[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 119 (Tuesday, June 21, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40253-40258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14568]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No.: 151215999-6488-01]
RIN 0648-BF64
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring
Fishery; Specification of Management Measures for Atlantic Herring for
the 2016-2018 Fishing Years
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule, request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement the 2016-2018 fishery
specifications and management measures for the Atlantic herring
fishery. The specifications would set harvest specifications and river
herring/shad catch caps for the herring fishery for the 2016-2018
fishing years as recommended to NMFS by the New England Fishery
Management Council. The river herring/shad catch caps are area and
gear-specific catch caps for river herring and shad for trips landing
more than 6,600 lb (3 mt) of herring. The specifications and management
measures are set in order to meet conservation objectives while
providing sustainable levels of access to the fishery.
DATES: Public comments must be received by July 21, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents used by the New England
Fishery Management Council (Council), including the Environmental
Assessment (EA) and Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)/Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), are available from: Thomas A. Nies,
Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water
Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950, telephone (978) 465-0492. The
EA/RIR/IRFA is also accessible via the Internet at http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/.
You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2016-0050, by any
one 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-2016-0050, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments;
Mail: Submit written comments to NMFS, Greater Atlantic
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark
the outside of the envelope ``Comments on 2016-2018 Herring
Specifications;''
Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Shannah Jaburek.
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).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shannah Jaburek, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 282-8456, fax (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Regulations implementing the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management
Plan (FMP) for herring appear at 50 CFR part 648, subpart K. The
regulations at Sec. 648.200 require the Council to recommend herring
specifications for NMFS' review and proposal in the Federal Register,
including: The overfishing limit (OFL); acceptable biological catch
(ABC); annual catch limit (ACL); optimum yield (OY); domestic annual
harvest (DAH); domestic annual processing (DAP); U.S. at-sea processing
(USAP); border transfer (BT); the sub-ACL for each management area,
including seasonal periods as allowed by Sec. 648.201(d) and
modifications to sub-ACLs as allowed by Sec. 648.201(f); and the
amount to be set aside for the research set aside (RSA) (3 percent of
the sub-ACL from any management area) for up to 3 years. These
regulations also provide the Council with the discretion to recommend
river herring and shad catch caps as part of the specifications.
Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), NMFS is required to publish proposed rules for
comment after preliminarily determining whether they are consistent
with applicable law. The Magnuson-Stevens Act permits NMFS to approve,
partially approve, or disapprove measures proposed by the Council based
only on whether the measures are consistent with the fishery management
plan, plan amendment, the Magnuson-Stevens Act and its National
Standards, and other applicable law. Otherwise, NMFS must defer to the
Council's policy choices. Under the Atlantic herring regulations
guiding the specifications process, NMFS must review the Council's
recommended specifications and publish notice of the proposed
specifications, clearly noting any differences from the Council's
recommendations. NMFS is proposing and seeking comment on the Council's
recommended herring specifications and river herring and shad catch
caps and whether they are consistent with the Herring FMP, the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and its National Standards, and other applicable
law.
The proposed 2016-2018 herring specifications are based on the
provisions currently in the Herring FMP, and provide the necessary
elements to comply with the ACL and accountability measure (AM)
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (MSA). At its September 29, 2015, meeting, the Council
recommended the 2016-2018 specifications for the herring fishery,
including river herring/shad catch caps. NMFS proposes to implement the
herring specifications as recommended by the Council and detailed in
Table 1 below. For 2016-2018 fishing years, the Council may annually
review these specifications and recommend adjustments if necessary.
[[Page 40254]]
Table 1--Proposed Atlantic Herring Specifications
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Status Quo and Proposed Atlantic Herring Specifications (mt)
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2013-2015 2016-2018
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Overfishing Limit............... 169,000-2013...... 138,000-2016
136,000-2014...... 117,000-2017
114,000-2015...... 111,000-2018.
Acceptable Biological Catch..... 114,000........... 111,000.
Management Uncertainty.......... 6,200............. 6,200.
Optimum Yield/ACL............... 107,800........... 104,800.*
Domestic Annual Harvest......... 107,800........... 104,800.
Border Transfer................. 4,000............. 4,000.
Domestic Annual Processing...... 103,800........... 100,800.
U.S. At-Sea Processing.......... 0................. 0.
