[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 25 (Thursday, February 6, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6825-6828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01917]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 200128-0033]
RIN 0648-BJ31


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic Region; Regulatory 
Amendment 30

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to implement Regulatory Amendment 30 
to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the 
South Atlantic Region (FMP) (Regulatory Amendment 30), as prepared and 
submitted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). 
This final rule modifies the spawning season closures for the 
commercial and recreational sectors in the exclusive economic zone 
(EEZ) off North Carolina and South Carolina and establishes a 
commercial trip limit. Additionally, Regulatory Amendment 30 revises 
the rebuilding schedule for red grouper. The purpose of this final rule 
and Regulatory Amendment 30 is to modify the rebuilding schedule and 
extend protections for red grouper during the spawning season.

DATES: This final rule is effective on March 9, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of Regulatory Amendment 30 may be obtained 
from the Southeast Regional Office website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/regulatory-amendment-30-red-grouper-rebuilding-plan. Regulatory Amendment 30 includes an environmental 
assessment (EA), a Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis, and a 
regulatory impact review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Vara, telephone: 727-824-5305; 
email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The snapper-grouper fishery of the South 
Atlantic is managed under the FMP, and includes red grouper along with 
other snapper-grouper species. The FMP was prepared by the Council and 
is implemented through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
    On October 29, 2019, NMFS published a proposed rule for Regulatory 
Amendment 30 and requested public comment (84 FR 57840). The proposed 
rule and Regulatory Amendment 30 outline the rationale for the actions 
contained in this final rule. A summary of the management measures 
described in Regulatory Amendment 30 and implemented by this final rule 
is described below.

Background

    Red grouper are harvested by both commercial and recreational 
fishers throughout the South Atlantic. In 2010, a Southeast Data, 
Assessment and Review (SEDAR) benchmark assessment (SEDAR 19) was 
completed for South Atlantic red grouper. Based on the results of SEDAR 
19, NMFS determined that red grouper was overfished and undergoing 
overfishing. Amendment 24 to the FMP established a 10-year rebuilding 
plan that began in 2011, with an end date of 2020 (77 FR 34254; June 
11, 2012).
    A stock assessment update (SEDAR 53) for red grouper was completed 
in February 2017 using data through 2015. SEDAR 53 indicated the stock 
was still overfished and undergoing overfishing, and that stock 
rebuilding would not be possible by 2020, which is the terminal year of 
the current rebuilding plan. Therefore, on September 27, 2017, NMFS 
sent a letter to the Council stating that the South Atlantic red 
grouper stock was overfished and undergoing overfishing and not making 
adequate progress towards rebuilding. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 
the implementation of management measures to end overfishing 
immediately and revise or implement a rebuilding plan within 2 years of 
notification by NMFS to the Council of this stock status. Therefore, in 
Abbreviated Framework Amendment 1 to the FMP, NMFS implemented actions 
to immediately end overfishing of red grouper by reducing the total, 
commercial, and recreational annual catch limits (ACLs) based on the 
acceptable biological catch recommendation from the Council's 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (83 FR 35435; July 26, 2018).
    Continued harvest at the levels specified in Abbreviated Framework 
Amendment 1 is expected to allow for rebuilding the red grouper stock 
within 10 years, but because the red grouper stock is not projected to 
fully rebuild by 2020 (SEDAR 53), the Council must also revise the 
current rebuilding plan so the stock rebuilds in the timeframe mandated 
by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Regulatory Amendment 30 addresses the 
revision to the rebuilding plan.

Management Measures Contained in This Final Rule

    For red grouper, this final rule modifies the spawning season 
closure for the commercial and recreational sectors in the EEZ off 
North Carolina and South Carolina, and establishes a commercial trip 
limit.

Commercial and Recreational Spawning Season Closure

    Currently, the commercial and recreational spawning season closure 
for shallow-water groupers, which includes red grouper, is January 
through April each year throughout the South Atlantic EEZ. In the EEZ 
off North Carolina and South Carolina, red grouper spawning occurs 
during February through June and peaks in April. To extend protection 
for red grouper during spawning season, this final rule extends the 
January through April spawning season closure for red grouper through 
May in the EEZ off North Carolina and South Carolina for both the 
commercial and recreational sectors.
    This action was developed in response to stakeholder concerns that 
red grouper are often found in spawning condition past the January 
through April shallow-water grouper spawning season closure, 
particularly in May, in the EEZ off North Carolina and South Carolina. 
This final rule also extends the prohibition on the commercial sale and 
purchase of red grouper in the EEZ off

[[Page 6826]]

North Carolina and South Carolina from January through May as part of 
the revised spawning season closure.

