[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 150 (Thursday, August 4, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 51426-51429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18521]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Chapters II, III, IV, V, and VI

RIN 0648-XE742


Plan for Periodic Review of Regulations

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

ACTION: Notice of regulatory review; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requires that NMFS 
periodically review existing regulations that have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, such as 
small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental 
jurisdictions. This plan describes how NMFS will perform this review 
and describes the regulations that are being proposed for review during 
the current review cycle.

DATES: Written comments must be received by NMFS by September 6, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2016-0099, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2016-0099, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Tara Scott, National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, 1315 
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (mark outside of envelope 
``Comments on 610 Review'').
     Fax: 301-713-1193; Attn: Tara Scott.
    Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above 
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and 
considered by NMFS. 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. 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.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will 
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tara Scott, (301) 427-8579.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The RFA, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., requires that Federal agencies take 
into account how their regulations affect ``small entities,'' including 
small businesses, small Governmental jurisdictions and small 
organizations. For regulations proposed after January 1, 1981, the 
agency must either prepare a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis or certify 
that the regulation, if promulgated, will not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Section 602 
of the RFA requires that NMFS issue an Agenda of Regulations 
identifying rules the Agency is developing that are likely to have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    Section 610 of the RFA requires Federal agencies to review existing 
regulations. It requires that NMFS publish a plan in the Federal 
Register explaining how it will review its existing regulations which 
have or will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number 
of small entities. Regulations that become effective after January 1, 
1981, must be reviewed within 10 years of the publication date of the 
final rule. Section 610(c) requires that NMFS annually publish a list 
of final rules it will review during the succeeding 12 months in the 
Federal Register. The list must describe, explain the need for, and 
provide the legal basis for the rule, as well as invite public comment 
on the rule.

Criteria for Review of Existing Regulations

    The purpose of the review is to determine whether existing rules 
should be left unchanged, or whether they should be revised or 
rescinded in order to minimize significant economic impacts on a 
substantial number of small entities, consistent with the

[[Page 51427]]

objectives of other applicable statutes. In deciding whether change is 
necessary, the RFA establishes five factors that NMFS must consider:
    (1) Whether the rule is still needed;
    (2) What type of complaints or comments were received concerning 
the rule from the public;
    (3) The complexity of the rule;
    (4) How much the rule overlaps, duplicates or conflicts with other 
Federal rules, and, to the extent feasible, with State and local 
governmental rules; and
    (5) How long it has been since the rule has been evaluated or how 
much the technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed 
in the area affected by the rule.