Area 1A Sub-ACL (28.9%)......... 31,200............ 30,300.*
Area 1B Sub-ACL (4.3%).......... 4,600............. 4,500.
Area 2 Sub-ACL (27.8%).......... 30,000............ 29,100.
Area 3 Sub-ACL (39%)............ 42,000............ 40,900.
Fixed Gear Set-Aside............ 295............... 295.
Research Set-Aside.............. 3 percent of each 3 percent of each
sub-ACL. sub-ACL.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* If New Brunswick weir fishery catch through October 1 is less than
4,000 mt, then 1,000 mt will be subtracted from the management
uncertainty buffer and added to the ACL and Area 1A Sub-ACL.
An operational update to the herring stock assessment, completed in
May 2015, indicated that herring was not overfished and overfishing was
not occurring. However, the assessment contained a retrospective
pattern suggesting that spawning stock biomass (SSB) is likely
overestimated and fishing mortality (F) is likely underestimated.
Following an adjustment for the retrospective pattern, the assessment
estimated the herring stock at approximately double its target biomass
(SSBMSY) and F is approximately half the fishing mortality
threshold (FMSY).
At its June 2015 meeting, the Council recommended a herring ABC of
111,000 mt (a 3-mt decrease from status quo) for 2016-2018 based on the
current control rule (constant catch with 50-percent probability that F
> FMSY in last year). The resulting overfishing limit was
calculated to be 138,000 mt in 2016, 117,000 mt in 2017, and 111,000 mt
in 2018. This ABC recommendation is consistent with the Scientific and
Statistical Committee's (SSC) advice. After considering herring's role
as forage, the Council found that, while the ABC control rule does not
explicitly adjust for herring's role in the ecosystem, herring's high
biomass (approximately 74 percent of unfished biomass) and low fishing
mortality (ratio of catch to consumption by predators is 1:4) likely
achieves ecosystem goals.
Several other factors contributed to the SSC's and Council's
recommendation to continue using the current constant catch ABC control
rule for 2016-2018. First, the Council recently initiated Amendment 8
to the Herring FMP to consider herring ABC control rules that may
explicitly adjust for herring's role as forage in the ecosystem.
Second, key attributes of the stock (SSB, recruitment, F, and survey
indices) have not significantly changed since the constant catch
control rule for herring was used in the 2013-2015 herring
specifications. Third, the realized catch in the fishery is generally
well below ABC, reducing the likelihood of overfishing. Fourth, the
probability of the stock becoming overfished in 2016-2018 is close to
zero. Lastly, the constant catch control rule provides the herring
industry with economic stability, which was one of the considerations
in the Council's harvest risk policy.
The herring ABC is reduced from the OFL to account for scientific
uncertainty. The Council's recommendation to continue using the current
constant catch control rule means that the ABC would equal the OFL in
2018. This is consistent with the status quo specifications when ABC
was set equal to OFL in 2015, which were successful in preventing
overfishing. Some stakeholders (environmental advocacy groups,
groundfish industry, and recreational fishing community) are concerned
with the potential implications of the assessment's retrospective
pattern on herring biomass, including its availability as forage, and
the lack of a scientific uncertainty buffer in 2018. Subject to review
and consideration of public comment, NMFS preliminarily supports the
Council's ABC recommendation. The recent herring operational assessment
indicates that the herring biomass is robust, despite an adjustment in
the assessment for the retrospective pattern. The realized catch in the
fishery is expected to be much less than the ABC, reducing the
likelihood of overfishing. Additionally, NMFS anticipates that
Amendment 8 will be adopted prior to the development of the 2019-2021
herring fishery specifications, and will consider herring's role in the
ecosystem.
Under the Herring FMP, the herring ACL is reduced from ABC to
account for management uncertainty, and the primary source of
management uncertainty is catch in the New Brunswick (NB) weir fishery.
Catch in the weir fishery is variable, but has declined in recent
years. After considering a range of management uncertainty buffers, the
Council recommended a buffer of 6,200 mt, which is equivalent to the
value of the buffer in 2015. The recommended buffer is greater than the
most recent 3-year and 5-year average catch in the NB weir fishery.
