[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 46 (Thursday, March 9, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14590-14592]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04799]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 230303-0063]
RTID 0648-XC715


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Spiny 
Dogfish Fishery; 2023 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 specifications for the 2023 Atlantic spiny 
dogfish fishery, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic and New England 
Fishery Management Councils. This action is necessary to establish 
allowable harvest levels for the spiny dogfish fishery to prevent 
overfishing while enabling optimum yield, using the best scientific 
information available. This rule also informs the public of the 
proposed fishery specifications and provides an opportunity for 
comment.

DATES: Comments must be received by March 24, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0014, 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-2023-
0014'' 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 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].
    A draft environmental assessment (EA) has been prepared for this 
action that describes the proposed measures and other considered 
alternatives, as well as provides an analysis of the impacts of the 
proposed measures and alternatives. Copies of the specifications 
document, including the EA, are available on 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 https://www.mafmc.org/action-archive.

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

[[Page 14591]]

fishing year running from May 1 through April 30. This action proposes 
Atlantic spiny dogfish specifications for fishing year 2023, as 
recommended by the Councils and Commission.
    In September 2022, the Mid-Atlantic Council's Scientific and 
Statistical Committee (SSC) reviewed a spiny dogfish 2022 data update 
with the best available catch and biomass estimates, including the 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center's spring trawl surveys. In response 
to declining trends in stock biomass and productivity shown in the 
data, the SSC recommended a 7,788 mt ABC for fishing year 2023, which 
is a 55-percent decrease from fishing year 2022. Both the Mid-Atlantic 
and New England Councils accepted the SSC's recommended ABC at their 
subsequent meetings in October and December 2022, respectively. The 
Councils also considered the inclusion of a management uncertainty 
buffer to account for potentially underestimated commercial discards. 
Buffers of 0, 5, 13, and 18 percent were considered; however, both 
Councils ultimately recommended adopting the SSC's recommended ABC of 
7,788 mt, with no additional management uncertainty buffer, resulting 
in a coast-wide commercial quota of 5,449 mt; a 59-percent decrease 
from 2022. Neither Council recommended any changes to other management 
measures, such as trip limits.

Proposed Specifications

    This action proposes the Councils' recommendations for 2023 
Atlantic spiny dogfish catch specifications, which are consistent with 
the Mid-Atlantic SSC's recommended ABC and the best available science. 
These proposed specifications would decrease all catch limits by at 
least 55 percent in fishing year 2023, based on recent declining trends 
in stock biomass and productivity. A comparison of the current 2022 and 
proposed 2023 specifications is summarized below in Table 1.

       Table 1--Comparison of Current 2022 and Proposed 2023 Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Fishery Specifications
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                                               2022 (Current)                  2023 (Proposed)
                                     -----------------------------------------------------------------  Percent
                                        Million lb      Metric tons      Million lb      Metric tons     change
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ABC.................................           38.58          17,498            17.17           7,788         55
ACL = ACT...........................           38.48          17,453            17.09           7,751         56
TAL.................................           29.68          13,461            12.48           5,663         58
Commercial Quota....................           29.56          13,408            12.01           5,449         59
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    The Councils did not recommend changes to any other management 
measures as a part of these specifications. Therefore, all other 
management measures, including trip limits, would remain unchanged for 
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.
    NMFS finds that a 15-day comment period for this action provides a 
reasonable opportunity for public participation in this action pursuant 
to Administrative Procedure Act section 553(c) (5 U.S.C. 553(c)), while 
also ensuring that the final specifications are in place for the start 
of the spiny dogfish fishing year on May 1, 2023. Stakeholder and 
industry groups have been involved with the development of this action 
and have participated in public meetings throughout the past year. A 
prolonged comment period and subsequent potential delay in 
implementation past the start of the 2023 fishing year would be 
contrary to the public interest, as it could create confusion both in 
the spiny dogfish industry around current quotas, and with state 
agencies as they prepare their annual management measures.
    This action is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866 
because it contains no implementing regulations.
    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 specifications in conjunction with an EA. There 
are no proposed regulatory changes in this spiny dogfish action, so 
none are considered in the evaluation. The proposed specifications 
would decrease the 2023 ABC by 55 percent, and the coastwide commercial 
quota by 59 percent, consistent with the Mid-Atlantic Council's SSC's 
recommendations in response to recent declines in stock biomass and 
productivity. This action proposes no changes to other management 
measures beyond specifications, such as trip limits.
    This proposed action would affect those entities that hold Federal 
commercial fishing permits for Atlantic spiny dogfish. 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, 1,785 separate vessels held commercial spiny 
dogfish permits in 2021, the most recent year of fully available data. 
A total of 1,126 commercial entities owned those permitted vessels, and 
of those entities, 1,115 are categorized as small entities and 11 as 
large entities.
    Although 59 percent is a substantial quota reduction, this change 
is not expected to substantially change overall fishing activity, or 
result in catch overages or revenue losses in the spiny dogfish 
fishery. In recent years, the spiny dogfish quotas have not constrained 
landings in the fishery. Even with the 59-percent decrease, the 
proposed coastwide commercial quota of 12 million lb (5,449 mt) is 
higher than the most recent, complete fishing year (2021) landings of 
10.3 million lb (4,672 mt), and is therefore not constraining. The 
average landings of the last three years (2019-2021; 14.1 million lb, 
6,396 mt) is slightly higher than the proposed quota; however, the 
fishery has been following a declining landings trajectory in recent 
years and it is reasonable to expect that the new quota will not be 
limiting or substantially affect effort. Additionally, effort in the 
Atlantic spiny dogfish fishery remains largely dependent on market 
conditions and pricing, which are not expected to

[[Page 14592]]

substantially change as a result of these specifications. As such, this 
proposed action is not expected to have a substantial impact on the way 
the fishery operates or the revenue of small entities.
    Overall, analyses indicate that the proposed specifications are not 
expected to substantially change fishing effort or the risk of 
overfishing, prices/revenues, or fishery behavior. Therefore, the 
Council concluded, and NMFS agrees, that this action would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
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.

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

     Dated: March 3, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-04799 Filed 3-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P