[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 66 (Monday, April 6, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19129-19131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07070]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 200331-0094]
RIN 0648-BI28


Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern 
United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Removal of Regulations 
Implementing the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We propose to remove regulations that implement the Closed 
Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program. The Omnibus Essential 
Fish Habitat Amendment 2 eliminated the year-round Closed Area I, 
rendering the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special Access Program 
unnecessary. Eliminating the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock Special 
Access Program would reduce confusion and inconsistency with other 
regulations.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 6, 2020.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2019-0104, 
by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.
    1. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020-0026;
    2. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon and complete the required 
fields; and
    3. Enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Michael Pentony, Regional 
Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, 
``Comments on the Closed Area I Hook Gear Haddock SAP.''
    Instructions: All comments received that were timely and properly 
submitted 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. We will accept 
anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to 
remain anonymous). 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 us.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Spencer Talmage, Fishery Management 
Specialist, phone: (978) 281-9232; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    NMFS published an interim final rule (69 FR 67779; November 19, 
2004), implementing measures approved under Framework Adjustment 40-A 
to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Among 
other measures, Framework 40-A created the Closed Area I Hook Gear 
Haddock Special Access Program (CAI HGH SAP) to provide vessels with 
additional opportunities in Closed Area I to target healthy stocks. The 
CAI HGH SAP allowed vessels to access the groundfish year-round Closed 
Area I if they followed certain gear and other restrictions.
    The Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2 (83 FR 15240, April 
9, 2018) eliminated the year-round closure of Closed Area I. The area 
once covered by Closed Area I is now open to vessels fishing with hook 
gear, with the exception of the Georges Bank Dedicated Habitat Research 
Area and the seasonal Closed Area I North Closure (February 1--April 
15). The CAI HGH SAP does not overlap with either the Georges Bank 
Dedicated Habitat Research Area or Closed Area I North Closure, and as 
such does not allow any activity otherwise prohibited by these areas. 
As a result, the CAI HGH SAP is now unnecessary, redundant, and 
inconsistent with the changes made by the Omnibus Essential Fish 
Habitat Amendment 2 because the program provides special access to an 
area that is already open to the groundfish fleet in the time that the 
SAP is effective.
    Under section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act, the Regional Administrator is authorized to make 
changes to regulations that are necessary to carry out any fishery 
management plan or amendment. We are proposing to amend the regulations 
in Sec.  648.14, Sec.  648.81, Sec.  648.82, and Sec.  648.85 to remove 
references to the CAI HGH SAP and to make a minor correction to a 
cross-reference.
    This action would not change the allocation to the Incidental Catch 
Total Allowable Catch (TAC) defined in Sec.  648.85(b)(5)(ii). Such a 
change would require a substantive change to prior New England Fishery 
Management Council allocation decisions, and it is more appropriate for 
the New England Fishery Management Council to consider these changes in 
a future action. During the biennial specifications process, 2 percent 
of the Georges Bank (GB) cod sub-Annual Catch Limit for the common pool 
is designated as the Incidental Catch TAC. The Incidental Catch TAC is 
split between the Regular B Day-at-Sea Program, the Eastern United 
States/Canada Haddock SAP, and the CAI HGH SAP. The Incidental Catch 
TAC is a cap on catch of GB Cod in these programs, and does not affect 
the overall amount of GB cod available to vessels fishing outside of 
these programs in the common pool.
    Because no changes are being made to this process, 16 percent of 
the Incidental Catch TAC will continue to be allocated to the CAI HGH 
SAP during each biennial specifications process. This does not affect 
the quota available to the common pool groundfish fishery. The New 
England Fishery Management Council may choose to take further action on 
the allocation of the Incidental Catch TAC.
    On December 17, 2019, NMFS published a final rule (84 FR 68798) 
prohibiting gillnet fishing in the Nantucket Lightship and Closed Area 
I Closure Areas, in order to comply with a Federal Court order. That 
rule only affects vessels fishing with gillnet gear, and vessels 
fishing with hook gear may still fish in Closed Area I without 
declaring into the CAI HGH SAP. This action to eliminate the CAI HGH 
SAP was not affected by the prohibition of gillnet fishing in Closed 
Area I.

Classification

    The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Assistant 
Administrator has made a preliminary determination that this proposed 
rule is consistent with section 305(d) and other provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law. In making the final 
determination, we will consider the data, views, and comments received 
during the public comment period, subject to further consideration 
after public comment.

[[Page 19130]]

    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order (E.O.) 12866. This proposed rule is 
expected to be an Executive Order 13771 deregulatory action.
    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 determination for this determination follows.
    For purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, NMFS 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 engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS code 
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 has combined annual receipts not in excess of $11 
million for all its affiliated operations worldwide. The determination 
of whether the entity is large or small is based on the average annual 
revenue for the most recent 3 years for which data are available (in 
this case, from 2016 through 2018).
    To participate in the CAI HGH SAP, vessels must possess a limited 
access multispecies permit (categories A, D, E, or F). Therefore, 
entities holding one or more limited access multispecies permits are 
the entities that have the potential to be directly impacted by this 
action. According to the commercial database, there were 557 entities 
that had at least one of the relevant limited access permits during 
2018, the last year for which affiliation information is available. Of 
these entities, 81 did not have revenues. There were 476 entities that 
reported revenues during 2018. Of these, 6 were classified as large and 
470 were classified as small businesses.
    A vessel that declares into the CAI HGH SAP is subject to 
additional notification, reporting requirements and gear modification 
requirements, but with the elimination of Closed Area I on April 19, 
2018, the CAI HGH SAP no longer provides special access to any closed 
areas. There is no longer a beneficial reason to participate in the 
program, and no vessels participated in fishing year 2018. As a result, 
the proposed elimination of the CAI HGH SAP would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is not required 
and none has been prepared.
    This proposed rule contains a collection-of-information requirement 
subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) under the PRA. This requirement has been submitted to OMB for 
approval under Control Number 0648-0202.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

