[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 17, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70192-70198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-29000]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 101029427-0427-01]
RIN 0648-XY82
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder,
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2011 Summer Flounder, Scup, and
Black Sea Bass Specifications; 2011 Research Set-Aside Projects
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed specifications; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications for the 2011 summer flounder,
scup, and black sea bass fisheries and provides notice of three
projects that may be requesting Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) as part
of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's (Council) Research
Set-Aside (RSA) program. The implementing regulations for the Summer
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP)
require NMFS to publish specifications for the upcoming fishing year
for each of these species and to provide an opportunity for public
comment. Furthermore, regulations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801
et seq., require a notice to be published to provide interested parties
the opportunity to comment on applications for EFPs. The intent of this
action is to establish 2011 specifications for the summer flounder,
scup, and black sea bass fisheries, and to provide notice of EFP
requests, in accordance with the FMP and Magnuson-Stevens Act.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 2, 2010.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-XY82, by any
one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
Fax: (978) 281-9135.
Mail and Hand Delivery: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope:
``Comments on 2011 Summer Flounder,
[[Page 70193]]
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Specifications.''
Instructions: No comments will be posted for public viewing until
after the comment period has closed. All comments received are a part
of the public record and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without change. All Personal Identifying
Information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by
the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit Confidential
Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
Copies of the specifications document, including the Environmental
Assessment and Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/IRFA) and
other supporting documents for the specifications are available from
Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
These documents are also accessible via the Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Ruccio, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9104.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries are managed
cooperatively by the Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (Commission). The management units specified in the FMP
include summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in U.S. waters of the
Atlantic Ocean from the southern border of North Carolina northward to
the U.S./Canada border, and scup (Stenotomus chrysops) and black sea
bass (Centropristis striata) in U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean from
35[Egr]13.3' N. lat. (the latitude of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Buxton,
North Carolina) northward to the U.S./Canada border. Implementing
regulations for these fisheries are found at 50 CFR part 648, subpart A
(General Provisions), subpart G (summer flounder), subpart H (scup),
and subpart I (black sea bass).
Specifications, as referred to in this proposed rule, are the
combined suite of catch levels established for one or more fishing
years. These catch levels include the commercial fishery quota,
recreational harvest limit, and RSA. The specification process also
allows for modification of a select number of management measures such
as minimum size for commercially caught fish and minimum trawl net mesh
sizes. The Council's process for establishing specifications relies on
provisions within the FMP and its implementing regulations as well as
requirements established by the Maguson-Stevens Act. Specifically,
section 302(g)(1)(B) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act states that a
Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) for each Regional Fishery
Management Council shall provide its Council ongoing scientific advice
for fishery management decisions, including recommendations for
acceptable biological catch (ABC), preventing overfishing, maximum
sustainable yield (MSY), and achieving rebuilding targets. The ABC is a
level of catch that accounts for the scientific uncertainty in the
estimate of that stock's defined overfishing level. The Council's SSC
met on July 28 and 29, 2010, to recommend ABCs for the 2011 summer
flounder, scup, and black sea bass specifications.
The FMP's implementing regulations require the involvement of a
monitoring committee in the specification process for each species.
Since the Magnuson-Stevens Act requirements for the SSC to recommend
ABC became effective, the monitoring committees' role has largely been
to recommend any reduction in catch limits from the SSC-recommended
ABCs to offset management uncertainty, and to recommend other
management measures (e.g., mesh requirements, minimum commercial fish
sizes, gear restrictions, possession restrictions, and area
restrictions) needed for the efficient management of these three
species' fisheries. The Summer Flounder Monitoring Committee, Scup
Monitoring Committee, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee met on
July 30, 2010, to discuss specification-related recommendations for the
2011 fisheries.
Following the above meetings, the Council and the Commission's
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Board)
considered the recommendations of the SSC and the three monitoring
committees' and public comments, and made their specification
recommendations. The Council and Board made their recommendations at a
meeting held August 18, 2010. While the Board action on specifications
was finalized at the August meeting, the Council's recommendations must
be reviewed by NMFS to assure that they comply with the FMP and
applicable law. NMFS also must conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking to
propose and implement the final specifications.