This would be a more conservative buffer than the buffer used in the
most recent specifications that was based on the most recent 3-year
average from the NB weir fishery. The resulting stockwide ACL would be
104,800 mt. Given the variability of the NB weir catch and the
likelihood that weir catch may be less than 6,200 mt, the Council also
recommended a payback provision related to the management uncertainty
buffer. Specifically, the Council recommended subtracting 1,000 mt from
the buffer and adding it to the ACL if the weir fishery harvests less
than 4,000 mt by October 1. The Council recommended October 1 because
the fishery primarily occurs during the late summer and fall months
(June-October), and catch from the
[[Page 40255]]
fishery occurring after October averaged less than four percent of
total reported landings. If NB catch is less than 4,000 mt by October
1, the buffer would be reduced to 5,200 mt, the ACL would be increased
to 105,800 mt, and the Herring Management Area 1A sub-ACL would be
increased to 31,300 mt. The NB weir fishery payback provision was last
in effect during fishing years 2010-2012. Council recommendations for
all other herring specifications, including the sub-ACL's percentages
allocated to the herring management areas, were status quo.
BT is a processing allocation available to Canadian dealers. The
MSA provides for the issuance of permits to Canadian vessels
transporting U.S. harvested herring to Canada for sardine processing.
The Council recommended a 4,000 mt specification for BT. The amount
specified for BT has equaled 4,000 mt since 2000. As there continues to
be Canadian interest in transporting herring for sardine processing,
the Council recommended and NMFS is proposing that the specification
for BT would remain unchanged at 4,000 mt.
The Herring FMP specifies that DAH will be set less than or equal
to OY and be comprised of DAP and BT. Consistent with the proposed
specifications for OY and ACL, the Council recommended that DAH be
104,800 mt for 2016-2018. DAH should reflect the actual and potential
harvesting capacity of the U.S. herring fleet. Since 2001, total
landings in the U.S. fishery have decreased, but herring catch has
remained somewhat consistent from 2003-2014, averaging 91,925 mt. When
previously considering the DAH specification, the Council evaluated the
harvesting capacity of the directed herring fleet and determined that
the herring fleet is capable of fully utilizing the available yield
from the fishery. This determination is still true. Therefore, NMFS is
proposing that DAH for the 2016-2018 fishing years be set at 104,800
mt, equal to the OY and ACL.
DAP is the amount of U.S. harvest that is processed domestically,
as well as herring that is sold fresh (i.e., bait). DAP is calculated
by subtracting BT from DAH. Using this formula, the Council recommended
and NMFS is proposing that DAP be set at 100,800 mt for 2016-2018.
A portion of DAP may be specified for the at-sea processing of
herring in Federal waters. When determining the USAP specification, the
Council considers availability of shore-side processing, status of the
resource, and opportunities for vessels to participate in the herring
fishery. During the 2007-2009 fishing years, the Council maintained a
USAP specification of 20,000 mt (Herring Management Areas 2/3 only)
based on information received about a new at-sea processing vessel that
intended to utilize a substantial amount of the USAP specification. At
that time, landings from Areas 2 and 3--where USAP was authorized--were
considerably lower than allocated sub-ACLs for each of the past several
years. Moreover, the specification of 20,000 mt for USAP did not
restrict either the operation or the expansion of the shoreside
processing facilities during the 2007-2009 fishing years. However, this
operation never materialized, and none of the USAP specification was
used during the 2007-2009 fishing years. Consequently, the Council
recommended and NMFS set USAP at zero for the 2010-2015 fishing years.
The Council did not receive any information that would suggest changing
this specification for fishing years 2016-2018, thus the Council
recommended and NMFS is proposing that the specification of USAP would
remain unchanged at zero.
The herring ABC specification recommended by the SSC for 2016-2018
is not substantially different from the 2013-2015 ABC specification;
therefore, the Council, based on a recommendation from the Herring
Committee, has determined that there is no need to consider modifying
the distribution of the total ACL between the herring management areas.
Additionally, information for the recent herring operational assessment
report does not suggest there is a biological need to consider
modifying the distribution of stockwide ACL. This approach would
maintain status quo for the herring sub-ACLs for the 2016-2018
specifications.
