[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 177 (Wednesday, September 14, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56393-56395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19801]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 220908-0185; RTID 0648-BL55]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Mid-Atlantic Golden 
Tilefish Fishery; Framework Adjustment 7 to Tilefish Fishery Management 
Plan

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 to approve and implement Framework Adjustment 7 
to the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan, which includes 2022-2024 
specifications for the golden tilefish fishery for fishing years 2022-
2024, a change to the annual specifications process, and a change to 
the start of the golden tilefish fishing year. The proposed action is 
necessary to establish allowable harvest levels and other management 
measures to prevent overfishing while allowing optimum yield, 
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act and the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan. This action is 
intended to ensure measures are based on the best scientific 
information available and increase flexibility, where possible, for the 
tilefish fishery.

DATES: Comments must be received on September 29, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2022-0087, by either of 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-2022-0087 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 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 the Environmental Assessment prepared for this action, 
and other supporting documents for these proposed specifications, are 
available from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Suite 201, 
Dover, DE 19901. These documents are also accessible via the internet 
at https://www.mafmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Hansen, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9225.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) manages the 
golden tilefish fishery under the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP), which outlines the Council's process for establishing annual 
specifications. The FMP requires the Council to recommend acceptable 
biological catch (ABC), annual catch limit (ACL), annual catch target 
(ACT), total allowable landings (TAL), and other management measures, 
currently for up to 3 years at a time. The directed fishery is managed 
under an individual fishing quota (IFQ) program, with small amounts of 
non-IFQ catch allowed under an incidental permit. The Council's 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) provides an ABC 
recommendation to the Council to derive these catch limits. The Council 
makes recommendations to NMFS that cannot exceed the recommendation of 
its SSC. The Council's recommendations must include supporting 
documentation concerning the environmental, economic, and social 
impacts of the recommendations. NMFS is responsible for reviewing these 
recommendations to ensure that they achieve the FMP objectives and are 
consistent with all applicable laws. Following this review, NMFS 
publishes the final specifications in the Federal Register.

2022-2024 Fishery Specifications

    In 2020, the Council set specifications for 2021 and interim 
specifications for 2022. The 2022 interim specifications were set 
because of potential timing constraints associated with the 2021 
management track stock assessment. The interim 2022 measures provided 
management measures for the start of the fishing year in the event that 
there was insufficient time for the Council to approve, and for us to 
implement, new specifications for the start of the 2022 fishing year 
(i.e., November 1, 2021). The Council anticipated the use of the 2021 
golden tilefish management track stock assessment to review, and 
possibly revise, the interim 2022 specifications and to set 
specifications for the 2023 and 2024 fishing seasons. At the July 2021 
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and Monitoring Committee 
(MC) meetings, new catch and landing limits for the 2022 to 2024 
fishing years were recommended to the Council.
    After considering recommendations from the SSC, Tilefish MC, 
Tilefish Advisory Panel, and members of the public, the Council 
recommended specifications summarized in the table below. The new 2022 
ABC represents a 20-percent increase from the interim

[[Page 56394]]

2022 specifications, and would maintain a constant ABC for 2023 and 
2024. The Council did not recommend any changes to the current 
recreational bag limit or commercial/incidental trip limit.

             Table 1--Proposed Specifications for 2022-2024
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ABC....................................  1,964,319 lb (891 mt).
ACL....................................  1,964,319 (891 mt).
IFQ fishery ACT........................  1,763,478 (800 mt).
Incidental fishery ACT.................  92,815 (42 mt).
IFQ fishery TAL = ACT (no discards       1,763,478 lb (800 mt).
 permitted in fishery).
Incidental fishery TAL = Incidental      75,410 lb (42 mt).
 fishery ACT--discards.
Incidental Trip Limit..................  500 lb (226.8 kg) or 50
                                          percent, by weight, of all
                                          fish, including golden
                                          tilefish, on board the vessel,
                                          whichever is less.
Recreational Bag Limit.................  8-fish recreational bag-size
                                          limit per angler, per trip.
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Multi-Year Specifications