The FMP also contains formulas to divide the specification catch
limits into commercial and recreational fishery allocations, state-by-
state quotas, and quota periods, depending on the species in question.
The FMP allocation provisions cannot be modified through the
specification process. Rather, the Council would be required to develop
and recommend allocation changes by amending the FMP. This proposed
rule outlines the application of the existing allocation provisions for
each species and provides the resulting allocations, by state and
sector, as appropriate, for each species.
The involvement of the SSC in the specifications process and the
evolving role of the monitoring committees has substantially modified
the manner in which specifications are developed and considered by the
Council. There is increased discussion and documentation regarding each
species' stock status, scientific uncertainty associated with the stock
and/or stock assessment, the risk of overfishing, management issues,
and the derivation of each group's respective recommendation to the
Council. In previous years' specification process, NMFS often provided
extensive summarization of these issues in the proposed specification
rule; however, doing so duplicates the extensive record established by
the Council process. As such, only a nominal overview of each step of
the specification process is provided in this proposed rule. Persons
seeking more detailed information on the Council-related aspects of the
specifications process, including the issues considered by the SSC and
monitoring committees, are encouraged to obtain documents on these
subjects, which are available from the Council or by consulting the
Council's EA/IRFA (see ADDRESSES section). NMFS has participated in and
relied on the documentation from the updated stock assessment
proceedings, SSC and monitoring committee meetings and recommendations,
and Council meeting in completing this proposed rule.
Explanation of RSA
Background: In 2001, regulations were implemented under Framework
Adjustment 1 to the FMP to allow up to 3 percent of the Total Allowable
Landings (TAL) for each species to be set aside each year in support of
scientific research. For the 2011 fishing year, NMFS published a
Federal Register notice soliciting research proposals based upon
research priorities
[[Page 70194]]
identified by the Council (75 FR 3092, January 19, 2010).
NMFS intends to conditionally approve three research projects for
the harvest of the portion of the set-aside quota that has been
recommended by the Council and the Commission. In anticipation of
receiving applications for EFPs to conduct this research and harvest
set-aside quota, the Assistant Regional Administrator for Sustainable
Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS (Assistant Regional Administrator),
has made a preliminary determination that the activities authorized
under the EFPs would be consistent with the goals and objectives of the
FMP. However, further review and consultation may be necessary before a
final determination is made to issue any EFP.
For informational purposes, these proposed specifications include a
statement indicating the amount of quota that has been preliminarily
set aside for research purposes (a percentage of the TAL for each
fishery, not to exceed 3 percent, as recommended by the Council and
Board), and a brief description of the likely 2011 Mid-Atlantic RSA
projects, including exemptions that will likely be required to conduct
the proposed research. The RSA amounts may be adjusted, following
consultation with RSA applicants, in the final rule establishing the
2011 specifications for the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass,
Loligo squid, butterfish, and Atlantic bluefish fisheries. If the total
amount of RSA is not awarded, NMFS will publish a document in the
Federal Register to restore the unused amount to the applicable TAL.
For 2011, the conditionally approved projects may collectively be
awarded the following amounts of RSA: 884,400 lb (401 mt) of summer
flounder; 600,000 lb (272 mt) of scup; 108,000 lb (49 mt) of black sea
bass; 727,527 lb (330 mt) of Loligo squid; 818,790 lb (371 mt) of
bluefish; and 33,069 lb (15 mt) of butterfish. The harvest of RSA quota
would occur January 1-December 31, 2011, by vessels conducting
compensation fishing. Vessels harvesting research quota in support of
approved research projects would be issued EFPs authorizing them to
exceed Federal possession limits and to fish during Federal quota
closures. These exemptions are necessary to facilitate compensation
fishing and to allow project investigators to recover research
expenses, as well as to adequately compensate fishing industry
participants harvesting research quota. Vessels harvesting research
quota would operate under all other regulations that govern the
fishery, unless specifically exempted in a separate EFP.