    Dated: March 31, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 
to be amended as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:

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

0
2. In Sec.  648.14:
0
a. Revise paragraphs (k)(6)(ii)(B), (11)(i)(A)(4), (11)(vi), 
(12)(i)(B), and paragraph (12)(ii);
0
b. Remove paragraph (k)(12)(vi); and
0
c. Redesignate paragraph (k)(12)(vii) as (vi).
    The revisions read as follows:


Sec.  648.14  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (k) * * *
    (6) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (B) Hook gear. Fail to comply with the restrictions on fishing and 
gear specified in Sec.  648.80(a)(3)(v), (a)(4)(v), (b)(2)(v), and 
(c)(2)(iv) if the vessel has been issued a limited access NE 
multispecies permit and fishes with hook gear in areas specified in 
Sec.  648.80(a), (b), or (c).
* * * * *
    (11) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (4) If fishing both outside and inside of the areas specified for a 
SAP under Sec.  648.85(b)(3) and (7), under a NE multispecies DAS in 
the Eastern U.S./Canada Area specified in Sec.  648.85(a)(1), fail to 
abide by the DAS and possession restrictions under Sec.  
648.85(b)(7)(v)(A)(2) through (4).
* * * * *
    (vi) Closure of the U.S./Canada Area for all persons. If fishing 
under a NE multispecies DAS or on a sector trip, declare into, enter, 
or fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area specified in Sec.  648.85(a)(1) 
if the area is closed under the authority of the Regional Administrator 
as described in Sec.  648.85(a)(3)(iv)(D) or (E), unless fishing in the 
Closed Area II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP specified in Sec.  
648.85(b)(3) or the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP Program specified 
in Sec.  648.85(b)(7).
    (12) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) If a vessel is fishing under a Category B DAS in the Closed 
Area II Yellowtail Flounder SAP specified in Sec.  648.85(b)(3), the 
Regular B DAS Program specified in Sec.  648.85(b)(6), or the Eastern 
U.S./Canada Haddock SAP specified in Sec.  648.85(b)(7), remove any 
fish caught with any gear, including dumping the contents of a net, 
except on board the vessel.
    (ii) General restrictions for vessel and operator permit holders. 
Discard legal-sized NE regulated multispecies, ocean pout, or Atlantic 
halibut while fishing under a SAP, as described in Sec. Sec.  
648.85(b)(3)(xi) or 648.85(b)(7)(v)(I).
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec.  648.81, revise paragraph (a)(5)(ii)(C) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.81  NE multispecies year-round and seasonal closed areas.

    (a) * * *
    (5) * * *
    (ii) * * *
    (C) Fishing in the CA II Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP or the 
Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP Program as specified in Sec.  
648.85(b)(3)(ii) or (b)(7)(ii), respectively.
* * * * *
0
4. In Sec.  648.82, by revise paragraph (e)(3) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.82  Effort-control program for NE multispecies limited access 
vessels.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (3) Regular B DAS Program 24-hr clock. For a vessel electing to 
fish in the Regular B DAS Program, as specified at Sec.  648.85(b)(6), 
that remains fishing under a Regular B DAS for the entire fishing trip 
(without a DAS flip), DAS shall accrue at the rate of 1 full DAS for 
each calendar day, or part of a calendar day fished. For example, a 
vessel that fished on 1 calendar day from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. would be 
charged 24 hr of Regular B DAS, not 16 hr; a vessel that left on a trip 
at 11 p.m. on the first calendar day and returned at 10 p.m. on the 
second calendar day would be charged 48 hr of Regular B DAS instead of 
23 hr, because the fishing trip would have spanned 2 calendar days. For 
the purpose of calculating trip limits specified under Sec.  648.86, 
the amount of DAS deducted from a vessel's DAS allocation shall 
determine the amount of fish the vessel can land legally. For a

[[Page 19131]]

vessel electing to fish in the Regular B DAS Program, as specified at 
Sec.  648.85(b)(6), while also fishing in an area subject to 
differential DAS counting pursuant to paragraph (n)(1)(i) of this 
section, Category B DAS shall accrue at the rate described in this 
paragraph (e)(3), unless the vessel flips to a Category A DAS, in which 
case the vessel is subject to the pertinent DAS accrual restrictions of 
paragraph (n)(1) of this section for the entire trip. For vessels 
electing to fish in both the Regular B DAS Program, as specified in 
Sec.  648.85(b)(6), and in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area, as specified 
in Sec.  648.85(a), DAS counting will begin and end according to the 
DAS rules specified in Sec.  648.10(e)(5)(iv).
* * * * *


Sec.  648.85  [Amended]

0
5. Amend Sec.  648.85 by:
0
a. Remove paragraph (b)(7); and
0
b. Redesignate paragraph (b)(8) as (b)(7).

[FR Doc. 2020-07070 Filed 4-3-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P