[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 159 (Friday, August 18, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39363-39366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17522]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 170104016-7732-02]
RIN 0648-XF138


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern 
United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Approval of 
Modifications to a Regulatory Exemption for Groundfish Sectors

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Through this action, NMFS approves a change to a regulatory 
exemption for sector vessels in the Northeast multispecies fishery for 
fishing years 2017 and 2018. This action is necessary to respond to a 
request from sectors to change a previously approved exemption. The 
change is intended to increase the use of the sector exemption, which 
allows sector vessels to combine small-mesh exempted fishing trips and

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groundfish trips, and to provide sector vessels with additional fishing 
opportunities.

DATES: The modified regulatory exemption is effective August 17, 2017, 
through April 30, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Copies of each sector's final operations plan are available 
from the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office: John K. 
Bullard, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kyle Molton, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9236. To review Federal Register documents 
referenced in this rule, you can visit: http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/sustainable/species/multispecies.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    A sector is a group of persons (three or more persons, none of whom 
have an ownership interest in the other two persons in the sector) 
holding limited access groundfish permits who have voluntarily entered 
into a contract and agree to certain fishing restrictions for a 
specified period of time. Sectors are self-selecting, meaning each 
sector can choose its members. The Northeast multispecies sector 
management system allocates a portion of the NE multispecies stocks to 
each sector. These annual sector allocations are known as annual catch 
entitlements (ACEs) and are based on the collective fishing history of 
a sector's members. Sectors may receive allocations of large-mesh NE 
multispecies stocks with the exception of Atlantic halibut, windowpane 
flounder, Atlantic wolffish, and ocean pout, which are non-allocated 
species. The ACEs are a portion of a stock's annual catch limit (ACL) 
available to commercial NE multispecies vessels within a sector. A 
sector determines how to harvest its ACEs and may decide to limit 
operations to fewer vessels.
    Sectors submit operations plans and contracts to us for approval. 
We must approve a sector's operations plan in order to allocate ACE to 
the sector and for the sectors to operate. Because sectors elect to 
receive an allocation under a quota-based system, the Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) grants sector vessels 
several ``universal'' exemptions from the FMP's effort controls. 
Sectors may request additional exemptions to streamline operations for 
sector vessels and to increase economic opportunities. We review these 
requests for consistency with the NE Multispecies FMP and other FMPs, 
as well as for resource and community impacts. We may approve requested 
exemptions that benefit sector vessels and that are consistent with the 
goals and objectives of the relevant FMPs. Sectors are prohibited from 
requesting exemptions from permitting restrictions, gear restrictions 
designed to minimize habitat impacts, and most reporting requirements.

