[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 9, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54041-54043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-21828]
[[Page 54041]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 191002-0052]
RIN 0648-XH043
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder,
Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Atlantic Bluefish Fisheries; 2020-2021
Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces 2020 specifications for the summer flounder,
scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries and projects 2021 summer
flounder specifications. The implementing regulations for these
species' management requires us to publish specifications for the
upcoming fishing year for each of these species. This action is
intended to inform the public of the specifications for the start of
the 2020 fishing year for these four species and announces the
projected 2021 summer flounder specifications.
DATES: This rule is effective January 1, 2020.
ADDRESSES: An environmental assessment (EA) for the summer flounder
specifications was prepared for this action that describes the measures
and other considered alternatives, and provides an analysis of the
impacts of the measures and alternatives. A Supplemental Information
Report (SIR) was prepared for the scup, black sea bass, and bluefish
specifications. Copies of the EA and SIR, are available on request from
Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
The EA is also accessible via the internet at http://www.mafmc.org/s/SF_2020-2021_specs_EA.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Gilbert, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281-9244.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
General Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) cooperatively
manage the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish
fisheries. The Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) and Atlantic Bluefish FMP outline the Council's
process for establishing specifications. The FMPs require the
specification of the acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch
limit (ACL), annual catch targets (ACT), commercial quotas,
recreational harvest limit, and other management measures, for up to 3
years at a time. This action establishes summer flounder specifications
for the 2020-2021 fishing years and also sets interim scup, black sea
bass, and bluefish 2020 specifications that will be replaced early in
the fishing year to address results of operational stock assessments
for all three species. These specifications are consistent with the
recommendations made by the Council and Commission at the March 2019
joint meeting.
Interim 2020 Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish Specifications
There is no regulatory mechanism to roll over catch and landings
limits from one year to the next in these FMPs, so this action is
required to set these limits for the start of 2020. This action
maintains the same 2019 specifications for the start of the 2020
fishing year (Table 1), consistent with the recommendations from the
Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and the Council
and the species-specific Commission Boards. These catch limits are
expected to be in place for the first few months of 2020 and will be
revised as soon as possible to address the results of operational stock
assessments for all three species. The results of the assessments
recently became available and the Council and Boards plan on
recommending revised 2020 and considering 2021 specifications for all
three species at a joint October 2019 meeting.
Prior to the start of the 2020 fishing year, we will announce any
adjustments necessary to account for any previous overages or, in the
case of bluefish, any commercial/recreational sector transfers. The
initial commercial scup quota allocations for 2020 by quota period are
outlined in Table 2.
Table 1--Interim 2020 Specifications for Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish
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Scup Black sea bass Bluefish
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million lb mt million lb mt million lb mt
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Overfishing Limit (OFL)................................. 41.03 18,612 10.29 4,667 29.97 12,688
ABC..................................................... 36.43 16,525 8.94 4,055 21.81 9,895
ACL..................................................... 36.43 16,525 8.94 4,055 21.81 9,895
Commercial ACL.......................................... 28.42 12,890 4.35 1,974 .............. ..............
ACT..................................................... 28.42 12,890 4.35 1,974 3.71 1,682
Commercial Quota........................................ 23.98 10,879 3.52 1,596 7.71 3,497
Recreational ACL........................................ 8.01 3,636 4.59 2,083 .............. ..............
Recreational ACT........................................ 8.01 3,636 4.59 2,083 18.11 8,213
Recreational Harvest Limit.............................. 7.37 3,342 3.66 1,661 11.62 5,271
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Table 2--Initial Commercial Scup Quota Allocations for 2020 by Quota Period
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Quota period Percent share lb mt
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Winter I........................................................ 45.11 10,820,000 4,908
Summer.......................................................... 38.95 9,340,986 4,237
Winter II....................................................... 15.94 3,822,816 1,734
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Total....................................................... 100.0 23,983,802 10,879
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Note: Metric tons are converted from lb and may not necessarily total due to rounding.
