[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 155 (Friday, August 12, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49796-49798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-17315]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

RIN 0648-BL43


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 22 
to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 
Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed fishery management plan 
amendment; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council has submitted 
Amendment 22 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery 
Management Plan to NMFS. Amendment 22 proposes revisions to the summer 
flounder, scup, and black sea bass commercial and recreational 
allocation percentages. This action would also add the option for 
future modifications to the commercial/recreational allocation and 
transfer provisions to be considered through a framework action. 
Amendment 22 is intended to address the allocation-related impacts of 
the revised recreational catch and landings data provided by the Marine 
Recreational Information Program.

DATES: Public comments must be received on or before October 11, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2022-0079, by the following method:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2022-0079 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and 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

[[Page 49797]]

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).
    Copies of Amendment 22, including the Environmental Assessment, the 
Regulatory Impact Review, and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) prepared in support of this action are available 
from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 
The supporting documents are also accessible via the internet at: 
https://www.mafmc.org/actions/sfsbsb-allocation-amendment.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9116, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act requires that each Regional Fishery Management 
Council transmit any amendment it prepares to NMFS for review and 
approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment and associated 
regulations deemed necessary by the Council to implement the amendment, 
immediately publish notification in the Federal Register that the 
amendment is available for public review and comment. The Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council transmitted its final version of Amendment 
22 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 
Plan to NMFS for review on June 24, 2022. On July 19, 2022, the Council 
submitted Amendment 22 proposed rule regulations they deemed to be 
necessary and appropriate as specified in section 303(c) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Background

    The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) cooperatively 
manage the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. The 
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 
outlines the allocation of quota, for each species, between the 
commercial and recreational fisheries. This joint amendment reevaluates 
and proposes to revise the commercial and recreational sector 
allocations in the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP. This 
action was initiated in part to address the allocation-related impacts 
of the revised recreational catch and landings data provided by the 
Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). Specifically, this 
amendment considers:
    1. Modifying the current allocations between the commercial and 
recreational sectors for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass;
    2. Adding an option to transfer a portion of the allowable landings 
each year between the commercial and recreational sectors, in either 
direction, based on the needs of each sector; and
    3. Adding the option for future additional modifications to the 
commercial/recreational allocation and/or transfer provisions to be 
considered through an FMP addendum/framework action, as opposed to an 
amendment.

Proposed Commercial/Recreational Allocations

    Amendment 22 would change the commercial and recreational 
allocations for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. The current 
commercial and recreational allocations for all three species were set 
in the mid-1990s based on historical proportions of landings (for 
summer flounder and black sea bass) and catch (for scup) from each 
sector. Recent changes in how recreational catch is estimated by MRIP 
resulted in a revised time series of recreational data going back to 
the 1980s. This created a mismatch between the data that were used to 
set the allocations and the data currently used in management for 
setting catch limits. Changes to commercial catch data have also been 
made since the allocations were established. The allocation changes 
proposed in this amendment seek to ensure that the best available data 
is used to determine commercial and recreational sector allocations.
    Amendment 22 includes a range of allocation alternatives, with 
options that would have maintained the current allocations and a 
variety of options to revise the allocations based on updated data 
using the same or modified ``base years'' (the time periods used to set 
the current allocations). The Council and Board ultimately voted to 
revise the allocations using the original base years updated with new 
data. This approach allows for consideration of fishery characteristics 
in years prior to influence by the commercial/recreational allocations, 
while also using the best scientific information available to 
understand the fisheries in those base years.
    For all three species, these changes result in a shift in 
allocation from the commercial to the recreational sector. However, 
because the summer flounder and black sea bass fisheries will be 
transitioning from landings-based to catch-based allocations, the 
current and revised allocations for those species are not directly 
comparable. The proposed commercial and recreational sector allocations 
are shown in Table 1.

          Table 1--Proposed Commercial/Recreational Allocations
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                                            Commercial     Recreational
                                            allocation      allocation
                 Species                    percentage      percentage
                                             (percent)       (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summer Flounder.........................              55              45
Scup....................................              65              35
Black Sea Bass..........................              45              55
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Council and Board considered, but did not recommend, an option 
to ``phase in'' the allocation changes over a period of time. A phase-
in period was deemed unnecessary given the relatively small magnitude 
of allocation changes.

Revised Framework Provisions

    The Council and Board also approved an option to allow future 
changes to commercial/recreational allocations, annual quota transfers, 
and other measures addressed in the amendment to be made through 
framework actions.
    They also considered, but did not recommend, an option to allow 
transfers of annual quota between the commercial and recreational 
sectors at this time.

Public Comment Instructions

    The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act allows 
us to approve, partially approve, or disapprove measures recommended by 
the Council in an amendment based on whether the measures are 
consistent with the fishery management plan, plan amendment, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act and its National Standards, and other applicable 
law. As such, we are seeking comment on whether measures in the 
Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment are consistent with the 
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
and its National Standards, and other applicable law. Public comments 
on this amendment and its incorporated documents may be submitted 
through the end of the comment period stated in this notification of 
availability.
    A proposed rule to implement the amendment, including draft 
regulatory text, will also be published in the Federal Register for 
public comment. Public comments on the proposed rule received before 
the end of the comment period provided in this notification of 
availability will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on 
the

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amendment. All comments received by October 11, 2022, whether 
specifically directed to the Commercial/Recreational Allocation 
Amendment or the proposed rule for this amendment, will be considered 
in the approval/disapproval decision on the Commercial/Recreational 
Allocation Amendment.
    Comments received after that date will not be considered in the 
decision to approve or disapprove the amendment.

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

    Dated: August 8, 2022.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-17315 Filed 8-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P