[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 38 (Friday, February 25, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10762-10763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04042]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 220222-0052]
RIN 0648-BL15


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Spiny 
Dogfish Fishery; 2022 Specifications and Trip Limit Adjustment

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 Atlantic spiny dogfish specifications for the 
2022 fishing year, and an adjustment to the commercial trip limit, as 
recommended by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management 
Councils. This action is necessary to establish allowable harvest 
levels and other management measures to prevent overfishing while 
enabling optimum yield, using the best scientific information 
available. This rulemaking also informs the public of the proposed 
fishery action and provides an opportunity for comment.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 14, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2022-0008, by the following method:
    Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
    1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov, and enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2022-
0008'' in the Search box;
    2. Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields; and
    3. Enter or attach your comments.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, 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). If you are unable to submit your comment through 
www.regulations.gov, contact Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
[email protected].
    Copies of the Supplemental Information Report (SIR) 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 http://www.mafmc.org/supporting-documents.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils 
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 federal FMP requires 
the specification of an acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch 
limit (ACL), annual catch target (ACT), total allowable landings (TAL), 
and a coastwide commercial quota. These limits and other related 
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 
proposes status quo specifications for fishing year 2022, and an 
increased commercial trip limit for the Atlantic spiny dogfish fishery, 
as recommended by the Councils.
    The spiny dogfish fishery is currently operating under multi-year 
specifications for fishing years 2021 and 2022 based on a 2020 
assessment update and the Mid-Atlantic Council's updated risk policy. 
The 2021 trawl survey conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science 
Center showed little change from recent years in the spiny dogfish 
stock. As a result, the Mid-Atlantic Council's Scientific and 
Statistical Committee (SSC), the Spiny Dogfish Monitoring Committee, 
and the Joint Spiny Dogfish Committee (which includes members from both 
Councils) all agreed that no changes are necessary to the previously-
projected specifications for fishing year 2022. Upon review, both 
Councils also recommended status quo catch specifications for 2022.
    During meetings of the Spiny Dogfish Advisory Panel and Committees 
in 2021, industry representatives requested an increase in the federal 
commercial trip limit as a way to provide more economic stability and 
opportunity to fully achieve the commercial quotas provided to the 
fishery. The commercial fishery has consistently harvested less than 60 
percent of the coastwide quota in the past five years (with one 
exception in 2019 when there was a substantially smaller quota). 
Changes to the trip limit have been considered in recent years without 
action to this point. The different management committees decided that 
a moderate increase of 25 percent could provide the requested 
flexibility and opportunity while minimizing risk of negative impacts 
to the resource or markets. Both Councils reviewed and approved this 
decision at their respective meetings in October and December 2021, and 
recommended increasing the 6,000-lb (2,722-kg) commercial trip limit to 
7,500 lb (3,402 kg) through this proposed action.

Proposed Measures

    This action proposes the Councils' recommendations for status quo 
2022 spiny dogfish specifications (Table 1), and a 25-percent increase 
to the commercial trip limit from 6,000 lb (2,722 kg) per trip to 7,500 
lb (3,402 kg) per trip. These proposed measures are consistent with the 
SSC, Joint Committee, and Monitoring Committee recommendations (Table 
1).

[[Page 10763]]



  Table 1--Proposed Status Quo Spiny Dogfish Fishery Specifications for
                            Fishing Year 2022
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                                                     2021-2022
                                         -------------------------------
                                            Million lb      Metric tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC.....................................           38.58          17,498
ACL = ACT...............................           38.48          17,453
TAL.....................................           29.68          13,461
Commercial Quota........................           29.56          13,408
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    There is a research track stock assessment in progress for Atlantic 
spiny dogfish. This assessment is expected to inform development of the 
next set of specifications beginning in fishing year 2023.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS 
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the Atlantic Spiny Dogfish FMP, other provisions of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further 
consideration after public comment.
    The Councils reviewed the proposed regulations for this action and 
deemed them necessary and appropriate to implement consistent with 
section 303(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    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 that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The factual basis for this determination is as follows.
    The Councils conducted an evaluation of the potential socioeconomic 
impacts of the proposed measures in conjunction with a SIR. The 
proposed action would maintain status quo specifications for fishing 
year 2022, and would increase the vessel possession limit of spiny 
dogfish per trip by 25 percent.
    This proposed action would affect entities that participate in 
commercial spiny dogfish fishing (those that hold commercial spiny 
dogfish permits). Vessels may hold multiple fishing permits and some 
entities own multiple vessels and/or permits. According to the 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center commercial ownership database, 1,934 
separate vessels held commercial spiny dogfish permits in 2020, the 
most recent year of fully available data. A total of 1,513 commercial 
entities owned those permitted vessels, and of those entities, 1,504 
are categorized as small businesses, and 9 as large businesses.
    The proposed specifications are expected to provide similar fishing 
opportunities when compared to the previous fishing year as no annual 
catch limits are changing. The trip limit adjustment is expected to 
provide increased operational flexibility and opportunity to fully 
harvest the coastwide quota without increasing risk to the resource or 
substantially changing fishing behavior. Entities issued a commercial 
spiny dogfish permit may experience a slight positive impact related to 
the potential for higher landings each trip. However, effort in the 
fishery remains dependent on market conditions and pricing rather than 
management measures such as trip limits. As such, the proposed action 
is not expected to have an impact on the way the fishery operates or 
the revenue of small entities.
    Overall, analyses indicate that the overall economic impact of this 
proposed action is expected to be slightly positive, and that these 
measures are not expected to substantially change fishing effort, the 
risk of overfishing, prices/revenues, or fishery behavior. Therefore, 
the Councils concluded, and NMFS agrees, that this action would not 
have a significant adverse impact on a substantial number of small 
businesses. As a result, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is 
not required and none has been prepared.
    This action would not establish any new reporting or record-keeping 
requirements.
    This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: February 22, 2022.
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.  648.235, revise paragraph (a)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.235  Spiny dogfish possession and landing restrictions.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Possess up to 7,500 lb (3,402 kg) of spiny dogfish per trip; 
and
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-04042 Filed 2-24-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P