[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 200 (Monday, October 17, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71471-71474]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24998]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 160510416-6416-01]
RIN 0648-BG06


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Yellowtail Snapper Management 
Measures

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 to implement management measures described in a 
framework action to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP), as prepared by the Gulf of 
Mexico (Gulf) Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council). If 
implemented, this proposed rule would revise the yellowtail snapper 
commercial and recreational fishing year and remove the requirement to 
use circle hooks for the commercial harvest of yellowtail snapper in 
the Gulf exclusive economic zone (EEZ) south of Cape Sable, Florida. 
The purpose of this

[[Page 71472]]

proposed rule is to increase the operational efficiency of the 
yellowtail snapper component of the commercial reef fish fishery, 
achieve optimum yield, and decrease the regulatory burden of compliance 
with differing regulations established by separate regulatory agencies 
across the adjacent Gulf and South Atlantic jurisdictions.

DATES: Written comments must be received by November 16, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule, identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2016-0058'' by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic comments via 
the Federal Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter your 
attached comments.
     Mail: Submit all written comments to Cynthia Meyer, NMFS 
Southeast Regional Office (SERO), 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 required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
    Electronic copies of the framework action, which includes an 
environmental assessment, Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis, 
and a regulatory impact review, may be obtained from 
www.regulations.gov or the SERO Web site at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Meyer, NMFS SERO, telephone: 
727-824-5305, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf reef fish fishery includes 
yellowtail snapper and is managed under the FMP. The FMP was prepared 
by the Gulf Council and is implemented by NMFS through regulations at 
50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

Background

    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires NMFS and regional fishery 
management councils to prevent overfishing and achieve on a continuing 
basis, the optimum yield from federally managed fish stocks. These 
mandates are intended to ensure that fishery resources are managed for 
the greatest overall benefit to the nation, particularly with respect 
to providing food production and recreational opportunities, while also 
protecting marine ecosystems. To further attain this goal, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act requires fishery managers to minimize bycatch and 
bycatch mortality to the extent practicable.
    In the southeastern United States, yellowtail snapper are harvested 
by both commercial and recreational fishermen, with landings coming 
almost exclusively from waters adjacent to Florida. Yellowtail snapper 
are managed separately in the Gulf and South Atlantic but are a single 
genetic stock. The 2012 Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR 
27) combined the two areas for stock assessment purposes and indicated 
that yellowtail snapper in the Gulf and South Atlantic were not 
overfished and not experiencing overfishing as of 2010, the last year 
of data used in SEDAR 27. Yellowtail snapper has one overfishing limit, 
and its acceptable biological catch (ABC) is further subdivided into 
two regional ABCs for management purposes. The South Atlantic is 
allocated 75 percent of the stock yellowtail snapper ABC, and the Gulf 
is allocated 25 percent of the stock ABC. The annual catch limits 
(ACLs) are equal to the ABCs. The ACL for South Atlantic yellowtail 
snapper is further divided between the commercial and recreational 
sectors, but the ACL for yellowtail snapper in the Gulf is not divided 
between sectors. On average, about 97 percent of yellowtail snapper 
landings in the Gulf occur from commercial harvest.

Management Measures Contained in This Proposed Rule

    This proposed rule would revise the fishing year for Gulf 
yellowtail snapper and the gear requirements for the yellowtail snapper 
commercial sector.

Yellowtail Snapper Fishing Year

    Previously, the fishing year for both the commercial and 
recreational sectors for yellowtail snapper in the Gulf and the South 
Atlantic was January 1 through December 31. The South Atlantic Council 
recently changed the yellowtail snapper fishing year in the South 
Atlantic to begin on August 1, and end on July 31, for both the 
commercial and recreational sectors (81 FR 45245, July 13, 2016). The 
South Atlantic Council made this change to align any ACL closure that 
may be required more closely with the yellowtail snapper peak spawning 
period. This proposed rule would similarly revise the fishing year for 
Gulf yellowtail snapper for both the commercial and recreational 
sectors to be August 1 through July 31 each year. Although the harvest 
of yellowtail snapper in the Gulf has not exceeded the stock ACL since 
ACLs were implemented in 2011 (76 FR 82044, December 29, 2011), this 
proposed change would similarly more closely align any required ACL 
closure in the Gulf with the peak spawning season. In addition, having 
the same fishing year for both the Gulf and South Atlantic would 
benefit some commercial fishermen that harvest yellowtail snapper in 
both regions by decreasing the compliance burden of different 
regulations for the same species in adjacent management areas.