Plan for Periodic Review of Rules

    NMFS will ensure that all rules which have or will have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
are reviewed within 10 years of the year in which they were originally 
issued. By December 31, 2016, NMFS will review the following rules 
issued during 2009:
    1. Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 30B. RIN 0648-AV80 
(74 FR 17603; April 16, 2009). NMFS issued this final rule to implement 
Amendment 30B to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council. This final rule established annual catch limits 
(ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) for commercial and 
recreational gag, red grouper, and shallow-water grouper (SWG); 
established a commercial quota for gag; adjusted the commercial quotas 
for red grouper and SWG; removed the commercial closed season for SWG; 
established an incidental bycatch allowance trip limit for commercial 
gag and red grouper; reduced the commercial minimum size limit for red 
grouper; reduced the gag bag limit and the aggregate grouper bag limit; 
increased the red grouper bag limit; extended the closed season for 
recreational SWG; eliminated the end date for the Madison-Swanson and 
Steamboat Lumps marine reserves; and required that federally permitted 
reef fish vessels comply with the more restrictive of Federal or state 
reef fish regulations when fishing in state waters. In addition, 
Amendment 30B established management targets and thresholds for gag 
consistent with the requirements of the Sustainable Fisheries Act 
(SFA); set the gag and red grouper total allowable catch (TAC); and 
established interim allocations for the commercial and recreational gag 
and red grouper fisheries. This final rule was intended to end 
overfishing of gag and maintain catch levels of red grouper consistent 
with achieving optimum yield (OY).
    2. Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Revisions 
to the Pollock Trip Limit Regulations in the Gulf of Alaska. RIN 0648-
AW54 (74 FR 18156; April 21, 2009). NMFS issued this final rule to 
prohibit a catcher vessel from landing more than 300,000 lb (136 mt) of 
unprocessed pollock during a calendar day, and from landing a 
cumulative amount of unprocessed pollock from any Gulf of Alaska 
reporting area that exceeds 300,000 lb multiplied by the number of 
calendar days the pollock fishery is open to directed fishing in a 
season. This prevented catcher vessels from circumventing the intent of 
then-current trip limit regulations when making deliveries of pollock. 
Amending the then-current trip limit regulation to limit a vessel to 
300,000 lb of pollock caught in a day allowed for the continued 
dispersion of catches of pollock in a manner that is consistent with 
the intent of Steller sea lion protection measures in the Gulf of 
Alaska. This action was intended to promote the goals and objectives of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) and 
other applicable laws.
    3. Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Commercial Fishing 
Operations; Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan. RIN 0648-
AV65 (74 FR 23349; May 19, 2009). NMFS determined that the pelagic 
longline fishery had a high level of mortality and serious injury 
across a number of marine mammal stocks, and issued the final Atlantic 
Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan (PLTRP) and implemented 
regulations to reduce serious injuries and mortalities of pilot whales 
and Risso's dolphins in the Atlantic pelagic longline fishery. The 
PLTRP was based on consensus recommendations submitted by the Atlantic 
Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Team. The PLTRP was intended to meet 
the statutory mandates and requirements of the Marine Mammal Protection 
Act (MMPA) through both regulatory and non-regulatory measures, 
including a special research area, gear modifications, outreach 
material, observer coverage, and captains' communications.
    4. Endangered and Threatened Species; Designation of Critical 
Habitat for Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) Gulf of Maine Distinct 
Population Segment. RIN 0648-AW77 (74 FR 29299; June 19, 2009). NMFS 
issued a final rule designating critical habitat for the Atlantic 
salmon (Salmo salar) Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment (GOM 
DPS). NMFS previously determined that naturally spawned and several 
hatchery populations of Atlantic salmon which constitute the GOM DPS 
warranted listing as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, as amended (ESA). NMFS was required to designate critical habitat 
for the GOM DPS as a result of this listing. NMFS designated critical 
habitat for 45 specific areas occupied by Atlantic salmon at the time 
of listing that comprise approximately 19,571 km of perennial river, 
stream, and estuary habitat and 799 square km of lake habitat within 
the range of the GOM DPS and in which are found those physical and 
biological features essential to the conservation of the species. The 
entire occupied range of the GOM DPS in which critical habitat is 
designated is within the State of Maine. NMFS excluded approximately 
1,256 km of river, stream, and estuary habitat and 100 square km of 
lake habitat from critical habitat pursuant to section 4(b)(2) of the 
ESA.
    5. Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 16. 
RIN 0648-AW64 (74 FR 30964; June 29, 2009). NMFS issued the final rule 
to implement the approved measures of Amendment 16 to the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic 
Region (Amendment 16), as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council. This final rule established a seasonal 
closure of the recreational and commercial fisheries for gag and 
associated shallow-water grouper species; established a seasonal 
closure of the recreational fishery for vermilion snapper; reduced the 
aggregate bag limit for grouper and tilefish; reduced the bag limit for 
gag or black grouper combined; reduced the bag limit for vermilion 
snapper; prohibited captain and crew of a vessel operating as a charter 
vessel or headboat from retaining any fish under the aggregate bag 
limit for grouper and tilefish or the vermilion snapper bag limit; 
established semiannual quotas for the commercial vermilion snapper 
fishery; established a quota for the commercial gag fishery; 
established restrictions on the possession, sale, and purchase of gag 
and associated shallow-water grouper species after the gag commercial 
quota is reached; and required possession of a dehooking device on 
board a vessel when fishing

[[Page 51428]]

