[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 81 (Monday, April 27, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23240-23242]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07805]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 200408-0105]
RIN 0648-BJ46
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Skate
Complex; Framework Adjustment 8 and 2020-2021 Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing final measures recommended by the New
England Fishery Management Council in Framework Adjustment 8 to the
Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan. This action specifies
skate catch limits for fishing years 2020 and 2021 and increases
seasonal possession limits for both the wing and bait fisheries. This
action is necessary to establish skate specifications consistent with
the most recent scientific information and the requirements of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The intent of
this action is to establish catch limits for the skate fishery, while
providing operational flexibility to fishery participants.
DATES: Effective on May 1, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The New England Fishery Management Council prepared an
environmental assessment (EA) for Northeast Skate Complex Framework
Adjustment 8 that describes the action and other considered
alternatives. The EA provides an analysis of the biological, economic,
and social impacts of the preferred measures and other considered
alternatives; a Regulatory Impact Review; and economic analysis. Copies
of this framework adjustment, including the EA and other supporting
documents for the action, are available upon request from Thomas A.
Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50
Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. These documents are also
accessible via the internet at www.nefmc.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The New England Fishery Management Council manages a complex of
seven skate species (barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette, smooth,
thorny, and winter skate) off the New England and mid-Atlantic coasts
through the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The
thorny skate stock is 16 years into a 25-year rebuilding plan, and
possession of the species remains prohibited until the stock is
rebuilt. None of the six other skate stocks are overfished or subject
to overfishing. Skates are harvested and managed within two targeted
fisheries, one for food (the wing fishery) and one for bait used in
other fisheries (the bait fishery). The FMP requires that the Council
annually review and establish catch and possession limits for the skate
fishery through the specifications process for up to two fishing years
at a time. This action implements increased quotas and seasonal
possession limits for both the wing and bait skate fisheries in fishing
years 2020 and 2021. The current specifications (84 FR 4373; February
15, 2019) end on April 30, 2020, and will roll over in the event this
rule is delayed beyond that date.
The proposed rule for this action published in the Federal Register
on February 5, 2020 (85 FR 6494), and comments were accepted through
March 6, 2020. We received eight comments from the public, but no
changes to the final rule are necessary as a result of those comments
(see Comments and Responses for additional detail). Additional
background information regarding the development of these
specifications was provided in the proposed rule and is not repeated
here.
Final Action
We approve Skate Framework 8 and the Council-recommended
specifications as outlined in our proposed rule for this action (85 FR
6494). These 2020-2021 specifications have higher fishery catch limits
than fishing year 2019, including a 4-percent increase in acceptable
biological catch
[[Page 23241]]
(ABC) to 32,715 metric tons (mt) and a 13-percent increase in the
overall total allowable landings (TAL) to 17,864 mt. Each of the wing
and bait fisheries' TALs will also increase 13 percent from 2019. The
final bait fishery TAL will be 5,984 mt, and the wing fishery TAL will
be 11,879 mt. These changes are primarily in response to recent
decreases in dead discards and state landings.
The fishing year for skates is from May 1 to April 30. However, the
directed wing and bait fisheries are managed in separate seasons to
allow us to more closely manage harvest. The skate FMP regulations at
50 CFR 648.322 specify the allocation of skate TAL to each fishery
(33.5 percent to bait and 66.5 percent to wing), and to each season of
the fishing year. In the wing fishery, 57 percent of the wing TAL is
allocated to Season 1 (May 1-August 31), and the rest to Season 2
(September 1-April 30). In the bait fishery, 30.8 percent is allocated
to Season 1 (May 1-July 31), 37.1 percent is allocated to Season 2
(August 1-October 31), and the remainder is given to Season 3 (November
1-April 30). Table 1 shows the seasonal TALs for the wing and bait
fisheries under this action.
Table 1--Seasonal TAL Allocations for the 2020-2021 Skate Wing and Bait
Fisheries
[In metric tons]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wing Fishery................... Season 1 (May 1-August 6,771
31).
Season 2 (September 1- 5,108
April 30).
Bait Fishery................... Season 1 (May 1-July 1,843
31).
Season 2 (August 1- 2,220
October 31).