    Golden tilefish regulations currently allow multi-year annual 
specifications to be set for up to 3 years at a time. This action would 
modify the annual specifications process, so that specifications could 
be set for the maximum number of years needed to be consistent with the 
Northeast Region Coordinating Council approved stock assessment 
schedule. Multi-year regulations have been implemented for all 
fisheries managed by the Council to relieve some of the administrative 
demands on the Council and NMFS associated with annual specification 
requirements. Longer-term specifications also provide greater 
regulatory consistency and predictability to the fishing sectors. This 
action would provide additional flexibility as specifications could be 
set to cover the time period until a new golden tilefish stock 
assessment is available. Stock assessments provide critical information 
for setting specifications, and in the period between assessments, 
there often is no new information that would lead to changes to annual 
specifications. The Council will continue its process of reviewing 
multi-year specifications each year to determine if any modifications 
are necessary.

Fishing Year Timing

    Current regulations define the golden tilefish fishing year as the 
12-month period beginning with November 1. This action would change the 
fishing year to match the calendar year and would start on January 1. 
The current fishing year was initially established when the FMP was 
adopted in 2001 to avoid adding to the administrative burden associated 
with the start of the calendar year. However, improvements that have 
since been made in permitting and data-reporting systems have reduced 
this concern. Changing the fishing year to the calendar year will also 
match the period used in the stock assessments and the cost recovery 
program for the golden tilefish IFQ fishery.
    The 2022 fishing year began on November 1, 2021, and is operating 
under interim specifications. If this rule is finalized as proposed, 
the 2022 fishing year would run through December 31, 2022. The 2023 
fishing year, and all subsequent fishing years, would begin on January 
1.
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 Tilefish 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.
    For Regulatory Flexibility Act purposes, NMFS has established a 
size standard for small businesses, including their affiliated 
operations, whose primary industry is commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 
200.2). A business primarily engaged in commercial fishing (NAICS code 
11411) is classified as small if it is independently owned and 
operated, is not dominant in its field of operation (including its 
affiliates), and has combined annual receipts not in excess of $11.0 
million for all its affiliated operations worldwide. The determination 
as to whether the entity is large or small is based on the average 
annual revenue for the 3 years from 2018 through 2020. Data was used 
from 2018 to 2020, not 2021, because 2020 is the most recent full year 
of ownership data available. The Small Business Administration has 
established size standards for all other major industry sectors in the 
U.S., including defining for-hire fishing firms (NAICS code 487210) as 
small when their receipts are equal to or less than $8 million.
    The measures proposed in this action apply to vessels that hold a 
federal permit for golden tilefish. According to the ownership 
database, 143 affiliate firms landed golden tilefish during the 2018-
2020 period, with 141 of those business affiliates categorized as small 
business and 2 categorized as large business. The 3-year average (2018-
2020) combined gross receipts (all species combined) for all small 
entities only was $132,194,765, and the average golden tilefish 
receipts was $4,973,718. This indicates that golden tilefish revenues 
contributed approximately 3.76 percent of the total gross receipts for 
these small entities. The 2 firms that were categorized as large 
entities had combined gross receipts of $53,450,954 and combined golden 
tilefish receipts of $417; as such, golden tilefish receipts as a 
proportion of gross receipts is <0.01 percent.
    In general terms, the active commercial golden tilefish fishery 
participants (i.e., small firms that catch golden tilefish in the 
directed and incidental fisheries) derive a small share of overall 
gross receipts from the golden tilefish fishery. However, for small 
firms generating on average $10,000 or more of their total revenues 
from golden tilefish revenues (e.g., more dependent on golden 
tilefish), a large number of the active participants generate a large 
share of gross receipts from the tilefish fishery.
    A business primarily engaged in for-hire fishing activity is 
classified as a small business if it has combined annual receipts not 
in excess of $8 million. According to the vessel ownership data, 361 
for-hire affiliate firms generated revenues from fishing recreationally 
for various species during the 2018-2020 period; all of those

