[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 1, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12187-12189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04003]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 161222999-7145-01]
RIN 0648-BG56


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic 
Region; Framework Amendment 5

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 
Framework Amendment 5 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal 
Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region 
(FMP) as prepared and submitted jointly by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council and South Atlantic Fishery Management Council 
(Councils). If implemented, this proposed rule would remove the 
restriction on fishing for, or retaining the recreational bag and 
possession limits of, king and Spanish

[[Page 12188]]

mackerel on a vessel with a Federal commercial permit for king or 
Spanish mackerel when the vessel is on a private recreational fishing 
trip and commercial harvest of king or Spanish mackerel in a zone or 
region is closed. The purpose of this proposed rule is to remove 
Federal permit restrictions unique to commercially permitted king and 
Spanish mackerel vessels and to standardize vessel permit restrictions 
applicable after a commercial quota closure of king or Spanish 
mackerel.

DATES: Written comments must be received by March 31, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule, identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2016-0162'' 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 Rich Malinowski, 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), 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 Amendment 5, 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: Rich Malinowski, Southeast Regional 
Office, NMFS, telephone: 727-824-5305, or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The coastal migratory pelagic fishery of the 
Gulf and Atlantic regions is managed under the FMP and includes the 
management of the Gulf and Atlantic migratory groups of king mackerel, 
Spanish mackerel, and cobia. The FMP was prepared jointly by the 
Councils 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) (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).

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. Framework Amendment 5 and 
this proposed rule apply to the harvest of king and Spanish mackerel in 
the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and 
Atlantic regions.
    Current Federal regulations state that a person aboard a vessel 
with a Federal commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel may not 
fish for or retain king or Spanish mackerel in or from Federal waters 
under the recreational bag or possession limit if the commercial 
harvest for the species is closed (i.e., the species, migratory group, 
zone, subzone, or gear is closed). This provision prevents fishers on a 
vessel with a Federal commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel 
from recreationally fishing for or retaining bag and possession limits 
for these species outside of the applicable commercial season. An 
exception to this restriction currently applies to vessels that have 
both a Federal commercial and a charter vessel/headboat permit for king 
or Spanish mackerel. When operating as a charter vessel or headboat, 
the exception allows persons aboard these vessels to recreationally 
fish for or retain king or Spanish mackerel in or from Federal waters 
under the recreational bag or possession limits.
    The regulations specifying restrictions applicable after a 
commercial quota closure (50 CFR 622.384(e)) were originally necessary 
when the Gulf migratory group of king mackerel (Gulf king mackerel) had 
been overfished in the early 1990s, as a means of controlling fishing 
effort. In 2014, the most recent stock assessment of Gulf king mackerel 
and Atlantic migratory group king mackerel (Atlantic king mackerel) 
concluded that both Gulf and Atlantic king mackerel are not overfished 
or undergoing overfishing.
    This provision does not currently affect the recreational harvest 
of Spanish mackerel in the Gulf (Gulf Spanish mackerel), given the 
difference in how this migratory group is managed. Gulf Spanish 
mackerel is managed under a stock annual catch limit (ACL). Under the 
applicable accountability measures, the Spanish mackerel commercial and 
recreational sectors in the Gulf close at the same time if the stock 
ACL is reached or projected to be reached, as specified in Sec.  
622.388(c)(1). Thus, because the sectors close at the same time, the 
restriction described above does not apply in practice to those fishing 
for Gulf Spanish mackerel. In contrast, the accountability measures 
applicable to the commercial sector for king mackerel in the Gulf and 
Atlantic, and Spanish mackerel in the Atlantic, would close the 
applicable commercial sector independently from the recreational sector 
if the commercial landings reach or are projected to reach the 
applicable commercial quotas (Sec.  622.388(a)(1)(i), (b)(1)(i), and 
(d)(1)(i)).

Management Measure Contained in This Proposed Rule

    For the commercial sector, this proposed rule would remove the 
current prohibition that a person aboard a vessel with a Federal 
commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel may not fish for or 
retain king or Spanish mackerel in or from Federal waters under the bag 
or possession limits if commercial harvest for the applicable species 
is closed in a specific zone or for a certain gear type, unless the 
vessel also has a federal charter vessel/headboat permit and is 
operating as a federally permitted charter vessel or headboat. 
Therefore, if NMFS implements this proposed rule, commercial fishers 
with a Federal commercial permit for king or Spanish mackerel would be 
able to use their permitted vessels to recreationally fish for these 
species and retain the recreational bag and possession limits outside 
of the commercial seasons for those species.