for South Atlantic snapper-grouper and use of such device as needed to 
release fish with a minimum of injury. In addition, Amendment 16, for 
both gag and vermilion snapper, revised the definitions of maximum 
sustainable yield and OY, specified TAC, and established interim 
allocations of TACs for the recreational and commercial sectors. 
Amendment 16 also specified a minimum stock size threshold for gag and, 
based on the new assessment, for vermilion snapper. The intended 
effects of this final rule were to end overfishing of gag and vermilion 
snapper, protect shallow-water grouper during their spawning season, 
and reduce bycatch mortality of snapper-grouper species in the South 
Atlantic, pursuant to the MSA.
    6. International Fisheries; Western and Central Pacific Fisheries 
for Highly Migratory Species; Fishing Restrictions and Observer 
Requirements in Purse Seine Fisheries for 2009-2011 and Turtle 
Mitigation Requirements in Purse Seine Fisheries. RIN 0648-AX60. (74 FR 
38544; August 4, 2009). NMFS issued regulations under authority of the 
Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act 
(WCPFC Implementation Act) to implement certain decisions of the 
Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish 
Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC). Those 
decisions required that the members of the WCPFC, including the United 
States, take certain measures with respect to their purse seine 
fisheries in the area of competence of the WCPFC, which included most 
of the western and central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). The regulations 
included limits on the number of days that may be fished, periods 
during which fishing may not be done on schools in association with 
fish aggregating devices (FADs), areas of high seas closed to fishing, 
requirements to retain tuna on board up to the first point of landing 
or transshipment, requirements to carry observers, and requirements to 
handle sea turtles in a specified manner. This action was necessary for 
the United States to satisfy its international obligations under the 
Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish 
Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, to which it is a 
Contracting Party.
    7. Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Bering Sea 
and Aleutian Islands (Amendment 92) and Gulf of Alaska License 
(Amendment 82) Limitation Program. RIN 0648-AX14 (74 FR 41080; August 
14, 2009). NMFS issued regulations to implement Amendment 92 to the 
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian 
Islands Management Area and Amendment 82 to the Fishery Management Plan 
for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. This action removed trawl gear 
endorsements on licenses issued under the license limitation program in 
specific management areas if those licenses had not been used on 
vessels that met minimum recent landing requirements using trawl gear. 
This action provided exemptions to this requirement for licenses that 
were used in trawl fisheries subject to certain limited access 
privilege programs. This action issued new area endorsements for trawl 
catcher vessel licenses in the Aleutian Islands if minimum recent 
landing requirements in the Aleutian Islands were met. This action was 
intended to promote the goals and objectives of the MSA, the Fishery 
Management Plans, and other applicable law.
    8. Endangered and Threatened Species; Critical Habitat for the 
Endangered Distinct Population Segment of Smalltooth Sawfish. RIN 0648-
AV74 (74 FR 45353; September 2, 2009). NMFS, issued a final rule to 
designate critical habitat for the U.S. distinct population segment 
(DPS) of smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata), which was listed as 
endangered on April 1, 2003, under the ESA. The critical habitat 
consists of two units: The Charlotte Harbor Estuary Unit, which 
comprises approximately 221,459 acres of coastal habitat; and the Ten 
Thousand Islands/Everglades Unit (TTI/E), which comprises approximately 
619,013 acres of coastal habitat. The two units are located along the 
southwestern coast of Florida between Charlotte Harbor and Florida Bay. 
NMFS issued this rule to satisfy requirements under the Endangered 
Species Act.
    9. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Final Rulemaking 
to Designate Critical Habitat for the Threatened Southern Distinct 
Population Segment of North American Green Sturgeon. RIN 0648-AX04 (74 
FR 52299; October 9, 2009). NMFS designated critical habitat for the 
threatened Southern distinct population segment of North American green 
sturgeon (Southern DPS of green sturgeon) pursuant to section 4 of the 
ESA. Specific areas proposed for designation included: Coastal U.S. 
marine waters within 60 fathoms (fm) depth from Monterey Bay, CA 
(including Monterey Bay), north to Cape Flattery, WA, including the 
Strait of Juan de Fuca, WA, to its United States boundary; the 
Sacramento River, lower Feather River, and lower Yuba River in 
California; the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun, San Pablo, and 
San Francisco bays in California; the lower Columbia River estuary; and 
certain coastal bays and estuaries in California (Humboldt Bay), Oregon 
(Coos Bay, Winchester Bay, Yaquina Bay, and Nehalem Bay), and 
Washington (Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor). This rule designated 
approximately 515 kilometers (km) (320 miles (mi)) of freshwater river 
habitat, 2,323 km\2\ (897 mi\2\) of estuarine habitat, 29,581 km\2\ 
(11,421 mi\2\) of marine habitat, 784 km (487 mi) of habitat in the 
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and 350 km\2\ (135 mi\2\) of habitat 
within the Yolo and Sutter bypasses (Sacramento River, CA) as critical 
habitat for the Southern DPS of green sturgeon. This rule excluded the 
following areas from designation because the economic benefits of 
exclusion outweigh the benefits of inclusion, and exclusion would not 
result in the extinction of the species: Coastal U.S. marine waters 
within 60 fm depth from the California/Mexico border north to Monterey 
Bay, CA, and from the Alaska/Canada border northwest to the Bering 
Strait; the lower Columbia River from river kilometer 74 to the 
Bonneville Dam; and certain coastal bays and estuaries in California 
(Elkhorn Slough, Tomales Bay, Noyo Harbor, and the estuaries to the 
head of the tide in the Eel and Klamath/Trinity rivers), Oregon 
(Tillamook Bay and the estuaries to the head of the tide in the Rogue, 
Siuslaw, and Alsea rivers), and Washington (Puget Sound). Particular 
areas were also excluded based on impacts on national security and 
impacts on Indian lands. The areas excluded from the designation 
comprised approximately 0.2 km (0.1 mi) of freshwater habitat, 2,945 
km\2\ (1,137 mi\2\) of estuarine habitat and 1,034,935 km\2\ (399,590 
mi\2\) of marine habitat. This final rule responded to and incorporated 
public comments received on the proposed rule and supporting documents, 
as well as peer reviewer comments received on the draft biological 
report and draft ESA section 4(b)(2) report.
    10. Fisheries of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone off 
Alaska; Fisheries of the Arctic Management Area; Bering Sea Subarea. 
RIN 0648-AX71 (74 FR 56734; November 3, 2009). NMFS issued a final rule 
that implements the Fishery Management Plan for Fish Resources of the 
Arctic Management Area (Arctic FMP) and Amendment 29 to the Fishery 
Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs 
(Crab FMP). The Arctic FMP and