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Summer Flounder 2020-2021 Specifications
In February 2019, the final peer review and assessment results from
the 66th Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee
(SAW/SARC 66) became available. This assessment incorporated revised
Marine Recreational Information Program estimates of recreational
catch, which has an important impact on estimated spawning stock
biomass for summer flounder. Based on the results of this benchmark
assessment, the summer flounder stock is not overfished, and
overfishing is not occurring.
The Council's SSC and the Summer Flounder Monitoring Committee met
in late February 2019 to recommend revised catch and landings limits
for 2019 through 2021 based on the assessment information, which the
Council adopted. Due to the need to implement revised 2019
specifications as soon as possible, we published an interim final rule
on May 17, 2019 (84 FR 22392), adjusting the catch limits for the
remainder of the 2019 fishing year. This rule implements the 2020
specifications and announces the projected 2021 specifications (Table
3). The 2020 and 2021 specifications are identical to what is currently
in place for 2019.
Table 4 outlines the initial 2020 state-by-state summer flounder
allocations. Prior to the start of each fishing year, we will announce
any adjustments necessary to address any overages and to provide the
states with their specific quotas. We anticipate announcing any such
adjustments in December 2019.
Table 3--Summary of 2020-2021 Summer Flounder Fishery Specifications, in
Millions of Pounds
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million lb mt
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OFL..................................... 30.94 (2020) 14,034 (2020)
31.67 (2021) 14,365 (2021)
ABC..................................... 25.03 11,354
Commercial ACL.......................... 13.53 6,136
Commercial ACT.......................... 13.53 6,136
Commercial Quota........................ 11.53 5,229
Recreational ACL........................ 11.51 5,218
Recreational ACT........................ 11.51 5,218
Recreational Harvest Limit.............. 7.69 3,486
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Table 4--Initial 2020 Summer Flounder State-by-State Allocations
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Initial 2020 quotas *
State FMP percent -------------------------------
share lb kg
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ME.............................................................. 0.0476 5,484 2,487
NH.............................................................. 0.0005 53 24
MA.............................................................. 6.8205 786,399 356,705
RI.............................................................. 15.6830 1,808,248 820,207
CT.............................................................. 2.2571 260,241 118,043
NY.............................................................. 7.6470 881,698 399,931
NJ.............................................................. 16.7250 1,928,391 874,704
DE.............................................................. 0.0178 2,051 930
MD.............................................................. 2.0391 235,108 106,643
VA.............................................................. 21.3168 2,457,822 1,114,850
NC.............................................................. 27.4458 3,164,505 1,435,395
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Total....................................................... 100.00 11,530,000 5,229,920
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* Initial quotas do not account for any previous overages.
This action makes no changes to the current commercial management
measures, including the minimum fish size (14-inch (36-cm) total
length), gear requirements, and possession limits. The 2020
recreational management measures will be considered in the late fall of
2019.
Comments and Responses
NMFS received one comment on the proposed rule from the State of
New York and the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation. The letter stated that the 2020 and 2021 specifications
will be applied to outdated state quota share percentages, and NMFS
should instead implement a coastwide quota. The comment is identical to
what was submitted during public comment on the 2019 summer flounder
specifications, and our response remains the same. The current
regulations governing the FMP require that quota allocations be
distributed based on the percentages outlined in Table 4. Adjustments
to these quota allocations must be developed through an amendment to
the FMP. The Council and Board took final action on an amendment
considering such adjustments at their March 2019 meeting and will
forward their recommendations to NMFS for Secretarial review and
approval later this fall. Adjustments to these state quota allocations
are outside the scope of this specifications action and will be
addressed in the rulemaking for the amendment.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act, the NMFS Assistant Administrator has
determined that this final rule is consistent with the Summer Flounder,
Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP, Atlantic Bluefish FMP, other provisions
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws.
This final rule is exempt from NOAA's Office of Management and
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Budget Review under 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 during the proposed rule stage that this action would
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received
regarding this certification, and the initial certification remains
unchanged. A final regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and
none has been prepared.
There are no new reporting or recordkeeping requirements contained
in this action.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 2, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-21828 Filed 10-8-19; 8:45 am]
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