[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 216 (Monday, November 9, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69179-69187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28444]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 150903814-5814-01]
RIN 0648-XE171


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder, 
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2016-2018 Summer Flounder, Scup, 
and Black Sea Bass Specifications

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

ACTION: Proposed specifications; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications for the 2016-2018 summer flounder 
and scup fisheries and for the 2016-2017 black sea bass fishery. The 
implementing regulations for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 
Bass Fishery Management Plan require us to publish specifications for 
the upcoming fishing year for each of these species and to provide an 
opportunity for public comment. This action is intended to propose for 
implementation specifications necessary to constrain harvest for these 
three species within

[[Page 69180]]

scientifically sound recommendations to prevent overfishing.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 24, 2015.

ADDRESSES: An environmental assessment (EA) was prepared for the 
specifications and describes the proposed action and other considered 
alternatives, and provides an analysis of the impacts of the proposed 
measures and alternatives. Copies of the Specifications Document, 
including the EA and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(IRFA), are available on request from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, 
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Suite 201, 
800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. These documents are also 
accessible via the Internet at http://www.mafmc.org.
    You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-
2015-0117, by either of the following methods:
    Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
    1. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0117,
    2. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields
    3. Enter or attach your comments.

-OR-

    Mail: Submit written comments to John Bullard, Regional 
Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01950. Mark the outside of the envelope, 
``Comments on the Proposed Rule for FSB Specifications.''
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9218.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

General Specification Background

    The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission cooperatively manage the summer flounder, 
scup, and black sea bass fisheries. Fishery specifications in these 
fisheries include various catch and landing subdivisions, such as the 
commercial and recreational sector annual catch limits (ACLs), annual 
catch targets (ACTs), and sector-specific landing limits (i.e., the 
commercial fishery quota and recreational harvest limit) for the 
upcoming fishing year. Rulemaking for measures used to manage the 
recreational fisheries (minimum fish sizes, open seasons, and bag 
limits) for these three species occurs separately and typically takes 
place in the spring of each year.
    The Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) and its implementing regulations establish the Council's 
process for establishing specifications. The management units specified 
in the FMP include summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in U.S. 
waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the southern border of North Carolina 
northward to the U.S./Canada border, and scup (Stenotomus chrysops) and 
black sea bass (Centropristis striata) in U.S. waters of the Atlantic 
Ocean from 35[deg] 13.3' N. lat. (the latitude of Cape Hatteras 
Lighthouse, Buxton, NC) northward to the U.S./Canada border. The FMP 
also contains formulas to divide the specification catch limits into 
commercial and recreational fishery allocations, state-by-state quotas, 
and quota periods, depending on the species in question.
    The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) met July 
22-23, 2015, to recommend acceptable biological catches (ABC) for the 
2016-2018 these fisheries. The Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 
Bass Monitoring Committees met July 23-24, 2015, to discuss 
specification-related recommendations for the three fisheries, to 
recommend offsets from the ACL to account for management uncertainty, 
and to discuss commercial management measure recommendations, as 
appropriate. Note, because of a planned black sea bass benchmark stock 
assessment scheduled for late 2016, the SSC only recommended interim 
ABCs for 2016 and 2017. More details on the SSC's discussions are 
provided in the fishery-specific sections below.
    Following the SSC and Monitoring Committee meetings, the Council 
and the Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 
Management Board met jointly on August 12, 2015, to consider the 
recommendations of the SSC, the three Monitoring Committees, and public 
comments, and to make their specification recommendations. The SSC and 
the Council met subsequently to reconsider the black sea bass 
recommendations. More complete details on the SSC, Monitoring 
Committee, and Council meeting deliberations can be found on the 
Council's Web site (www.mafmc.org).
    While the Board action was finalized at the August meeting, the 
Council's recommendations must be reviewed by NMFS to ensure that they 
comply with the FMP and applicable law. NMFS also must conduct notice-
and-comment rulemaking to propose and implement the final 
specifications.