Measures Contained in This Proposed Rule Not in Framework Amendment 5

    In addition to the changes to implement Framework Amendment 5, the 
proposed regulatory text contains changes consistent with the proposed 
regulatory text to implement Amendment 26 to the FMP, which is 
currently available for public comment (81 FR 95941, December 29, 
2016). The proposed regulatory text to implement Amendment 26 includes 
numerous

[[Page 12189]]

changes to the regulations implementing the FMP, including revisions to 
terminology and to the management boundaries for the Gulf of Mexico and 
Atlantic migratory groups of king mackerel. Pertinent changes are 
reflected in the proposed text below, as well, for consistency in 
language. In addition, to improve clarity, we have made specific 
changes to Sec.  622.384(e)(3), proposed to be renumbered as Sec.  
622.384(e)(2), and to Sec.  622.386.

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 action, the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, 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.
    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 adopted, would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The factual basis for this determination follows.
    A description of this proposed rule, why it is being considered, 
and the objectives of this proposed rule are contained in the preamble. 
The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the statutory basis for this proposed 
rule.
    This proposed rule, if implemented, would not be expected to 
directly affect any small entities. The proposed rule would remove the 
restriction on fishing for and retaining the recreational bag limit of 
king mackerel on a vessel with a Federal commercial permit for king 
mackerel when the vessel is on a recreational trip and commercial 
harvest of king mackerel in that zone is closed. Similarly, it would 
remove the restriction on fishing for and retaining the recreational 
bag limit of Spanish mackerel on a vessel with a Federal commercial 
permit for Spanish mackerel when the vessel is on a recreational trip 
and commercial harvest of Spanish mackerel in a zone or for a certain 
gear type is closed. Under this proposed rule, king or Spanish mackerel 
that are recreationally harvested on commercial vessels would not be 
permitted to be sold. Therefore, commercial fishers on these vessels 
would only be affected as recreational anglers. Recreational anglers, 
who would be directly affected by this proposed rule, are not 
considered small entities under the RFA, and are, therefore, outside 
the scope of this analysis. 5 U.S.C. 603. Small entities include 
``small businesses,'' ``small organizations,'' and ``small governmental 
jurisdictions.'' 5 U.S.C. 601(6) and 601(3)-(5). Recreational anglers 
are not businesses, organizations, or governmental jurisdictions. No 
other small entities that would be directly affected by this proposed 
rule have been identified.
    The information provided above supports a determination that this 
rule would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. Because this rule, if implemented, is not 
expected to have a significant economic impact on any small entities, 
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and none has 
been prepared.
    No duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting Federal rules have been 
identified. In addition, no new reporting, record-keeping, or other 
compliance requirements are introduced by this proposed rule. 
Accordingly, the Paperwork Reduction Act does not apply to this 
proposed rule.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, King Mackerel, 
Spanish Mackerel.

Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting 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.  622.379, revise the last sentence in paragraph (a) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  622.379  Purse seine incidental catch allowance.

    (a) * * * Incidentally caught king or Spanish mackerel are counted 
toward the quotas provided for under Sec.  622.384 and are subject to 
the prohibition of sale under Sec.  622.384(e)(2).
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec.  622.384, revise paragraph (e) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.384  Quotas.

* * * * *
    (e) Restrictions applicable after a commercial quota closure. (1) 
If the recreational sector for the applicable species, migratory group, 
zone, or gear is open, the bag and possession limits for king and 
Spanish mackerel specified in Sec.  622.382(a) apply to all harvest or 
possession for the closed species, migratory group, zone, or gear in or 
from the EEZ. If the recreational sector for the applicable species, 
migratory group, zone, or gear is closed, all applicable harvest or 
possession in or from the EEZ is prohibited.
    (2) The sale or purchase of king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, or 
cobia of the closed species, migratory group, zone, or gear type is 
prohibited, including any king or Spanish mackerel taken under the bag 
and possession limits specified in Sec.  622.382(a), or cobia taken 
under the limited-harvest species possession limit specified in Sec.  
622.383(b). The prohibition on the sale or purchase during a closure 
for coastal migratory pelagic fish does not apply to coastal migratory 
pelagic fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to the 
effective date of the closure and were held in cold storage by a dealer 
or processor.
0
4. In Sec.  622.386, revise the introductory paragraph to read as 
follows:


Sec.  622.386  Restrictions on sale/purchase.

    The restrictions in this section are in addition to the 
restrictions on the sale or purchase related to commercial quota 
closures as specified in Sec.  622.384(e)(2).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2017-04003 Filed 2-28-17; 8:45 am]
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