Commercial Trip Limit

    There is currently no commercial trip limit for red grouper in the 
South Atlantic. This final rule establishes a commercial trip limit for 
red grouper harvested in the South Atlantic EEZ of 200 lb (91 kg), 
gutted weight. The trip limit is expected to help rebuild the red 
grouper stock by discouraging directed commercial fishing for the 
species, although it is not likely to substantially reduce the current 
level of commercial harvest of red grouper. The Council selected a 
commercial trip limit that in combination with extending the spawning 
season closure for red grouper off North Carolina and South Carolina 
would constrain harvest to help rebuild the stock.

Measures in Regulatory Amendment 30 Not Codified in This Final Rule

    The Council selected a 10-year rebuilding plan for red grouper in 
Regulatory Amendment 30, which is the maximum time allowed under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and which would begin in 2019 (Year 1) and end in 
2028 (Year 10).
    Implementation of reduced total and sector ACLs, beginning in 2018, 
which was specified in Abbreviated Framework Amendment 1, is expected 
to end overfishing of South Atlantic red grouper. Given that poor 
recruitment appears to be the primary factor currently affecting stock 
rebuilding, and the projections upon which the rebuilding schedules 
alternatives in Regulatory Amendment 30 are based assumed long-term 
average recruitment, the Council selected the alternative for the 
longest rebuilding schedule (10 years) to account for the possibility 
that future recruitment might be lower than assumed in the projections.

Comments and Responses

    A total of 8 comments were received on Regulatory Amendment 30 and 
the proposed rule from individuals and fishing organizations. All but 
one of the comments supported the actions in the proposed rule and 
Regulatory Amendment 30. Some comments suggested ending fishing 
subsidies and creating marine protected areas where red grouper occur. 
The Council does not provide fishing subsidies in the snapper-grouper 
fishery, and because additional protected areas were not considered by 
the Council in Regulatory Amendment 30, NMFS is not able to 
independently add them for consideration at this time; therefore, these 
comments are not addressed further in this final rule. Comments that 
specifically relate to the actions contained in the Regulatory 
Amendment 30 and the proposed rule, are summarized and responded to 
below.
    Comment 1: The proposed seasonal closure is not aggressive enough 
to extend protection to red grouper during their spawning season. 
Because red grouper spawn from February to June, adding another month 
to the harvest prohibition would help rebuild the population.
    Response: NMFS agrees that the longer the spawning season closure 
for red grouper, the greater the biological benefits to the stock from 
allowing the species to have additional spawning opportunities. Since 
new stock biomass can be increased through growth and recruitment, 
reducing fishing pressure and protecting red grouper during their 
vulnerable spawning stages can be expected to increase stock abundance 
and biomass. Therefore, a longer spawning season prohibition could 
create indirect, long-term, positive biological and economic effects 
presumably through the availability of increased numbers of fish in the 
future.
    In the South Atlantic region, red grouper spawn from February 
through June off the Carolinas. The Council considered an alternative 
that would extend the January-April spawning season closure through 
June off the Carolinas but did not select it as their preferred. 
Instead, the Council chose to add May to the January-through-April 
seasonal prohibition of red grouper harvest in and from the EEZ off 
North Carolina and South Carolina in response to concerns that red 
grouper are often found in spawning condition during that month. Thus, 
the Council chose to realize the biological benefits of including the 
peak spawning month of May in the prohibition off North Carolina and 
South Carolina, while minimizing short-term adverse socio-economic 
effects to fishermen by not including June in the closure.
    Studies show that red grouper spawn from January through May in 
Federal waters off east Florida. There was also stakeholder feedback 
and scientific evidence cited in Amendment 30 that red grouper spawn 
earlier in the year in the southern part of the Council's jurisdiction; 
therefore, Georgia and Florida were not included in alternatives for 
the action to extend the current January-through-April spawning season 
prohibition. Additionally, there are minimal landings of red grouper in 
Georgia, which would preclude the need to extend the seasonal closure 
in Federal waters off that state.
    The seasonal closure modification is in addition to the Council's 
choice of a conservative rebuilding time-frame (10 years), and a 200-lb 
commercial trip limit. The cumulative effects of these actions are 
expected to protect the spawning populations and rebuild the red 
grouper stock.
    Comment 2: The implementation of a commercial trip limit of 200 lb 
(91 kg), gutted weight, is too high and may not result in any 
beneficial effect on the population, since commercial fishing trips for 
grouper are usually less than 200 lb (91 kg), gutted weight.
    Response: NMFS disagrees. Currently, there is no commercial trip 
limit for red grouper. Although most commercial trips do land less than 
200 lb (91 kg) of red grouper, the Council reviewed data (including 
SEDAR 53, 2017) and public input, and selected the commercial trip 
limit of 200 lb (91 kg) which, in combination with extending the 
spawning season closure for red grouper off North Carolina and South 
Carolina would constrain harvest and help rebuild the stock. The limit 
of 200 lb (91 kg), would still be large enough to allow commercial 
fishers for whom red grouper are an important species (such as those in 
south Florida and the Florida Keys) to maintain some trip 
profitability. NMFS expects the trip limit to minimize adverse socio-
economic effects by allowing fishers to retain some red grouper caught 
incidentally when fishing for other snapper-grouper species.