             Table 1--Summary of the Proposed 2016-2018 Summer Flounder and Scup Specifications and 2016-2017 Black Sea Bass Specifications
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         Summer flounder                  Scup            Black sea bass
                                                                                   ---------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      2016     2017     2018     2016     2017     2018      2016-2017
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overfishing Limit (OFL)........................  million lb.......................    18.06    19.82    22.40    35.80    32.09    29.68             n/a
                                                 mt...............................    8,194    8,991   10,159   16,238   14,556   13,464             n/a
ABC............................................  million lb.......................    16.26    15.86    15.68    31.11    28.40    27.05            6.67
                                                 mt...............................    7,375    7,193    7,111   14,110   12,881   12,270           3,024
Commercial ACL/ACT.............................  million lb.......................     9.42     9.19     9.10    24.26    22.15    21.10            3.15
                                                 mt...............................    4,275    4,168    4,127   11,006   10,047    9,571           1,428
Recreational ACL/ACT...........................  million lb.......................     6.83     6.67     6.56     6.84     6.25     5.95            3.52
                                                 mt...............................    3,100    3,025    2,984    3,104    2,834    2,699           1,597
Commercial Quota...............................  million lb.......................     8.12     7.91     7.89    20.47    18.38    17.34            2.71
                                                 mt...............................    3,685    3,590    3,581    9,284    8,337    7,866           1,230

[[Page 69181]]

 
Recreational Harvest Limit.....................  million lb.......................     5.42     5.28     5.26     6.09     5.50     5.21            2.82
                                                 mt...............................    2,457    2,393    2,387    2,763    2,495    2,361           1,280
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Consistent with the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass 
regulations, the sum of the recreational and commercial sector ACLs are 
equal to the ABCs. ACL is an expression of total catch (i.e., landings 
and dead discarded fish). To derive the ACLs, the sum of the sector-
specific projected discards are removed from the ABCs to derive the 
landing allowances. The resulting landing allowance is apportioned to 
the commercial and recreational sectors by applying the FMP allocation 
criteria: (1) Summer flounder--60 percent to the commercial fishery and 
40 percent to the recreational fishery; (2) scup--78 percent to the 
commercial fishery and 22 percent to the recreational fishery; and (3) 
black sea bass--49 percent to the commercial fishery and 51 percent to 
the recreational fishery. Using this method ensures that each sector is 
accountable for its respective discards, rather than simply 
apportioning the ABC by the allocation percentages to derive the sector 
ACLs. Although the derived ACLs are not split exactly according to the 
FMP-specified allocations, the landing portions of the ACLs preserve 
the appropriate allocation split, consistent with the FMP. This process 
results in the commercial and recreational ACLs, commercial quotas, and 
recreational harvest limits shown in Table 1. The specific discard 
values projected for each fishery and sector are described in more 
detail below.

Proposed Specifications

Summer Flounder

    This rulemaking proposes the Council's ABC recommendation and the 
commercial and recreational catch limits associated with that ABC for 
fishing years 2016-2018.
    The 2015 stock assessment update used to established these 
specifications was based on the approved model from the 2013 benchmark 
assessment, updated to include data through 2014 (http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/publications/crd/crd1513/crd1513.pdf). The 
assessment update indicates that summer flounder are not overfished, 
but that overfishing did occur in 2014. The stock status change was 
primarily due to four years of below average recruitment, leading to 
fewer summer flounder being available to the fishery than had 
previously been predicted.
    The OFL for 2016 was estimated to be 18.06 million lb (8,194 mt), a 
reduction of 33 percent from 2015. At the request of the Council, the 
SSC deviated from the standard Risk Policy and ABC Control Rule and 
recommended ABCs that ``phase in'' the required reduction in order to 
minimize the economic impact that such a reduction in a single year's 
catch limits would cause. Using the standard ABC Control Rule, the 2016 
ABC would have been 30 percent below the OFL to account for scientific 
uncertainty. As proposed, this 30-percent buffer would be phased-in 
over the next three years by increasing the buffer by a third in each 
year. That is, a 10-buffer in 2016, a 20-percent buffer in 2017, and, 
finally, the full 30-percent buffer in 2018. Each of the ABCs derived 
from this approach have a less than 50-percent probability of resulting 
in overfishing. This results in relatively stable specifications 
because the current projections indicate a modest increase in the OFL 
over these three years. The SSC has requested a stock assessment update 
for next summer and intends to evaluate the available information to 
determine if the proposed ABCs remain appropriate.
    The Summer Flounder Monitoring Committee met to discuss the SSC's 
recommendations and to determine whether additional reductions in the 
catch limits were necessary to account for management uncertainty. 
Because the recreational fishery in recent years has not substantially 
exceeded the recreational harvest limit, discards in the commercial 
fishery have been relatively low, and the commercial landings 
monitoring and fishery closure system is timely, the Summer Flounder 
Monitoring Committee determined that no additional reductions to 
account for management uncertainty were necessary. Therefore, it was 
recommended that the ACT (both commercial and recreational) should be 
set equal to ACL for all three years. Removing the estimated discards 
results in the commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits shown 
below in Table 2.

