and 
therefore would not have a significant adverse economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. An initial regulatory flexibility 
analysis (IRFA) was prepared for the proposed rule, and the resultant 
analysis concluded the same finding of positive economic impacts. No 
challenge of this determination or other substantive issue was received 
through public comment of the proposed rule, and thus, no changes were 
made in the rule. Accordingly, a final regulatory flexibility analysis 
was not required or prepared. Copies of the RIR and IRFA are available 
(see ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Fisheries, Fishing, Queen conch, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

    Dated: September 9, 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.  622.491, paragraph (a) is revised to read as follows:


Sec.  622.491  Season and area closures.

    (a) No person may fish for or possess on board a fishing vessel a 
Caribbean queen conch in or from the Caribbean EEZ, except from 
November 1 through May 31 in the area east of 64[deg]34' W. longitude 
which includes Lang Bank east of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  622.495, paragraph (a) is revised and paragraph (b) is 
added to read as follows:


Sec.  622.495  Commercial trip limit.

* * * * *
    (a) Applicability. The trip limit of paragraph (b) of this section 
applies to a vessel that has at least one person on board with a valid 
commercial fishing license issued by Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin 
Islands. If no person on board the vessel has a valid commercial 
fishing license issued by Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, the 
bag limit specified in Sec.  622.494(b) applies.
    (b) Trip limit. The trip limit for queen conch in or from the 
Caribbean EEZ is 200 queen conch per day.

[FR Doc. 2013-22212 Filed 9-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P