[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 23 (Thursday, February 4, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 5978-5979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-02092]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

RIN 0648-BF18


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendments to the Reef Fish, Spiny Lobster, Queen Conch, and Corals and 
Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates Fishery Management Plans of 
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

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

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 7 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef 
Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) (Reef 
Fish FMP), Amendment 6 to the FMP for the Spiny Lobster Fishery of 
Puerto Rico and the USVI (Spiny Lobster FMP), Amendment 5 to the FMP 
for the Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates of Puerto 
Rico and the USVI (Coral FMP), and Amendment 4 to the FMP for the Queen 
Conch Resources of Puerto Rico and the USVI (Queen Conch FMP) for 
review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. In combination, these 
amendments represent the Application of Accountability Measures (AM) 
Amendment (AM Application Amendment). The AM Application Amendment 
would resolve an existing inconsistency between language in the four 
Council FMPs and the regulations implementing application of AMs in the 
U.S. Caribbean exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The purpose of the AM 
Application Amendment is to ensure the regulations governing AMs in the 
Caribbean EEZ are consistent with their authorizing FMPs.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 4, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the AM Application Amendment, 
identified by ``NOAA-NMFS-2015-0124'' by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2015-0124, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Mar[iacute]a del Mar 
L[oacute]pez, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, 
St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
    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 a 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).
    Electronic copies of the AM Application Amendment, which includes 
an environmental assessment, a Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis, and 
a regulatory impact review may be obtained from the Southeast Regional 
Office Web site at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/caribbean/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mar[iacute]a del Mar L[oacute]pez, 
telephone: 727-824-5305, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each regional 
fishery management council to submit any FMP or FMP amendment to NMFS 
for review and approval, partial approval, or disapproval. The 
Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving a plan or 
amendment, publish an announcement in the Federal Register notifying 
the public that the plan or amendment is available for review and 
comment.
    The FMPs being revised by the AM Application Amendment were 
prepared by the Council and implemented through regulations at 50 CFR 
part 622 under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

[[Page 5979]]

Background

    The final rule implementing Amendment 2 to the Queen Conch FMP and 
Amendment 5 to the Reef Fish FMP (2010 Caribbean ACL Amendment) 
established annual catch limits (ACLs) and AMs for species and species 
groups that at the time were classified as undergoing overfishing 
(i.e., parrotfish, snapper, grouper, and queen conch) (76 FR 82404, 
December 30, 2011). The final rule implementing Amendment 3 to the 
Queen Conch FMP, Amendment 6 to the Reef Fish FMP, Amendment 5 to the 
Spiny Lobster FMP, and Amendment 3 to the Coral FMP, established ACLs 
and AMs for the remaining Council-managed species and species groups 
which were not undergoing overfishing at the time or for which the 
overfishing status was unknown (e.g., grunts, squirrelfish, jacks) (76 
FR 82414, December 30, 2011). As described at Sec.  622.12(a) for reef 
fish, spiny lobster, and corals and Sec.  622.491(b) for queen conch, 
the current AMs in the Caribbean EEZ require NMFS to shorten the length 
of the fishing season for a species/species group in the year following 
a determination that the applicable 3-year landings average exceeded 
the respective ACL. The extent to which fishing seasons are shortened 
equates to the number of days necessary to remove the overage in pounds 
and to therefore constrain landings to the ACL. Pursuant to the 
regulations at Sec. Sec.  622.12(a) and 622.491(b), any such AM-based 
closures remain in effect only during the particular fishing year in 
which they are implemented. However, the AM closure language in the 
four authorizing FMPs states that any AM-based closure will remain in 
effect until modified by the Council, thereby carrying these AM-based 
closures over from year to year unless or until the closures are 
revised by subsequent Council action.
    This inconsistent language between the FMPs and the implementing 
regulations may create confusion to fishers and the public about 
whether an AM-based closure for a specific species/species group will 
continue in subsequent years if an AM is triggered. The AM Application 
Amendment would correct the inconsistency between the authorizing FMPs 
and the regulatory language at Sec. Sec.  622.12(a) and 622.491(b) by 
revising the text within the four FMPs describing how AMs are applied 
to be consistent with the language in the regulations. Specifically, 
the phrase in the four authorizing FMPs that states ``The needed 
changes will remain in effect until modified by the Council,'' which 
describes the duration of AMs, would be removed from the four FMPs. The 
result of this proposed change would be that under both the authorizing 
FMPs and AM-based closure regulatory language, an AM closure would only 
apply for the fishing year in which it was implemented. This approach 
is consistent with the intent of the Council and implementing 
regulations used by NMFS to apply AMs in the Caribbean EEZ. The current 
process used by NMFS and the Council to apply AMs in the Caribbean EEZ 
would not change as a result of this proposed amendment, thus this 
action would have no additional direct or indirect economic, social, or 
biological/ecological effects.
    A proposed rule that would implement the measures outlined in the 
AM Application Amendment has been drafted. In accordance with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the AM Application Amendment 
and the proposed rule to determine whether it is consistent with the 
FMPs, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law. If that 
determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish the proposed rule in 
the Federal Register for public review and comment.

Consideration of Public Comments

    The Council has submitted the AM Application Amendment for 
Secretarial review, approval, and implementation. Comments received by 
April 4, 2016, will be considered by NMFS in its decision to approve, 
disapprove, or partially approve the AM Application Amendment. Comments 
received after that date will not be considered by NMFS in this 
decision. All relevant comments received by NMFS on the amendment or 
the proposed rule during their respective comment periods will be 
addressed in the final rule.

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

    Dated: January 29, 2016.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-02092 Filed 2-3-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P