                                       Table 2--Proposed 2016-2018 Summer Flounder Specifications and Calculations
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                                                           2015 (current)                2016                     2017                     2018
                                                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        million lb       mt      million lb       mt      million lb       mt      million lb       mt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL.................................................           27.06   12,275           18.06    8,194           19.82    8,991            22.4   10,159
ABC.................................................           22.77   10,329           16.26    7,375           15.86    7,193            15.7    7,111
ABC Landings Portion................................           18.45    8,368           13.54    6,142           13.19    5,983            13.2    5,968
ABC Discards Portion................................            4.32    1,961            2.72    1,233            2.67    1,210            2.52    1,143
Commercial ACL......................................           13.34    6,049            9.43    4,275            9.19    4,168             9.1    4,127
Commercial ACT......................................           13.34    6,049            9.43    4,275            9.19    4,168             9.1    4,127
Projected Commercial Discards.......................            2.27    1,028            1.30      590            1.28      579            1.21      547
Commercial Quota....................................           11.07    5,021            8.12    3,685            7.91    3,590            7.89    3,581
Recreational ACL....................................            9.44    4,280            6.84    3,100            6.67    3,025            6.58    2,984
Recreational ACT....................................            9.44    4,280            6.84    3,100            6.67    3,025            6.58    2,984
Projected Recreational Discards.....................            2.06      933            1.42      643            1.39      631            1.32      596
Recreational Harvest Limit..........................            7.38    3,347            5.42    2,457            5.28    2,393            5.26    2,387
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 69182]]

    The Council and Board considered the SSC and Summer Flounder 
Monitoring Committee recommendations before concurring with the catch 
recommendations specified in Table 2. Fishing under these catch limits 
for 2016 through 2018 is not expected to compromise the summer flounder 
stock, nor will fishing at this level present a unacceptably high 
likelihood of overfishing. The Council recommended all other commercial 
management measures remain status quo.
    Table 3 presents the proposed state allocations for 2016-2018 using 
the commercial state quota allocations described in the FMP. Any 
commercial quota adjustments to account for overages will be published 
in the Federal Register prior to the start of the respective fishing 
year. The final rule for this action will include any necessary quota 
overage reductions for fishing year 2016.

                                       Table 3--2016-2018 Proposed Initial Summer Flounder State Commercial Quotas
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                                                                2016 initial quota              2017 initial quota              2018 initial quota
                  State                     FMP percent  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                               share            lb              kg              lb              kg              lb              kg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME.......................................        0.04756           3,864           1,753           3,764           1,707           3,755           1,703
NH.......................................        0.00046              37              17              36              17              36              16
MA.......................................        6.82046         554,097         251,334         539,812         244,854         538,459         244,240
RI.......................................       15.68298       1,274,091         577,917       1,241,244         563,019       1,238,133         561,607
CT.......................................        2.25708         183,366          83,173         178,639          81,029         178,191          80,826
NY.......................................        7.64699         621,244         281,791         605,228         274,527         603,711         273,838
NJ.......................................       16.72499       1,358,744         616,315       1,323,715         600,427       1,320,397         598,921
DE.......................................        0.01779           1,445             656           1,408             639           1,404             637
MD.......................................        2.0391          165,657          75,141         161,387          73,204         160,982          73,020
VA.......................................       21.31676       1,731,781         785,522       1,687,135         765,271       1,682,906         763,353
NC.......................................       27.44584       2,229,709       1,011,378       2,172,227         985,305       2,166,781         982,835
    Total................................      100             8,124,035       3,684,997       7,914,596       3,589,997       7,894,754       3,580,997
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Kilograms are as converted from pounds and do not sum to the converted total due to rounding. Rounding of quotas results in totals slightly
  exceeding 100 percent.

