[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 145 (Friday, July 27, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35602-35603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15970]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

RIN 0648-BH16


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 20 
to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan

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

ACTION: Announcement of availability of fishery management plan 
amendment; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council has submitted Amendment 20 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 
Butterfish Fishery Management Plan to the Secretary of Commerce for 
review and approval. We are requesting comments from the public on this 
amendment. This action is necessary to prevent the reactivation of 
latent effort in the longfin squid fishery, preserve economic 
opportunities for more recently active participants in the longfin 
squid fishery, avoid overharvest during Trimester II (May-August) of 
the longfin squid fishery, and reduce potential negative impacts on 
inshore spawning longfin squid aggregations and egg mops. The Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council intends that these proposed 
measures would promote the sustainable utilization and conservation of 
the squid and butterfish resources, while promoting the sustained 
participation of fishing communities and minimizing adverse economic 
impacts on such communities.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 25, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2017-0110, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0110, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, ``Comments on 
Amendment 20.''
    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 the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).

[[Page 35603]]

    The Council prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for Amendment 
20 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) that describes the proposed action and other alternatives 
considered and provides a thorough analysis of the impacts of the 
proposed measures and alternatives considered. Copies of Amendment 20, 
including the EA, the Regulatory Impact Review, and the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act analysis, are available from: Christopher Moore, 
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Suite 201, 
800 State Street, Dover, DE 19901. The EA and associated analysis is 
accessible via the internet at: http://www.mafmc.org/s/Squid-Amendment-Draft-EA.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Christel, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9141.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In 1995, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) 
adopted a limited access permit system for longfin squid and butterfish 
as part of Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish 
FMP (April 2, 1996; 61 FR 14465). Under Amendment 5, NMFS issued 
longfin squid/butterfish moratorium permits to vessels that landed a 
minimum amount of either species during a specified qualification 
period. Since then, the number of vessels landing longfin squid has 
decreased, with a relatively small portion of vessels issued longfin 
squid/butterfish moratorium permits landing the majority of longfin 
squid in recent years. The Council is concerned that unused longfin 
squid/butterfish moratorium permits could be activated, which could 
lead to excessive fishing effort and bycatch of both longfin squid and 
non-target species. This could cause negative biological impacts to 
these species. In addition, this increased effort could increase the 
race to fish and reduce access to available longfin squid quota by 
vessels with a continuous history of landings in recent years. 
Therefore, the Council developed Amendment 20 to consider the 
appropriate number of vessels in the directed and incidental longfin 
squid fishery and design appropriate measures to prevent unanticipated 
increases in fishing effort. The proposed measures described below 
could help prevent a race to fish, frequent and disruptive fishery 
closures, and reduced fishing opportunities for vessels that are more 
recently dependent upon longfin squid.
    Longfin squid spawning occurs year round, but is most frequently 
observed inshore during the late spring through early fall. Spawning 
aggregations and associated egg masses (mops) that are attached to the 
bottom are vulnerable to bottom fishing activities during the summer 
months when longfin squid are easily accessible to the fishery in large 
concentrations. In 2007, the Council implemented reduced quotas during 
summer months (May through August, or Trimester II) as part of the 
trimester quota system (January 30, 2007; 71 FR 4211). The Council 
developed the trimester quota system to improve the monitoring and 
management of the longfin squid fishery and prevent allowable quotas 
from being exceeded. Once a trimester quota has been caught, possession 
limits are reduced to incidental levels for all longfin squid permits. 
The FMP currently includes a possession limit of 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) 
per trip for incidental permits and when the directed fishery has 
closed. However, this incidental limit has allowed vessels to continue 
to land large amounts of longfin squid even after the directed fishery 
is closed, which contributed to the Trimester II quota being exceeded 
by large amounts in several years. The Council is concerned that 
excessive fishing effort inshore during Trimester II could negatively 
impact the stock, interrupting spawning activity, increasing the 
mortality of squid eggs, and reducing future recruitment. Measures 
developed by the Council under this action are intended to reevaluate 
the management of longfin squid during Trimester II primarily to reduce 
impacts to spawning squid and egg mops.
    The purpose of Amendment 20 is to optimize management measures in 
the squid fisheries by reducing latent (unused) effort in the longfin 
squid fishery and adjusting the management of the longfin squid fishery 
during Trimester II (May through August) to avoid overharvesting the 
longfin squid resource. Although the Council considered reducing the 
number of Illex squid moratorium permits in the fishery, the Council 
decided a reduction in the number of Illex moratorium permits was not 
appropriate at this time given low Illex landings and limited vessel 
participation in the fishery in recent years. Measures proposed under 
this action would promote the sustainable utilization and conservation 
of the longfin squid and butterfish resources, while promoting the 
sustained participation of fishing communities and minimizing adverse 
economic impacts on such communities. If approved, Amendment 20 would:
    1. Separate butterfish from the current longfin/butterfish 
moratorium permit to create a new butterfish moratorium permit and a 
separate longfin squid moratorium permit;
    2. Reissue longfin squid moratorium permits to vessels that landed 
at least 10,000 lb (4,536 kg) of longfin squid in any year from 1997-
2013;
    3. Create a new longfin squid moratorium permit with a 5,000 lb 
(2,268 kg) possession limit for vessels that have not landed at least 
10,000 lb (4,536 kg) of longfin squid in any year from 1997-2013;
    4. Create a new longfin squid incidental moratorium permit to 
enable vessels to continue to land 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) of longfin squid 
per trip;
    5. Allow individual entities issued multiple longfin squid 
moratorium permits a one-time opportunity to swap such permits among 
their vessels; and
    6. Reduce the longfin squid possession limit from 2,500 lb (1,134 
kg) to 250 lb (113 kg) for squid/butterfish incidental catch permits 
and for all longfin squid permits after the Trimester II longfin squid 
quota is landed.
    NMFS seeks public comments on Amendment 20 and its incorporated 
documents through the end of the comment period specified in the DATES 
section of this notice of availability (NOA). Concurrent with NMFS's 
review of the amendment under the Magnuson-Stevens Act procedures, NMFS 
may publish a rule proposing to implement measures outlined in this 
amendment in the Federal Register for public comment. All comments 
received by the end of the comment period on the NOA, whether 
specifically directed to the NOA or the proposed rule, will be 
considered in the approval/disapproval decision. NMFS will not consider 
comments received after the end of the comment period for the NOA in 
the approval/disapproval decision of this action.

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

    Dated: July 23, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-15970 Filed 7-26-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P