Yellowtail Snapper Gear Requirements

    In the Gulf, a person harvesting reef fish, including yellowtail 
snapper, is required to use non-stainless steel circle hooks when 
fishing with natural bait (50 CFR 622.30(a)). This measure was put in 
place to reduce the post-release mortality of Gulf reef fish. This 
proposed rule would revise this requirement to also allow the use of 
other non-stainless steel hook types, such as J-hooks, when commercial 
fishing with natural bait for yellowtail snapper in the area south of a 
line extending due west from 25[deg]09' N. lat. off the west coast of 
Monroe County, Florida, to the Gulf and South Atlantic Councils' 
boundary. The northern boundary of the area for this proposed gear 
exemption coincides with a management boundary already used by the 
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
    Landings of yellowtail snapper in the Gulf come almost exclusively 
from waters adjacent to Florida, with over 97 percent of these 
landings, on average, by the commercial sector. The Gulf Council 
determined that allowing other hook types for the commercial harvest of 
yellowtail snapper in Federal waters off south Florida was appropriate 
because of the specific fishing method used only by commercial 
fishermen that allow for quicker de-hooking when the fish are caught 
using J-hooks. These fishermen attract the fish to the surface using 
chum and then use small hooks with natural bait and cane poles (rods 
with approximately 15 ft (4.6 m) of

[[Page 71473]]

monofilament fishing line tied to the tip of the rod) or spinning reels 
to catch yellowtail snapper. The landed fish are then quickly de-hooked 
by pulling the fishing line across a horizontal bar, on which the hook 
catches, dropping the fish into a hold with ice. Allowing the use of J-
hooks is expected to result in less handling of undersized fish that 
need to be discarded, thereby increasing efficiency and potentially 
decreasing post-release mortality. This change will also make the gear 
requirements for the commercial harvest of yellowtail snapper 
consistent between the Gulf and South Atlantic. In the South Atlantic, 
snapper-grouper Federal permit holders are not required to use circle 
hooks when fishing for any species within the snapper-grouper complex, 
south of 28[deg]00' N. lat.

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 framework amendment, the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, and other applicable laws, subject to further consideration after 
public comment.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Chief Counsel for 
Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel 
for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) that this 
proposed rule, if implemented, would not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. The factual basis for 
this determination is as follows:
    The purposes of this proposed rule are to eliminate certain 
inconsistencies between the regulations established by the Gulf and 
South Atlantic Councils for the harvest of yellowtail snapper in Gulf 
waters, to increase the operational efficiency of the yellowtail 
snapper component of the commercial reef fish fishery, achieve optimum 
yield, and decrease the regulatory burden of compliance with differing 
regulations established by separate regulatory agencies across the 
adjacent Gulf and South Atlantic jurisdictions. The Magnuson-Stevens 
Act provides the statutory basis for this proposed rule.
    This proposed rule, if implemented, would remove the requirement to 
use circle hooks when commercial fishing with natural bait for 
yellowtail snapper and allow the use of other non-stainless steel hook 
types with natural baits in an area south of 25[deg]09' N. lat. off the 
west coast of Monroe County, Florida (Cape Sable) to the Gulf and South 
Atlantic Councils' jurisdictional boundary. In addition, this proposed 
rule would change the yellowtail snapper fishing year for the 
commercial and recreational sectors from January 1 through December 31 
to August 1 through July 31.
    As a result, this proposed rule would be expected to directly 
affect federally permitted commercial vessels that harvest yellowtail 
snapper in the Gulf. Over the period 2010-2014, based on Federal 
logbook data that include harvests from state waters, an average of 132 
vessels per year recorded commercial yellowtail snapper harvests 
anywhere in the Gulf and an average of 70 vessels per year recorded 
commercial yellowtail snapper harvests in the Gulf waters off Monroe 
County (state and Federal waters). The maximum number of vessels with 
recorded commercial yellowtail snapper harvests during this period 
within both groups of vessels was 163 (all vessels Gulf-wide; 2014) and 
73 (Monroe County area; 2010 and 2014), respectively. The proposed 
removal of the circle hook requirement would only be expected to 
directly affect federally permitted vessels that fish in the Monroe 
County area, whereas the proposed change in the fishing year could 
affect all commercial vessels that harvest yellowtail snapper in the 
Gulf. As a result, this proposed rule would be expected to apply to 70-
163 commercial fishing vessels. The average annual gross revenue (2014 
dollars) from all species harvested on all trips by the vessels 
identified with recorded yellowtail snapper harvests in logbook data 
over the period 2010-2014 within both groups of vessels was 
approximately $107,000 (all vessels Gulf-wide) and approximately 
$41,000 (Monroe County area).
    No small entities associated with the recreational sector would be 
expected to be directly affected by the proposed change to the 
yellowtail snapper fishing year. Only recreational anglers are allowed 
to recreationally harvest yellowtail snapper in Gulf Federal waters and 
may be directly affected in changes to the fishing year. However, 
recreational anglers are not small entities under the RFA. Although 
for-hire businesses (charter vessels and headboats) operate in the 
recreational sector, these businesses only sell fishing services to 
recreational anglers and do not have harvest rights to the yellowtail 
snapper. For-hire vessels provide a platform for the opportunity to 
fish and not a guarantee to catch or harvest any species, though 
expectations of successful fishing, however defined, likely factor into 
the decision by anglers to purchase these services. Because the 
proposed change in the yellowtail snapper fishing year would not 
directly alter the basic service sold by for-hire vessels, this 
proposed action would not directly apply to or regulate their 
operations. Any change in vessel business would be a result of changes 
in angler demand for these fishing services that occurs as a result of 
the behavioral decision by anglers, i.e., to fish or not, as influenced 
by the fishing year. Therefore, any effects on the associated for-hire 
vessels would be one step removed from the anglers' decision and an 
indirect effect of the proposed action. Because the effects on for-hire 
vessels would be indirect, they fall outside the scope of the RFA.
    NMFS has not identified any other small entities that would be 
expected to be directly affected by this proposed rule.
    For RFA purposes only, NMFS has established a small business size 
standard for businesses, including their affiliates, whose primary 
industry is commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business primarily 
engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS code 11411) is classified as a 
small business if it is independently owned and operated, is not 
dominant in its field of operation (including its affiliates), and has 
combined annual receipts not in excess of $11 million for all its 
affiliated operations worldwide. All commercial fishing vessels 
expected to be directly affected by this proposed rule are believed to 
be small business entities.
    The proposed removal of the requirement to use circle hooks when 
commercial fishing with natural bait for yellowtail snapper south of 
25[deg]09' N. lat. off the west coast of Monroe County, Florida (Cape 
Sable) to the Gulf and South Atlantic Councils' jurisdictional boundary 
would be expected to afford more flexibility and improve the 
operational efficiency of commercial fishing vessels that harvest 
yellowtail snapper in this area. For example, J-hooks are more 
effective in the commercial harvest of yellowtail snapper, allow for 
quicker de-hooking and less handling of undersized fish that need to be 
discarded, and result in decreased post-release mortality. Using J-
hooks with natural bait is also an allowable gear for the commercial 
harvest of yellowtail snapper in Federal waters off south Florida under 
the management jurisdiction of the South Atlantic Council. In south 
Florida, many fishermen fish in the jurisdiction of both Councils and 
allowing the use of a common hook type for yellowtail snapper would be 
expected to increase their operational efficiency and reduce gear 
expenses. Removal of the circle