Scup

    This rule proposes the Council's ABC recommendation and the 
commercial and recreational catch limits associated with that ABC for 
fishing years 2016-2018.
    The SSC reviewed the results of the 2015 scup benchmark stock 
assessment and determined that an update to the existing control rule 
was warranted. The SSC determined that a lower coefficient of 
variation, or CV, to estimate scientific uncertainty was acceptable for 
the scup stock assessment instead of the default 100-percent CV. The 
SSC's ABC recommendations are based on a 60-percent CV from the OFL and 
are, therefore, higher than they would have otherwise been. In 
addition, the 2016 ABC is based on an assumption that only 75 percent 
of the 2015 ABC would be harvested, consistent with recent fishery 
performance. The stock assessment upon which the specifications are 
based indicates that scup biomass is currently lower than in recent 
years, but still more than double the biomass target. Therefore, the 
proposed catch limits are lower than the specifications for fishing 
year 2015, but are still relatively high compared to recent landings.
    The Scup Monitoring Committee met to discuss the SSC's 
recommendations and to determine whether additional reductions in the 
catch limits were necessary to account for management uncertainty. 
Because both the recreational and commercial fisheries have not reached 
their respective landings limits because of the very high quotas, and 
the landings monitoring and fishery closure system is timely, the 
Monitoring Committee determined that no additional reductions to 
account for management uncertainty were necessary. Therefore, it was 
recommended that the ACTs (both commercial and recreational) should be 
set equal to the respective ACLs for fishing years 2016-2018. The 
Council and Board considered the SSC and Scup Monitoring Committee 
recommendations before concurring with the catch recommendations 
specified in Table 2. Fishing under these catch limits for 2016 through 
2018 is not expected to compromise the scup stock, nor will fishing at 
this level present an unacceptably high likelihood of overfishing. The 
Council recommended all other commercial management measures remain 
status quo. After deducting the appropriate sector-specific discards, 
the 2016-2018 commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits would 
be as described below in Table 4.

                                                          Table 4--Proposed Scup Specifications
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                                                                     2015 (current)             2016                  2017                  2018
                                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    mil lb       mt       mil lb       mt       mil lb       mt       mil lb       mt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL.............................................................      47.8      21,680      35.8      16,238      32.09     14,556      29.7      13,464
ABC.............................................................      33.77     15,320      31.11     14,110      28.4      12,881      27.1      12,270
ABC Landings Portion............................................      28.03     12,716      26.56     12,047      23.88     10,832      22.6      10,227
ABC Discards Portion............................................       5.74      2,604       4.55      2,063       4.52      2,049       4.5       2,043
Commercial ACL..................................................      26.34     11,950      24.26     11,006      22.15     10,047      21.1       9,571
Commercial ACT..................................................      26.34     11,950      24.26     11,006      22.15     10,047      21.1       9,571
Projected Commercial Discards...................................       5.11      2,318       3.8       1,721       3.77      1,710       3.76      1,705
Commercial Quota................................................      21.23      9,632      20.47      9,284      18.38      8,337      17.3       7,866
Recreational ACL................................................       7.92      3,592       6.84      3,104       6.25      2,834       5.95      2,699
Recreational ACT................................................       7.92      3,592       6.84      3,104       6.25      2,834       5.95      2,699

[[Page 69183]]

 
Projected Recreational Discards.................................       0.67        304       0.75        342       0.75        339       0.75        338
Recreational Harvest Limit......................................       6.8       3,288       6.09      2,763       5.5       2,495       5.21      2,361
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The scup commercial quota is divided into three commercial fishery 
quota periods: Winter I; Summer; and Winter II. This rule proposes 
commercial scup quotas for these three periods for 2016-2018, 
consistent with the allocation structure of the FMP. If there is a 
commercial overage applicable to the 2016 scup commercial quota, notice 
of that overage will be included in the final rule for this action. 
Commercial overages applicable to fishing years 2017 and 2018 will be 
provided in a Federal Register notice published prior to the start of 
the fishing year. The period quotas are detailed in Table 5. Unused 
Winter I quota may be carried over for use in the Winter II period.

                                    Table 5--Proposed Commercial Scup Quota Allocations for 2016-2018 by Quota Period
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                                                                                  2016 Initial quota       2017 Initial quota       2018 Initial quota
                           Quota period                              Percent  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                      share          lb           mt          lb           mt          lb           mt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I..........................................................      45.11       9,232,987    4,188       8,291,190    3,761       7,822,778    3,548
Summer............................................................      38.95       7,972,176    3,616       7,158,986    3,247       6,754,538    3,064
Winter II.........................................................      15.94       3,262,554    1,480       2,929,762    1,329       2,764,245    1,254
                                                                   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.........................................................     100.0       20,467,716    9,284      18,379,939    8,337      17,341,562    7,866
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Metric tons are as converted from pounds and may not necessarily total due to rounding.

    The Winter I possession limit will be reduced to 1,000 lb (454 kg) 
when 80 percent of that period's allocation has been landed. The Winter 
II possession limit may be adjusted (in association with a transfer of 
unused Winter I quota to the Winter II period) via notification in the 
Federal Register.

