[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 242 (Wednesday, December 16, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 81421-81424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27522]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 201209-0332; RTID 0648-XX064]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish 
Fishery; 2021 Bluefish Specifications

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues final specifications for the 2021 Atlantic 
bluefish fishery. This action is necessary to establish allowable 
harvest levels to prevent overfishing, consistent with the most recent 
scientific information, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act and the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery 
Management Plan. This rule also informs the public of the final fishery 
specifications for the 2021 fishing year.

DATES: Effective on January 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council prepared a 
Supplemental Information Report (SIR) for these specifications that 
describes the action and any changes from the original environmental 
assessment (EA) and analyses for the revised 2020 and 2021 
specifications action. Copies of the SIR, original EA, and other 
supporting documents for this action, are available upon request from 
Dr. Christopher M.

[[Page 81422]]

Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 
Suite 201, 800 N State Street, Dover, DE 19901. These documents are 
also accessible via the internet at https://www.mafmc.org/supporting-documents.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission jointly manage the bluefish fishery under 
the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP requires 
the specification of the acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual 
catch limit (ACL), annual catch targets (ACT), commercial quota, 
recreational harvest limit, and other management measures for up to 3 
years at a time. This action implements bluefish specifications for the 
2021 fishing year.
    The August 2019 bluefish operational assessment concluded that the 
Atlantic bluefish stock is overfished but not subject to overfishing. 
The most recent data update (2020) showed increases in both commercial 
and recreational catch in 2019 from 2018, but no change in the stock 
status determination from the 2019 assessment. Based on this best 
available scientific information, 2021 specifications were proposed 
with no changes from those implemented for 2020, except for a reduction 
of 1.14 million lb (515,811 kg) in the recreational total allowable 
landings (TAL) and recreational harvest limit (RHL) to account for 
higher reported recreational discards in 2019 than initially projected.
    The proposed rule for this action published in the Federal Register 
on November 5, 2020 (85 FR 70573), and comments were accepted through 
November 20, 2020. Additional background information regarding the 
development of these specifications was provided in the proposed rule 
and is not repeated here. NMFS received five comments from the public, 
and no changes to the final rule are necessary as a result of those 
comments (see Comments and Responses for additional detail).

Final Specifications

    This action implements the Council and Commission's recommendations 
for 2021 bluefish catch specifications (Table 1), as outlined in the 
proposed rule. These specifications are status quo relative to 2020, 
except for a 12-percent reduction in the recreational TAL and RHL to 
account for the most recent catch data. The recreational fishery is 
expected to fully achieve the RHL. Therefore, this action does not 
include a quota transfer to the commercial fishery, which is authorized 
in the FMP up to a specified amount only if the recreational fishery is 
not projected to achieve the RHL. This action does not change any other 
2021 fishery management measures, including the daily recreational bag 
limits.

        Table 1--Summary of Final 2021 Bluefish Specifications *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Final 2021 specifications
                                         -------------------------------
                                          million pounds    metric tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overfishing Limit.......................           37.98          17,228
ABC = ACL...............................           16.28           7,385
Commercial ACT..........................            2.77           1,255
Recreational ACT........................           13.51           6,130
Commercial TAL..........................            2.77           1,255
Recreational TAL........................            8.34           3,785
Sector Transfer.........................            0.00               0
Commercial Quota........................            2.77           1,255
Recreational Harvest Limit..............            8.34           3,785
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* Specifications are derived from the ABC in metric tons (mt). When
  values are converted to millions of pounds the numbers may slightly
  shift due to rounding. The conversion factor used is 1 mt = 2204.62262
  lb.

    The state commercial quota allocations for 2021 (Table 2) are based 
on the final coastwide commercial quota for 2021, and the allocation 
percentages defined in the FMP. No state exceeded its allocated quota 
in 2019, nor is projected to do so in 2020; therefore, no 
accountability measures are necessary for the 2021 commercial fishery.

                            Table 2--2021 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations
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                              State                                Percent share    Quota (lb)      Quota (kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine...........................................................            0.67          18,503           8,391
New Hampshire...................................................            0.41          11,473           5,203
Massachusetts...................................................            6.72         185,904          84,310
Rhode Island....................................................            6.81         188,434          85,458
Connecticut.....................................................            1.27          35,049          15,895
New York........................................................           10.39         287,438         130,357
New Jersey......................................................           14.82         410,082         185,978
Delaware........................................................            1.88          51,985          23,576
Maryland........................................................            3.00          83,084          37,680
Virginia........................................................           11.88         328,800         149,116
North Carolina..................................................           32.06         887,377         402,438
South Carolina..................................................            0.04             974             442
Georgia.........................................................            0.01             263             119
Florida.........................................................           10.06         278,432         126,273
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------

[[Page 81423]]

 
    Total.......................................................          100.00       2,767,793       1,255,235
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    The Council is developing a rebuilding plan for the bluefish stock 
that will be implemented by the end of November 2021. This rebuilding 
plan will inform development of the next set of specifications for 
fishing year 2022.