Classification

    The Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, determined that the 
Regulatory Amendment 30 is necessary for the conservation and 
management of the snapper-grouper fishery and that it is consistent 
with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866. This final rule is not an Executive 
Order 13771 regulatory action because this action is not significant 
under Executive Order 12866.
    A final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) was prepared. An 
FRFA incorporates the initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), a 
summary of the significant issues raised by the public comments in 
response to the IRFA, and NMFS responses to those comments, and a 
summary of the analyses completed to support the actions.
    No significant issues were raised by public comment in response to 
the

[[Page 6827]]

IRFA. Moreover, there is no new information that would change the 
estimates and conclusions of the IRFA. The rule concerns commercial and 
recreational fishing for red grouper in Federal waters of the South 
Atlantic. It directly effects both anglers (recreational fishers) and 
commercial fishing businesses that harvest red grouper in the South 
Atlantic EEZ.
    Anglers are not considered small entities as that term is defined 
in 5 U.S.C. 601(6). Therefore, neither estimates of the number of 
anglers nor the impacts on them are required or provided in this final 
rule.
    Any business that operates a commercial fishing vessel that 
harvests red grouper in the South Atlantic EEZ must have a valid 
Federal snapper-grouper permit assigned to that vessel.
    NMFS estimates from 210 to 225 permitted vessels will be directly 
affected by the rule. NMFS expects all of the businesses with the 210 
to 225 vessels operate primarily in the commercial fishing industry. 
For RFA purposes, NMFS has established a small business size standard 
for businesses, including their affiliates, whose primary industry is 
commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business primarily involved in 
commercial fishing (NAICS 11411) 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 its combined annual receipts 
are not in excess of $11 million for all of its affiliated operations 
worldwide. NMFS expects all of the businesses that operate permitted 
vessels that land red grouper are small.
    This rule does not impose additional reporting or record-keeping 
requirements on small businesses. The action to change the rebuilding 
schedule has an indirect impact on small businesses and its impact will 
be dependent on additional action. The action has a direct impact on 
anglers, and as explained previously, anglers are not small entities. 
The action to revise the seasonal closure for the recreational sector 
would have a direct impact on anglers, but as explained previously, 
anglers are not small entities.
    The action to revise the seasonal closure for the commercial sector 
adds the month of May to the current January through April prohibition 
on fishing for and possession of red grouper in Federal waters off 
North Carolina and South Carolina. That additional month is expected to 
eliminate from 6,956 lb (3,155 kg), gutted weight, to 12,477 lb (6,660 
kg), gutted weight, of red grouper commercially landed in May, and the 
average annual loss per North and South Carolina vessel that lands red 
grouper in May would range from 141 lb (64 kg), gutted weight, to 210 
lb (95 kg), gutted weight, and from $649 to $977 (2017 dollars). 
However, when differentiated by state, the action reduces the average 
North Carolina vessel's annual revenue by $497 to $649 (2017 dollars) 
(1.3 percent to 1.8 percent) and reduces the average South Carolina 
vessel's annual revenue by $713 to $977 (2017 dollars) (0.6 percent to 
0.7 percent).
    Finally, this final rule establishes a 200-lb (91 kg), gutted 
weight, commercial trip limit in Federal waters of the South Atlantic 
in effect when fishing is allowed. From 2013 through 2017, an annual 
average of nine vessels landed more than 200 lb (91 kg), gutted weight, 
of red grouper in North Carolina and South Carolina from June through 
December. Those nine vessels represent from 9.7 percent to 11.9 percent 
of the vessels that land red grouper annually in North Carolina and 
South Carolina. The trip limit is expected to reduce average landings 
by 107-117 lb (49-53 kg), gutted weight, per trip and reduce average 
dockside revenue from $498 to $538 (2017 dollars). Those losses 
represent less than 1 percent of average annual revenues for North 
Carolina and South Carolina vessels.
    An annual average of three vessels make seven trips that land more 
than 200 lb (91 kg), gutted weight, of red grouper in Georgia and 
Florida from May through December. Those three Georgia/Florida vessels 
represent from 2.1 percent to 2.2 percent of permitted vessels that 
land red grouper in Georgia and Florida annually. NMFS estimates that 
each of the three vessels will lose from $3,441 to $3,471 (2017 
dollars) in dockside revenue annually. Those figures represent from 6.5 
percent to 6.6 percent of the average Georgia/Florida vessel's dockside 
revenue from all landings; however, the three vessels have annual 
revenues substantially greater than the average for the 134 to 143 
Georgia/Florida vessels that land red grouper annually.
    Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness 
Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for 
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish 
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule, 
and shall designate such publications as ``small entity compliance 
guides.'' The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is 
required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of 
this rulemaking process, a letter to permit holders that also serves as 
small entity compliance guide (the guide) was prepared. Copies of this 
final rule are available from the Southeast Regional Office, and the 
guide, i.e., permit holder letter, will be sent to all holders of 
permits for the snapper-grouper fishery. The guide and this final rule 
will be available upon request.
    A copy of this analysis is available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES).