During 2013-2015, the herring research set-aside (RSA) for each
management area was three percent of the area's sub-ACL. The research
set-aside was established in Amendment 1 (0-3 percent for any
management area). The herring RSA set-aside is removed from each sub-
ACL prior to allocating the remaining sub-ACL to the fishery. If a
proposal is approved, but a final award is not made by NMFS, or if NMFS
determines that the allocated RSA cannot be utilized by a project, NMFS
shall reallocate the unallocated or unused amount of the RSA to the
respective sub-ACL, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act
(APA) requirements, provided that the additional catch can be available
for harvest before the end of the fishing year for which that RSA is
specified. Any unallocated or unused RSA would be re-allocated to the
sub-ACL and made available to the fleet before the end of the fishing
year in accordance with the APA, provided that the RSA can be available
for harvest before the end of the fishing year for which the RSA is
specified. The Council did not receive any information that would
suggest changing this specification for fishing years 2016-2018, thus
the Council recommended and NMFS is proposing that the specification of
RSA would remain unchanged at 3 percent of each sub-ACL. On February
29, 2016, NMFS fully awarded the herring RSA allocations for fishing
years 2016-2018.
Herring regulations at Sec. 648.201(e) specify that up to 500 mt
of the Area 1A sub-ACL shall be allocated for the fixed gear fisheries
in Area 1A (weirs and stop seines) that occur west 67[deg]16.8' W.
Long. This set-aside shall be available for harvest by the fixed gear
fisheries within the specified area until November 1 of each year; any
unused portion of the allocation will be restored to the Area 1A sub-
ACL after November 1. During 2013-2015, the fixed gear fisheries set-
aside was specified at 295 mt. Because the proposed Area 1A sub-ACL for
2016-2018 is not substantially different from the Area 1A sub-ACL in
2015, the Council recommended that the fixed gear fisheries set-aside
remain the same. Therefore, the Council recommended, and NMFS is
proposing, that the fixed gear fisheries set-aside remain unchanged at
295 mt for 2016-2018.
Framework 3 to the Herring FMP established gear and area-specific
river herring/shad catch caps for the herring fishery in 2014. These
included catch caps for midwater trawl vessels fishing in the Gulf of
Maine, off Cape Cod, and in Southern New England, as well as for small-
mesh bottom trawl vessels fishing in Southern New England. Herring
regulations at Sec. 648.201(a)(4)(ii) state that once 95 percent of a
catch cap is reached, the herring possession limit for vessels using
that gear type and fishing in that area is reduced to 2,000 lb (907 kg)
for the remainder of the fishing year. To date, the value of the caps
has been specified using the median catch of river herring and shad
catch over the previous 5 years (2008-2012). The intent of the caps is
to provide a strong an incentive for the herring fleet to continue to
reduce river herring and shad catch, while allowing the fleet to fully
harvest the herring ACL.
The Council's recommendations for 2016-2018 river herring/shad
catch caps, as specified below in Table 2, are based on updated data
and a revised methodology. The Council's intent in specifying the value
of the catch caps using the weighted mean catch of river
[[Page 40256]]
herring and shad (versus median catch) and using a longer time series
(the most recent 7 years versus 5 years) is to best account for the
inter-annual variability in the level of sampling by both observers and
portside samplers as well as river herring and shad catch.
Additionally, the revised methodology includes previously omitted catch
data, including some shad landings and trips from catch cap areas where
trips did not meet the 6,600-lb (3-mt) herring landing threshold, and
updated extrapolation methodologies. The Council's recommended catch
caps appear to better reflect the herring fishery's recent catch of
river herring and shad. Additionally, they balance the opportunity to
achieve OY with providing an incentive to avoid river herring and shad
catch. For these reasons, the Council recommended and NMFS is proposing
the river herring/shad catch caps as shown in Table 2 for fishing years
2016-2018. Although increasing catch caps has the potential to increase
river herring and shad catch, the fishery still has strong incentive to
avoid reaching the caps. Specifically, the economic loss from limiting
herring harvest in an area before the sub-ACLs for an area have been
fully reached. Environmental advocates and participants in the tuna and
recreational fisheries strongly advised the Council against increasing
river herring/shad catch caps for the herring fishery. Instead they
recommended that status quo cap amounts should continue through 2018.
Subject to review and consideration of public comment on the
suitability of these methods for setting caps that provide a strong
incentive to avoid river herring and shad catch while allowing the
fleet to achieve OY, NMFS preliminarily supports the Council's river
herring/shad catch cap recommendations based on the use of the weighted
mean and additional data.
