[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 236 (Monday, December 11, 2017)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 58164-58166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26577]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 170818784-7784-01]
RIN 0648-XF641


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Surfclam 
and Ocean Quahog Fishery; Proposed 2018-2020 Fishing Quotas

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 status quo commercial quotas for the Atlantic 
surfclam and ocean quahog fisheries for 2018 and projected status quo 
quotas for 2019 and 2020. This action is necessary to establish 
allowable harvest levels of Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs that 
will prevent overfishing and allow harvesting of optimum yield. This 
action would also continue to suspend the minimum shell size for 
Atlantic surfclams for the 2018 fishing year. The intended effect of 
this action is to provide benefit to the industry from stable quotas to 
maintain a consistent market.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 26, 2017.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2017-0118, 
by any of the following methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov, 
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 the 2018-2020 Surflcam/Ocean Quahog 
Specifications.''
    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 part of the 
public record and will generally be posted to www.regulations.gov 
without change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, 
name, address, etc.)

[[Page 58165]]

voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publically accessible. Do 
not submit confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or 
protected information. 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 Environmental Assessment (EA), Supplemental 
Information Request (SIR), and other supporting documents for these 
proposed specifications are available from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Wilkinson, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 301-427-8561.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  The Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) requires that NMFS, in consultation with 
the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, specify quotas for 
surfclam and ocean quahog for up to a three-year period, with annual 
review. It is the policy of the Council that the catch limit selected 
allow for sustainable fishing to continue at that level for at least 10 
years for surfclams, and 30 years for ocean quahogs. In addition to 
this, the Council policy also considers the economic impact of the 
quotas. Regulations implementing Amendment 10 to the FMP (63 FR 27481; 
May 19, 1998) added Maine ocean quahogs (locally known as Maine 
mahogany quahogs) to the management unit and provided for a small 
artisanal fishery for ocean quahogs in the waters north of 43[deg]50' 
N. lat, with an annual quota within a range of 17,000 to 100,000 Maine 
bu (0.6 to 3.52 million L). As specified in Amendment 10, the Maine 
ocean quahog quota is allocated separately from the quota specified for 
the ocean quahog fishery. Regulations implementing Amendment 13 to the 
FMP (68 FR 69970; December 16, 2003) established the authority to 
propose multi-year quotas with an annual quota review to be conducted 
by the Council to determine if the multi-year quota specifications 
remain appropriate for each year. NMFS then publishes the annual final 
quotas in the Federal Register. The fishing quotas must ensure 
overfishing will not occur. In recommending these quotas, the Council 
considered the most recent stock assessments and other relevant 
scientific information.
    In June 2017, the Council voted to recommend maintaining for 2018-
2020 the status quo quota levels of 5.33 million bu (288 million L) for 
the ocean quahog fishery, 3.40 million bu (181 million L) for the 
Atlantic surfclam fishery, and 100,000 Maine bu (3.52 million L) for 
the Maine ocean quahog fishery.
    We propose to implement the Council's recommended specifications 
for 2018 and project that the Council's recommended specifications for 
2019 and 2020 will be implemented in those years. Because the Council 
will review available information in the interim years and adjustments 
to quotas may occur to account for annual catch limit (ACL) overages, 
the 2019 and 2020 quotas proposed are considered the projected 
specifications. We will provide notice in the Federal Register before 
the 2019 and 2020 fishing years announcing the final quotas being 
implemented.
    Tables 1 and 2 show proposed and projected quotas for the 2018-2020 
Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog fishery.

                                  Table 1--Proposed Atlantic Surfclam Measures
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Atlantic surfclam
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Allowable
                                  biological     Annual catch    Annual catch
             Year                 catch (ABC)     limit (ACL)    target (ACT)           Commercial quota
                                     (mt)            (mt)            (mt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 (current)................          44,469          44,469          29,364  3.4 million bushels (181 million
                                                                                 L).
2018..........................          29,363          29,363          29,363  3.4 million bushels (181 million
                                                                                 L).
2019-2020 (Projected).........          29,363          29,363          29,363  3.4 million bushels (181 million
                                                                                 L).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


