[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 181 (Thursday, September 17, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 57986-57988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20415]



[[Page 57986]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No.: 200910-0238]
RIN 0648-BJ79


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Monkfish; Framework 
Adjustment 12

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are implementing specifications submitted by the New 
England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils in Framework 
Adjustment 12 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan. This action sets 
monkfish specifications for fishing year 2020 and projects 
specifications for the 2021 and 2022 fishing years. This action is 
needed to establish allowable monkfish harvest levels that will prevent 
overfishing.

DATES: These final specifications for the 2020 monkfish fishery are 
effective October 19, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Framework 12 document, including the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis and other supporting documents for 
the specifications, are available from Thomas A. Nies, Executive 
Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 
2, Newburyport, MA 01950. The specifications document is also 
accessible via the internet at: https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/monkfish.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Murphy, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9122.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The New England and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils 
jointly manage the monkfish fishery under the Monkfish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP). The New England Council has the administrative 
lead for the FMP. The fishery extends from Maine to North Carolina from 
the coast out to the end of the continental shelf. The Councils manage 
the fishery as two management units, with the Northern Fishery 
Management Area (NFMA) covering the Gulf of Maine and northern part of 
Georges Bank, and the Southern Fishery Management Area (SFMA) extending 
from the southern flank of Georges Bank through Southern New England 
and into the Mid-Atlantic Bight to North Carolina.
    The monkfish fishery is primarily managed by landing limits and a 
yearly allocation of monkfish days-at-sea calculated to enable vessels 
participating in the fishery to catch, but not exceed, the target total 
allowable landings (TAL) and the annual catch target (ACT). The ACT is 
the TAL plus an estimate of expected discards, for each management 
area. Both the ACT and the TAL are calculated to maximize yield in the 
fishery over the long term.

Approved Measures

1. Specifications

    We are approving adjustments to the NFMA and SFMA quotas for 
fishing year 2020 (Table 1), based on the Councils' recommendations. We 
are also projecting these quotas for fishing years 2021 and 2022. In 
August 2019, the New England Council's Scientific and Statistical 
Committee (SSC) recommended acceptable biological catch levels in the 
NFMA and SFMA for fishing years 2020-2022. The Councils approved the 
specifications during their fall 2019 meetings. Both Councils' 
recommendations for the 2020-2022 monkfish specifications are based on 
the results of the 2019 assessment update and the recommendations of 
the SSC.
    The Councils recommended a 10-percent increase in the acceptable 
biological catch and annual catch limit in the NFMA and status quo 
acceptable biological catch and annual catch limit in the SFMA, when 
compared to the 2017-2019 specifications. Discards, calculated using a 
moving average of the most recent three years of data, increased in 
both areas, but more significantly in the SFMA. Data indicate that this 
substantial increase is due to the large 2015 monkfish year class being 
discarded by scallop dredge gear. After accounting for discards, the 
Councils recommend a 5-percent increase in the TAL for the NFMA and a 
35-percent decrease in the TAL for the SFMA. Despite these changes, 
both Councils recommend no adjustments to day-at-sea allocations or 
landing limits. The small increase in the NFMA is expected to convert 
fish that were discarded in previous fishing years into landings. The 
Councils do not expect the lower SFMA TAL to be constraining because 
SFMA landings have been lower than the 2020 TAL since 2008.

                                  Table 1--Approved Framework 12 Specifications
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       NFMA                            SFMA
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                  Catch limits                       2020-2022    Percent change     2020-2022    Percent change
                                                    specs (mt)       from 2019      specs (mt)       from 2019
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acceptable Biological Catch.....................           8,351              10          12,316               0
Annual Catch Limit..............................           8,351              10          12,316               0
Management Uncertainty..........................       3 percent  ..............       3 percent  ..............
Annual Catch Target (Total Allowable Landings +            8,101              10          11,947               0
 discards)......................................
Discards........................................           1,477  ..............           6,065             107
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Allowable Landings........................           6,624               5           5,882             -35
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    At the end of each fishing year, we evaluate catch information and 
determine if the quota has been exceeded. If a quota is exceeded, the 
regulations at 50 CFR 648.96(d) require the Councils to revise the 
monkfish ACT if it is determined that the annual catch limit was 
exceeded in any given year, or for NMFS to revise the monkfish ACT if 
the Councils fail to take action. We would publish a notice in the 
Federal Register of any revisions to these proposed specifications if 
an overage occurs. We expect, based on preliminary 2019 year end 
accounting, that no adjustment is necessary. We will provide notice of 
the 2021 and 2022 quotas prior to the start of each respective fishing 
year.
    2. Regulatory Corrections

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    Using our authority under section 305(d) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act, we are clarifying trip 
declaration requirements at 50 CFR 648.10 for vessels making trip 
declarations through the interactive voice response system. Regulations 
require vessels using a vessel monitoring system to submit a trip 
declaration less than 1 hour prior to leaving port. No timeframe is 
specified in the regulations for vessels using the interactive voice 
response system. This rule clarifies that declarations using either 
system must be made less than 1 hour prior to leaving port. This 
requirement is intended to make the declaration requirements consistent 
for all monkfish fishery participants.
    Additionally, we are using the same authority to correct the 
monkfish incidental catch limits in four Northeast multispecies 
exempted fisheries specified in Sec.  648.80. In the final rule 
implementing Amendment 5 to the Monkfish FMP (76 FR 30265; May 25, 
2011), we updated the tail-to-whole-weight (landed) conversion factor 
from 3.32 to 2.91, and applied this updated conversion to the monkfish 
possession limits in Sec.  648.94. However, we inadvertently failed to 
update the incidental monkfish possession limits for the Northeast 
multispecies exempted fisheries at Sec. Sec.  648.80(a)(6)(1)(B), 
(a)(10)(i)(D), (b)(3)(ii), and (h)(3)(iii)(A). Through this final rule, 
we are correcting the incidental monkfish whole weight possession 
limits using the 2011 conversion factor.