Table 2--Proposed River Herring/Shad Catch Caps
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Status quo and proposed River Herring/Shad catch caps (mt)
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Catch cap area 2013-2015 2016-2018
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Gulf Of Maine (GOM)............. Midwater Trawl- Midwater Trawl-
85.5. 76.7.
Cape Cod (CC)................... Midwater Trawl- Midwater Trawl-
13.3. 32.4.
Southern New England/Mid- Midwater Trawl- Midwater Trawl-
Atlantic (SNE/MA). 123.7. 129.6.
Bottom Trawl-88.9. Bottom Trawl-
122.3.
Georges Bank (GB)............... 0................. 0.
---------------------------------------
Total....................... Midwater Trawl- Midwater Trawl-
222.5. 238.7.
Bottom Trawl-88.9. Bottom Trawl-
122.3.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the MSA, the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has preliminarily determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Herring FMP, other provisions of the MSA, and other
applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
An initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) was prepared, as
required by section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The
IRFA describes the economic impact this proposed rule, if adopted,
would have on small entities. A summary of the analysis follows.
Description of the Reasons Why Action by the Agency Is Being Considered
and Statement of the Objectives of, and Legal Basis for, the Proposed
Rule
This action proposes management measures and 2016-2018
specifications for the herring fishery. A complete description of the
reasons why this action is being considered, and the objectives of and
legal basis for this action, are contained in the preamble to this
proposed rule and are not repeated here.
Description and Estimate of Number of Small Entities to Which This
Proposed Rule Would Apply
The proposed specifications would affect all permitted herring
vessels; therefore, the regulated entity is the business that owns at
least one herring permit. Based on 2014 permit data, the number of
potential fishing vessels in each permit category in the herring
fishery are as follows: 39 for Category A (limited access, all herring
management areas); 4 for Category B (limited access, Herring Management
Areas 2/3); 46 for Category C (limited access, all herring management
areas); 1,841 for Category D (open access, all herring management
areas); and 4 for Category E (open access, Herring Management Areas 2/
3). The RFA recognizes three kinds of small entities: Small businesses;
small organizations; and small governmental jurisdictions. A small
entity is classified as a finfish firm if more than half of the firm's
gross receipts are derived from finfish with receipts of up to $20.5
million of gross revenues annually. Individually-permitted vessels may
hold permits for several fisheries, harvesting species of fish that are
regulated by several different fishery management plans, even beyond
those affected by the proposed action. Furthermore, multiple permitted
vessels and/or permits may be owned by entities with various personal
and business affiliations. For the purposes of this analysis,
``ownership entities'' are defined as those entities with common
ownership as listed on the permit application. Only permits with
identical ownership 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.
From 2014 permit data, there were 1,206 firms that held at least
one herring permit; of those, 1,188 were classified as small
businesses. There were 103 firms, 96 classified as small business, that
held at least one limited access permit. There were 38 firms, including
34 small businesses, that held a limited access permit and were active
in the herring fishery (Table 3). Active large entities all held at
least one limited access herring permit. Table 4 describes gross
receipts from both all fishing and only the herring fishery for firms
that were active in the herring fishery. The small firms with limited
access permits had 60 percent higher gross receipts and 85 percent
higher revenue from herring
[[Page 40257]]
than the small firms without a limited access herring permit.
Table 3--Small and Large Firms in the Atlantic Herring Fishery
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All permits Limited access only
---------------------------------------------------------------
All Active All Active
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small........................................... 1,188 63 96 34
Large........................................... 18 4 7 4
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... 1,206 67 103 38
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 4--Average Revenues for Active Small and Large Entities in the Atlantic Herring Fishery
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All permits Limited access only
---------------------------------------------------------------
Herring Herring
All revenue revenue All revenue revenue
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small........................................... $986,399 $339,155 $1,588,059 $624,820
Large........................................... 15,913,950 1,426,152 15,913,948 1,426,152
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance
Requirements
This action contains no new collection-of-information, reporting,
or recordkeeping requirements.
Federal Rules Which May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the
Proposed Rule
This action does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any other
Federal rules.