[[Page 71474]]

hook requirement would also be expected to allow fishermen to choose 
the hook that is more effective for their fishing circumstances, which 
would be expected to increase their harvest of yellowtail snapper, as 
well as associated revenue and profit. Thus, this proposed action would 
be expected to result in increased economic benefits to any affected 
small entities.
    Because some commercial fishing vessels often operate in both state 
and Federal waters, as well as in both the Gulf and South Atlantic, the 
proposed change in the fishing year would be expected to result in 
positive economic benefits associated with improved consistency of the 
yellowtail snapper fishing seasons in all of these areas. Consistent 
seasons, and other regulations, allow fishermen greater flexibility in 
choosing where and when to fish in general and for specific species. 
When fishing for yellowtail snapper, consistent seasons would allow 
fishermen to operate in areas that are most productive and without 
concern about which regulatory jurisdiction applies. Overall, the 
increased operational flexibility would be expected to result in 
increased profit to the directly affected small businesses. These 
economic benefits may be small, however, and limited to those benefits 
associated with operational flexibility.
    Based on the discussion above, NMFS determines that this proposed 
rule, if implemented, would result in an increase in revenue and 
associated profits and would not have a significant adverse economic 
effect on a substantial number of small entities. As a result, an 
initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, Yellowtail 
snapper.

    Dated: October 11, 2016.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH 
ATLANTIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec.  622.7, add paragraph (g) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.7  Fishing years.

* * * * *
    (g) Gulf of Mexico yellowtail snapper--August 1 through July 31.
0
3. In Sec.  622.30, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.30  Required fishing gear.

* * * * *
    (a) Non-stainless steel circle hooks. Non-stainless steel circle 
hooks are required when fishing with natural baits, except that other 
non-stainless steel hook types may be used when commercial fishing for 
yellowtail snapper with natural baits in an area south of a line 
extending due west from 25[deg]09' N. lat. off the west coast of Monroe 
County, Florida, to the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic intercouncil 
boundary, specified in Sec.  600.105(c).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2016-24998 Filed 10-14-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P