[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 173 (Friday, September 6, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72794-72795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19940]



[[Page 72794]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

RIN 0648-BN06


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Fishery Management Plans of Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and 
St. John; Amendment 3

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

ACTION: Announcement of availability of fishery management plan 
amendments; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Caribbean Fishery Management Council (Council) had 
submitted Amendment 3 to the Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for Puerto 
Rice, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John (Amendment 3) for review, 
approval, and implementation by NMFS. If approved by the Secretary of 
Commerce, Amendment 3 would establish new management measures for 
dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) and wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) in 
U.S. Caribbean Federal waters, including commercial and recreational 
minimum size limits and recreational bag and possession limits. The 
purpose of Amendment 3 is to develop management measures to ensure 
dolphinfish and wahoo have adequate time to mature and reproduce and to 
take a precautionary approach to management to protect against 
overfishing.

DATES: Written comments on Amendment 3 must be received on or before 
November 5, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on Amendment 3, identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2024-0070'', by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit https://www.regulations.gov and enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2024-0070'', in the Search 
box. Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and 
enter or attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Sarah Stephenson, NMFS 
Southeast Regional Office, 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 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).
    An electronic copy of Amendment 3, which includes a fishery impact 
statement, an environmental assessment, a regulatory impact review, and 
a Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis, may be obtained from the 
Southeast Regional Office website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-3-puerto-rico-st-croix-and-st-thomas-and-st-john-fishery-management-plans.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah Stephenson, 727-824-5305, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS, with the advice of the Council, 
manages the Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John 
fisheries in U.S. Caribbean Federal waters under the Puerto Rico, St. 
Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John FMPs. The Council prepared the FMPs, 
which the Secretary of Commerce approved, and NMFS implements the FMPs 
through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act).

Background

    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires NMFS and the regional fishery 
management councils to prevent overfishing and achieve, on a continuing 
basis, the optimum yield from federally managed fish stocks to ensure 
that fishery resources are managed for the greatest overall benefit to 
the Nation, particularly with respect to providing food production and 
recreational opportunities, and protecting marine ecosystems.
    On September 22, 2020, the Secretary of Commerce approved the 
Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John FMPs under section 
304(a)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. For Puerto Rico and the U.S. 
Virgin Islands (USVI), NMFS, with the advice of the Council, manages 
fisheries under the FMPs. NMFS published the final rule to implement 
the FMPs on September 13, 2022 (87 FR 56204). Each FMP contains 
management measures applicable for Federal waters in the respective 
island management area, including annual catch limits (ACLs), annual 
catch targets (ACTs), and accountability measures (AMs) for dolphinfish 
and wahoo. Federal waters around Puerto Rico extend seaward from 9 
nautical miles (nmi) or 16.7 kilometers (km) from shore to the offshore 
boundary of the U.S. Caribbean exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Federal 
waters around St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John extend seaward 
from 3 nmi (5.6 km) from shore to the offshore boundary of the U.S. 
Caribbean EEZ.
    Prior to implementation of the Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. 
Thomas and St. John FMPs, dolphinfish and wahoo were not federally 
managed in Federal waters in the U.S. Caribbean. Because of the 
economic importance of these fast-growing, short-lived pelagic species 
to the region, they were included for management under each of the 
Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John FMPs, even though, 
given their migratory nature, they are exposed to harvest pressure 
across a wide area of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the 
Caribbean Sea. While each FMP established ACLs, ACTs, and AMs for 
dolphinfish and wahoo, the FMPs did not establish other management 
measures often used to limit harvest or effort such as size limits, 
recreational bag limits, or commercial trip limits.
    At its December 2021 meeting, the Council began discussions on 
management measures that could be used to address the increasing 
opportunity for the overharvest of juvenile dolphinfish as a result of 
the increasing influx and presence of Sargassum in the region. 
Sargassum is a type of floating brown algae that provides food, 
protection, and habitat for many marine species. The Sargassum mats are 
natural fish aggregating devices for dolphinfish and wahoo, including 
juveniles of each species, making them easier to locate and catch by 
fishermen. In addition, the lack of information available on the 
recreational harvest of dolphinfish and wahoo and the potential for 
excess harvest of the species to occur during recreational fishing 
trips is a concern.
    The Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John FMPs did 
not include minimum size limits for dolphinfish or wahoo because these 
species were new to Federal management in the U.S. Caribbean. Amendment 
3 would establish minimum size limits for dolphinfish and wahoo for all 
fishing in U.S. Caribbean Federal waters (commercial and recreational 
sectors) to address the potential for small-sized (i.e., juvenile) 
individuals of these species to be caught

