[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4157-4158]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01225]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-BI59


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Amendment 14 to the 2006 
Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of agency decision.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the approval of Amendment 14 to the 2006 
Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP). Amendment 14 revises the mechanism or ``framework'' used in 
establishing quotas and related management measures for Atlantic shark 
fisheries. The revised framework will modify the procedures followed in 
establishing the acceptable biological catch (ABC) and annual catch 
limits (ACLs) for Atlantic sharks and the process used to account for 
carryover or underharvests of quotas. It will also allow the option to 
phase-in ABC control rules and to adopt multi-year overfishing status 
determination criteria in some circumstances. Amendment 14 does not 
make changes to the current quotas or other management measures. Any 
operational changes to fishery management measures as a result of 
Amendment 14 would be considered in future rulemakings, as appropriate.

DATES: Amendment 14 was approved on January 18, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of Amendment 14 to the 2006 Consolidated 
HMS FMP may be obtained on the internet at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-14-2006-consolidated-hms-fishery-management-plan-shark-quota-management.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guy DuBeck ([email protected]), 
Karyl Brewster-Geisz ([email protected]), or Ann Williamson 
([email protected]) by email, or by phone at 301-427-8503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic HMS fisheries (tunas, billfish, 
swordfish, and sharks) are managed under the authority of the Atlantic 
Tunas Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.) and the Magnuson-Stevens 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act; 16 U.S.C. 1801 
et seq.). The 2006 Consolidated Atlantic HMS FMP (2006 Consolidated HMS 
FMP) and its amendments are implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 
635.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that any FMP or FMP amendment be 
consistent with 10 National Standards (NS). Specifically, NS1 requires 
``conservation and management measure shall prevent overfishing while 
achieving, on a continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery 
for the United States fishing industry.'' In 2016, NMFS revised the NS1 
guidelines to improve, streamline, and enhance their utility for 
managers and the public to facilitate compliance with the requirements 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and provide management flexibility in doing 
so (81 FR 71858, October 18, 2016). The revised NS1 guidelines have 
provided NMFS the opportunity to increase management flexibility to 
ensure scientific uncertainty and variability in shark harvests are 
accurately accounted for.
    Amendment 14 modifies the mechanism or ``framework'' used to 
establish ABC and ACLs for Atlantic shark stocks and management 
complexes. The new framework incorporates several of the management 
options in the 2016 revised NS1 guidelines that allow for more 
flexibility to respond to current conditions in Atlantic shark 
fisheries. Specifically, Amendment 14 will establish the management 
measures described below.
    ABC Control Rule: Implement a general approach to the development 
of ABC control rules for Atlantic shark stocks and management 
complexes. The tiered ABC control rule will categorize stocks or 
management complexes into appropriate tiers, taking into account the 
stock status of the species, data availability, and data uncertainty in 
the development of the ABCs. Because of the technical complexity in 
determining the appropriate level of scientific uncertainty for all 
stocks across all the different methodologies used in past shark stock 
assessments, NOAA Fisheries may phase-in the ABC control rule changes 
for some shark stocks over time.
    Phase-In ABC Control Rule: Phase-in ABC control rules to allow NMFS 
to phase in changes in the ABC over up to a three-year period, as long 
as overfishing is prevented. A phase-in ABC control rule allows for 
greater flexibility in setting the ABC following a stock assessment.
    ACL Development: Actively manage all sector ACLs (commercial and 
recreational) and establish an ACL for each Atlantic shark management 
group (i.e., a group of shark species that are combined for quota 
management purposes), without commercial ACL species linkage 
considerations. This will help ensure the ACL remains below the ABC and 
improve accountability and monitoring across all sectors.
    Carry-Over of Underharvested ACL: Change the carry-over provisions 
to allow carry-over of unused quota to the next year, only for 
underharvest of commercial quotas (landings only) under certain 
conditions (i.e., the stock is not overfished and not experiencing 
overfishing), as long as the overall ACL remains below the ABC. Carry-
over allows for fuller utilization of available commercial ACLs, 
helping to achieve optimum yield.

[[Page 4158]]

    Multi-Year Overfishing Status Determination Criteria: Apply multi-
year overfishing status determination criteria to determine if a stock 
is undergoing overfishing. When an assessment is conducted, NMFS would 
use a completed stock assessment to determine overfishing status, and 
outside of an assessment year, NMFS may compare a three-year rolling 
average of catch to the overfishing limit to determine the overfishing 
status.
    NMFS published a Notice of Availability for draft Amendment 14 on 
September 24, 2020 (85 FR 60132). The comment period closed on December 
31, 2020, and NMFS received 10 written comments. NMFS presented 
information on draft Amendment 14 at three public webinars and the HMS 
Advisory Panel meeting in December 2020. Additional oral comments were 
collected at the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council meetings in November and December 2020, respectively.
    In response to commenters' requests for more information, NMFS 
published a supplement to draft Amendment 14 on January 24, 2022 (87 FR 
3504). The comment period closed on March 10, 2022, and details were 
presented at one public webinar and at the HMS Advisory Panel meeting 
in February 2022. Eight written comments were received during the 
public comment period.
    All of the comments received on draft Amendment 14 to the 2006 
Consolidated HMS FMP and the supplemental document and responses to 
those comments can be found in final Amendment 14 to the 2006 
Consolidated HMS FMP, at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-14-2006-consolidated-hms-fishery-management-plan-shark-quota-management.
    NMFS has determined that Amendment 14 is consistent with the 2006 
Consolidated HMS FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable 
law. Amendment 14 establishes the general framework through which 
specific management measures would later be developed and adopted, 
therefore there are no implementing regulations associated with this 
amendment. Any changes to the management and quotas of HMS-managed 
Atlantic sharks would be considered in future rulemakings.
    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq. and 1801 et seq.

    Dated: January 18, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-01225 Filed 1-23-23; 8:45 am]
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