25100 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Description of the Steps the Agency Has 

Taken To Minimize the Significant 

Economic Impact on Small Entities 

Consistent With the Stated Objectives of 

Applicable Statutes 

The purpose of this action is to 

specify catch limits and other 

management measures that reflect the 

best available scientific information and 

the requirements of the Skate FMP. The 

Council considered one ACL alternative 

(no action) to the preferred alternative 

being implemented. The preferred ACL 

and TALs are expected to extend the 

duration of the fishing season relative to 

the no action alternative, and help to 

prevent the negative economic impacts 

that would be associated with an early 

closure of the directed skate fisheries. 

Under the no action alternative, the 

skate catch limit would remain at 

41,080 mt. This alternative was not 

selected because it does not represent 

the best available scientific information, 

and would likely result in negative 

economic impacts as compared to the 

preferred alternative. Compared to the 

other alternative considered, this action 

is expected to better maximize 

profitability for the skate fishery by 

allowing higher levels of landings for 

the duration of the 2012 and 2013 

fishing years while still being consistent 

with requirements of the MagnusonStevens Act and other applicable law. 

Therefore, the economic impacts 

resulting from this action as compared 

to the no action alternative are positive, 

since the action would provide 

additional fishing opportunity for 

vessels participating in the skate fishery 

for the 2012–2013 fishing years. 

The action is almost certain to result 

in greater revenue from skate landings. 

Based on recent landing information, 

the skate fishery is able to land close to 

the full amount of skates allowable 

under the quotas. The estimated 

potential revenue from the sale of skates 

under the revised catch limits is 

approximately $9.0 million, compared 

to $5.8 million if this action were not 

implemented. Due to the implications of 

closing the directed skate fisheries early 

in the fishing year, the higher catch 

limits associated with this action will 

result in additional revenue if fishing is 

prolonged. According to analyses in 

Framework 1, vessels that participate in 

the skate fishery derive most (an average 

of 96 percent) of their revenues from 

other fisheries (e.g., groundfish, 

monkfish). Therefore, relative to total 

fishing revenues, catch limits of other 

species would be expected to have more 

significant economic impacts than 

revenues derived from skates alone. 

However, as skate prices have begun 

increasing in recent years, more vessels 

are deriving a greater proportion of their 

income from skates. 

The final possession limits in the 

skate wing and bait fisheries are also 

expected to result in positive economic 

impacts compared to the other 

alternatives considered. The reduced 

skate wing possession limits described 

in the proposed rule would have 

slightly reduced trip level revenues of 

skates. Maintaining the status quo skate 

wing possession limits, as implemented 

in this final rule, will help maintain 

consistent trip level revenues for skate 

wings, as well as allow the fishery to 

operate throughout the fishing year 

without closures. The increased skate 

bait possession limit implemented by 

this final rule is also expected to 

increase trip level revenue for bait 

skates, and may help the bait fishery 

land more of its allocated TAL in 2012 

and 2013. 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity 

compliance guides.’’ The agency shall 

explain the actions a small entity is 

required to take to comply with a rule 

or group of rules. As part of this 

rulemaking process, a letter to permit 

holders that also serves as small entity 

compliance guide (the guide) was 

prepared. Copies of this final rule are 

available from the Northeast Regional 

Office, and the guide, i.e., permit holder 

letter, will be sent to all holders of 

permits for the skate fishery. The guide 

and this final rule will be available 

upon request, and posted on the 

Northeast Regional Office’s Web site at 

www.nero.noaa.gov. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: April 24, 2012. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 648.322, revise paragraph (b) 

introductory text and paragraph (c)(4) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.322 Skate allocation, possession, 

and landing provisions. 

* * * * * 

(b) Skate wing possession and landing 

limits. 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 §§ 648.53, 648.82, and 

648.92, respectively, unless otherwise 

exempted under § 648.80 or paragraph 

(c) of this section, may fish for, possess, 

and/or land up to the allowable trip 

limits specified as follows: 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(4) The vessel owner or operator 

possesses or lands no more than 25,000 

lb (11,340 kg) of only whole skates less 

than 23 inches (58.42 cm) total length, 

and does not possess or land any skate 

wings or whole skates greater than 23 

inches (58.42 cm) total length. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–10240 Filed 4–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 120201086–2418–02] 

RIN 0648–XA904 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2012 

Atlantic Bluefish Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues final 

specifications for the 2012 Atlantic 

bluefish fishery, including an annual 

catch limit, total allowable landings, a 

commercial quota and recreational 

harvest limit, and a recreational 

possession limit. This action establishes 

the allowable 2012 harvest levels and 

other management measures to achieve 

the target fishing mortality rate, 

consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish 

Fishery Management Plan. 

DATES: The final specifications for the 

2012 Atlantic bluefish fishery are 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 25101 

effective May 29, 2012, through 

December 31, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: 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 N. 

State Street, Dover, DE 19901. The 

specifications document is also 

accessible via the Internet at: http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carly Bari, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9224. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Atlantic bluefish fishery is 

managed cooperatively by the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council 

(Council) and the Atlantic States Marine 

Fisheries Commission (Commission). 

The management unit for bluefish 

specified in the Atlantic Bluefish 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is U.S. 

waters of the western Atlantic Ocean. 

Regulations implementing the FMP 

appear at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A 

and J. The regulations requiring annual 

specifications are found at § 648.160. 