                       Table 6--Initial Commercial Scup Possession Limits by Quota Period
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Federal possession limits (per
                                                                                               trip)
                           Quota period                            Percent share -------------------------------
                                                                                        lb              kg
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I.........................................................          45.11          50,000          22,680
Summer...........................................................          38.95             N/A             N/A
Winter II........................................................          15.94          12,000           5,443
                                                                  ----------------------------------------------
    Total........................................................         100.0              N/A             N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Black Sea Bass

    This rule proposes the Council's revised ABC recommendation and the 
commercial and recreational catch limits associated with that ABC for 
fishing years 2016 and 2017.
    Black sea bass remains a data-poor stock, with relatively high 
uncertainty for the purposes of calculating ABC. The SSC rejected the 
OFL estimate provided from the 2011 stock assessment, stating that it 
was highly uncertain and not sufficiently reliable to use as the basis 
of management advice. In 2012, the SSC recommended an ABC of 4.50 
million lb (2,041 mt). The Council tasked the SSC to revisit this 
recommendation in January 2013. The SSC revised its recommendation for 
fishing years 2013 and 2014 and recommended an ABC of 5.50 million lb 
(2,494 mt). This ABC and the corresponding specifications were 
implemented in June 2013 and were carried forward into fishing year 
2015. At the July 2015 meeting, the SSC made an interim recommendation 
that would continue this ABC into fishing years 2016-2017. No 
recommendation was made for 2018. A benchmark stock assessment for 
black sea bass is scheduled to occur in 2016 and the Council and the 
SSC will use this information to recommend a 2018 ABC.
    A very large year class from 2011 has been prevalent throughout the 
fishery for the past several years, making it difficult to avoid black 
sea bass and leading to increasingly restrictive management measures. 
The SSC reviewed additional information at its September 16, 2015, 
meeting on setting catch recommendations for data poor stocks with no 
reliable overfishing limit estimate available (i.e., ABC Control Rule 
Level IV). This is intended to replace the default constant catch 
approach the SSC has used for data-poor stocks. The SSC determined that 
the average of four of the Data-Limited Modeling Approaches that were 
evaluated was a more scientifically robust approach to setting catch 
advice. This approach resulted in the SSC revising its black sea bass 
ABC recommendation for 2016 and 2017 to 6.67 million lb (3,024 mt). The 
Council discussed the revised SSC recommendation at its October 7, 
2015, meeting, notifying NMFS in a letter dated October 14, 2015. The 
Commission's Black Sea Bass Board will review this recommendation in 
November.
    The Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee met in July 2015 to discuss 
the SSC's interim recommendation and

[[Page 69184]]

to determine if additional reductions in the catch limits were 
necessary to account for management uncertainty. The Monitoring 
Committee determined that no additional reductions to account for 
management uncertainty were necessary because the commercial management 
program is timely, and management uncertainty will be more explicitly 
accounted for in the recreational management measures process. 
Therefore, it was recommended that the ACTs (both commercial and 
recreational) should be set equal to their respective ACL for fishing 
years 2016 and 2017. The Monitoring Committee discussed the revised ABC 
recommendation via email prior to the Council's discussion. The 
Monitoring Committee determined that the rationale for the prior 
recommendation was also applicable to the revised specifications. As 
such, the Council is recommending, and this rule proposes, that the ACT 
be set equal to the ACL for both sectors in both years.
    The Council recommended that all other commercial management 
measures remain at the status quo. This rule proposes the revised 
specifications shown in Table 7, as recommended by the Council and 
consistent with the SSC's recommendations. Preliminary data indicate 
that a commercial quota overage occurred in 2014. There may also have 
been more discards than projected, resulting in an additional overage 
of the ACL, potentially triggering an additional accountability 
measure. Any overage of the ACL beyond the landings overage will be 
deducted from the 2016 ACT. The 2014 commercial quota overage amount, 
in pounds, will be deducted from the 2016 quota when the final 
accounting is completed. Commercial overages applicable to fishing year 
2017 will be provided in a Federal Register notice prior to the start 
of the fishing year.