2011 RSA Proposal Summaries: Project number 1 would conduct a
fishery-independent scup and black sea bass survey that would utilize
unvented fish pots fished on hard bottom areas in southern New England
waters to characterize the size composition of the scup and black sea
bass populations. Survey activities would be conducted June 15-October
15, 2011, at 15 hard bottom study sites. Up to two vessels would
conduct the research survey. Sampling would occur off the coasts of
Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts, with the furthest west site
off of Block Island near Southwest Shoals. To achieve the research
objectives, the principal investigators would require exemptions from
gear requirements (excluding marine mammal avoidance and/or release
devices) in order to sample small scup and black sea bass, and from
minimum fish sizes and possession limits for data collection purposes.
Project number 2 would conduct a near-shore trawl survey between
Aquinnah, Massachusetts, and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, including
both Block Island and Rhode Island Sounds. Two survey cruises would
occur (spring and fall) with stratified random sampling of
approximately 150 stations in depths between 18-120 feet (8-37 m). The
function of the survey would be to provide stock assessment data for
summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, Loligo squid, butterfish,
bluefish, several species managed by the Commission such as weakfish
and Atlantic croaker, and unmanaged forage species. The research
aspects of the trawl survey would be conducted by one scientific
research vessel, which could operate under a Letter of Acknowledgment
(LOA), as established by experimental fishing regulations found at 50
CFR 600.745.
Project number 3 would conduct a black sea bass mark-recapture
study using commercial pot and hook-and-line fishing gear to monitor
changes in the size at age and sex distribution of black sea bass at
three sites off New Jersey during the spawning season (May through
August). Sampling would be conducted on the following three artificial
reef sites off southern New Jersey: Ocean City; Wildwood; and Cape May
reefs. Vessels conducting research trips would tag black sea bass with
conventional and acoustic tags, and clustered hydrophones would be
placed in the study area for 2.5 months. Subsequent research trips
would conduct fishing with commercial pots and hook and line gear to
re-capture tagged fish, and to monitor the movement of fish with the
acoustic tags. One commercial pot vessel and several party boats would
conduct the research. Vessels conducting research activities would
require exemption from commercial and recreational black sea bass quota
closures to ensure the ability to sample during such closures, and
exemption from black sea bass minimum fish size and possession limits
for the purpose of collecting scientific data.
Summer Flounder
The summer flounder stock is currently under a rebuilding program,
and rebuilding must be complete by January 1, 2013. The stock
assessment update utilized to derive specification recommendations
indicates that summer flounder were not overfished and that overfishing
did not occur in 2009, the most recent year of available data.
Furthermore, stock projections in the assessment update indicate that
the rebuilding objective is likely to be attained ahead of schedule.
Based on this information, the SSC recommended to the Council that
the 2011 ABC for summer flounder be set no higher than 33.95 million lb
(15,399 mt). This results in a Total Allowable Catch (TAC; combined
landings and discards) established at the ABC level (i.e, 33.95 million
lb, 15,399 mt). Estimated commercial and recreational discards of 4.47
million lb (2,028 mt) are removed from the TAC to produce a 2011 TAL of
29.48 million lb (13,372 mt). This TAL is projected to have a 50-
percent probability of achieving the FTARGET =
F40 percent = 0.255 in 2011, and is projected to have a 98-
percent probability of preventing overfishing of the stock (i.e.,
preventing an F higher than FTHRESHOLD =
F35 percent = 0.310). The Summer Flounder Monitoring
Committee concurred with the SSC's ABC recommendation, and did not
recommend any additional changes to either the TAC or to the 2011
summer flounder management measures that may be modified through the
specification process.
The Council and Board considered the SSC and Summer Flounder
Monitoring Committee recommendations before concurring with ABC/TAC and
TAL of 29.48 million lb (13,372 mt) that results after removal of
estimated discards. Fishing under this TAC/TAL level in 2011 is not
expected to compromise summer flounder stock rebuilding, nor will
fishing at this level present a high likelihood of overfishing the
stock. The proposed TAL would be a 33.2-percent increase from the 2009
TAL of 22.13
[[Page 70195]]
million lb (10,038 mt). All other management measures were recommended
by the Council to remain status quo.
