[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 231 (Thursday, December 1, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 86687-86688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28854]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Doc. No. 160920861-6861-01]
RIN 0648-XE900


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Deep-Sea 
Red Crab Fishery; 2017-2019 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Specifications

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

ACTION: Proposed specifications; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are proposing specifications for the 2017Atlantic deep-sea 
red crab fishery, including an annual catch limit and total allowable 
landings limit. We are also proposing projected quotas for 2018-2019. 
This action is necessary to establish allowable red crab harvest levels 
that will prevent overfishing and allow harvesting of optimum yield. 
The proposed action is intended to establish the allowable 2017 harvest 
levels, consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery 
Management Plan.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 3, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2016-0132, 
by any one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2016-0132, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to John Bullard, Regional 
Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
    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 publically accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Copies of the specifications document, including the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act Analysis and other supporting documents for the 
specifications, are available from Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, 
Newburyport, MA 01950. The specifications document is also accessible 
via the Internet at: https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Murphy, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9122.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Atlantic deep-sea red crab fishery is managed by the New 
England Fishery Management Council. The Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) includes a specification process that 
requires the Council to recommend, on a triennial basis, an acceptable 
biological catch (ABC), an annual catch limit (ACL), and total 
allowable landings (TAL). The Council's Scientific and Statistical 
Committee (SSC) provides a recommendation to the Council for these 
catch limits. The Council makes a recommendation to NMFS that cannot 
exceed the recommendation of its SSC.
    The Council's recommendations must include supporting documentation 
concerning the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the 
recommendations. We are responsible for reviewing these recommendations 
to ensure that they achieve the FMP objectives and are consistent with 
all applicable laws, and may modify them if they do not. Following this 
review, we then publish proposed specifications in the Federal 
Register. After considering public comment, we will publish final 
specifications in the Federal Register.
    The FMP was implemented in 2002 and was originally managed under a 
target total allowable catch (TAC) and

[[Page 86688]]

days-at-sea (DAS) system that allocated DAS equally across the small 
fleet of limited access permitted vessels. Amendment 3 to the FMP 
removed the trip limit restriction, and replaced the target TAC and DAS 
allocation with a catch limit structure consistent with the ACL and 
accountability measure requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act. Under Amendment 3 (76 FR 60379; 
September 29, 2011), the 2011-2013 red crab specifications were set 
with an ABC equal to the long-term average landings of the directed red 
crab fishery (1,775 metric tons (mt)). These specifications were 
continued for fishing years 2014-2016 (79 FR 24356; April 30, 2014).

Proposed Specifications

    The biological and management reference points currently in the FMP 
are used to determine whether overfishing is occurring or if the stock 
is overfished. However, these reference points for red crab do not 
currently meet Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standard 1 criteria. As a 
result, there is insufficient information on the species to establish 
the maximum sustainable yield (MSY), optimum yield (OY), or overfishing 
limit (OFL). ABC is defined in terms of landings instead of total catch 
because there is insufficient information to estimate dead discards of 
red crab.
    The Council's recommendation for the 2017-2019 red crab 
specifications are based on the results of the most recent peer-
reviewed assessment of the red crab fishery carried out by the Data 
Poor Stocks Working Group in 2009 and the recommendations of the 
Council's SSC. The recommended specifications include a status quo TAL 
for all three years. While an OFL has not been determined for the 
stock, the Council and its SSC believe continuing the current TAL will 
not result in overfishing and adequately accounts for scientific 
uncertainty.
    Recent landings, landing per unit of effort, port samples, discard 
information, and economic data suggest there has been no change in the 
size of the red crab stock since Amendment 3 was implemented in 2011. 
On August 10, 2016, the SSC recommended the status quo ABC for fishing 
years 2017-2019 of 1,775 mt for the directed fishery. The Council 
approved the specifications on September 21, 2016, summarized in Table 
1. We are proposing the Council-recommended specifications for fishing 
year 2017. By providing projected quotas for 2018 and 2019, we hope to 
assist fishery participants in planning ahead.

     Table 1--Council-Recommended 2017-2019 Red Crab Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Million
                                                        mt         lb
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MSY...............................................      undetermined
OFL...............................................      undetermined
OY................................................      undetermined
                                                   ---------------------
ABC...............................................      1,775       3.91
ACL...............................................      1,775       3.91
TAL...............................................      1,775       3.91
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At the end of each fishing year, we evaluate catch information and 
determine if the quota has been exceeded. If a quota is exceeded, the 
regulations at 50 CFR 262(b) require a pound-for-pound reduction in a 
subsequent fishing year, through notification consistent with the 
Administrative Procedure Act. We would publish a notice in the Federal 
Register of any revisions to these proposed specifications if an 
overage occurs. We expect, based on the performance of the red crab 
fishery over time, that such adjustments would be unlikely. However, we 
will provide notice of the 2018 and 2019 quotas prior to the start of 
each respective fishing year.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS 
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab FMP, other provisions of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further 
consideration after public comment.
    These proposed specifications are exempt from review under 
Executive Order 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation, Department of Commerce, certified 
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration 
(SBA) that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant 
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Council 
prepared an analysis of the potential economic impacts of this action, 
which is included in the Council's document for this action (see 
ADDRESSES to obtain a copy of the supplemental information report) and 
supplemented by information contained in the preamble of this proposed 
rule. For RFA purposes only, NMFS has established a small business size 
standard for businesses, including their affiliates, whose primary 
industry in commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.0). 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. Using this definition, there are two 
distinct ownership entities and four fishing vessels based on available 
permit data that are directly regulated by this action. As there are 
only two business entities, the degree of ownership is not known. A 
review of revenue data from 2013-2015 indicates that the total value of 
landings of red crab and other species over the last three years 
averaged $3.69 million, so it is safe to assume that all business 
entities in the harvesting sector can be categorized as small 
businesses for purpose of the RFA.
    There is no reason to believe small entities would be substantially 
affected by the proposed action. The proposed action would affect all 
business entities and the four vessels that participate in the directed 
red crab fishery, but it is not expected to have any impact on the 
gross or average revenues for the fishery because it does not change 
the quota. In addition, this quota is substantially higher than 
landings in recent years (fishing years 2013 through 2015 landings 
averaged 2.692 million lb). As a result, the proposed action is not 
expected to constrain landings markets for red crab substantially and 
is not expected to have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.
    As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not 
required and none has been prepared.

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

    Dated: November 28, 2016.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-28854 Filed 11-30-16; 8:45 am]
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