[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 105 (Thursday, June 1, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 35823-35824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-11659]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 230525-0139]
RIN 0648-BM25


Control Date for the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Fishery; 
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR); request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: This document announces a new control date that may be used to 
determine future participation in the Limited Access General Category 
Northern Gulf of Maine Atlantic sea scallop fishery. This document is 
necessary to inform interested parties that the New England Fishery 
Management Council is considering a future action that may affect or 
limit the number of participants in this fishery and that participants 
should locate and preserve all fishing related documents. The control 
date is intended to discourage speculative entry or fishing activity in 
the Limited Access General Category Northern Gulf of Maine scallop 
fishery while the Council considers how participation in the fishery 
may be affected.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before July 31, 2023. 
June 1, 2023, shall be known as the ``control date'' for the Northern 
Gulf of Maine Atlantic sea scallop fishery.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2023-0046 by the following method:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the

[[Page 35824]]

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and 
enter NOAA-NMFS-2023-0046 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).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louis Forristall, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9321.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notification establishes June 1, 2023, 
as the new control date for potential use in determining historical or 
traditional participation in the Limited Access General Category (LAGC) 
Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Atlantic sea scallop fishery. Interested 
participants should locate and preserve all records that substantiate 
and verify their participation in the NGOM scallop fishery. 
Consideration of a control date does not commit the Council to develop 
any particular management regime or criteria for eligibility in the 
fishery. Any action to determine eligibility for the NGOM scallop 
fishery would require a change to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and 
would be considered through the normal Council process, including 
rulemaking, that would allow additional opportunities for public 
comment.
    In 2008, Amendment 11 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP (73 FR 20090; 
April 14, 2008) established the LAGC program and the NGOM management 
area. Scallop permit holders who qualified under Amendment 11 received 
LAGC A (Individual Fishing Quota) permits. Non-qualifiers that held a 
General Category permit by November 1, 2004, received LAGC B/C permits. 
A vessel issued an LAGC B permit (NGOM permit) could land up to 200 lb 
(90.8 kg) per day in the NGOM, until the NGOM total allowable catch had 
been reached, and a vessel issued an LAGC C permit (incidental permit) 
could land up to 40 lb (18.1 kg) per trip on non-scallop trips. 
Amendment 11 established that a vessel issued an LAGC A permit is 
allowed to permanently downgrade to an LAGC B/C. Further, a vessel 
issued an LAGC B/C can select to be issued either an LAGC B or an LAGC 
C permit on an annual basis.
    In recent years, both scallop biomass and participation increased 
in the NGOM. In 2022, the Council addressed this growth by creating an 
800,000-lb (362,873.9 mt) set-aside allocation for the LAGC fishery in 
the NGOM management area through Amendment 21 to the Scallop FMP (87 FR 
1688; January 12, 2022). Amendment 21 allowed LAGC A and B permit 
holders to harvest up to 200 lb (90.8 kg) per day from the NGOM set-
aside, and LAGC C permit holders are still allowed to harvest up to 40 
lb (18.1 kg) per day while the NGOM is open for fishing. The vision 
statement for Amendment 21 stated that the LAGC component of the NGOM 
fishery would consist of ``a fleet made up of relatively small vessels, 
with possession limits to maintain the historical character of this 
fleet and provide opportunities to various participants including 
vessels from smaller coastal communities'' (87 FR 1688, 1693).
    Following the implementation of Amendment 21, the number of LAGC 
vessels accessing the NGOM continued to increase, as was expected 
during the development of the amendment. In 2022, there were 26 LAGC 
permits that switched from Incidental (LAGC C) to NGOM permits (LAGC 
B), whereas there were no more than 5 of these category switches in any 
previous year. Also in 2022, 103 LAGC A and B permits were active in 
the NGOM, while a total of 556 LAGC permits were issued (212 A, 159 B, 
and 185 C).
    On January 24, 2023, the Council voted to request a control date 
for LAGC permit category changes in the NGOM. The Council is concerned 
that the number of potential permits that can switch to an LAGC B 
permit to access the NGOM set-aside is large compared to the number of 
vessels historically active in the area. The Council requested that we 
establish a control date as the date of publication of this Advanced 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. This action notifies the public and 
fishery participants of possible rulemaking, should the Council 
consider future action that may limit LAGC permit category changes in 
the NGOM.
    The control date is intended to disincentivize speculative entry, 
investment, or fishing activity in the NGOM scallop fishery while the 
Council considers if and how LAGC permit category changes in the 
fishery may be affected. The Council may use this control date for 
entry or participation qualification, along with additional criteria. 
Performance or fishing effort after the date of publication may not be 
treated the same as performance or effort before the control date. The 
Council may choose to use different qualification criteria that do not 
incorporate this control date. The Council may change the control date. 
The Council may also choose to take no further action to limit LAGC 
permit category changes in the NGOM scallop fishery. This control date 
is only intended for use in limiting LAGC permit category changes in 
the NGOM scallop fishery.

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

    Dated: May 25, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-11659 Filed 5-31-23; 8:45 am]
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