[[Page 51429]]

Amendment 29 to the Crab FMP established sustainable management of 
commercial fishing in the Arctic Management Area and moved the northern 
boundary of the Crab FMP out of the Arctic Management Area south to 
Bering Strait. This action was necessary to establish a management 
framework for commercial fishing and to provide consistent management 
of fish resources in the Arctic Management Area before the potential 
onset of unregulated commercial fishing in the area. This action was 
intended to promote the goals and objectives of the MSA, the Arctic and 
Crab FMPs, and other applicable laws.
    11. Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 
15B; Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico. RIN 0648-AW12 (74 FR 
58902; November 16, 2009). NMFS issued this final rule to implement 
Amendment 15B to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper 
Fishery of the South Atlantic Region, as prepared and submitted by the 
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. This final rule, for South 
Atlantic snapper-grouper, required a private recreational vessel that 
fishes in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), if selected by NMFS, to 
maintain and submit fishing records; required a vessel that fishes in 
the EEZ, if selected by NMFS, to carry an observer and install an 
electronic logbook and/or video monitoring equipment provided by NMFS; 
prohibited the sale of snapper-grouper harvested or possessed in the 
EEZ under the bag limits and prohibited the sale of snapper-grouper 
harvested or possessed under the bag limits by vessels with a Federal 
charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper 
regardless of where the snapper-grouper were harvested; required an 
owner and operator of a vessel for which a commercial or charter 
vessel/headboat permit has been issued and that has on board any hook-
and-line gear to comply with sea turtle and smalltooth sawfish release 
protocols, possess on board specific gear to ensure proper release of 
such species, and comply with guidelines for proper care and release of 
such species that are incidentally caught; and expanded the allowable 
transfer of a commercial vessel permit under the limited access program 
and extended the allowable period for renewal of such a permit. 
Amendment 15B also revised the stock status determination criteria for 
golden tilefish and specified commercial/recreational allocations for 
snowy grouper and red porgy. In addition, NMFS removed language 
specifying commercial quotas for snowy grouper and red porgy that were 
no longer in effect and revised sea turtle bycatch mitigation 
requirements applicable to the Gulf reef fish fishery to add two 
devices that were inadvertently omitted from a prior rule. The intended 
effects of this final rule were to provide additional information for, 
and otherwise improve the effective management of, the South Atlantic 
snapper-grouper fishery; minimize the impacts on incidentally caught 
threatened and endangered sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish; and 
remove outdated language, all pursuant to the MSA.
    12. International Fisheries Regulations; Fisheries in the Western 
Pacific; Pelagic Fisheries; Hawaii-Based Shallow-Set Longline Fishery. 
RIN 0648-AW49 (74 FR 65460; December 10, 2009). This final rule 
implemented the management provisions in Amendment 18 to the Pelagics 
Fishery Management Plan for the pelagic fisheries in the U.S. western 
Pacific, and made several housekeeping changes to the pelagic fishing 
regulations that were not related to Amendment 18. This final rule 
removed the annual limit on the number of fishing gear deployments 
(sets) for the Hawaii-based pelagic shallow-set longline fishery, and 
increased the annual number of allowable incidental interactions that 
occur between the fishery and loggerhead sea turtles. The final rule 
optimized yield from the fishery without jeopardizing the continued 
existence of sea turtles and other protected resources. This final rule 
also made several administrative clarifications to the regulations. The 
intent of this final rule was to achieve optimal yield from the 
fishery, pursuant to the MSA, without jeopardizing the continued 
existence of sea turtles and other protected resources.

    Dated: August 1, 2016.
Emily H. Menashes,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-18521 Filed 8-3-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P