[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 101 (Thursday, May 23, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 45623-45625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11308]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 665

[Docket No. 240517-0139]
RIN 0648-BM76


Pacific Island Fisheries; Annual Catch Limit and Accountability 
Measure for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Bottomfish 
in 2024-2025

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement an annual catch limit (ACL) and 
annual catch target (ACT) for bottomfish in the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for fishing years 2024 and 2025. This 
proposed action would not revise, add, or remove the most recent 
current accountability measure (AM) in our regulations. Under that AM, 
NMFS would reduce the ACL and ACT in the following fishing year by the 
amount of the overage if the average catch from the most recent 3 years 
exceeds the ACL. This proposed rule would support the long-term 
sustainability of the CNMI bottomfish fishery.

DATES: NMFS must receive comments by June 24, 2024.

ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available 
at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2024-0002.You may 
submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2024-0002, 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 type

[[Page 45624]]

NOAA-NMFS-2024-0002 in the Search box (note: copying and pasting the 
FDMS Docket Number directly from this document may not yield search 
results). Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, 
and enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Sarah Malloy, Acting 
Regional Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp 
Blvd., Bldg. 176, Honolulu, HI 96818.
    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 
https://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).
    Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, the Western 
Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and NMFS prepared a 2021 
environmental assessment (EA) that supports this proposed action. The 
EA is available at https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Kamikawa, NMFS Pacific Islands 
Regional Office, Sustainable Fisheries, 808-725-5177.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CNMI bottomfish fishery targets an 
assemblage (i.e., complex) of 13 bottomfish management unit species 
(BMUS), including emperors, snappers, groupers, and jacks. NMFS and the 
Council manage the bottomfish fishery in Federal waters (i.e., the U.S. 
Exclusive Economic Zone, generally 3-200 nautical miles (nmi) (345 
kilometers (km)) from shore) around the CNMI under the Fishery 
Ecosystem Plan for the Mariana Archipelago (FEP), as authorized by the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act). NMFS must specify ACLs and AMs for each stock and stock 
complex in an FEP, as recommended by the Council, and must consider the 
best available scientific, commercial, and other information about the 
fishery. If a fishery exceeds an ACL, the regulations require the 
Council to take action (e.g., an AM reducing the ACL for the subsequent 
fishing year by the amount of the overage). ACTs can be used as an 
additional management measure to help ensure catch does not exceed the 
ACL.
    NMFS proposes to implement an ACL of 82,000 pounds (lb) (37,195 
kilograms (kg)) and an ACT of 75,000 lb (34,019 kg) for BMUS in the 
CNMI for fishing years 2024 and 2025, as was recommended by the 
Council. The fishing year for the CNMI BMUS fishery begins on January 1 
and ends on December 31. The Council based its recommendations on a 
2019 benchmark stock assessment by the NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries 
Science Center, and in consideration of the best available scientific, 
commercial, and other information about the fishery, and in accordance 
with the ACL process set forth in the FEP.
    NMFS also proposes to retain the most recent AM for CNMI BMUS. 
After the end of each fishing year, if NMFS and the Council determine 
that the average catch of BMUS from the most recent 3-year period 
exceeds the ACL, then NMFS would reduce the ACL in the subsequent 
fishing year by the amount of the overage. The ACT would also be 
subject to the same adjustment as the ACL for the subsequent fishing 
year. If the average catch from the most recent 3-year period exceeds 
the ACT, but is below the ACL, NMFS would not apply a post-season 
correction. If the fishery exceeds an ACL more than once in a 4-year 
period, the FEP requires the Council to re-evaluate the ACL process, 
and to adjust the system as necessary to improve its performance and 
effectiveness.
    Bottomfish catches from both territorial waters (i.e., generally 
from the shoreline to 3 nautical miles (nmi) offshore) and Federal 
waters would be counted towards the ACT and ACL. Catch data for the 
CNMI bottomfish fishery are gathered through a creel survey program 
administered by the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), and 
through commercial catch reports submitted to NMFS or DFW. NMFS and the 
Council use these data to evaluate total catch of CNMI BMUS versus the 
ACL and ACT.
    The 2019 stock assessment concluded that in 2017, the CNMI BMUS 
stock was not overfished and was not experiencing overfishing. The 
assessment estimated the overfishing limit for CNMI BMUS to be 98,000 
lb (44,452 kg). The CNMI ACL and ACT correspond to 39 percent and 34 
percent probability of overfishing, respectively, which are more 
conservative than the 50 percent risk threshold allowed under NMFS 
guidelines for National Standard 1 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. From 
2020 through 2022, an average of 37 vessels made 47 bottomfish trips 
and landed an average annual catch of 54,258 lb (24,611 kg) of BMUS 
(WPFMC 2023), which is 66 percent of the proposed ACL and 72 percent of 
the proposed ACT. Therefore, NMFS does not anticipate that the CNMI 
fishery will reach the proposed ACT or ACL in any fishing year, nor 
will fishing for bottomfish be constrained during the fishing year.
    NMFS will consider public comments on this proposed action and will 
announce the final rule in the Federal Register.

