    [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 58 (Thursday, March 26, 2026)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 14674-14677]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 2026-05860]

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    DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    50 CFR Part 648

    [Docket No. 260323-0088]
    RIN 0648-BO35

    Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Skate
    Complex; 2026-2028 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 2026 through 2028 specifications for the
    Northeast skate fishery. This action would set skate catch limits for
    fishing year 2026, project catch limits for fishing years 2027 through
    2028, and increase per trip possession limits for the wing and bait
    fisheries. This proposed action is necessary to establish skate
    specifications consistent with the most recent scientific information.
    The intent of this action is to establish appropriate catch limits for
    the skate fishery while providing additional operational flexibility to
    fishery participants.

    DATES: Comments must be received by April 10, 2026. As explained
    further below, 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 and
    possession limits are in place as close as possible to the start of the
    2026 skate fishing season on May 1.

    ADDRESSES: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) has
    prepared a supplemental information report (SIR) that describes the
    proposed action and compares it to the alternatives and analyses
    presented in the environmental assessment (EA) that was prepared for
    Framework Adjustment 12 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery
    Management Plan (FMP). The SIR considers whether there are any
    substantial changes or significant new circumstances or information
    that are relevant to environmental concerns and could affect the
    proposed action or its impacts. Based on the analysis presented in the
    SIR, NMFS has determined that the Framework Adjustment 12 EA does not
    require supplementation. The SIR also includes a Regulatory Impact
    Review (RIR) and economic analysis. Copies of the proposed skate
    fishery specifications for fishing years 2026-2028, SIR, and other
    supporting documents are available on the Council website at https://www.nefmc.org/library/2026-2027-skate-specifications and upon request
    from Dr. Cate O'Keefe, Executive Director, New England Fishery
    Management Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950.
        A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available at
    https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2025-1593. You may submit
    comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2025-1593, by the
    following method:
         Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
    comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit https://www.regulations.gov and type NOAA-NMFS-2025-1593 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
    https://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).

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caroline Potter, Fishery Resource
    Management Specialist, (978) 281-9325.

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Background

        The FMP sets management parameters for a complex of seven skate
    species (barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette, smooth, thorny, and
    winter) off the New England and mid-Atlantic coasts. Skates support two
    different targeted fisheries, one for food (the wing fishery) and one
    for bait in other fisheries (the bait fishery). The FMP requires that
    annual catch and possession limits for the skate fishery be reviewed
    and established through the specifications process. Framework
    Adjustment 12 to the Northeast Skate Complex FMP (Framework 12) (89 FR
    58076, July 17, 2024) set management measures and specifications for
    the skate fishery for fishing year 2024 and projected specifications
    for fishing year 2025. A subsequent final rule (90 FR 16467, April 18,
    2025) finalized the projected specifications for fishing year 2025.

    Proposed Measures

        Consistent with the Council's recommendations, this action proposes
    increasing the 2026 and 2027 acceptable biological catch (ABC) and
    annual catch limit (ACL) to 41,282 metric tons (mt) (compared to 32,155
    mt in 2025). The total allowable landings (TAL) would be 20,966 mt
    (compared to 15,718 mt in 2025); based on the proportional allocations
    prescribed in the FMP, the wing TAL would be 13,943 mt (compared to
    10,453 mt in 2025), and the bait TAL would be 7,024 mt (compared to
    5,266 mt in 2025). For fishing years 2026 and 2027, the ABC would be a
    28-percent increase over the ABC for years 2024 and 2025. This action
    would decrease the ABC for fishing year 2028 by 10 percent from fishing
    years 2026 and 2027 in order to account for uncertainty in the future
    biomass trend. Thus, for 2028, this action proposes an ABC and an ACL
    of 37,154 mt. The 2028 TAL would be 18,800 mt; the wing TAL would be
    12,502 mt; and the bait TAL would be 6,298 mt. A comparison of the
    current 2024-2025 and the proposed 2026-2028 specifications is provided
    below in table 1.
        The Council will review the projected 2027 and 2028 specifications
    to determine if any changes need to be recommended prior to fishing
    years 2027 and 2028, respectively. NMFS will publish a notice prior to
    each fishing year to confirm these limits as projected or, if changes
    are necessary, NMFS may publish a proposed rule.
        Skate regulations (50 CFR 648.320(a)(4)) indicate that
    specifications can be set for a period of up to two fishing years.
    However, in November 2025, the Council submitted a concurrent omnibus
    management flexibility amendment that, in part, would allow extending
    the time period for setting skate specifications for up to five years.
    Thus, setting projected specifications through 2028 as provided in this
    proposed rule is contingent on

    [[Page 14675]]

    the implementation of the management flexibility amendment. If at the
    time NMFS prepares the final rule, the amendment is not yet approved
    and effective, the final rule for this action would not set projected
    2028 specifications.

