[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28323-28325]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10679]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 210517-0107]
RIN 0648-BK59


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel, 
Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Specifications

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

ACTION: Proposed rule, request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes new 2021-2022 butterfish specifications, while 
maintaining the current longfin squid, Illex squid, and Atlantic 
mackerel specifications for 2021-2023. This action also adjusts the 
dealer reporting requirement and adjusts the closure threshold for the 
Illex squid fishery to avoid overages. These proposed specifications 
are intended to promote the sustainable utilization and conservation of 
the mackerel, squid, and butterfish resources. Additionally, this 
action reaffirms previously approved Atlantic chub mackerel 
specifications for 2021-2022.

DATES: Public comments must be received by June 10, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents used by the Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, including the Environmental Assessment 
(EA), the Supplemental Information Report (SIR), the Regulatory Impact 
Review (RIR), and the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis are 
available from: Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, 
Dover, DE 19901, telephone (302) 674-2331.
    You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2021-0048, by the 
following method:
    Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov and enter 
NOAA-NMFS-2021-0048 in the Search box. Click the ``Comment'' icon, 
complete the required fields, and Enter or attach your comments.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method or received after 
the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NMFS. All 
comments received are a part of the public record and will generally be 
posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All 
personal identifying information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information 
submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS 
will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if 
you wish to remain anonymous).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aly Pitts, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This rulemaking proposes specifications, which are the combined 
suite of commercial and recreational catch levels established for one 
or more fishing years, for Atlantic mackerel, longfin squid, Illex 
squid, and butterfish, and reaffirms 2021-2022 chub mackerel 
specifications implemented through Amendment 21 (85 FR 47103; August 4, 
2020) to the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP). Section 302(g)(1)(B) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) states that the 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) for each regional fishery 
management council shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice 
for fishery management decisions, including recommendations for 
acceptable biological catch (ABC), preventing overfishing, ensuring 
maximum sustainable yield, and achieving rebuilding targets. The ABC is 
a level of catch that accounts for the scientific uncertainty in the 
estimate of the stock's defined overfishing level (OFL).
    The regulations implementing the FMP require the Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council's Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Monitoring 
Committee to develop specification recommendations for each species 
based upon the ABC advice of the Council's SSC. The FMP regulations 
also require the specification of annual catch limits (ACL) and 
accountability measure (AM) provisions for butterfish. Both squid 
species are exempt from the ACL/AM requirements because they have a 
life cycle of less than one year. In addition, the regulations require 
the specification of domestic annual harvest (DAH), the butterfish 
mortality cap in the longfin squid fishery, and initial optimum yield 
(IOY) for both squid species.
    On February 27, 2020 (85 FR 11309), we published a final rule in 
the Federal Register implementing the previously approved 2020 Atlantic 
mackerel specifications to maintain the 2019 specifications with a 
modification to the recreational catch deduction and change the river 
herring and shad catch cap in the Atlantic mackerel fishery. This rule 
also maintained the previously approved Illex squid, longfin squid, and 
butterfish specifications.
    The Council's SSC met in July 2020 to reevaluate the Atlantic 
mackerel, squid, and butterfish 2021 specifications based upon the 
latest information. At that meeting, the SSC concluded that no 
adjustments to the Illex squid, longfin squid, and Altlantic mackerel 
specifications were warranted. However, the SSC recommended to reduce 
the butterfish DAH by 72 percent from 2020 based on a recent assessment 
update that incorporates new data including lower recruitment. Until 
new specifications are implemented, the existing Atlantic mackerel, 
longfin squid, Illex squid, and butterfish specifications, as described 
below, will continue pursuant to 50 CFR 648.22(d)(1).

[[Page 28324]]

Proposed 2021-2022 Atlantic Mackerel Specifications

    The original 2021 Atlantic mackerel ABC recommended by the SSC for 
Framework 13 (84 FR 58053; October 30, 2019) was based on projections 
that recognized a strong 2015 year class in the assessment results. At 
its May 2019 meeting, the SSC considered preliminary results from the 
2019 Canadian Atlantic mackerel assessment, which indicated lower than 
expected recruitment. As a result, the SSC recommended maintaining the 
more conservative 2020 ABC for 2021. Based on the recommendations of 
the SSC and the Monitoring Committee, the Council recommended, and this 
action proposes, maintatining the 2020 mackerel specifications outlined 
in Table 1. These specifciations also maintain the 129 mt river herring 
and shad catch cap. There is an Atlantic mackerel stock assessment 
update scheduled for 2022 that will inform future ABC specifications.