[[Page 72795]]

year-round. Dolphinfish and wahoo are usually seasonally-caught 
species, but the annual influx of Sargassum to the region increases the 
likelihood that smaller fish could easily be harvested. Although there 
currently is not a large market for smaller-sized dolphinfish or wahoo, 
such a fishery could develop in the future and the Council recommends 
being proactive in the management of these species. Protecting smaller-
sized dolphinfish and wahoo increases the potential that they have 
enough time to reproduce before being harvested.
    Currently, there are no recreational bag or possession limits for 
dolphinfish or wahoo for the same reasons noted above. Amendment 3 
would establish recreational bag and possession limits for dolphinfish 
and wahoo to help regulate their harvest in U.S. Caribbean Federal 
waters by the recreational sector, for which catch and effort 
information are either limited or not available. While the Puerto Rico 
FMP established recreational sector ACLs and ACTs for dolphinfish and 
wahoo, the Marine Recreational Information Program that collected 
recreational data for Puerto Rico was suspended in 2017 and has not 
resumed to date. Recreational data were not collected for St. Croix or 
St. Thomas and St. John. As a result, neither the St. Croix FMP nor the 
St. Thomas and St. John FMP established sector-specific ACLs and ACTs 
for dolphinfish and wahoo. Though some catch information is available 
from recreational fishing tournaments that occur in Puerto Rico and the 
USVI, that information likely underrepresents the total number of 
dolphinfish or wahoo caught each year by the recreational sector. Thus, 
the number of recreational fishermen and the amount of dolphinfish or 
wahoo removed by the sector are largely unknown for the region. Setting 
recreational bag and possession limits for the recreational sector in 
Federal waters around Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. 
John could reduce the chance of overfishing the resource, while 
allowing fishermen access to the species.
    The proposed recreational bag and possession limits for dolphinfish 
would be more conservative than the recreational bag and possession 
limits that apply in Puerto Rico territorial waters, but consistent 
with the recreational bag and possession limits that apply in St. 
Croix, St. Thomas and St. John territorial waters. With respect to 
wahoo, the proposed recreational bag and possession limits would be 
consistent with the recreational bag and possession limits that apply 
in Puerto Rico territorial waters, but more conservative than the 
recreational bag and possession limits that apply in St. Croix, St. 
Thomas and St. John territorial waters. Compatible regulations make it 
easier for fishermen to comply with the regulations and for law 
enforcement to monitor compliance to the regulations.
    During development of Amendment 3, the Council also considered 
actions to establish commercial trip limits for dolphinfish and wahoo. 
Because the commercial landings of dolphinfish and wahoo in each island 
management area have been less than the corresponding ACLs, the Council 
recommended that additional harvest constraints for the commercial 
sector were not needed at this time.

Actions Contained in Amendment 3

    For dolphinfish and wahoo, Amendment 3 would establish commercial 
and recreational minimum size limits and recreational bag and 
possession limits in Federal waters around Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and 
St. Thomas and St. John.

Size Limits

    Currently, no minimum size limits are in place for dolphinfish or 
wahoo in Federal waters around Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas 
and St. John. All sizes of dolphinfish or wahoo that are caught by 
commercial or recreational fishermen can be retained, though subject to 
the applicable ACLs and ACTs. For commercial and recreational fishing 
in the Federal waters around Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas and 
St. John, Amendment 3 would establish a 24 inches (61.0 centimeters 
(cm)) fork length (FL), minimum size limit for dolphinfish and a 32 
inches (81.3 cm) FL, minimum size limit for wahoo. As described in 
Amendment 3, these minimum size limits are based on size at maturity 
information reported for each species in the U.S. Caribbean.

Recreational Bag Limits

    Currently, no recreational bag or possession limits are in place 
for dolphinfish or wahoo in Federal waters around Puerto Rico, St. 
Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John. All dolphinfish or wahoo that are 
caught by recreational fishermen in U.S. Caribbean Federal waters 
during a recreational fishing trip can be retained, though subject to 
the applicable ACLs and ACTs. For Federal waters around Puerto Rico, 
Amendment 3 would establish a recreational bag and possession limit of 
5 dolphinfish per person per day, not to exceed 15 dolphinfish per 
vessel per day, whichever is less and a recreational bag and possession 
limit of 5 wahoo per person per day, not to exceed 10 wahoo per vessel 
per day, whichever is less. For Federal waters around St. Croix and St. 
Thomas and St. John, Amendment 3 would establish recreational bag and 
possession limits of 10 dolphinfish per person per day, not to exceed 
32 dolphinfish per vessel per day, whichever is less and recreational 
bag and possession limits of 2 wahoo per person per day, not to exceed 
10 wahoo per vessel per day, whichever is less. As described in 
Amendment 3, these recreational bag and possession limits proposed for 
Federal waters are either consistent with, or more conservative than, 
current territorial bag limit regulations for dolphinfish and wahoo.

Proposed Rule for Amendment 3

    A proposed rule to implement Amendment 3 has been drafted. In 
accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the 
proposed rule to determine whether it is consistent with Amendment 3, 
the FMPs, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law. If that 
determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish the proposed rule in 
the Federal Register for public review and comment.

Consideration of Public Comments

    The Council has submitted Amendment 3 for Secretarial review, 
approval, and implementation. Comments on Amendment 3 must be received 
by November 5, 2024. Comments received during the respective comment 
periods, whether specifically directed to Amendment 3 or the proposed 
rule will be considered by NMFS in the decision to approve, disapprove, 
or partially approve Amendment 3. Comments received after the comment 
periods will not be considered by NMFS in this decision. All comments 
received by NMFS on Amendment 3 or the proposed rule during their 
respective comment periods will be addressed in the final rule.

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

    Dated: August 30, 2024.
Lindsay Fullenkamp,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-19940 Filed 9-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P