The summer flounder regulations at 50 CFR 648.100 (a) state that
the Council shall recommend, and NMFS shall implement, measures
(including the TAL) necessary to achieve, with at least a 50-percent
probability of success, a fishing mortality rate that produces the
maximum yield per recruit (FMAX). Framework Adjustment 7 to
the FMP (Framework 7) was implemented on October 1, 2007 (72 FR 55704),
to allow the best available scientific information be adopted without
delay by the Council for use in managing summer flounder. The updated
SDWG assessment recommended FMSY = F35 percent as
the best available fishing mortality rate estimate to produce the
optimum yield per recruit and this assessment is now the threshold
value for determining whether overfishing is occurring on summer
flounder, replacing FMAX. A 2000 Federal Court Order
(Natural Resources Defense Council v. Daley, Civil No. 1:99 CV 00221
(JLG)) also requires the annual summer flounder TAL to have at least a
50-percent probability of success. As previously stated, the Council
and Board's recommended TAL of 29.48 million lb (13,372 mt) has a 98-
percent probability of constraining fishing mortality below the
overfishing threshold, and a 50-percent probability of achieving the
assessment-recommended management target. NMFS therefore proposes to
implement a TAL of 29.48 million lb (13,372 mt) for 2011, consistent
with the Council's and Board's recommendation.
Based on the allocation scheme contained in the FMP, the TAL is
divided 60 percent to the commercial fishery and 40 percent to the
recreational fishery. This division results in an initial commercial
quota of 17.69 million lb (8,024 mt), and a recreational harvest limit
of 11.79 million lb (5,349 mt); however, the FMP also specifies that up
to 3 percent of the TAL may be set aside for research activities before
the remaining TAL is allocated to the commercial and recreational
sectors. The Council and Board agreed to set aside up to 3 percent of
the TAL, or 884,400 lb (401 mt). After deducting 3 percent of the 2011
TAL as RSA, the resulting sector allocations would be a commercial
quota of 17.2 million lb (7,782 mt) and a recreational harvest limit of
11.4 million lb (5,188 mt).
Table 1 presents the proposed allocations by state with and without
the commercial portion of the RSA deduction. These state quota
allocations are preliminary and are subject to reductions if there are
overages of states quotas carried over from a previous fishing year.
Any commercial quota adjustments to account for overages will be
included in the final rule implementing the 2011 specifications.
Table 1--2011 Proposed Initial Summer Flounder State Commercial Quotas
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Initial commercial quota Commercial quota less RSA \1\
State Percent share ---------------------------------------------------------------
lb kg \2\ lb kg \2\
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ME.............................. 0.04756 8,412 3,816 8,160 3,701
NH.............................. 0.00046 81 37 79 36
MA.............................. 6.82046 1,206,403 547,224 1,170,211 530,808
RI.............................. 15.68298 2,774,006 1,258,289 2,690,785 1,220,540
CT.............................. 2.25708 399,232 181,092 387,255 175,659
NY.............................. 7.64699 1,352,600 613,539 1,312,022 595,133
NJ.............................. 16.72499 2,958,316 1,341,892 2,869,567 1,301,635
DE.............................. 0.01779 3,147 1,427 3,052 1,385
MD.............................. 2.03910 360,676 163,603 349,856 158,695
VA.............................. 21.31676 3,770,509 1,710,303 3,657,393 1,658,994
NC.............................. 27.44584 4,854,620 2,202,056 4,708,982 2,135,994
Total \3\................... 100.00001 17,688,002 8,023,278 17,157,362 7,782,579
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\1\ Preliminary Research Set-Aside amount is 884,400 lb (401 mt).
\2\ Kilograms are as converted from pounds and do not sum to the converted total due to rounding.
\3\ Rounding of quotas results in totals exceeding 100 percent.
The Commission is maintaining in place the voluntary measures to
reduce regulatory discards that occur as a result of landing limits
established by the states. The Commission established a system whereby
a percent of each state's quota would be voluntarily set aside each
year to enable vessels to land an incidental catch allowance after the
directed fishery has been closed. The intent of the incidental catch
set-aside is to reduce discards by allowing fishermen to land summer
flounder caught incidentally in other fisheries during the year, while
also ensuring that the state's overall quota is not exceeded. These
Commission set-asides are not included in these proposed specifications
because these measures are not authorized by the Federal FMP and NMFS
does not have authority to implement them.
