[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 198 (Thursday, October 13, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70658-70660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24746]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 151006928-6899-01]
RIN 0648-BF43


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Jonah Crab Fishery; 
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Intent To Prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement; Scoping Process

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: Based on Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 
recommendations, we are issuing this advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking announcing our intent to develop regulations in support of 
an Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Jonah crab. The advance 
notice of proposed rulemaking is necessary to provide the public with 
background information and to alert interested parties of future 
regulations governing Jonah crab fishing in Federal waters of the 
Exclusive Economic Zone. We are also announcing our intent to prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act. This notice is to alert the interested public 
of the scoping process and potential development of a draft 
Environmental Impact Statement, and to outline opportunity for public 
participation in that process.

DATES: Written and electronic comments must be received on or before 
November 14, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the Jonah Crab Plan, identified 
by NOAA-NMFS-2015-0127, by either 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-2015-0127, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to John K. Bullard, Regional 
Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the 
envelope: ``Comments on Jonah Crab Plan.''
    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).
    Requests for copies of the Commission's Jonah Crab Plan should be 
directed to Robert Beal, Executive Director, Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 
22201. It is also available electronically at: http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/55e9daffJonahCrabInterstateFMP_Aug2015.pdf.
    Requests for copies of the scoping document and other information 
should be directed to Allison Murphy, Fishery Policy Analyst, NOAA 
Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great 
Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, telephone (978) 281-9122. The 
scoping document will be available electronically at: http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Murphy, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, NMFS, [email protected], telephone (978) 281-9122.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Jonah crab (Cancer borealis), also known as rock crab, is not 
currently managed under Federal regulations. The Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission's Lobster Board, working through its public 
meeting process, approved an Interstate Fishery Management Plan for 
Jonah Crab in August 2015. The goal of the plan is to promote 
conservation, reduce the possibility of recruitment failure, and allow 
the industry to continue fishing

[[Page 70659]]

the resource at present levels. The Commission's Jonah Crab Plan 
includes commercial and recreational measures, and reporting 
requirements, summarized in Table 1, below.

                         Table 1--Commission-Recommended Jonah Crab Management Measures
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                                                                                    Description
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Commercial Management Measure
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Permits..........................................................  Limits participation in the directed trap
                                                                    fishery to only those vessels and permit
                                                                    holders that already hold a lobster permit,
                                                                    or can prove prior participation in the crab
                                                                    fishery before the June 2, 2015, control
                                                                    date.
Minimum Size.....................................................  4\3/4\ inches (12.065 cm).
Landing Disposition..............................................  Whole crab fishery, with an exception for New
                                                                    Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia
                                                                    harvesters who can demonstrate history in
                                                                    the claw-only fishery.*
Broodstock Protection............................................  Prohibition on the retention of egg-bearing
                                                                    females.
Incidental Catch Limit...........................................  1,000 crabs/trip for non-lobster trap and non-
                                                                    trap gear.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Recreational Management Measures
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Possession Limit.................................................  50 whole crabs/person per day.
Broodstock Protection............................................  Prohibition on the retention of egg-bearing
                                                                    females.
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                                             Reporting Requirements
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Dealer Reporting.................................................  100-percent dealer reporting.
Harvester Reporting..............................................  100-percent harvester reporting, but allows
                                                                    jurisdictions that currently require less
                                                                    than 100 percent of lobster harvesters to
                                                                    report are required to maintain its current
                                                                    reporting programs and extend them to Jonah
                                                                    crab.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The Commission is considering a coastwide claw-only fishery as part of Addendum II.

    Anticipating that the approved Jonah Crab Plan would include 
permitting requirements, the Commission requested that we issue a 
control date for the Jonah crab fishery. We published a notice (80 FR 
31347; June 2, 2015) establishing June 2, 2015, as the control date. 
The notice advised Jonah crab harvesters to locate and preserve 
records. It also notified harvesters that landings after the control 
date may not be treated the same as landings that occurred prior to the 
control date.
    The Board recommended allowing any lobster permit holder to 
continue to fish for and retain Jonah crabs. The Board also recommended 
allowing access for historic crab-only harvesters to continue to fish 
for and retain Jonah crabs. The Board has not yet developed 
qualification criteria for historic crab-only harvesters in the Jonah 
Crab Plan. While the Board's Plan Development Team has investigated 
Jonah crab-only landings, it has not been able to investigate Jonah 
crab-only harvesters with substantial landings. We will work with the 
Commission and state partners through the development of these 
recommendations.
    In the Jonah Crab FMP, the Lobster Board recommended an incidental 
catch limit of 200 crabs/day, up to 500 crabs/trip. After the FMP was 
approved, the Board became aware that the approved limit might restrict 
some historical fishing practices, which was not intended. In November 
2015, the Board initiated Addendum I to reconsider the incidental catch 
limit. At its May 2016 meeting, the Lobster Board finalized Addendum I 
by selecting an incidental catch limit of 1,000 crabs for a trip of any 
length for both non-trap and non-lobster trap gear.
    In May 2016, the Lobster Board initiated Addendum II to further 
develop claw-only fishery requirements. Although draft Addendum II has 
not yet been released for public comment, we expect it to contain 
alternatives that would allow a coastwide claw-only fishery, as well as 
an alternative that would restrict Jonah crab landings to only whole 
crabs (i.e., prohibit landing claws). We expect the draft addendum to 
be discussed in October 2016, and revised claw-only fishery 
requirements to be selected by the Lobster Board in February 2017, 
following public comment.
    States were required to implement Jonah Crab Plan requirements by 
June 1, 2016. In September, 2015, the Commission formally requested 
that we issue complementary regulations in Federal waters. We are 
reviewing the Commission's Jonah Crab Plan, available data, and are 
considering implementing complementary measures in Federal waters. We 
are seeking public comment on the Commission's recommended measures, as 
well as soliciting input on any additional alternatives that we should 
consider for managing the Federal Jonah crab fishery.

Public Comment

    We are soliciting written comments to help us determine the scope 
of issues to be addressed by potential Federal regulations in support 
of the Jonah Crab Plan, as well as to identify significant issues for 
inclusion in the Environmental Impact Statement. We are particularly 
interested in comment on the Commission's recommended measures outlined 
in Table 1, including potential criterial for a possible limited access 
directed fishery. We are also interested in comment on the nature and 
extent of a possible claw-only fishery which may be revised in Addendum 
II. Scoping consists of identifying the range of actions, alternatives, 
and impacts to be considered. After the scoping process is completed, 
we will begin development of Federal regulations and may prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement to analyze the impacts of the range of 
alternatives under consideration. Impacts may be direct, indirect, or 
cumulative.
    In addition to having the opportunity to comment on this notice, 
the public will have the opportunity to comment on the measures and 
alternatives being considered through the public comment period and a 
public meeting, consistent with National Environmental Policy Act and 
the Administrative Procedure Act.

[[Page 70660]]

We have scheduled a scoping webinar for October 20, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. 
during which we will take and discuss scoping comments on future Jonah 
crab regulations. Please use the link and call in information provided 
below:
     Webinar: https://noaaevents.webex.com/noaaevents/onstage/g.php?MTID=ed272b501b73da9f75dff6eb36ca49229,
     Webinar access code: Meeting123,
     Telephone Number: 877-661-2084,
     Participant Code: 613780.

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

    Dated: October 6, 2016.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-24746 Filed 10-12-16; 8:45 am]
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