Modified Sector Exemption

Modifications to the Sectors Small-Mesh Fishery Exemption Area

    On April 28, 2017, we published an interim final rule (82 FR 19618) 
that approved sector operations plans, granted regulatory exemptions 
for sectors, and provided preliminary allocations of annual catch 
entitlements to sectors for the start of the 2017 fishing year . This 
interim final rule included consideration of a request from sectors to 
modify the Sectors Small-Mesh Fishery Exemption, which was first 
granted in fishing year 2015.
    This exemption allows vessels to combine sector and small-mesh 
fishery trips in two discrete areas in Southern New England. Vessels 
may first target groundfish with large-mesh trawl gear and then switch 
to small-mesh trawl gear to target exempted fishery species like squid. 
These combined trips are more efficient and allow sector vessels to 
increase revenue and profitability on a single trip. There are 
additional requirements for gear modifications on the small-mesh 
portion of the trip to reduce bycatch of groundfish, and all legal 
groundfish caught on the small-mesh portion of the trip must be kept 
and counted against the sector's allocation. A vessel using this 
exemption is still required to meet the same at-sea monitoring coverage 
as normal groundfish trips, and is also required to submit a catch 
report through its Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) unit when switching 
gears.
    The previously approved small-mesh sector exemption area includes 
two discrete areas, one that parallels the southern shore of Long 
Island to the waters just off Narragansett Bay, and a second area south 
of Martha's Vineyard (Figure 1). Sectors requested to modify the area 
to include all of statistical areas 537, 539 and 613, which would 
expand the geographic footprint of the exemption area, to better 
reflect fishing practices in the area and increase efficiency and 
opportunities for sector vessels (Figure 2). We received one public 
comment on this proposed change to the Sectors Small-Mesh Fishery 
Exemption. The comment supported approval of the modification to the 
exemption as proposed.
    We are granting the modification to the exemption area, but as 
noted in the April 28, 2017, interim final rule, we are excluding areas 
that overlap with existing year-round groundfish closed areas or 
southern windowpane flounder accountability measure (AM) areas, 
regardless of whether the AMs are triggered, to be consistent with the 
goals and objectives of the NE Multispecies FMP. We are excluding the 
overlapping southern windowpane flounder AM areas because of concerns 
about potential interactions with windowpane flounder and other 
regulated groundfish species within the AM area. As with all sector 
exemptions, we will continue to monitor the use of the updated 
exemption, as well as any future changes to area management that the 
New England Fishery Management Council recommends.
    All other requirements of the Sectors Small-Mesh Fishery Exemption 
remain unchanged from those previously approved and implemented. 
Vessels using the exemption must fish with one of three trawl gear 
modifications when using small mesh: Drop-chain sweep with a minimum of 
12 inches (30.48 cm) in length; a large-mesh belly panel with a minimum 
of 32-inch (81.28-cm) mesh size; or an excluder grate secured forward 
of the codend with an outlet hole forward of the grate with bar spacing 
of no more than 1.97 inches (5.00 cm) wide. These gear modifications, 
when fished properly, have been shown to reduce the catch of legal and 
sub-legal groundfish stocks.
    As in previously approved versions of the exemption, in order to 
facilitate proper coverage levels and assist with enforcement, the 
vessel is required to declare their intent to use small mesh to target 
small-mesh species by submitting a trip start hail through its VMS unit 
prior to departure. Trips declaring this exemption must stow their 
small-mesh gear and use their large-mesh gear first, and once finished 
with the large mesh, must submit a Multispecies Catch Report via VMS of 
all catch on board at that time and indicate that the small-mesh gear 
will now be fished. Once the Catch Report is sent, the vessel can then 
deploy small-mesh with the required modifications in the specific areas 
(see map above), outside of the Nantucket Lightship Closed Area, at 
which point, the large mesh cannot be redeployed. Any legal-sized 
allocated groundfish stocks caught during these small-mesh hauls must 
be landed and the associated landed weight (dealer or vessel trip

[[Page 39365]]

report (VTR)) will be deducted from the sector's ACE.
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Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator (AA) has determined that this final rule 
is consistent with the NE Multispecies FMP, other provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
    This action is exempt from the procedures of Executive Order 12866 
because this action contains no implementing regulations.
    This final rule is not an E.O. 13771 regulatory action because it 
is not significant under E.O. 12866.
    This final rule does not contain policies with Federalism or 
``takings'' implications as those terms are defined in E.O. 13132 and 
E.O. 12630, respectively.
    The AA finds good cause, under authority provided in 5. U.S.C. 
553(d)(1), to waive the 30-day delay in effective date because a delay 
in effectiveness would be contrary to the public interest. This rule 
does not impose any new requirements or costs on industry for which 
industry needs time to prepare to comply. Groundfish sectors requested 
this exemption to provide greater operational flexibility and to 
increase fishing opportunities. Delaying its effectiveness would 
unnecessarily restrict their fishing and lead to lost economic 
opportunity and efficiencies for sector vessels. Additionally, the 
small-mesh exemption is typically used by sector vessels in the fall. 
Because this rule changes the exemption area to increase use of the 
exemption, a delay in effectiveness would prevent sector vessels from 
the benefit of this change for the fall 2017 season, thus undermining 
the intent of the rule. The interim final rule, which proposed this 
action, was originally delayed as a result of the untimely submission 
of Framework Adjustment 56 by the New England Fishery Management 
Council, which prevented us from coordinating the publishing of the 
sector rule and the Framework 56 rulemaking in time for May 1, 2017 
start of the 2017 fishing year. For all of these reasons, a 30-day 
delay in effectiveness of this rule would be contrary to the public 
interest.
    This final rule is exempt from the procedures of the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act because the preceding interim final rule was issued 
without opportunity for prior notice and comment.

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

    Dated: August 15, 2017.
Chris Oliver,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-17522 Filed 8-17-17; 8:45 am]
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