[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 23, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53440-53441]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23123]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

RIN 0648-XG543


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Small-Mesh Multispecies Fishery; Public Comment Period for 
Amendment 22 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan

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

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council requests public 
comment on Amendment 22 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery 
Management Plan, including a Draft Environmental Impact Statement. To 
meet the purpose and need, this amendment proposes alternatives that 
would initiate a limited access program for the small-mesh multispecies 
fishery, adjust whiting and red hake possession limits, and modify 
permit types and characteristics to make them consistent with limited 
access.
    The Council recently solicited comments and held a series of public 
hearings on the draft amendment. Due to an inconsistency in the 
information available during the comment period, the Council will 
solicit comments for an additional 30 days and hold an informational 
webinar to explain the data inconsistency and review the alternatives 
in the amendment and Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

DATES: We must receive written comments on or before November 23, 2018. 
The informational webinar will take place on Wednesday, November 14, 
2018 at 3 p.m. at the following web address: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/843126117, or by telephone at (872) 240-
3311, using Access Code 43-126-117.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2013-0169 by any of the following methods:
    [ssquf] Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments directly to the Council at [email protected] or by fax to 
(978) 465-3116, with ``Comments on Whiting Amendment 22'' on the 
subject line.
    [ssquf] Mail: Submit written comments to Thomas A. Nies, Executive 
Director,

[[Page 53441]]

New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, 
Newburyport, MA 01950. Mark the outside of the envelope, ``Comments on 
Whiting Amendment 22.''
    Instructions: You must submit comments by one of the above methods 
to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and considered by 
Council. The Council may not consider comments sent by any other 
method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end 
of the comment period. All comments received are a part of the public 
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on the Council's 
website at www.nefmc.org without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. The 
Council will accept attachments to electronic comments only in 
Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats.
    The hearing documents are accessible electronically via the 
internet at https://www.nefmc.org/library/amendment-22 or by request to 
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management 
Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950, telephone 
(978) 465-0492.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Applegate, Senior Fisheries 
Analyst, (978) 465-0492, ext. 114.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The small-mesh multispecies complex consists of five stocks: 
Northern silver hake, southern silver hake, and offshore hake, all 
collectively referred to as whiting; along with northern and southern 
red hake. The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) manages 
these stocks as part of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP). Fishermen targeting whiting and hake use small-mesh trawl 
gear. The Council manages the fishery through multiple small-mesh 
exemptions to the northeast multispecies (also called groundfish) 
regulations. The small-mesh multispecies fishery is open access, 
meaning any vessel may obtain a permit to fish with small-mesh gear to 
target whiting and hake.
    Based on specifications set forth by the Council, NMFS sets annual 
catch levels for each of the small-mesh multispecies stocks. The 
fishery routinely harvests a small fraction of the allowable silver 
hake landings each year, due to high bycatch levels of red hake that 
reduce the possession limits to incidental levels once a certain 
percentage of the red hake annual catch limits are reached. Northern 
whiting and hake stocks are healthy, but southern red hake is 
overfished and experiencing overfishing. Southern whiting biomass has 
been declining for several years and is below the target, but is not 
considered overfished.
    Although the fishery does not harvest optimum yield, there are 
concerns that it could become more difficult to manage if continued 
open access results in bycatch levels could prematurely close the 
directed small-mesh multispecies fishery. In response, the Council 
developed Amendment 22 to the FMP. The amendment considers multiple 
alternatives for a limited access program, along with various options 
for possession limits and permit conditions should the Council 
ultimately choose to limit access in the fishery. The Council's 
preferred alternative is to maintain open access.
    Amendment 22 includes a Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS), which analyzes the impacts of the various management 
alternatives. In July of 2018, the Council hosted a series of public 
hearings and solicited comments on the DEIS and amendment. Along with 
the DEIS, the Council prepared a separate public hearing document to 
summarize the impacts of alternatives, which included the estimated 
number of vessels that would qualify under each limited access 
alternative. After the public hearings, and while discussing potential 
final action, the Council discovered a discrepancy between the numbers 
in the public hearing document and the DEIS. Upon further 
investigation, it concluded that the DEIS analyses were based on the 
correct information, while the information in the summary section of 
the DEIS and the public hearing document were based on preliminary 
analyses that had been conducted in early development of the amendment. 
The correct results were available to the public and Council when the 
Council approved the range of alternatives in June 2017 and chose 
preferred alternatives in December 2017.
    Given the discrepancy between the summary information and the DEIS, 
the Council announced that it will provide the public with an 
additional 30-day comment period and hold an informational webinar 
using the most up-to-date information to explain the data discrepancy 
and afford additional opportunity for comment.
    The Council will accept comments until 1 p.m. on November 23, 2018. 
See the DATES section for the timing of the webinar and how you may 
participate. The Council's Small-Mesh Fishery Committee and Advisory 
Panel will review the public comments and make recommendations for 
action to the Council. The Council will consider these recommendations 
and take final action on Amendment 22 during its December 2018 meeting.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.

     Dated: October 17, 2018.
Karen H. Abrams,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-23123 Filed 10-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P