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 the FEP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after public 
comment.
    This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) Certification of Finding of No 
Significant Impact on Substantial Number of Small Entities

    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. 
A description of the proposed action, why it is being considered, and 
the legal basis for it are contained in the preamble to this proposed 
rule.
    Many people that participate in the CNMI bottomfish fishery are 
either subsistence or part-time commercial fishermen that generally do 
not sell all of their catch. The majority of fishermen operate vessels 
less than 25 feet long, but a few longer vessels also participate in 
the fishery. Commercial vessels tend to concentrate effort on deepwater 
bottomfish at offshore banks, but they face higher operating costs than 
the shallow-water fishery operating closer to shore. In addition to 
sales to seafood dealers, some bottomfish sales are within community 
social networks.
    In the CNMI, catch, participation, and effort in this fishery had 
generally trended downward since 2005, but activity in the fishery 
increased during the 2020-2022 timeframe as some participants turned to 
fishing as an alternative source of income during the

[[Page 45625]]

pandemic when the slowdown in the economy adversely affected their 
primary source of income. The number of vessels landing BMUS fluctuated 
from a low of two vessels in 2018 to a high of 60 vessels in 2021. In 
2022, the most recent year for which a full year of BMUS catch data is 
available, 22 (i.e., 20 bottomfish and 2 snorkel spearfishing) vessels 
landed 47,564 lb (21,575 kg) of BMUS. From 2020-2022, an average 37 
(i.e., 35 bottomfish and 2 snorkel spearfishing) vessels landed an 
average annual catch of 55,916 lb (25,363 kg). This catch is 66 percent 
of the proposed ACL and 75 percent of the proposed ACT; therefore, the 
fishery is unlikely to reach these limits in future years and trigger 
an overage adjustment. Commercial receipts indicate that fishermen sold 
an estimated 32,160 lb (14,588 kg) of bottomfish in 2022 valued at 
$180,672, at an average $5.62 per lb ($12.36 per kg). Based on this, 
the average revenue from BMUS sold per vessel in 2022 is estimated to 
be $8,215.
    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 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 its combined annual receipts are not in excess of $11 
million for all of its affiliated operations worldwide. Based on 
available information, NMFS has determined that all vessels engaging in 
the CNMI commercial and non-commercial bottomfish fisheries (North 
American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code: 114111) are small 
entities. That is, they are engaged in the business of finfish 
harvesting, independently owned or operated, not dominant in their 
field of operation, and have annual gross receipts not in excess of $11 
million. Therefore, there would be no disproportionate economic impacts 
between large and small entities. Furthermore, NMFS has determined that 
there would be no disproportionate economic impacts among vessels 
engaged in the fishery based on gear, home port, or vessel length.
    Even though this proposed action would apply to a substantial 
number of vessels, this action should not result in significant adverse 
economic impact to individual vessels. While the fisheries could reach 
or exceed the ACL or ACT, the catch data are not available until 6 
months after the local resource agencies have collected the data. 
Therefore, the proposed rule would not subject the fisheries to an in-
season AM, such as a fishery closure and, without an in-season closure, 
fishing activity is not likely to be constrained.
    The proposed action does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with 
other Federal rules and is not expected to have significant impact on 
small entities (as discussed above), organizations or government 
jurisdictions. The proposed action also will not place a substantial 
number of small entities at a significant competitive disadvantage to 
large entities. For the reasons above, NMFS does not expect the 
proposed action to have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. As such, an initial regulatory flexibility 
analysis is not required and none has been prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665

    Fisheries, Fishing, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
Bottomfish management unit species, Annual catch limit, Accountability 
measure, Pacific Islands, Western Pacific.

    Dated: May 17, 2024.
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 665 as follows:

PART 665--FISHERIES IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC

0
1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 665 continues to read as 
follows:

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

0
2. In Sec.  665.408, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  665.408  CNMI Annual Catch Limits (ACL) and Annual Catch Targets 
(ACT).

    (a) In accordance with Sec.  665.4, the ACL and ACT for Mariana 
bottomfish MUS in the CNMI Management Subarea for each fishing year are 
as follows:

                        Table 1 to Paragraph (a)
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                                                       2024       2025
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ACL (lb)..........................................     82,000     82,000
ACT (lb)..........................................     75,000     75,000
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[FR Doc. 2024-11308 Filed 5-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P