Scup
The scup stock is not subject to a rebuilding plan at this time.
The updated scup stock assessment indicates that the stock was not
overfished nor subject to overfishing in 2009, the most recent year of
complete data available in the assessment update.
The SSC recommended an ABC for scup based on 75 percent of
FMSY (F = 0.133), resulting in an ABC/TAC of 51.7 million lb
(23,451 mt). The SSC also conveyed concern about rapid increases in
catches to achieve the MSY value for the scup stock. The cautionary
statement to not increase catches to the full MSY quickly was
originally issued by the peer review panel that reviewed a 2009 Data
Poor Stocks Working Group assessment of the scup stock.
The Scup Monitoring Committee proposed a range of TACs derived from
the ABC recommendation. The range spanned from the landings associated
with the MSY value for the scup stock of 35.1 million lb (15,921 mt) to
the status quo TAC of 17.09 million lb (7,752 mt). The Scup Monitoring
Committee also shared the concerns of the SSC and the assessment peer
review panel that had cautioned against rapidly increasing scup catches
to meet the MSY value of 35.1 million lb (15,921 mt).
The Council adopted a TAC for scup of 24.1 million lb (10,932 mt)
as their recommendation for 2011. In turn, NMFS is proposing this TAC
as the 2011 catch level for scup. This TAC
[[Page 70196]]
level would provide for a 20.0 million lb TAL (9,072 mt), and would be
divided into the commercial and recreational allocations as outlined in
the scup regulations. The FMP specifies that the established TAC be
allocated 78 percent to the commercial sector and 22 percent to the
recreational sector. The commercial TAC, discards, and TAL (i.e., final
commercial quota, after reduced for any RSA) are then allocated on a
percentage basis to three quota periods, as specified in the FMP:
Winter I (January-April)--45.11 percent; Summer (May-October)--38.95
percent; and Winter II (November-December)--15.94 percent.
The proposed TAL would be subdivided into an initial commercial
quota of 15.6 million lb (7,076 mt) and a recreational harvest limit of
4.4 million lb (1,996 mt). The Council voted to set up to 3 percent of
the TAL or 600,000 lb (272 mt), aside for 2011 RSA. If it is, the
commercial quota would be reduced to 15.1 million lb (6,864 mt), with a
recreational harvest limit of 4.3 million lb (1,936 mt).
The proposed 2011 specifications would maintain the status quo base
scup possession limits, i.e., 30,000 lb (13,608 kg) per trip for Winter
I, to be reduced to 1,000 lb (454 kg) per trip when 80 percent of the
quota is projected to be reached, and 2,000 lb (907 kg) per trip for
Winter II.
Table 2 presents the 2011 commercial allocation recommended by the
Council, with and without the preliminary RSA deduction. These 2010
allocations are preliminary and may be adjusted in the final rule
implementing these specifications due to previously unaccounted for
overages, based on the procedures for calculating overages.
Table 2--2011 Proposed Initial TAC, Initial Commercial Scup Quota, and Possession Limits
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial
Discards in lb commercial Commercial Possession
Period Percent TAC in lb (mt) (mt) quota in lb quota less RSA limits in lb
(mt) in lb (mt) (kg)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I.................................................... 45.11 8,479,778 1,442,618 7,037,160 6,826,045 \1\ 30,000
(3,846) (654) (3,192) (3,096) (13,608)
Summer...................................................... 38.95 7,321,821 1,245,621 6,076,200 5,893,914 n/a
(3,321) (565) (2,756) (2,673)
Winter II................................................... 15.94 2,996,401 509,761 2,486,640 2,412,041 2,000
(1,359) (231) (1,128) (1,094) (907)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total \2\............................................... 100.00 18,798,000 3,198,000 15,600,000 15,132,000 n/a
(8,527) (1,451) (7,076) (6,864)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Winter I landing limit would drop to 1,000 lb (454 kg) upon attainment of 80 percent of the seasonal allocation.
