[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 135 (Monday, July 17, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45384-45386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14757]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 230706-0162]
RIN 0648-BM37


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Coastal Migratory Pelagics Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic 
Region; Framework Amendment 12

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 regulations to implement management measures 
described in Framework Amendment 12 under the Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP) for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic (CMP) Resources of the Gulf of 
Mexico and Atlantic Region (CMP FMP), as prepared and submitted by the 
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf Council). This proposed 
rule and Framework Amendment 12 would modify the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) 
migratory group of king mackerel (Gulf king mackerel) gillnet component 
commercial fishing season. The purpose of this proposed rule and 
Framework Amendment 12 is to allow the Gulf king mackerel gillnet 
component of the CMP fishery to fish without interruption from the 
season start date until NMFS determines that the gillnet quota has been 
met.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule, identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2023-0075,'' by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2023-0075'', in the Search 
box. Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and 
enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Kelli O'Donnell, 
Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, 
FL 33701.
    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

[[Page 45385]]

and will generally be posted for public viewing on www.regulations.gov 
without change. All personal identifying information (e.g., name, 
address), 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).
    Electronic copies of Framework Amendment 12, which includes a 
regulatory impact review, may be obtained from the Southeast Regional 
Office website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/framework-12-modifications-commercial-gulf-king-mackerel-gillnet-fishing-season.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelli O'Donnell, telephone: 727-824-
5305, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Gulf king mackerel is managed under the CMP 
FMP prepared by the Gulf and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils 
and implemented through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

Background

    Under the CMP FMP, the Gulf Council has the authority to develop 
framework amendments specific to manage fishing for the Gulf migratory 
group of king mackerel, which is found in Federal waters from Texas to 
the Florida Monroe/Miami-Dade County boundary. Fishing by the Gulf king 
mackerel gillnet component is allowed only in the Gulf king mackerel 
southern zone as described in 50 CFR 622.369(a)(1)(iii).
    The current Gulf king mackerel gillnet component fishing season 
starts annually in January the Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. 
Federal holiday. The first weekend after the fishing season starts is 
open to gillnet fishing, but all subsequent weekends and holidays are 
closed to gillnet fishing while the season remains open. The current 
fishing season structure was established in a 1999 Framework Amendment 
to the CMP FMP (64 FR 45457, August 20, 1999). This fishing season 
structure was based on a need to formalize a private agreement between 
the small number of gillnet participants, which was to wait until 
January to fish, so they reduced the chance of a quota overage for the 
gillnet component. After the season and first weekend opening, 
subsequent weekends and holidays were closed to fishing because the 
gillnet component could rapidly harvest the fish and NMFS did not have 
the ability to monitor landings and process an inseason closure during 
weekends and holidays. However, for the last 10 years, gillnet fishers 
have cooperated with NMFS and voluntarily stopped fishing when landings 
are close to reaching the gillnet component ACL (component quota). The 
gillnet fishers then wait for NMFS to determine if there is remaining 
quota available to harvest or if the season will be closing. Due to the 
low number of participants within the Gulf king mackerel gillnet 
component, and their consistent cooperation with NMFS, NMFS expects 
this practice to continue to be successful. This cooperation also helps 
ensure that landings do not exceed the commercial gillnet component 
ACL, which would result in a reduction of the component ACL in the 
following fishing year (50 CFR 622.388(a)(1)(iii)).
    In 2022, the Council received a request from Gulf king mackerel 
commercial gillnet component fishermen to remove the weekend and 
holiday seasonal closures during the fleet's open season. The request 
stated that the removal of the weekend and holiday closures would allow 
the gillnet component to be more efficient by allowing participants to 
harvest the gillnet component quota as quickly as possible and so that 
they may then return to harvesting other species. The Council agreed 
that the weekend and holiday closures are no longer necessary.

