[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 4, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23633-23634]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09288]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 210427-0092; RTID 0648-XX069]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Spiny 
Dogfish Fishery; Revised 2021 and Projected 2022 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 revised specifications for the 2021 Atlantic 
spiny dogfish fishery, and projected specifications for fishing year 
2022, based on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's updated 
risk policy, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery 
Management Councils. This action is necessary to establish allowable 
harvest levels to prevent overfishing while enabling optimum yield, 
using the best scientific information available, consistent with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Spiny 
Dogfish Fishery Management Plan. This rule also informs the public of 
these revised fishery specifications for the 2021 fishing year.

DATES: Effective on May 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 this revised 2021 and 2022 
specifications action. Copies of the SIR, original EA, and other 
supporting documents for this action, are available upon request from 
Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North 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 New England 
Fishery Management Council jointly manage the Atlantic Spiny Dogfish 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP), with the Mid-Atlantic Council acting as 
the administrative lead. Additionally, the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission manages the spiny dogfish fishery in state waters 
from Maine to North Carolina through an interstate fishery management 
plan. The FMP requires the specification of an annual catch limit 
(ACL), annual catch target (ACT), and total allowable landings (TAL). 
These limits and other management measures may be set for up to five 
fishing years at a time, with each fishing year running from May 1 
through April 30. This action implements revised specifications for the 
2021 spiny dogfish fishery, based on the Mid-Atlantic Council's updated 
Risk Policy, and projects maintaining these specifications for fishing 
year 2022.
    Specifications were already projected for the 2021 spiny dogfish 
fishery as a part of a multi-year specifications action for 2019-2021, 
based on a 2018 assessment update. Under those initial specifications, 
the commercial quota would increase 18 percent from fishing year 2020. 
However, the Mid-Atlantic Council recently updated its risk policy to 
accept a higher level of risk for stocks at or above biomass targets 
(85 FR 81152; December 15, 2020), and the Councils recommended that the 
projected acceptable biological catch (ABC) and resulting commercial 
quota for the 2021 spiny dogfish fishing year be recalculated using 
this new approach. Applying the new risk policy increases the 2021 ABC 
9 percent from what was initially projected (24 percent above 2020), 
and raises the 2021 commercial quota 8 percent (27 percent above 2020). 
The Councils also recommended projecting unchanged specifications for 
fishing year 2022, as there is a research track stock assessment 
scheduled for spiny dogfish in 2022, and there will be little 
additional or new data prior to the assessment to inform specifications 
prior to that fishing year.
    The proposed rule for this action published in the Federal Register 
on March 4, 2021 (86 FR 12591), and comments were accepted through 
March 19, 2021. NMFS received one comment from the public, and no 
changes were made to the final rule as a result of the comment (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 Specifications

    This action implements the Councils' recommendations for final 2021 
and

[[Page 23634]]

projected 2022 spiny dogfish specifications to maintain compliance with 
the Mid-Atlantic Council's updated risk policy (Table 1), as outlined 
in the proposed rule. Although catch limits were already projected to 
increase in 2021 compared to fishing year 2020, this final revised 
commercial quota is 8-percent higher than it would have been before 
applying the new risk policy. Specifications for fishing year 2022 are 
projected to be unchanged from these revised 2021 limits.

     Table 1--Summary of Final 2021 and Projected 2022 Spiny Dogfish
                             Specifications
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                                             2021-2022 Specifications
                                         -------------------------------
                                          Million pounds    Metric tons
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ABC.....................................           38.58          17,498
ACL = ACT...............................           38.48          17,453
TAL.....................................           29.68          13,461
Commercial Quota........................           29.56          13,408
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    This action does not change any other fishery management measures, 
including the 6,000-lb Federal trip limit and restriction of one landed 
trip per calendar day, leaving them unchanged for fishing years 2021 
and 2022. By providing projected specifications for 2022, NMFS hopes to 
assist fishery participants in planning ahead. The Councils will review 
these projected 2022 specifications to determine if any changes need to 
be made prior to their final implementation. Changes may occur if quota 
overages trigger accountability measures, or if new stock information 
results in changes to the ABC recommendations. NMFS will publish a 
notice prior to the 2022 fishing year to confirm the projected quotas 
as final or announce any necessary changes. NMFS expects the 2022 stock 
assessment to inform development of the next set of specifications 
beginning in fishing year 2023.

Comments and Responses

    The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on March 19, 
2021, and NMFS received one comment from the public. The commenter 
stated that the proposed increase in quota is foolhardy, and suggested 
that dogfish quotas should instead be cut by 50 percent. The commenter 
presented no rationale or evidence to support these claims. These 
specifications were developed using the best scientific information 
available and recent fishery behavior, and incorporates an allowable 
level of risk according to the Mid-Atlantic Council's risk policy. No 
changes to the proposed specifications were made as a result of the 
comment.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    There are no changes from the proposed rule.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS 
Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region, has determined that these 
specifications are necessary for the conservation and management of the 
Atlantic spiny dogfish fishery, and that it is consistent with the 
Atlantic Spiny Dogfish FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, and other applicable laws.
    This action relieves a restriction by increasing annual quota catch 
limits in the spiny dogfish fishery, and is therefore not subject to 
the 30-day delayed effectiveness provision of the Administrative 
Procedure Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1). This final rule increases 
all catch specifications from the ABC to the coastwide commercial quota 
from what was initially planned to go into effect in fishing year 2021 
by 8 and 9 percent, respectively; and 24 and 27 percent, respectively, 
compared to 2020 specifications. These increases are intended to 
provide additional flexibility and economic opportunity for the spiny 
dogfish fishing industry. The 2021 fishing year begins on May 1, 2021. 
If the 30-day delayed effectiveness period postpones the implementation 
of these measures beyond the May 1 start of the fishing year, the lower 
and unnecessarily restrictive initially projected 2021 catch limits 
will roll over into the beginning of 2021. This would be contrary to 
the public interest as it could create confusion and potential economic 
harm to the spiny dogfish fishery 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, spiny dogfish 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 specifications on May 1, 2021, for the 2021 
fishing year.
    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 is not 
required and none was prepared.
    This final rule does not duplicate, conflict, or overlap with any 
existing Federal rules.
    This action contains no information collection requirements under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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

    Dated: April 28, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-09288 Filed 4-29-21; 4:15 pm]
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