\2\ Totals subject to rounding error.
n/a--Not applicable.
The final rule to implement Framework 3 to the FMP (68 FR 62250,
November 3, 2003) implemented a process, for years in which the full
Winter I commercial scup quota is not harvested, to allow unused quota
from the Winter I period to be rolled over to the quota for the Winter
II period. As shown in Table 3, the proposed specifications would
maintain the status quo Winter II possession limit-to-rollover amount
ratios (i.e., 1,500 lb (0.68 mt) per 500,000 lb (227 mt) of unused
Winter I period quota).
Table 3--Potential Increase in Winter II Possession Limits Based on the Amount of Unharvested Scup Rolled Over
From Winter I to Winter II Period
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial Winter II Rollover from Winter I to Winter II Increase in initial Final Winter II
possession limit ------------------------------------------- Winter II possession possession limit
----------------------- limit after rollover from
------------------------ Winter I to Winter II
lb kg lb mt ----------------------
lb kg lb kg
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2,000 907 0-499,999 0-227 0 0 2,000 907
2,000 907 500,000-999,999 227-454 1,500 680 3,500 1,588
2,000 907 1,000,000-1,499,999 454-680 3,000 1,361 5,000 2,268
2,000 907 1,500,000-1,999,999 680-907 4,500 2,041 6,500 2,948
2,000 907 2,000,000-2,500,000 907-1,134 6,000 2,722 8,000 3,629
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black Sea Bass
Black sea bass are not subject to a stock rebuilding program. The
updated stock assessment indicates that black sea bass were not
overfished and overfishing did not occur in 2009.
The SSC recommended that ABC for black sea bass remain at the
status quo level of 4.5 million lb (2,041 mt) for 2011. The SSC stated
that there remains a high degree of uncertainty surrounding the
overfishing limit estimate for the black sea bass stock, as well as
considerable uncertainties about the black sea bass stock structure,
life history, and retrospective patterns within the stock assessment.
The Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee concurred with the ABC
recommendation, and recommended a TAC of 4.5 million lb (2,041 mt) to
the Council.
The Council and Board considered the SSC and Black Sea Bass
Monitoring Committee recommendations at their August meeting. The
Council and Board concurred with the ABC/TAC recommendation of 4.5
million lb (2,041 mt) for 2011. After estimated commercial fishery and
recreational landings are removed from the ABC/TAC, the TAL for black
sea bass would be 3.6 million lb (1,633 mt).
[[Page 70197]]
NMFS is proposing a 2011 TAC of 4.5 million lb (2,041 mt) and TAL
of 3.6 million lb (1,633 mt) for the 2011 black sea bass fisheries,
consistent with the recommendations of the Council and Board. The FMP
specifies that the TAL is to be allocated 49 percent to the commercial
sector and 51 percent to the recreational sector; therefore, the
initial TAL would be allocated 1.76 million lb (798 mt) to the
commercial sector as a commercial quota and 1.84 million lb (835 mt) to
the recreational sector as a recreational harvest limit. The Council
and Board voted to set aside up to 3 percent of the TAL, or 108,000 lb
(49 mt), as RSA. This would adjust the commercial quota to 1.7 million
lb (776 mt) and the recreational harvest limit to 1.8 million lb (808
mt). Only the ABC/TAC is the same as last year, the overall TAL being
proposed for 2011 (3.6 million lb (1,633 mt)) is 100,000 lb (45 mt)
less than the status quo because the updated discard estimate is higher
for 2011 than for 2010.
Summary of NMFS' Proposed 2011 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea
Bass Specifications
Summer Flounder: TAL of 29.48 million lb (13,372 mt); RSA of
884,400 lb (401 mt); commercial quota of 17,157,360 lb (7,782 mt); and
a recreational harvest limit of 11,438,240 lb (5,188 mt).
Scup: 20.0 million lb TAL (9,072 mt); RSA of 600,000 lb (272 mt);
commercial quota to 15,132,000 lb (6,864 mt); and a recreational
harvest limit of 4,268,000 lb (1,936 mt).