Management Measure Contained in This Proposed Rule

    For the Gulf king mackerel commercial gillnet component, this 
proposed rule would revise the fishing season. The current fishing 
season for the Gulf king mackerel gillnet component starts the Tuesday 
after the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal holiday. The first weekend 
after the fishing season starts is open, but all subsequent weekends 
and holidays are closed to fishing while the season remains open. 
Through this proposed rule the revised the fishing season would still 
start the Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal holiday but 
with all subsequent weekends and holidays remaining open to fishing 
while the season remains open.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with Framework Amendment 12, the CMP 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.
    Pursuant to section 605(b) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 
the Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce has 
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 follows.
    A description of this proposed rule, why it is being considered, 
and the objectives of this proposed rule are contained in the SUMMARY 
and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION sections of this proposed rule. The 
Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the statutory basis for this proposed 
rule. No duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting Federal rules have 
been identified. In addition, no new reporting, record-keeping, or 
other compliance requirements are introduced by this proposed rule.
    This proposed rule, if implemented, would remove the weekend and 
holiday closures for the Gulf king mackerel gillnet component fishing 
season and would apply to all federally-permitted commercial vessels 
that fish for or harvest Gulf king mackerel using gillnets in the Gulf 
southern zone. It would not directly apply to federally-permitted 
dealers. Any change in the supply of king mackerel available for 
purchase by dealers as a result of this proposed rule, and associated 
economic effects, would be an indirect effect of this proposed rule and 
would therefore fall outside the scope of the RFA.
    During 2021, there were a total of 1,389 valid or renewable Federal 
commercial king mackerel permits and 16 king mackerel gillnet 
endorsements. On average from 2017 through 2021, there were 14 
federally-permitted commercial vessels with reported landings of Gulf 
king mackerel using gillnets in the southern zone. Their average annual 
vessel-level gross revenue from all species for 2017 through 2021 was 
$286,906 (2021 dollars), and Gulf king mackerel harvested with gillnets 
accounted for approximately 16 percent of this revenue. For commercial 
vessels that harvest Gulf king mackerel using gillnets in the southern 
zone, economic profits are estimated to range from $12,624 to $61,972 
(4.4 percent to 21.6 percent of annual gross revenue), on average. The 
maximum annual revenue

[[Page 45386]]

from all species reported by a single vessel that harvested Gulf king 
mackerel with gillnets from 2017 through 2021 was approximately $1 
million (2021 dollars). It is important to note that some commercial 
fishing businesses own and operate more than one vessel. On average 
from 2017 through 2021, there were 13 commercial fishing businesses 
identified that had Gulf king mackerel gillnet landings. During this 
time, these businesses earned an average annual revenue of 
approximately $637,000 (2021 dollars), and king mackerel gillnet 
landings accounted for approximately 8 percent of this revenue. The 
maximum annual revenue from all species reported by a single one of 
these commercial fishing businesses from 2017 through 2021 was 
approximately $2 million (2021 dollars).
    For RFA purposes only, NMFS has established a small business size 
standard for businesses, including their affiliates, whose primary 
industry is commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business primarily 
engaged in commercial fishing (North American Industry Classification 
System code 11411) is classified as a small business 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 million for all its affiliated operations 
worldwide. All of the commercial fishing businesses directly regulated 
by this proposed rule are believed to be small entities based on the 
NMFS size standard. No other small entities that would be directly 
affected by this proposed rule have been identified.
    This proposed rule would modify the fishing season for the Gulf 
king mackerel gillnet component of the CMP fishery by removing the 
weekend and holiday closures. The removal of this closure provision 
would be expected to reduce fuel costs as vessels would no longer be 
required to return to the docks for weekends and holidays. It would 
also allow these vessels to prosecute the Gulf king mackerel southern 
zone gillnet quota in a more timely and efficient manner, allowing 
operators to switch fishing gear sooner and attempt to increase their 
harvest and revenue in the stone crab and spiny lobster fisheries 
subsequent to the gillnet fishing season. NMFS expects that these 
improvements in efficiency would increase economic profits for the 
affected small entities; however, these economic effects cannot be 
quantified with existing data.
    In summary, the information provided above supports a determination 
that this proposed rule 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 proposed rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Commercial, Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf of Mexico, King mackerel.

    Dated: July 6, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 
CFR part 622 as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH 
ATLANTIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:

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

0
2. In Sec.  622.378, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.378  Seasonal closures of the Gulf migratory group king 
mackerel gillnet fishery.

    (a) Seasonal closure of the gillnet component for Gulf migratory 
group king mackerel. The gillnet component for Gulf migratory group 
king mackerel in or from the southern zone is closed each fishing year 
from July 1 until 6 a.m. eastern standard time on the day after the 
Martin Luther King Jr. Federal holiday. During the closure, a person 
aboard a vessel using or possessing a gillnet with a stretched-mesh 
size of 4.75 inches (12.1 cm) or larger in the southern zone may not 
fish for or possess Gulf migratory group king mackerel. (See Sec.  
622.369(a)(1)(iii) for a description of the southern zone.)
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[FR Doc. 2023-14757 Filed 7-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P