    Table 1--Comparison of Current 2024-2025 and Proposed 2026-2028 Skate Fishery Specifications, in Metric Tons and
                                                      Whole Weight
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                                                                         2024-2025       2026-2027         2028
                                                                         (current)      (proposed)      (proposed)
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    ABC/ACL.........................................................          32,155          41,282          37,154
    ACT (90% of ACL)................................................          28,940          37,154          33,439
    Overall Fishery TAL.............................................          15,718          20,966          18,800
    Wing TAL (66.5% of Overall TAL).................................          10,453          13,943          12,502
    Wing Season 1 TAL (57% of Wing TAL).............................           5,958           7,948           7,126
    Wing Season 2 TAL...............................................           4,495           5,995           5,376
    Bait TAL (33.5% of Overall TAL).................................           5,266           7,024           6,298
    Bait Season 1 TAL (30.8% of Bait TAL)...........................           1,622           2,163           1,940
    Bait Season 2 TAL (37.1% of Bait TAL)...........................           1,954           2,606           2,337
    Bait Season 3 TAL...............................................           1,690           2,255           2,021
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        In addition, this action proposes changes to the skate per trip
    possession limits. It would increase the skate wing possession limits
    (in wing weight) for trips fishing on a Monkfish, Scallop, or Northeast
    Multispecies Day-At-Sea (DAS) by 500 pounds (lb; 226.8 kg) for each
    season, which would result in a trip limit of 4,500 lb (2,041.2 kg) for
    Season 1 (May 1-August 31) and a trip limit of 6,500 lb (2,948,4 kg)
    for Season 2 (September 1-April 30). This proposed action would also
    increase the skate bait whole weight possession limit from 25,000 lb
    (11,339.8 kg) to 30,000 lb (13,607.8 kg) for trips fishing on a Bait
    Letter of Authorization (LOA) for all three bait seasons.
        The proposed changes to trip limits are intended to provide
    additional flexibility to fishery participants. The increased skate
    wing possession limit is intended to allow for additional yield on
    trips where skates have been a constraining factor, such as for the
    monkfish fishery. The increased skate bait possession limit is intended
    to offset any increased costs for skate bait trips that have
    experienced longer steam times, as distance to productive fishing
    grounds has increased in recent years. The scale of the possession
    limit increases are intended to accommodate these constraints and costs
    while not being large enough to incentivize substantial increased
    fishing effort.
        Indices of relative abundance (stratified mean weight/tow) for each
    of the seven species in the skate complex have been developed from
    Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) bottom trawl surveys. These
    indices and their rates of change form the basis for the conclusions
    about the status of the complex. The spring NEFSC survey data are used
    for little skate and the fall NEFSC survey data are used for the other
    managed skate species. Based on the 2025 NEFSC data update, overfishing
    is not occurring for any of the seven skate species, and only thorny
    skate is considered overfished.
        It is estimated that the proposed bait possession limit increase
    could lead to bait landings of about 7.59 million lb (3.44 million kg)
    per year, as compared to the average bait landings of 7.20 million lb
    (3.27 million kg) from fishing years 2021-2024. These landings levels
    would equate to a bait TAL utilization of about 49 percent for fishing
    years 2026-2027 (15.5 M lb; 7.03 million kg) and 55 percent for fishing
    year 2028 (13.9 million lb; 6.30 million kg). These rates fall well
    within the range of bait TAL utilization rates of 45 to 62 percent in
    fishing years 2021-2024. While increasing skate possession limits could
    increase TAL utilization by increasing landings, the proposed increase
    is small enough to provide some operational flexibility and enough
    below the high end of the utilization rate range to avoid a substantial
    change in fishing effort. In addition, a substantial increase in
    fishing effort is not expected considering that, from 2021-2024, 91
    percent of Bait LOA trips landed less than 75 percent of the current
    25,000 lb (11,339.8 kg) possession limit. Catch is expected to remain
    within the ABC, and accountability measures would be triggered if a TAL
    or ACL is exceeded. Thus, these measures are not anticipated to
    increase the risk of overfishing for skate species or result in skate
    species becoming overfished. In addition, while skate mortality could
    increase with increased possession limits, some of the skates that are
    discarded dead under current possession limits would be landed instead,
    decreasing bycatch and mitigating increases in total mortality.
        Data from observed trips in the Bait LOA fishery suggest that skate
    landings are largely comprised of little skate. Little skate survey
    biomass has been decreasing in recent years. The moving average of the
    survey biomass index for little skate (the 2024-2025 2-year average is
    4.03) is close to its biomass threshold (3.38). If the moving average
    of the survey biomass index falls to less than the biomass threshold,
    the stock would be considered overfished. On average, it is estimated
    that about 7.06 million lb (3.20 million kg) of little skate have been
    landed annually since fishing year 2021. It is anticipated that
    increasing the bait possession limit, as proposed by this action, could
    lead to an increase in little skate landings of 381,228 lb (172,922 kg)
    per year and that total little skate landings could increase to
    7,437,382 lb (3,373,540 kg) per year. Thus, this action could lead to
    an approximately 5.4-percent increase in little skate landings on
    average. However, this landing estimate is below the 8.28 million lb
    (3.76 million kg) of landings that occurred in 2021, and annual
    landings since then have remained below this level. Because the
    anticipated landings increase of 5.4 percent is relatively small and
    the landings estimate is below the landings in 2021, it is unlikely
    that the anticipated increase in mortality under the proposed action
    would cause little skate to become overfished. In addition, as
    described above, the increases in possession limits are expected to
    provide operational flexibility without resulting in an increase in
    fishing effort. Considering all of the above, no substantial changes in
    impacts to little skate are expected as a result of this proposed
    action.