                            Table 7--Proposed Black Sea Bass 2016-2017 Specifications
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          2015 (current)                   2016 and 2017
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    million lb          mt          million lb          mt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC.............................................            5.50           2,494            6.67           3,024
ABC Landings Portion............................            4.56           2,070            5.53           2,510
ABC Discards Portion............................            0.93             424            1.13             514
Commercial ACL..................................            2.60           1,180            3.15           1,428
Commercial ACT..................................            2.58           1,170            3.15           1,428
Projected Commercial Discards...................            0.37             166            0.44             198
Commercial Quota................................            2.21           1,004            2.71           1,230
Recreational ACL................................            2.90           1,314            3.52           1,597
Recreational ACT................................            2.90           1,314            3.52           1,597
Projected Recreational Discards.................            0.57             258            0.70             317
Recreational Harvest Limit......................            2.33           1,056            2.82           1,280
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: An accountability measure was implemented for fishing year 2015 because of a prior year's commercial
  fishery overage.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP, 
other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, 
subject to further consideration after public comment.
    These proposed specifications are exempt from review under 
Executive Order 12866.
    An IRFA was prepared by the Council, as required by section 603 of 
the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), to examine the impacts of these 
proposed specifications on small business entities, if adopted. A 
description of the specifications, why they are being considered, and 
the legal basis for proposing and implementing specifications for the 
summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries are contained in 
the preamble to this proposed rule. A copy of the detailed RFA analysis 
is available from NMFS or the Council (see ADDRESSES). The Council's 
analysis made use of quantitative approaches when possible. Where 
quantitative data on revenues or other business-related metrics that 
would provide insight to potential impacts were not available to inform 
the analyses, qualitative analyses were conducted. A summary of the 
2016-2018 specifications RFA analysis follows.

Description of the Reasons Why Action by the Agency is Being 
Considered, and a Statement of the Objectives of, and Legal Basis for, 
This Proposed Rule

    This action proposes management measures, including annual catch 
limits, for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries in 
order to prevent overfishing and achieve optimum yield in the fishery. 
A complete description of the action, why it is being considered, and 
the legal basis for this action are contained in the specifications 
document, and elsewhere in the preamble to this proposed rule, and are 
not repeated here.

Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which the 
Proposed Rule Would Apply

    The Small Business Administration defines a small business as one 
that is independently owned and operated; not dominant in its field of 
operation; has annual receipts that do not exceed $20.5 million in the 
case of commercial finfish harvesting entities (NAIC 114111), $5.5 
million in the case of commercial shellfish harvesting entities (NAIC 
114112), $7.5 million in the case of for-hire fishing entities (NAIC 
114119); or has fewer than 500 employees in the case of fish processors 
or 100 employees in the case of fish dealers. The North American 
Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal 
statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the 
purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data 
related to the U.S. business economy.
    This proposed rule affects commercial and recreational fish 
harvesting entities engaged in the summer flounder, scup, and black sea 
bass fisheries. Individually-permitted vessels may hold permits for 
several fisheries, harvesting species of fish that are regulated by 
several different FMPs, even beyond those impacted by the proposed 
action. Furthermore, multiple-permitted vessels and/or permits may be 
owned by entities affiliated by stock ownership, common management, 
identity of interest, contractual relationships, or economic 
dependency. For the purposes of the RFA analysis, the ownership

[[Page 69185]]

entities, not the individual vessels, are considered to be the 
regulated entities.
    Ownership entities are defined as those entities with common 
ownership personnel as listed on the permit application. Only permits 
with identical ownership personnel are categorized as an ownership 
entity. For example, if five permits have the same seven persons listed 
as co-owners on their permit applications, those seven persons would 
form one ownership entity that holds those five permits. If two of 
those seven owners also co-own additional vessels, that ownership 
arrangement would be considered a separate ownership entity for the 
purpose of this analysis.
    In preparation for this action, ownership entities are identified 
based on a list of all permits for the most recent complete calendar 
year. The current ownership data set used for this analysis is based on 
calendar year 2014 and contains average gross sales associated with 
those permits for calendar years 2012 through 2014. In addition to 
classifying a business (ownership entity) as small or large, a business 
can also be classified by its primary source of revenue. A business is 
defined as being primarily engaged in fishing for finfish if it obtains 
greater than 50 percent of its gross sales from sales of finfish. 
Similarly, a business is defined as being primarily engaged in fishing 
for shellfish if it obtains greater than 50 percent of its gross sales 
from sales of shellfish.
    A description of the specific permits that are likely to be 
impacted by this action is provided below, along with a discussion of 
the impacted businesses, which can include multiple vessels and/or 
permit types.
    The ownership database shows that for the 2012-2014 period, 485 
affiliate firms held a summer flounder commercial permit and 547 
affiliate firms held a summer flounder party/charter permit; 446 
affiliate firms held a scup commercial permit and 491 affiliate firms 
held a scup party/charter permit; and 491 affiliate firms held a black 
sea bass commercial permit and 533 affiliate firms held a black sea 
bass party/charter permit. However, not all of those affiliate firms 
are active participants in the fishery. According to the ownership 
database, 960 affiliate firms landed summer flounder, scup, and/or 
black sea bass during the 2012-2014 period, with 952 of those business 
affiliates categorized as small business and 8 categorized as large 
business.