[[Page 56395]]

business affiliates are categorized as small business. It is not 
possible to derive what proportion of the overall revenues for these 
for-hire firms came from specific fishing activities (e.g., summer 
flounder, scup, black sea bass, bluefish, groundfish, golden tilefish, 
weakfish, striped bass, tautog, pelagics). Nevertheless, given the 
relatively low popularity of golden tilefish as a recreational species 
in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions, it is likely that revenues 
generated from golden tilefish is not significant for some, if not all, 
of these firms. The 3-year average (2018-2020) combined gross receipts 
(all for-hire fishing activity combined) for the small entities was 
$49,916,903, ranging from less than $10,000 for 105 entities (lowest 
value $46) to over $1,000,000 for 8 entities (highest value 
$3,587,272).
    The proposed measures in this action are administrative and the 
proposed specifications should have no negative impacts on these small 
businesses. This action will not have a significant economic impact on 
a substantial number of small entities.
    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: September 8, 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. Amend Sec.  648.292 by revising the introductory text paragraph (a) 
and paragraph (a)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.292   Tilefish specifications.

    (a) Golden Tilefish. The golden tilefish fishing year is the 12-
month period beginning with January 1, annually.
    (1) Annual specification process. The Tilefish Monitoring Committee 
shall review the ABC recommendation of the SSC, golden tilefish 
landings and discards information, and any other relevant available 
data to determine if the golden tilefish ACL, ACT, or total allowable 
landings (TAL) for the IFQ and/or incidental sectors of the fishery 
require modification to respond to any changes to the golden tilefish 
stock's biological reference points or to ensure any applicable 
rebuilding schedule is maintained. The Monitoring Committee will 
consider whether any additional management measures or revisions to 
existing measures are necessary to ensure that the IFQ and/or 
incidental TAL will not be exceeded. Based on that review, the 
Monitoring Committee will recommend golden tilefish ACL, ACTs, and TALs 
to the Tilefish Committee of the MAFMC. Based on these recommendations 
and any public comment received, the Tilefish Committee shall recommend 
to the MAFMC the appropriate golden tilefish ACL, ACT, TAL, and other 
management measures for both the IFQ and the incidental sectors of the 
fishery for a single fishing year or up to the maximum number of years 
needed to be consistent with the Northeast Regional Coordinating 
Council-approved stock assessment schedule. The MAFMC shall review 
these recommendations and any public comments received, and recommend 
to the Regional Administrator, at least 120 days prior to the beginning 
of the next fishing year, the appropriate golden tilefish ACL, ACT, 
TAL, the percentage of TAL allocated to research quota, and any 
management measures to ensure that the TAL will not be exceeded, for 
both the IFQ and the incidental sectors of the fishery, for the next 
fishing year, or up to maximum number of fishing years consistent with 
the Northeast Regional Coordinating Council-approved stock assessment 
schedule. The MAFMC's recommendations must include supporting 
documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental and 
economic impacts of the recommendations. The Regional Administrator 
shall review these recommendations, and after such review, NMFS will 
publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register specifying the annual 
golden tilefish ACL, ACT, TAL, and any management measures to ensure 
that the TAL will not be exceeded for the upcoming fishing year or 
years for both the IFQ and the incidental sectors of the fishery. After 
considering public comments, NMFS will publish a final rule in the 
Federal Register to implement the golden tilefish ACL, ACTs, TALs and 
any management measures. The previous year's specifications will remain 
effective unless revised through the specification process and/or the 
research quota process described in paragraph (a)(5) of this section. 
NMFS will issue notification in the Federal Register if the previous 
year's specifications will not be changed.
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[FR Doc. 2022-19801 Filed 9-13-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P