Description of Significant Alternatives to the Proposed Action Which
Accomplish the Stated Objectives of Applicable Statues and Which
Minimize Any Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities
The primary differences among Alternative 1 (No Action),
Alternative 2 (non-preferred alternative), and Alternative 3 (preferred
alternative) for the 2016-2018 herring specifications are the
specifications for ABC and ACL. Alternative 1 considers an ABC (114,000
mt) that is 3,000 mt (2.6 percent) higher than the ABC considered under
Alternatives 2 and 3 (111,000 mt). Additionally, Alternatives 1 and 2
consider a higher ACL than Alternative 3. The ACL considered under
Alternative 3 (104,800 mt) is 3,000 mt (2.78 percent) and 3,200 mt
(2.96 percent) less, respectively, than the ACLs considered under
Alternative 1 (107,800 mt) and Alternative 2 (108,000 mt). The EA for
2016-2018 herring specifications concluded that all the alternatives
would have a low positive economic impact because there would be
mortality controls in the fishery and the overall status of herring is
not expected to be jeopardized. The EA also concluded that the
differences among alternatives were negligible because all alternatives
the Council considered for OFL/ABC specifications showed the herring
SSB and fishing mortality that would result from fully utilizing the
ABC fall within the same range based on the 80-percent confidence
intervals. Under Alternatives 1 and 2, small entities are expected to
experience slight increases in both gross revenues and herring revenues
over the preferred alternative due to higher ACLs considered under
Alternative 1 and Alternative 2. Under Alternatives 1 and 2, fishing
vessels may take slightly more fishing trips and incur slightly higher
variable operating costs over the preferred alternative. However,
Alternative 3 would maintain a constant ABC over the specifications
period, which would provide consistency for fishing industry
operations, stability for the industry, and a steady supply to the
market in addition to the stability provided by a three-year
specifications process. Fixed and quasi-fixed costs are expected to
remain the same. Because the ACLs are fishery wide and closures would
apply to the entire fishery, the effects of these closures should be
felt proportionally by the herring industry.
For specifying the 2016-2018 river herring/shad catch caps, the
Council chose the preferred alternative (Alternative 3, Option 2) of
using the weighted mean and 7-year extended time series shown below in
table 5, because it uses the best technical approach to determining
river herring/shad catch estimates in support of the goals and
objective of Framework 3.
Table 5--River Herring/Shad Catch Cap Alternatives
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alternative 2-5 years of data Alternative 3-7 years of data
Alternative 1-- (2008-2012) * (2008-2014) *
Catch caps no action ---------------------------------------------------------------
(2008-2012) Option 1 Option 2 avg Option 1 Option 2 **
(mt) median (mt) mean (mt) median (mt) avg mean (mt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Midwater Trawl Gulf of Maine.... 85.5 98.1 98.3 11.3 76.7
Midwater Trawl Cape Cod......... 13.3 8.9 27.6 29.5 32.4
Midwater Trawl Southern New 123.7 83.9 115.4 83.9 129.6
England........................
Bottom Trawl Southern New 88.9 19.6 28.2 24.0 122.3
England........................
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................... 311.4 210.5 269.5 148.7 361.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Data errors and extrapolation methodologies were corrected and revised.
** Preferred Alternative.
[[Page 40258]]
The primary goal is to provide strong incentive for the industry to
continue to avoid river herring/shad and reduce river herring/shad
catch to the extent possible. Based on the performance of the fishery
in the first year under the river herring/shad catch caps, most of the
observed river herring/shad catch has been in the Southern New England
by vessels using bottom trawl gear. Alternative 3, Option 2 (preferred)
would be the least constraining on the directed herring fishery
compared to Alternatives 1 and 2, particularly in the Southern New
England bottom trawl catch cap area.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Dated: June 15, 2016.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50
CFR part 648 as follows:
PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 648.201, paragraph (h) is added to read as follows:
Sec. 648.201 AMs and harvest controls.
* * * * *
(h) If NMFS determines that the New Brunswick weir fishery landed
less than 4,000 mt through October 1, NMFS will allocate an additional
1,000 mt to the stockwide ACL and Area 1A sub-ACL. NMFS will notify the
Council of this adjustment and publish the adjustment in the Federal
Register.
[FR Doc. 2016-14568 Filed 6-20-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P