      Table 1--Proposed Atlantic Mackerel 2021-2022 Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Specification                          2021-2022
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL.....................................................              NA
ABC.....................................................          29,184
Canadian Deduction......................................          10,000
U.S. ABC................................................          19,184
Recreational Allocation.................................           1,270
Commerical Allocation...................................          17,914
Management Uncertainty Buffer (3 percent)...............             537
Commercial Annual Catch Target..........................          17,377
DAH.....................................................          17,312
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Proposed 2021-2022 Longfin Squid Specifications

    This action maintains the 2020 longfin squid ABC of 23,400 mt for 
2021-2022. The background for this ABC is discussed in the proposed 
rule to implement the 2018-2020 squid and butterfish specifications (82 
FR 58583; December 13, 2017) and is not repeated here. The IOY, DAH, 
and domestic annual processing (DAP) are calculated by deducting an 
estimated discard rate (2.0 percent) from the ABC. This results in a 
2021 IOY, DAH, and DAP of 22,932 mt (Table 2). This action also 
maintains the existing allocation of longfin squid DAH among trimesters 
according to percentages specified in the FMP (Table 3). The Council 
will review these specifications during its annual specifications 
process following annual data updates each spring, and may change its 
recommendation for 2022 if new information is available.

                    Table 2--2021-2022 Longfin Squid
------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Specification                         Metric tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL.....................................  Unknown.
ABC.....................................  23,400.
IOY.....................................  22,932.
DAH/DAP.................................  22,932.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


         Table 3--2021-2022 Longfin Quota Trimester Allocations
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                                                                 Metric
                     Trimester                       Percent      tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I (Jan-Apr).......................................         43      9,861
II (May-Aug)......................................         17      3,898
III (Sep-Dec).....................................         40      9,173
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Proposed 2021-2022 Butterfish Specifications

    This action proposes to set the 2021-2022 butterfish specifications 
as outlined in Table 4 The 2020 butterfish management track assessment 
found butterfish to be not overfished with no overfishing occurring in 
2019, but if the full ABC was caught, projections suggest overfishing 
would have occurred and the stock would have become overfished. While 
butterfish recruitment is variable, it has been declining since 1999 
with historically low recruitment in recent years. The proposed 2021-
2022 butterfish specifications use the Council's risk policy at the 
time and the SSC's assignment of a 100 percent coefficient of variation 
to the projected OFL. These specifications propose to maintain the 
existing butterfish mortality cap in the longfin squid fishery of 3,884 
mt and the existing allocation of the butterfish mortality cap among 
longfin squid trimesters (Table 5).

       Table 4--2021-2022 Butterfish Specifications in Metric Tons
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                   Specification                       2021       2022
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL...............................................     22,053     24,341
ABC...............................................     11,993     17,854
ACT...............................................     11,393     16,961
Assumed discards..................................        637        637
Total discards....................................      5,043      5,466
Butterfish cap in longfin.........................      3,884      3,884
DAH...............................................      6,350     11,495
------------------------------------------------------------------------


 Table 5--Proposed 2021 Trimester Allocation of Butterfish Mortality Cap
                      on the Longfin Squid Fishery
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Metric
                     Trimester                       Percent      tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I (Jan-Apr).......................................         43      1,670
II (May-Aug)......................................         17        660
III (Sep-Dec).....................................         40      1,554
                                                   ---------------------
    Total.........................................        100      3,844
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Proposed 2021-2022 Illex Squid Specifications

    Consistent with the Council's recommendation, NMFS proposes to 
maintain the 2021 Illex squid ABC of 30,000 mt. The Council recommended 
that the ABC be reduced by the status quo discard rate of 4.52 percent, 
which results in a 2021 IOY, DAH, and DAP of 24,825 mt (Table 6. The 
Council will review this decision during its annual specifications 
process following annual data updates each spring, and may change its 
recommendations for 2022 if new information is available.

  Table 6--Proposed 2021-2022 Illex Squid Specifications in Metric Ton
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL.....................................................         Unknown
ABC.....................................................          30,000
IOY.....................................................          28,644
DAH/DAP.................................................          28,644
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Proposed Illex Squid In-Season Management Measures

    This action proposes to modify the current weekly reporting for 
commercial dealers after July 15 to a 48-hour reporting requirement for 
accurate landings monitoring during the fishing season. This action 
also proposes to modify the closure threshold from 95 percent to 94 
percent. Both measures are designed to help avoid quota overages, which 
occurred in 2018 and 2019.

