[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 24, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 74919-74921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25995]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 200522-0145]
RIN 0648-BJ80


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop 
Fishery; Extend an Emergency Action To Extend Portions of the Fishing 
Year 2019 Scallop Carryover Provisions

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

ACTION: Temporary rule; emergency action extension.

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SUMMARY: This temporary rule extends emergency measures that extend 
portions of the fishing year 2019 carryover provisions in the Atlantic 
Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan into the 2020 fishing year 
published on June 1, 2020 (85 FR 33027), which is scheduled to expire 
on November 29, 2020. This action is necessary to prevent the Limited 
Access General Category Individual Fishery Quota vessels from losing 
any carryover granted by this emergency action and to prevent the 
Nantucket Lightship-West Access Area from opening on November 29, 2020. 
This action is intended to provide additional time for Limited Access 
General Category Individual Fishery Quota vessels to land the 2019 
carryover allocation granted by the original emergency action and to 
provide the New England Fishery Management Council additional time to 
develop a

[[Page 74920]]

plan for the management of the Nantucket Lightship-West Access Area 
while it remains closed.

DATES: Effective November 29, 2020, through June 1, 2021. The 
expiration date of the temporary rule published June 1, 2020, is 
extended to June 1, 2021, unless superseded by another action, which 
will publish in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: For this action, NMFS developed a Supplemental Impact Report 
(SIR) for the Environmental Assessment (EA) for Framework 32 to the 
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) that describes the 
measures in this temporary rule. Copies of the SIR and the Regulatory 
Impact Review of this rulemaking are available on the internet at 
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/new-england-mid-atlantic.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Travis Ford, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
978-281-9233.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    At the request of the New England Fishery Management Council, NMFS 
published an emergency action on June 1, 2020, (85 FR 33027), for the 
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) that:
     Allowed limited access general category (LAGC) individual 
fishing quota (IFQ) vessels to carryover all fishing year 2019 
unharvested quota into fishing year 2020;
     Allowed any access area carryover pounds and unharvested 
research set-aside (RSA) compensation pounds from fishing year 2019 to 
be available for harvest through August 31, 2020; and
     Closed the Nantucket Lightship-West Access Area (NLS-W) to 
scallop fishing beginning on September 1, 2020, to reduce bycatch.
    These measures allowed for more flexibility to harvest 2019 
carryover allocations and were intended to mitigate the negative 
impacts experienced by the scallop industry that began at the end of 
the 2019 fishing year (March 2020) due to ongoing health mandates and 
travel restrictions that made it difficult for vessels to make trips. 
These impacts include disruptions in getting supplies and the inability 
for crew to access ports.
    This action extends portions of this emergency action to prevent 
the LAGC IFQ vessels from losing any carryover granted by this 
emergency action and to prevent NLS-W from opening on November 29, 
2020, when the emergency action expires under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act's (Magnuson-Stevens Act) 
limitation on the duration of an emergency action. Therefore, this 
action would extend the following emergency action measures through 
June 1, 2021, or until replaced by a subsequent action, whichever comes 
first:
     Extend the ability of LAGC IFQ vessels to harvest any 
fishing year 2019 carryover granted by this emergency action through 
the end of the 2020 fishing year (March 31, 2021); and
     Maintain the closure of NLS-W for an additional 186 days 
unless it is opened or closed by the Council in another action.
    The NLS-W closure extension is intended to minimize unwanted 
bycatch of flatfish and is not expected to adversely impact the scallop 
fleet because these vessels have flexibility to fish in other areas. 
There is no need to extend the access area and RSA compensation pounds 
from fishing year 2019 because the Council only requested to allow for 
that harvest through August 31, 2020.
    NMFS's policy guidelines for the use of emergency rules (62 FR 
44421; August 21, 1997) specify the following three criteria that 
define what an emergency situation is, and justification for final 
rulemaking: (1) The emergency results from recent, unforeseen events or 
recently discovered circumstances; (2) the emergency presents serious 
conservation or management problems in the fishery; and (3) the 
emergency can be addressed through emergency regulations for which the 
immediate benefits outweigh the value of advance notice, public 
comment, and deliberative consideration of the impacts on participants 
to the same extent as would be expected under the normal rulemaking 
process. NMFS's policy guidelines further provide that emergency action 
is justified for certain situations where emergency action would 
prevent significant direct economic loss, or to preserve a significant 
economic opportunity that otherwise might be foregone. As noted in the 
June 1, 2020, emergency rule, NMFS has determined that extending 
portions of the fishing year 2019 scallop carryover provisions meets 
the three criteria for emergency action.
    The Council is developing Framework Adjustment 33 to the Scallop 
FMP, which we expect to implement in May 2021, prior to the expiration 
of the emergency action extension. Framework 33 will set specifications 
for the 2021 fishing year.

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received two comments in response to the emergency action. The 
first comment was in opposition to the action due to concern that some 
fishermen may already be receiving additional aid because of their 
inability to fish. As described above, this action does not add any new 
allocation, it only extends the time period that carryover can be 
fished. Extending these carryover provisions will not cause any annual 
catch limits to be exceeded in the scallop fishery. The second comment 
was unrelated to this action.

Classification

    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has determined 
that this rule is necessary to respond to an emergency situation and is 
consistent with the national standards and other provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) that it is contrary to the public interest and 
impracticable to provide for prior notice and opportunity for the 
public to comment. As more fully explained above, the reasons 
justifying promulgation of this rule on an emergency basis, coupled 
with the fact that the public has had the opportunity to comment on 
NMFS' intent to extend this emergency, make solicitation of public 
comment unnecessary, impractical, and contrary to the public interest. 
In the interest of receiving public input on this action, the SIR 
analyzing this action was made available to the public and the original 
temporary final rule solicited public comment.
    For these same reasons stated above, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 
553(d)(3), the Assistant Administrator finds good cause to waive the 
full 30-day delay in effectiveness for this rule. This rule extends 
some measures of the rule currently in place for an additional 186 
days. The need for this extension was fully anticipated and announced 
to the public in the initial emergency rule which published on June 1, 
2020. Accordingly, the entities affected by this rule and the public 
have no need to be made aware of or adjust to this rule by delaying its 
effectiveness for 30 days. The primary reason for delaying the 
effectiveness of Federal regulations is not present, and, therefore, 
such a delay would serve no public purpose. It would be contrary to the 
public interest if this rule does not become effective on November 29, 
2020, because LAGC IFQ vessels would lose any carryover

[[Page 74921]]

granted by this emergency action and the NLS-W would open to fishing. 
Moreover, failing to have the rule effective on November 29, 2020, may 
lead to confusion in the fishing community. For these reasons, there is 
good cause to waive the requirement for delayed effectiveness.
    This action is being taken pursuant to the emergency provision of 
MSA and is exempt from OMB review.
    Because notice and opportunity for comment are not required 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other law, the analytical requirements 
of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are 
inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not 
required and has not been prepared.

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

    Dated: November 19, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-25995 Filed 11-23-20; 8:45 am]
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