Description of the Projected Reporting, Record-Keeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements of This Proposed Rule

    There are no new reporting or recordkeeping requirements contained 
in any of the alternatives considered for this action.

Federal Rules Which May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With This 
Proposed Rule

    NMFS is not aware of any relevant Federal rules that may duplicate, 
overlap, or conflict with this proposed rule.

Description of Significant Alternatives to the Proposed Action Which 
Accomplish the Stated Objectives of Applicable Statutes and Which 
Minimize Any Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities

    The Council analyzed four sets of combined catch limit alternatives 
for each of the fishing years 2016-2018 for the summer flounder, scup, 
and black sea bass fisheries. The 2018 fishing year analysis is based 
on summer flounder and scup only because there was no recommendation 
for black sea bass. The alternatives were as follows:
     Alternative 1 was the Council's originally preferred 
alternative, and was consistent with the SSC's interim advice;
     Alternative 2 is the status quo and would maintain the 
current specifications in effect;
     Alternative 3 is an alternative provided for analytical 
purposes as the ``most restrictive'' set of landings limits, based on 
the lowest landings limits in the time series for each stock; and
     Alternative 4 is the counter-point to Alternative 3 as the 
``least restrictive'' or highest landings limits in the time series.
    This analysis was completed using the Council's interim 
recommendation for the black sea bass specifications. The 
specifications proposed in this action are different than Alternative 
1, as described in the Council's specifications document and IRFA. The 
proposed specifications represent an increase in the 2016 and 2017 
commercial quotas to 2.71 million lb (1,230 mt) and recreational 
harvest limits of 2.82 million lb (1,280 mt). These are 21 percent 
higher than the previously preferred alternative (Alternative 1), and 
33 percent lower than the ``least restrictive'' alternative 
(Alternative 4). The impacts from the proposed catch limits fall within 
the range that has been analyzed and are more fully described here. The 
discussion below is based on the conclusions of the RFA analyses in the 
draft specifications document provided by the Council, modified to 
account for the revised black sea bass recommendation.

                               Table 8--Summary of Landings Limits by Alternative
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Commercial     Recreational
             Year                     Alternative                Species               quota       harvest limit
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016.........................  Proposed................  Summer Flounder........            8.12            5.42
                                                         Scup...................           20.47            6.09
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            2.71            2.82
                               Alternative 1             Summer Flounder........            8.12            5.42
                                (Preferred)
                                                         Scup...................           20.47            6.09
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            2.24            2.33
                               Alternative 2 (Status     Summer Flounder........           11.07            7.38
                                quo).
                                                         Scup...................           21.23            6.80
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            2.21            2.33
                               Alternative 3 (Most       Summer Flounder........            6.30            4.20
                                Restrictive).
                                                         Scup...................            2.53            1.24
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            1.13            1.17
                               Alternative 4 (Least      Summer Flounder........           18.18           12.12
                                Restrictive).
                                                         Scup...................           28.35            8.57
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            4.02            4.18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017.........................  Proposed................  Summer Flounder........            7.91            5.28
                                                         Scup...................           18.38            5.50
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            2.71            2.82

[[Page 69186]]

 
                               Alternative 1             Summer Flounder........            7.91            5.28
                                (Preferred).
                                                         Scup...................           18.38            5.50
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            2.24            2.33
                               Alternative 2 (Status     Summer Flounder........           11.07            7.38
                                quo).
                                                         Scup...................           21.23            6.80
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            2.21            2.33
                               Alternative 3 (Most       Summer Flounder........            6.30            4.20
                                Restrictive).
                                                         Scup...................            2.53            1.24
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            1.13            1.17
                               Alternative 4 (Least      Summer Flounder........           18.18           12.12
                                Restrictive).
                                                         Scup...................           28.35            8.57
                                                         Black Sea Bass.........            4.02            4.18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2018.........................  Alternative 1             Summer Flounder........            7.89            5.26
                                (Preferred; Proposed).
                                                         Scup...................           17.34            5.21
                               Alternative 2 (Status     Summer Flounder........           11.07            7.38
                                quo).
                                                         Scup...................           21.23            6.80
                               Alternative 3 (Most       Summer Flounder........            6.30            4.20
                                Restrictive).
                                                         Scup...................            2.53            1.24
                               Alternative 4 (Least      Summer Flounder........           18.18           12.12
                                Restrictive).
                                                         Scup...................           28.35            8.57
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commercial Fishery Impacts