    Classification

        NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to sections 303(c), 304(b), and
    305(d) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation

    [[Page 14676]]

    and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), which provides specific
    authority and procedure for implementing this action. The Council
    reviewed the proposed regulations for this action and deemed them
    necessary and appropriate to implement this action, consistent with
    section 303(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The NMFS Assistant
    Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with
    the Northeast Skate Complex FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-
    Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration
    after public comment. See 16 U.S.C. 304(b)(1)(A). In addition, in a
    previous action under section 304(b), the regulations at 50 CFR
    648.320(a)(7) authorize NMFS to take this action under section 305(d).
        Section 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1854(b))
    requires publication of proposed regulations in the Federal Register
    with a public comment period of 15 to 60 days. 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 and possession limits are in place as
    close as possible to the start of the 2026 skate fishing season on May
    1. This is a routine action and stakeholders have been involved with
    the development of this action and have participated in public meetings
    throughout its development. A longer comment period would be contrary
    to the public interest as it could extend this rulemaking beyond the
    start of the 2026 fishing season, resulting in confusion for fishery
    participants, disadvantage for Federal permit holders, and enforcement
    challenges.
        This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
    purposes of Executive Order 12866.
        This proposed rule is not an Executive Order 14192 regulatory
    action because this rule is not significant under Executive Order
    12866.
        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 Council conducted an evaluation of the potential socioeconomic
    impacts of the proposed measures. The increases in skate ACL and
    possession limits would impact vessels or affiliate groups that hold
    Federal skate permits and affect both bait and wing fisheries. For RFA
    purposes only, NMFS has established a small business size standard for
    businesses, including their affiliates, whose primary industry is
    commercial fishing (North American Industry Classification System code
    114111) (see 50 CFR 200.2). A business that primarily engages 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 has combined annual receipts
    not more than $11 million for all its affiliated operations worldwide.
    Following the Small Business Administration guidelines, a five-year
    trailing average is used to determine which entities are classified as
    small business entities under the NMFS guidelines, as well as to
    measure total revenues for affiliate groups. During the most recent
    fishing year (2024), there were 1,929 Federal skate permits issued.
    These permits are affiliated with 1,304 unique entities. Regarding
    affiliate groups, there are 9 groups that classify as ``large
    entities,'' all of which are in the commercial fishing sector, which
    includes 124 permits. The remaining affiliate groups are classified as
    small entities, of which 837 (1,273 unique permits) are in the
    commercial fishing sector, 158 (195 unique permits) are in the for-hire
    sector, and 300 had no skate revenue (337 unique permits). Thus, the
    majority of entities affiliated with federal skate permits in 2024 were
    small entities. The large commercial affiliates averaged $16 million in
    revenue. Average gross revenues for the small commercial fishing
    entities were $636,987 and $192,648 for the for-hire affiliates.
        Skate revenues comprise a relatively low percentage of total
    revenues for any federal vessel landing skate. Specifically, from 2022
    through 2024, skate revenues for wing vessels only contributed an