Season 3 (November 1- 1,921
April 30).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This action also increases seasonal possession limits in both the
wing and bait fisheries to allow more flexibility to harvest the
additional quota. As described in the proposed rule, the bait fishery
Season 3 possession limit will increase in order to maintain the
25,000-lb (11,340-kg) possession limit all year. The wing fishery
Season 1 possession limit increases to 3,000 lb (1,361 kg), and the
Season 2 possession limit increases to 5,000 lb (2,268 kg). The
barndoor skate possession limit in the wing fishery would also increase
to 750 lb (340 kg) in Season 1, and to 1,025 lb (465 kg) in Season 2.
All other possession limits, including incidental possession limits of
500 lb (227 kg) in the wing fishery and 8,000 lb (3,629 kg) in the bait
fishery, remain unchanged. Table 2 shows all of the possession limits
for the skate fishery upon implementation of action.
Table 2--Skate Fishery Possession Limits ** for Fishing Years 2020 and 2021
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trip type Season Wing weight Whole weight Barndoor * wing weight Barndoor * whole weight
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northeast (NE) Multispecies, Season 1....... 3,000 lb, 1,361 kg...... 6,810 lb, 3,089 kg......... 750 lb, 340 kg.......... 1,703 lb, 772 kg.
Scallop, or Monkfish Day-At- Season 2....... 5,000 lb, 2,268 kg...... 11,350 lb, 5,148 kg........ 1,250 lb, 465 kg........ 2,838 lb, 1,287 kg.
Sea (DAS).
NE Multispecies B DAS....... All Year....... 220 lb, 100 kg.......... 500 lb, 227 kg............. 0....................... 0.
Non-DAS..................... All Year....... 500 lb, 227 kg.......... 1,135 lb, 515 kg........... 0....................... 0.
Skate Bait under Letter of All Year....... 0....................... 25,000 lb, 11,340 kg....... 0....................... 0.
Authorization.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Barndoor skate possession limits are within the overall skate possession limit for each trip, not in addition to it.
** Possession limits may be modified in-season in order to prevent catch from exceeding quotas.
The Council will review these specifications for 2021 to determine
if any changes need to be made prior to the 2021 fishing year. NMFS
will publish a notice prior to the May 1, 2021, start of the 2021
fishing year to confirm or announce any necessary changes.
Comments and Responses
The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on March 6,
2020, and eight comments were received from the public. Five commenters
supported the action, noting the potential to decrease discards with
increased possession limits, and the benefit of higher quotas to
industry as long as the stocks remain healthy. NMFS agrees, and these
are the primary reasons for increasing the quotas and limits in this
action. One member of the public submitted two comments. One comment
stated that he was a skate bait fisherman and did not want any changes
to the fishery, and the second comment added that he would like a
change to allow vessels to keep wings as bycatch on a bait trip, but
not the changes proposed by this action. NMFS understands the
commenter's concern for change, but this action was developed to
provide the highest expected benefit to both the wing and bait skate
fisheries. This action does not address incidental or bycatch limits of
other fisheries in the bait or wing fisheries, although the Council
could consider this in a future framework action. This action increases
the bait fishery Season 3 possession limit to 25,000 lb (11,340 kg),
that season's limit prior to Framework Adjustment 4 in 2018 (83 FR
6133; February 13, 2018).
The final commenter claimed that this action was promoting
overfishing and overexploitation of the skate resource at the expense
of the other species that prey on skates. The commenter requested that
the total take for skates be reduced to 10 mt. The commenter presented
no rationale or evidence supporting these claims. This action is based
on the best available science, including a 2019 stock assessment update
and Northeast Fisheries Science Center trawl survey data through spring
2019. It was developed to prevent overfishing and maintain healthy
skate stocks while allowing the fishery to achieve optimum yield. No
changes were made to the proposed rule as a result of these comments.