    It is expected that varying levels of negative economic impacts on 
the three fisheries may occur from the proposed specifications. The 
summer flounder fishery is expected to experience the largest negative 
impact, because of the 20-percent decrease in available quota in 2016. 
This represents an approximately $8.1-million decrease in ex-vessel 
summer flounder revenue across the fleet. However, some of this impact 
may be offset for some firms if the price of summer flounder increases 
because of lower availability. This decrease is not distributed 
uniformly across each participating vessel because each business is not 
equally dependent on summer flounder. The Council's analysis shows that 
228 out of the 952 small business entities are likely to be faced with 
revenue reductions of 5 percent or more because of Alternative 1. Of 
these, 40 percent had gross sales of $10,000 or less, suggesting 
dependence on fishing for some of these firms is very small. If the 
revenue impacts were distributed equally across the active firms (i.e., 
those business entities who vessel or vessels landed summer flounder 
between 2012 and 2014), the proposed specifications would result in a 
$11,877-decrease per firm in 2016 compared to 2015.
    The 2016-2018 proposed scup commercial quotas and recreational 
harvest limits under the proposed alternative are lower than the quotas 
implemented in 2015; however, they are higher than the 2014 commercial 
and recreational landings. Unless market conditions change 
substantially in coming years, it is expected that commercial and 
recreational landings will likely be close to the 2014 landings. There 
is no indication that the market environment for commercially and 
recreationally caught scup will change considerably in fishing years 
2016-2018. Therefore, there are no expected negative impacts from the 
proposed scup quotas, even though they are lower than those of the 
previous year.
    The 2016-2017 proposed black sea bass commercial quotas are 
increases from 2015. Relative to the status quo catch levels, the 
proposed black sea bass quotas could result in slightly positive 
impacts for the commercial fishery. The status quo specifications would 
result in a $0.1-million increase, in revenue, fleet-wide, for the 
commercial black sea bass fishery, or $134 per business entity if 
distributed equally. The least restrictive alternative (Alternative 4) 
would result in a $5.9-million increase in revenues ($7,930 per 
business entity, if distributed equally). The proposed commercial quota 
is approximately 13 percent higher than 2014 landings. Assuming the 
2014 ex-vessel price for black sea bass ($3.24/lb), the proposed 
commercial quota represents a potential increase of $1.5 million in 
fleet-wide revenues, or approximately $2,000 per business entity if 
distributed equally. The proposed alternative has slightly more 
positive economic impacts than the status quo catch limits and is 
consistent with the SSC's revised recommendation.

Recreational Fishery Impacts

    While the proposed specifications would establish recreational 
harvest limits for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass, the 
management measure details for recreational fisheries will be developed 
by the Council separately for each fishing year, followed by NMFS 
rulemaking in the spring of that year. A comprehensive analysis of the 
impacts associated with the recommended recreational management 
measures will be provided to NMFS from the Council to support these 
activities. If recreational landings for these three species are the 
same in 2016-2018 as in recent years, the recreational harvest limits 
proposed would likely constrain recreational landings for summer 
flounder and black sea bass, but not likely for scup. As such, it is 
likely that more restrictive limits (i.e., lower possession limits, 
higher minimum size limits, and/or shorter open seasons) will be 
required for summer flounder and black sea bass. This will likely have 
some negative economic impacts, particularly for the summer flounder 
fishery. Increasing the recreational harvest limit for black sea bass 
would allow the measures to be restricted less than if the status quo 
recreational harvest limit is maintained, although only slightly. 
Specific recreational management measures (for all three species) will 
be determined when more complete data regarding recreational landings 
are available.

Summary

    The Council selected Alternative 1 (preferred) over Alternative 2 
(status quo), Alternative 3 (most restrictive), and Alternative 4 
(least restrictive) stating that the Alternative 1 measures were 
consistent with the advice

[[Page 69187]]

provided to the Council by its SSC and monitoring committees and would 
have less negative economic impacts than the most restrictive 
alternatives. The status quo and least restrictive alternatives 
(Alternatives 2 and 4, respectively) would have less economic impact 
than the preferred alternative, but not satisfy the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act requirements to ensure fish stocks are not subject to overfishing. 
NMFS agrees with the Council's IRFA analysis and rationale for 
recommending these catch limits. As such, NMFS is proposing to 
implement the Council's preferred ABCs, ACLs, ACTs, commercial quotas, 
and recreational harvest limits, as revised, presented in Table 1 of 
this proposed rule's preamble.

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

    Dated: November 4, 2015.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-28444 Filed 11-6-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P