Black Sea Bass: TAL of 3,600,000 lb (1,633 mt); RSA of 108,000 lb
(49 mt); commercial quota 1,711,080 lb (776 mt); and recreational
harvest limit of 1,780,920 (808 mt).
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 Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP,
other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law,
subject to further consideration after public comment.
These proposed specifications are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866.
An IRFA was prepared by the Council, as required by section 603 of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), to examine the impacts of these
proposed specifications on small business entities, if adopted. A
description of the specifications, why they are being considered, and
the legal basis for proposing and implementing specifications for the
summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries are contained in
the preamble to this proposed rule. A copy of the detailed RFA analysis
is available from NMFS or the Council (see ADDRESSES). The Council's
analysis made use of quantitative approaches when possible. Where
quantitative data on revenues or other business-related metrics that
would provide insight to potential impacts were not available to inform
the analyses, qualitative analyses were conducted. A summary of the
2011 specifications RFA analysis follows.
Small businesses operating in commercial and recreational (i.e.,
party and charter vessel operations) fisheries have been defined by the
Small Business Administration as firms with gross revenues of up to
$4.0 and $6.5 million, respectively. The categories of small entities
likely to be affected by this action include commercial and charter/
party vessel owners holding an active Federal permit for summer
flounder, scup, or black sea bass, as well as owners of vessels that
fish for any of these species in state waters. All federally permitted
vessels fall into the definition of small businesses; thus, there would
be no disproportionate impacts between large and small entities as a
result of the proposed rule.
The Council estimates that the proposed 2011 specifications could
affect 2,206 vessels that held a Federal summer flounder, scup, and/or
black sea bass permit in 2009 (the most recent year of complete permit
data). However, the more immediate impact of this rule will likely be
realized by the 810 vessels that actively participated in these
fisheries (i.e., landed these species) in 2009.
There are no new reporting or recordkeeping requirements contained
in any of the alternatives considered for this action. In addition,
NMFS is not aware of any relevant Federal rules that may duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with this proposed rule.
If the Council took no action regarding the 2011 specifications,
several indefinite measures would remain in effect until otherwise
changed; however, many components of the 2010 specifications expire on
December 31, 2010. These include TALs for all three species and TAC for
scup. There are no roll-over provisions for the 2010 quotas if the 2011
specifications are not made effective, and so, without specified
quotas, NMFS would have no mechanism to close fisheries if management
limits were exceeded. This would give rise to a situation in which the
goals and objectives of the FMP, its implementing regulations, and the
Magnuson-Stevens Act would all be violated. Therefore, the no action
alternative is not considered to be a reasonable alternative to the
preferred action of developing and implementing 2011 specifications
and, as such, it was excluded from detailed analysis in the Council's
EA/RFA analyses.
The Council analyzed three sets of combined TAL alternatives for
the 2010 summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. Of these,
one alternative, labeled Alternative 2 for each species, contained the
most restrictive TAL options (i.e., lowest total landing levels--summer
flounder, 22.13 million lb (10,038 mt); scup, 14.11 million lb (6,400
mt); black sea bass, 2.30 million lb (1,043 mt)). While the Alternative
2 measures would achieve the objectives of the proposed action for each
of three species, they have the highest potential adverse economic
impacts on small entities in the form of potential foregone fishing
opportunities. Alternative 2 was not preferred by the Council because
the other alternatives considered are expected have lower adverse
impacts on small entities while achieving the stated objectives of
rebuilding the summer flounder stock and sustaining the scup and black
sea bass stocks, consistent with the FMP and Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Accordingly, Alternative 2 was excluded from this analysis.
The Council analyzed two sets of TAL alternatives for the three
species that would accomplish the stated objectives of the proposed
action, and that would minimize the adverse economic impacts of the
proposed rule on small entities. Alternative 1 (Council's preferred)
would implement the following TALs in 2011: Summer Flounder, 29.48
million lb (13,372 mt); scup, 20.0 million lb (9,072 mt); and black sea
bass, 3.6 million lb (1,633 mt). Alternative 3 (least restrictive/
highest quota levels) would implement the following TALs in 2011:
Summer flounder, 35.05 million lb (15,898 mt); scup, 28.96 million lb
(13,136 mt); and black sea bass, 4.35 million lb (1,973 mt).