    average of 9.8 percent of total vessel revenue. Skate revenue from
    vessels landing bait and vessels landing both wing and bait contributed
    slightly more to average total revenues (14.7 percent and 17.3,
    respectively). However, from 2022 through 2024, the average number of
    wing vessels (250) constitutes a much higher percentage of the skate
    fishery compared to the average number of bait vessels (17) and both
    wing and bait vessels (23).
        From 2022 through 2024, average fishing year revenue from skate
    wing and bait is $4.6 million and $2 million, respectively. This action
    and the proposed increase in the wing possession limit is predicted to
    increase gross revenues in 2026 by $98,802 in Season 1 and $176,426 in
    Season 2 ($275,228 total). The increase in the bait possession limit is
    predicted to increase the gross revenues in 2026 of trips fishing on a
    Bait Letter of Authorization by $43,363 as compared to the previous
    possession limits. In total, the increase in possession limits is
    expected to yield up $900,908 in additional gross revenues for the
    combined bait and wing skate fishery over fishing years 2026 through
    2028.
        A description of this action, why it is being considered, and the
    legal basis for this action are contained at the beginning of this
    section in the preamble and are not repeated here. There are no
    additional record keeping or reporting requirements associated with
    this action. No relevant Federal rules have been identified that would
    duplicate, overlap, or conflict with the proposed rule. The proposed
    action is unlikely to disproportionately impact small businesses. It is
    expected that the increase in possession limits will positively impact
    small businesses, similarly to large businesses, with potential
    opportunities for increased landings, revenue, and trip efficiency
    gains. Considering all of the above, including recent skate revenues
    for small entities, the expected additional revenues from this proposed
    action, and the fact that skate revenues contribute a relatively small
    proportion to total annual revenues at the vessel level, this action is
    unlikely to have substantial impacts on vessels operating in the
    fishery. Thus, this proposed rule, if finalized, is not expected to
    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 648

        Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

        Dated: March 23, 2026.
    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 648 as follows:

    PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

    0
    1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:

    [[Page 14677]]

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

    0
    2. In Sec.  648.322, revise paragraphs (b)(1) and (c)(3), to read as
    follows:

    Sec.  648.322   Skate allocation, possession, and landing provisions.

    * * * * *
        (b) * * *
        (1) Vessels fishing under an Atlantic sea scallop, NE multispecies,
    or monkfish DAS.
        (i) A vessel or operator of a vessel that has been issued a valid
    Federal skate permit under this part, and fishes under an Atlantic sea
    scallop, NE multispecies, or monkfish DAS as specified at Sec. Sec.
    648.53, 648.82, and 648.92, respectively, unless otherwise exempted
    under Sec.  648.80 or paragraph (c) of this section, may fish for,
    possess, and/or land up to the allowable trip limits specified as
    follows: Up to 4,500 lb (2,041 kg) of skate wings (10,215 lb (4,633 kg)
    whole weight) per trip in Season 1 (May 1 through August 31), and 6,500
    lb (2,948 kg) of skate wings (14,755 lb (6,693 kg) whole weight) per
    trip in Season 2 (September 1 through April 30), or any prorated
    combination of the allowable landing forms defined at paragraph (b)(5)
    of this section.
        (ii) [Reserved]
    * * * * *
        (c) * * *
        (3) The vessel owner or operator possesses or lands no more than
    30,000 lb (13,608 kg) of whole skates per trip.
    * * * * *
    [FR Doc. 2026-05860 Filed 3-25-26; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 3510-22-P