Comments and Responses

    The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on November 
20, 2020, and NMFS received five comments from the public. No changes 
to the proposed specifications were made as a result of these comments.
    Comment 1: One comment voiced support for the action.
    Response: NMFS agrees and is implementing the proposed 
specifications for the reasons outlined in the preamble to this rule.
    Comment 2: Two comments were submitted by the same individual, who 
expressed frustration with the slow government process and suggested 
that an immediate shutdown of the fishery would be the best way to end 
overfishing and protect the bluefish stock. These comments also 
questioned the science used to determine the proposed catch limits.
    Response: NMFS emphasizes the importance of the regulatory public 
process and is proceeding as quickly as possible within the applicable 
law. All of the analyses for this action have been conducted with the 
best scientific data available, and indicate that it is not necessary 
to fully close the bluefish fishery to promote stock recovery. A stable 
and sustainable bluefish fishery can be maintained while the stock 
rebuilds with minimal risk to the resource.
    Comment 3: Another commenter disagreed with the way bluefish 
population is monitored and data used to determine stock health. The 
comment went on to claim that all available data indicates that 
bluefish stock is healthy and not overfished. The commenter then 
recommended that the proposed specifications should remain consistent 
with earlier years' catch limits, not reduce the RHL, and enable a 
transfer of quota to the commercial sector because the healthy stock 
status does not justify the proposed restrictions.
    Response: NMFS disagrees with the commenter's evaluation of the 
bluefish stock. The August 2019 operational stock assessment 
incorporated data from several fishery dependent and independent 
surveys as well as the Marine Recreational Information Program. This 
assessment was peer reviewed before publication, and is the best 
scientific information available concerning bluefish stock health. The 
assessment determined the bluefish stock to be overfished, and a data 
update this year (2020) confirmed this status has not changed. 
Restrictions to management measures were implemented in February 2020 
(85 FR 11863; February 28, 2020) to prevent overfishing on the 
overfished stock, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). These 
specifications reduce the RHL to further reduce the risk of overfishing 
to an acceptable level, and there is no sector quota transfer to the 
commercial fishery because the recreational sector is expected to fully 
catch its entire allocated quota.
    Comment 4: The final commenter asked about the differences between 
state commercial quotas in the proposed specifications compared to 
2020, and how NMFS calculates the coastwide bluefish population.
    Response: The proposed coastwide commercial quota is unchanged from 
2020, and the percentage that each state is allocated has not changed 
since the allocations were established in Amendment 1 to the FMP (65 FR 
45844; July 26, 2000). There may be a perceived proportional difference 
in final state quotas due to state-to-state transfers that have taken 
place throughout the 2020 fishing year. These transfers are authorized 
in the FMP, completed through mutual agreement between respective state 
agencies, and are not an accountability measure. Revision of state 
allocations is being reviewed in Bluefish Amendment 7, currently in 
development. The bluefish stock is evaluated through regular stock 
assessments, which incorporate data from a variety of fishery dependent 
and independent surveys.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    There are no substantive changes from the proposed rule.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 
Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region, has determined that this final 
rule is necessary for the conservation and management of the Atlantic 
bluefish fishery, and that it is consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish 
FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable 
law.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effective date 
for this rule to ensure that the final specifications are in place as 
close as practicable to the start of the bluefish fishing year on 
January 1, 2021. This action establishes the final specifications 
(i.e., ACLs) for the 2021 bluefish fishery. A delay in effectiveness 
well beyond the start of the fishing year would be contrary to the 
public interest, as it could create confusion in the commercial 
bluefish industry.
    Furthermore, this rule is being issued at the earliest possible 
date. The proposed rule was prepared in October and published by early 
November 2020, and the public comment period ended on November 20, 
2020. Ideally, this final rule should publish in time to be effective 
for the January 1 start of the fishing year to allow state agencies to 
use the implemented commercial quota allocations to set annual state 
management measures. A 30-day delay in effectiveness would needlessly 
postpone implementation of final 2021 specifications well into the 
fishing year, which is contrary to the public interest. The longer 
these specifications are delayed, the longer it will take for some 
states to implement respective regulations.
    The 30-day delay in implementation for this rule is also 
unnecessary because this rule contains no new measures (e.g., requiring 
new nets or equipment) for which regulated entities need time to 
prepare or revise their current practices. Unlike actions that require 
an adjustment period to comply with new rules, bluefish fishery 
participants will not have to purchase new equipment or otherwise 
expend time or money to comply with these status quo management 
measures. Therefore, there would be no benefit to delaying the 
implementation of these specifications.
    For these reasons, NMFS finds that a 30-day delay in effectiveness 
would be contrary to the public interest, and

[[Page 81424]]

therefore waives the requirement consistent with 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
    This final rule is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866 
because the action contains no implementing regulations.
    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 was not 
required and none was prepared.
    This action contains no information collection requirements under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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

    Dated: December 9, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-27522 Filed 12-15-20; 8:45 am]
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