Commercial Fishery Impacts
To analyze the potential impacts of the proposed alternatives, the
Council examined the total revenue earned by an individual vessel in
2009 (as a proxy for 2010), and compared the potential revenue in 2011
given the changes in fishing opportunity available through changes in
harvest levels from 2010 to 2011. While there are caveats to such an
approach--for example a vessel may hold multiple permits and supplement
losses of opportunity in one fishery with another comparable species;
or ex-vessel prices may change from levels utilized
[[Page 70198]]
in the analysis--the approach taken provides a rational basis for
explaining the potential financial impact to participating vessels. It
is important to note that actual impacts to individual vessels will
likely differ as a product of the many variables that cannot be easily
accounted for in the Council's analyses.
Under Alternative 1 (Council's preferred), assuming the increase in
total ex-vessel gross revenues associated with the increased commercial
quota for summer flounder is equally distributed among the 673 vessels
that landed summer flounder in 2009, the potential average revenue
could increase by $12,036 per vessel. For scup, the expected revenue
across the 398 vessels that landed scup in 2009 could increase by an
average of $8,492 per vessel. Revenues are projected to decrease by
$304 across the 460 vessels that landed black sea bass in 2009, due to
the slight commercial quota decrease under Alternative 1. The Council's
analysis indicated that this decrease in black sea bass would comprise
less than 5 percent of these vessels' expected revenue.
Under Alternative 3 (least restrictive TALs), analysis indicates
that the 2011 commercial quotas could increase revenues per vessel as
follows: Summer flounder, $21,085; scup, $21,432; and black sea bass,
$1,826. The potential average increase in revenue per vessel for the
combined suite of summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass landed by
810 vessels in 2009 was estimated to be $29,086 per vessel.
Recreational Fishery Impacts
While the specifications proposed would establish a 2011
recreational harvest limit for summer flounder, scup, and black sea
bass, the management measure details for recreational fisheries will be
decided by the Council in December 2010, followed by NMFS rulemaking in
the first quarter of 2011. A comprehensive analysis of the impacts
associated with the recommended recreational management measures will
be provided to NMFS from the Council to support these activities.
The Council also examined the potential impact on the demand for
recreational for-hire party/charter vessel trips resulting from
Alternatives 1 and 3. While impacts are also likely to occur for
individual private recreational fishery participants and fishing-
related businesses such as bait and tackle shops, these are neither
regulated small-business entities under NMFS' jurisdiction, nor is
there participation cost or other economic metric data available to
assess potential impact on such groups. The Council's analysis
indicates that demand for for-hire trips and general saltwater
recreational angler participation has trended upward slightly over the
past decade. The Council's analysis also indicated that it was not
possible to reasonably predict behavioral or demand changes in response
to the recreational harvest limits proposed under any of the three
alternatives. However, under Alternatives 1 and 3, it is not expected
that, based on current recreational landings data, 2011 management
measures (i.e., minimum fishing size, possession limits, and fishing
seasons) would need to be made more constraining, except for potential
restrictions under the Alternative 1 black sea bass recreational
harvest limit. As previously stated, the Council will undertake
additional recreational management measures development and analysis in
December 2010.
Summary
The Council selected Alternative 1 (preferred) over Alternative 3
(least restrictive) stating that, while Alternative 3 measures would
provide higher economic benefits than the preferred measures of
Alternative 1, the Alternative 3 measures were expected to result in
long-term negative impacts for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea
bass stocks, and were inconsistent with the advice provided to the
Council from the SSC and its monitoring committees. NMFS agrees with
the Council's IRFA analysis and rationale for recommending the TALs in
Alternative 1. As such, NMFS is proposing to implement the Alternative
1 TALs for 2011: Summer flounder, 35.05 million lb (15,898 mt); scup,
28.96 million lb (13,136 mt); and black sea bass, 4.35 million lb
(1,973 mt).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 12, 2010.
Eric C. Schwaab,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-29000 Filed 11-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P