Reaffirmation of 2021-2022 Atlantic Chub Mackerel Specifications

    Amendment 21 to the FMP previously implemented chub mackerel 
specifications for the 2020-2022 fishing years. The Council reevaluated 
these specifications at its October 2020 meeting and decided to make no 
adjustments for the 2021-2022 fishing years. This action reaffirms the 
previously implemented specifications.

 Table 7--Reaffirmed 2021-2022 Atlantic Chub Mackerel Specifications in
                               Metric Tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Specification                          2021-2022
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC.....................................................           2,300

[[Page 28325]]

 
Annual Catch Limit (ACL)................................           2,262
Annual Catch Target.....................................           2,171
Total Allowable Landings................................           2,041
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Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish FMP, other 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, 
subject to further consideration after public comment.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of 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 (SBA) that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The purpose, context, and statutory basis for this action is 
described above and not repeated here. Business entities affected by 
this action include vessels that are issued limited access Atlantic 
mackerel, longfin squid, Illex squid, and butterfish permits. Although 
vessels issued open access incidental catch permits for these species 
are also potentially affected by this action, because these vessels 
land only small amounts of Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish and 
this action would not revise the amount of squid and butterfish that 
these vessels can land, these entities would not be affected by this 
proposed rule.
    Any entity with combined annual fishery landing receipts less than 
$11 million is considered a small entity based on standards published 
in the Federal Register (80 FR 81194, December 29, 2015). In 2018, 350 
separate vessels held limited access Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish 
permits. Approximately 254 entities owned those vessels, and based on 
current SBA definitions (under $11 million to be a commercial fishing 
small business entity), 245 were small business entities. All of the 
entities that had revenue (223) fell into the commercial fishing 
category. For those 223 with revenues, their average revenue was $1.34 
million in 2019. The previously approved Atltantic mackerel, Illex 
squid, and longfin squid commercial landing limits would not be changed 
by this proposed action. Fishing revenue and, therefore, economic 
impacts of yearly Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish specifications depend 
upon species availability, which may change yearly. This action should 
not have negative impacts on any participating entities. Mackerel and 
longfin quotas would be maintained at status quo. Illex squid 
specifications would be maintained at status quo, although the closure 
threshold would be lowered from 95 percent to 94 percent to avoid quota 
overages, which have occurred in recent years. The landings that can 
occur up to the 94 percent closure threshold would still be higher than 
the 2017-2019 quotas. 2019 landings were only slightly above the 
landings at the 94 percent threshold even with the 2019 overage. 
Avoiding quota overages also has the long term benefit of avoiding 
overfishing. Butterfish quotas would be reduced, but would still allow 
for increases from how the fishery has operated from 2017-2019.
    In determining the significance of the economic impacts of the 
proposed action, we considered the following two criteria outlined in 
applicable National Marine Fisheries Service guidance: 
Disproportionality and profitability. The proposed measures would not 
place a substantial number of small entities at a significant 
competitive disadvantage to large entities; all entities affected by 
this action would be equally affected. Accordingly, there are no 
distributional economic effects from this action between small and 
large entities. Proposed measures would not reduce fishing 
opportunities based on recent squid and butterfish landings, change any 
entity's access to these resources, or impose any costs to affected 
entities. Therefore, this action would not reduce revenues or profit 
for affected entities compared to recent levels. Based on the above 
justification, the proposed action is not expected to have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    This proposed rule does not contain a change to a collection of 
information requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995. The existing collection of information requirements would 
continue to apply under the following OMB Control Number: 0648-0229, 
Greater Atlantic Region Dealer Purchase Reports.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

     Dated: May 17, 2021.
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 
proposed to be 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.  648.7, add paragraph (f)(1)(ii) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.7  Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

* * * * *
    (f) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (ii) From July 15 through December 31, dealer or processor reports 
documenting Illex squid landings greater than 10,000 pounds must be 
received with 48 hours of landing.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec.  648.24, revise paragraph (a)(2) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.24  Fishery closures and accountability measures.

    (a) * * *
    (2) Illex. NMFS shall close the directed Illex fishery in the EEZ 
when the Regional Administrator projects that 94 percent of the Illex 
DAH is harvested. The closure of the directed fishery shall be in 
effect for the remainder of that fishing period, with incidental 
catches allowed as specified at Sec.  648.26.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2021-10679 Filed 5-25-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P