[[Page 23242]]
Changes From the Proposed Rule
NMFS has not made any changes to the proposed regulatory text, and
there are no substantive changes from the proposed rule.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS
Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region, has determined that this final
rule is necessary and consistent with the Northeast Skate Complex FMP,
other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
The Council reviewed the Framework 8 regulations and deemed them
necessary and appropriate to implement consistent with section 303(c)
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
This action relieves a restriction by increasing catch and
possession limits in the skate fishery, and is therefore not subject to
the 30-day delayed effectiveness provision of the APA pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(1). This final rule increases the annual TALs for both
the skate wing and bait fisheries by 13 percent, and increases seasonal
possession limits in both fisheries. These increases are intended to
provide additional flexibility and economic opportunity for the skate
fishing industry. The 2020 fishing year begins on May 1, 2020. If the
30-day delayed effectiveness period postpones the implementation of
these measures beyond the May 1 start of the fishing year, the
unnecessarily restrictive, lower 2019 catch limits will roll over into
the beginning of 2020. This would be contrary to the public interest as
it could create confusion and potential economic harm to the skate
fisheries through lost opportunity under the lower catch limits at the
beginning of the fishing year. Furthermore, this action does not
require any additional time to come into compliance with this rule.
Unlike actions that require an adjustment period, skate fishing vessels
will not have to purchase new equipment or otherwise expend time or
money to comply with these management measures. Therefore, NMFS also
finds good cause not to delay this final rule's effectiveness,
consistent with 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3); and to implement these measures on
May 1, 2020 for the 2020 fishing year.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
This final rule is considered an Executive Order 13771 deregulatory
action. To determine the cost savings associated with this rule, the
estimated revenue from the increased possession limits were compared to
that of the No Action alternative (see ADDRESSES to locate the EA for
more detailed information on the estimated revenue and alternatives).
Based on a simulation using 2018 fishery data, this action is expected
to increase skate wing fishery revenues by 4.65 percent ($250,329), and
skate bait fishery revenues by 6.6 percent ($72,020), for a total net
increase of $322,349. This action also increases the TAL by 13 percent,
reducing the likelihood that a quota trigger will be reached and reduce
possession to the incidental limit in either the wing or bait fishery.
This increases economic opportunity and flexibility, but is difficult
to quantify. Therefore, the total estimated net cost savings is
$322,349 in 2018 dollars, and the annualized savings to perpetuity is
$0.29 million per year in 2016 dollars.
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. As a result, a final regulatory flexibility analysis is not
required and none has been prepared.
This action does not contain a collection of information
requirement for the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: April 8, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is 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. 648.322, revise paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (ii) and (c)(3) to
read as follows:
Sec. 648.322 Skate allocation, possession, and landing provisions.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(i) A vessel or operator of a vessel that has been issued a valid
Federal skate permit under this part, and fishes under an Atlantic sea
scallop, NE multispecies, or monkfish DAS as specified at Sec. Sec.
648.53, 648.82, and 648.92, respectively, unless otherwise exempted
under Sec. 648.80 or paragraph (c) of this section, may fish for,
possess, and/or land up to the allowable trip limits specified as
follows: Up to 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) of skate wings (6,810 lb (3,089 kg)
whole weight) per trip in Season 1 (May 1 through August 31), and 5,000
lb (2,268 kg) of skate wings (11,350 lb (5,148 kg) whole weight) per
trip in Season 2 (September 1 through April 30), or any prorated
combination of the allowable landing forms defined at paragraph (b)(5)
of this section.
(ii) When fishing under the possession limits specified in
paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, a vessel is allowed to possess and
land up to 750 lb (340 kg) of barndoor skate wings (1,702 lb (772 kg)
whole weight) per trip in Season 1, and 1,250 lb (567 kg) of barndoor
skate wings (2,837 lb (1,287 kg) whole weight) per trip in Season 2.
The possession limits for barndoor skate wings are included within the
overall possession limit (i.e., total pounds of skate wings on board,
including barndoor skate wings, are not allowed to exceed 3,000 lb
(1,361 kg) in Season 1 and 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) in Season 2). Vessels
are prohibited from discarding any skate wings when in possession of
barndoor skate wings. Barndoor skate wings and carcasses on board a
vessel subject to this possession limit must be separated from other
species of fish and stored so as to be readily available for
inspection.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(3) The vessel owner or operator possesses or lands no more than
25,000 lb (11,340 kg) of whole skates per trip.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2020-07805 Filed 4-24-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P