                                     Table 2--Proposed Ocean Quahog Measures
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Ocean quahog
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Year                  ABC (mt)        ACL (mt)        ACT (mt)             Commercial quota
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2017 (current)................          26,100          26,100          26,035  Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu
                                                                                 (3.52 million L) Non-Maine
                                                                                 quota: 5.33 million bu (288
                                                                                 million L).
2018..........................          44,695          44,695          25,924  Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu
                                                                                 (3.52 million L) Non-Maine
                                                                                 quota: 5.33 million bu (288
                                                                                 million L).
2019 (Projected)..............          46,146          46,146          25,924  Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu
                                                                                 (3.52 million L) Non-Maine
                                                                                 quota: 5.33 million bu (288
                                                                                 million L).
2020 (Projected)..............          45,783          45,783          25,924  Maine quota: 100,000 Maine bu
                                                                                 (3.52 million L) Non-Maine
                                                                                 quota: 5.33 million bu (288
                                                                                 million L).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog quotas are specified in 
``industry'' bushels of 1.88 ft\3\ (53.24 L) per bushel, while the 
Maine ocean quahog quota is specified in Maine bushels of 1.24 ft\3\ 
(35.24 L) per bushel. Because Maine ocean quahogs are the same species 
as ocean quahogs, both fisheries are assessed under the same 
overfishing definition. When the two quota amounts (ocean quahog and 
Maine ocean quahog) are added, the total allowable harvest is below the 
level that would result in overfishing for the entire stock. The 2018-
2020 quotas are nearly identical (within 100 mt) to those implemented 
in the 2014-2016 specifications, which were carried over for 2017.

[[Page 58166]]

Surfclam

    The proposed 2018-2020 status quo surfclam quota was developed in 
June 2017 after reviewing the results of the Northeast Regional Stock 
Assessment Workshop (SAW) 61 for Atlantic surfclam. The surfclam quota 
recommendation is consistent with the SAW 61 finding that the Atlantic 
surfclam stock is not overfished, and overfishing is not occurring. 
Based on this information, the Council is recommending, and NMFS is 
proposing, to maintain the status quo surfclam quota of 3.40 million bu 
(181 million L) for 2018-2020 (see table 1).

Ocean Quahog

    Consistent with the Council recommendation, we are proposing the 
following for ocean quahog. The proposed 2018-2020 non-Maine quota for 
ocean quahog is the status quo quota of 5.33 million bu (288 million 
L).
    The 2018-2020 proposed quota for Maine ocean quahogs is the status 
quo level of 100,000 Maine bu (3.52 million L). The proposed quota 
represents the maximum allowable quota under the FMP.

Surfclam Minimum Size

    In June 2017, the Council voted to recommend that the minimum size 
limit for surfclams continue to be suspended for 2018. The minimum size 
limit has been suspended annually since 2005. Minimum size suspension 
may not be taken unless discard, catch, and biological sampling data 
indicate that 30 percent or more of the Atlantic surfclam resource have 
a shell length less than 4.75 inches (120 mm), and the overall reduced 
size is not attributable to harvest from beds where growth of the 
individual clams has been reduced because of density-dependent factors.
    Commercial surfclam data for 2017 were analyzed to determine the 
percentage of surfclams that were smaller than the minimum size 
requirement. The analysis indicated that 10.4 percent of the overall 
commercial landings, to date, were composed of surfclams that were less 
than the 4.75-inch (120-mm) default minimum size. Based on the 
information available, the Regional Administrator concurs with the 
Council's recommendation, and is proposing to suspend the minimum size 
limit for Atlantic surfclams in the upcoming fishing year (January 1 
through December 31, 2018).

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined that this 
proposed rule is consistent with the Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog 
FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable 
law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
    This action does not introduce any new reporting, recordkeeping, or 
other compliance requirements. This proposed rule does not duplicate, 
overlap, or conflict with other Federal rules.
    This proposed rule is exempt from the requirements of E.O. 12866.
    This proposed rule is not expected to be an E.O. 13771 regulatory 
action because this proposed rule is not significant under E.O. 12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration 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 certification is as follows:
    For Regulatory Flexibility Analysis purposes only, NMFS has 
established a uniform size standard for small businesses, including 
their affiliates, whose primary industry is commercial fishing (see 50 
CFR 200.2). A business primarily engaged in commercial fishing 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 of less than $11 million 
for all its affiliated operations worldwide. In 2016, 349 fishing firms 
held at least one surfclam or ocean quahog permit. Using the $11 
million cutoff for firms, there are 341 entities that are small and 8 
that are large. In order to provide a more accurate count and 
description of the small directly regulated entities, landings data 
were evaluated to select only firms that were active in either the 
surfclam or the ocean quahog fishery. There are 24 active fishing 
firms, of which 22 are small entities and 2 are large entities.
    Because the proposed quotas are status quo, the action would have 
no impacts on the way the fishery operates. These measures are expected 
to provide similar fishing opportunities in 2018-2020 when compared to 
earlier years. As such, revenue changes are not expected in 2018-2020 
when compared to landings and revenues in 2017. Therefore, adoption of 
the proposed specifications are not expected to have impacts on 
entities participating in the fishery if landings are similar to those 
that occurred in 2017.
    Maintaining the suspension of the surfclam minimum shell length 
requirement would result in no change when compared to 2014-2016. The 
minimum shell length requirement has been suspended each year since 
2005. The proposed action would have no impact on the way the fishery 
operates, and is not expected to disproportionately affect 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: December 6, 2017.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Progams, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-26577 Filed 12-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P