Comments and Responses

    The public comment period for the proposed rule (85 FR 39157; June 
30, 2020) ended on July 30, 2020. No comments were received on the 
proposed rule.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    There are no changes from the proposed rule.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is 
consistent with the Monkfish FMP, Framework 12, provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
    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.
    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. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not required and none was prepared.
    This final rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing.

    Dated: September 11, 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.  648.10, revise paragraph (h)(1) introductory text to read 
as follows:


Sec.  648.10   VMS and DAS requirements for vessel owners/operators.

* * * * *
    (h) * * *
    (1) Less than 1 hr prior to leaving port, for vessels issued a 
limited access NE multispecies DAS permit or, for vessels issued a 
limited access NE multispecies DAS permit and a limited access monkfish 
permit (Category C, D, F, G, or H), unless otherwise specified in 
paragraph (h) of this section, or an occasional scallop permit as 
specified in this paragraph (h), and, less than 1 hr prior to leaving 
port, for vessels issued a limited access monkfish Category A or B 
permit, the vessel owner or authorized representative must notify the 
Regional Administrator that the vessel will be participating in the DAS 
program by calling the call-in system and providing the following 
information:
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  648.80, revise paragraphs (a)(6)(i)(B), (a)(10)(i)(D), 
(b)(3)(ii), and (h)(3)(iii)(A) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.80  NE Multispecies regulated mesh areas and restrictions on 
gear and methods of fishing.

* * * * *
    (a) * * *
    (6) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (B) An owner or operator of a vessel fishing in this area may not 
fish for, possess on board, or land any species of fish other than 
whiting and offshore hake combined--up to a maximum of 30,000 lb 
(13,608 kg), except for the following, with the restrictions noted, as 
allowable incidental species: Atlantic herring, up to the amount 
specified in Sec.  648.204; longhorn sculpin; squid, butterfish, and 
Atlantic mackerel, up to the amounts specified in Sec.  648.26; spiny 
dogfish, up to the amount specified in Sec.  648.235; red hake, up to 
the amount specified in Sec.  648.86(d), monkfish and monkfish parts--
up to 10 percent, by weight, of all other species on board or up to 50 
lb (23 kg) tail-weight/146 lb (66 kg) whole-weight of monkfish per 
trip, as specified in Sec.  648.94(c)(4), whichever is less; and 
American lobster--up to 10 percent, by weight, of all other species on 
board or 200 lobsters, whichever is less, unless otherwise restricted 
by landing limits specified in Sec.  697.17 of this chapter.
* * * * *
    (10) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (D) Incidental species provisions. The following species may be 
possessed and landed, with the restrictions noted, as allowable 
incidental species in the Nantucket Shoals Dogfish Fishery Exemption 
Area: Longhorn sculpin; silver hake--up to 200 lb (90.7 kg); monkfish 
and monkfish parts--up to 10 percent, by weight, of all other species 
on board or up to 50 lb (23 kg) tail-weight/146 lb (66 kg) whole-weight 
of monkfish per trip, as specified in Sec.  648.94(c)(4), whichever is 
less; American lobster--up to 10 percent, by weight, of all other 
species on board or 200 lobsters, whichever is less, unless otherwise 
restricted by landing limits specified in Sec.  697.17 of this chapter; 
and skate or skate parts--up to 10 percent, by weight, of all other 
species on board.
* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (ii) Possession and net stowage requirements. Vessels may possess 
regulated species while in possession of nets with mesh smaller than 
the minimum size specified in paragraphs (a)(4) and (b)(2) of this 
section when fishing in the SNE Exemption Area defined in paragraph 
(b)(10) of this section, provided that such nets are stowed and are not 
available for immediate use as defined in Sec.  648.2, and provided 
that regulated species were not harvested by nets of mesh size

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smaller than the minimum mesh size specified in paragraphs (a)(4) and 
(b)(2) of this section. Vessels fishing for the exempted species 
identified in paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section may also possess and 
retain the following species, with the restrictions noted, as 
incidental take to these exempted fisheries: Conger eels; sea robins; 
black sea bass; red hake; tautog (blackfish); blowfish; cunner; John 
Dory; mullet; bluefish; tilefish; longhorn sculpin; fourspot flounder; 
alewife; hickory shad; American shad; blueback herring; sea raven; 
Atlantic croaker; spot; swordfish; monkfish and monkfish parts--up to 
10 percent, by weight, of all other species on board or up to 50 lb (23 
kg) tail-weight/146 lb (66 kg) whole weight of monkfish per trip, as 
specified in Sec.  648.94(c)(4), whichever is less; American lobster--
up to 10 percent, by weight, of all other species on board or 200 
lobsters, whichever is less; and skate and skate parts (except for 
barndoor skate and other prohibited skate species (see Sec. Sec.  
648.14(v)(2) and 648.322(g))--up to 10 percent, by weight, of all other 
species on board.
* * * * *
    (h) * * *
    (3) * * *
    (iii) * * *
    (A) A vessel fishing in the Scallop Dredge Fishery Exemption Areas 
specified in paragraphs (h)(3)(i) and (ii) of this section may not fish 
for, possess on board, or land any species of fish other than Atlantic 
sea scallops and up to 50 lb (23 kg) tail weight or 146 lb (66 kg) 
whole weight of monkfish per trip.
* * * * *

[FR Doc. 2020-20415 Filed 9-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P