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Commercial, Fisheries, Fishing, Red grouper, Seasonal closure, 
South Atlantic, Trip limits.


    Dated: January 28, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended 
as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH 
ATLANTIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:

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


0
2. In Sec.  622.183, revise paragraph (b)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.183  Area and seasonal closures.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) Seasonal closure of the commercial and recreational sectors for 
gag and associated grouper species. During January through April each 
year, no person may fish for, harvest, or possess in or from the South 
Atlantic EEZ any South Atlantic shallow-water grouper (SASWG): Gag, 
black grouper, red grouper, scamp, red hind, rock hind, yellowmouth 
grouper, yellowfin grouper, graysby, and coney. For a person on board a 
vessel for which a valid Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat 
permit for South Atlantic snapper-grouper has been issued, these 
prohibitions against fishing, harvesting, or possessing apply in the 
South Atlantic, i.e., in state or Federal waters. Additionally, in the 
month of May, no person may fish for, harvest, or possess any South 
Atlantic red grouper in or from the South Atlantic EEZ off North 
Carolina or off South Carolina. For a person on board a vessel for 
which a valid Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for 
South Atlantic snapper-grouper has been issued, these prohibitions 
against fishing, harvesting, or possessing red grouper in May apply in 
state waters off North Carolina and off South Carolina.
* * * * *

[[Page 6828]]


0
3. In Sec.  622.191, add paragraph (a)(15) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.191  Commercial trip limits.

    (a) * * *
    (15) Red grouper. Until the commercial ACL specified in Sec.  
622.193(d)(1)(iii) is reached--200 lb (91 kg), gutted weight; 236 lb 
(107 kg), round weight. See Sec.  622.193(d)(1) for the limitations 
regarding red grouper after the commercial ACL is reached.
* * * * *

0
4. In Sec.  622.192, revise paragraph (h) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.192  Restrictions on sale/purchase.

* * * * *
    (h) During January through April, no person may sell or purchase a 
gag, black grouper, red grouper, scamp, red hind, rock hind, 
yellowmouth grouper, yellowfin grouper, graysby, or coney harvested 
from or possessed in the South Atlantic EEZ or, if harvested or 
possessed by a vessel for which a valid Federal commercial permit for 
South Atlantic snapper-grouper has been issued, harvested from the 
South Atlantic, i.e., in state or Federal waters. Additionally, in the 
month of May, no person may sell or purchase South Atlantic red grouper 
harvested from or possessed in the South Atlantic EEZ off North 
Carolina or off South Carolina, or, if harvested or possessed by a 
vessel for which a valid Federal commercial permit for South Atlantic 
snapper-grouper has been issued, harvested in or from the EEZ or state 
waters off North Carolina or off South Carolina. The prohibitions on 
sale and purchase during January through May do not apply to such 
species that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to January 1 
and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor. These 
prohibitions also do not apply to a dealer's purchase or sale of such 
species harvested from an area other than the South Atlantic, provided 
such fish are accompanied by documentation of harvest outside the South 
Atlantic. The requirements for such documentation are specified in 
paragraph (i) of this section.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2020-01917 Filed 2-5-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P