The FMP requires the Council to 

recommend, on an annual basis, annual 

catch limit (ACL), annual catch target 

(ACT), and total allowable landings 

(TAL) that will control fishing mortality 

(F). The Council may also recommend a 

research set-aside (RSA) quota, which is 

deducted from the bluefish TALs (after 

any applicable transfer) in an amount 

proportional to the percentage of the 

overall TAL as allocated to the 

commercial and recreational sectors. 

Pursuant to § 648.162, the annual 

review process for bluefish requires that 

the Council’s Bluefish Monitoring 

Committee and Scientific and Statistical 

Committee (SSC) review and make 

recommendations based on the best 

available data. Based on the 

recommendations of the Monitoring 

Committee and SSC, the Council makes 

a recommendation to the NMFS 

Northeast Regional Administrator. 

Because this FMP is a joint plan, the 

Commission also meets during the 

annual specification process to adopt 

complementary measures. 

The Council’s recommendations must 

include supporting documentation 

concerning the environmental, 

economic, and social impacts of the 

recommendations. NMFS is responsible 

for reviewing these recommendations to 

assure they achieve the FMP objectives, 

and may modify them if they do not. 

NMFS then publishes proposed 

specifications in the Federal Register, 

and after considering public comment, 

NMFS publishes final specifications in 

the Federal Register. A proposed rule 

for this action published in the Federal 

Register on February 15, 2012 (77 FR 

8776), and comments were accepted 

through March 1, 2012. 

Final 2012 Specifications 

A description of the process used to 

estimate bluefish stock status and 

fishing mortality, as well as the process 

for deriving the ACL and associated 

quotas and harvest limits, is provided in 

the proposed rule and in the bluefish 

regulations at §§ 648.160–162. The stock 

is not overfished or experiencing 

overfishing, and the catch limits 

described below reflect the best 

available scientific information on 

bluefish. The final 2012 bluefish ABC, 

ACL, and ACT are specified at 32.044 

million lb (14,535 mt). 

The ACT is initially allocated 

between the recreational fishery (83 

percent = 26.597 million lb, 12,064 mt) 

and the commercial fishery (17 percent 

= 5.448 million lb, 2,471 mt). After 

deducting an estimate of recreational 

discards (commercial discards are 

considered negligible), the recreational 

TAL would be 22.819 million lb (10,350 

mt) and the commercial TAL would be 

5.448 million lb (2,471 mt). 

However, the FMP specifies that, if 17 

percent of the ACT is less than 10.5 

million lb, and recreational fishery is 

not projected to land its harvest limit for 

the upcoming year, the commercial 

fishery may be allocated up to 10.5 

million lb as its quota, provided that the 

combination of the projected 

recreational landings and the 

commercial quota does not exceed the 

ACT. The recreational harvest limit 

(RHL) would then be adjusted 

downward so that the ACT would be 

unchanged. Based on updated data, the 

recreational fishery landed 11,892,696 

lb (5,394 mt) of bluefish in 2011. 

Assuming recreational landings in 2012 

are consistent with those from 2011, the 

Council’s proposed transfer of 5.052 

million lb (2,291 mt) from the 

recreational sector to the commercial 

sector can be approved. This results in 

an adjusted commercial quota of 10.5 

million lb (4,763 mt), and an adjusted 

RHL of 17.766 million lb (8,059 mt). 

Final RSA, Commercial Quota, and RHL 

Three projects that will utilize 

bluefish RSA were approved by NOAA’s 

Grants Management Division. A total 

RSA quota of 491,672 lb (223 mt) was 

approved for use by these projects 

during 2012. Proportional adjustments 

of this amount to the commercial and 

recreational allocations results in a final 

commercial quota of 10.317 million lb 

(4,680 mt) and a final RHL of 17.457 

million lb (7,919 mt). 

Final Recreational Possession Limit 

The current recreational possession 

limit of up to 15 fish per person is 

maintained to achieve the RHL. 

Final State Commercial Allocations 

The final state commercial allocations 

of the 2012 commercial quota are shown 

in Table 1, based on the percentages 

specified in the FMP. 

TABLE 1—FINAL BLUEFISH COMMERCIAL STATE-BY-STATE ALLOCATIONS FOR 2012 

[Including RSA deductions] 

State Percent share 

2012 council-final 

commercial quota 

(lb) 

2012 council-final 

commercial quota 

(kg) 

ME ........................................................................................................................ 0.6685 68,972 31,285 

NH ........................................................................................................................ 0.4145 42,765 19,398 

MA ........................................................................................................................ 6.7167 692,986 314,333 

RI ......................................................................................................................... 6.8081 702,416 318,611 

CT ........................................................................................................................ 1.2663 130,649 59,261 

NY ........................................................................................................................ 10.3851 1,071,466 486,009 

NJ ......................................................................................................................... 14.8162 1,528,639 693,379 

DE ........................................................................................................................ 1.8782 193,781 87,897 

MD ....................................................................................................................... 3.0018 309,707 140,481 

VA ........................................................................................................................ 11.8795 1,225,649 555,945 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

25102 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 1—FINAL BLUEFISH COMMERCIAL STATE-BY-STATE ALLOCATIONS FOR 2012—Continued 

[Including RSA deductions] 

State Percent share 

2012 council-final 

commercial quota 

(lb) 

2012 council-final 

commercial quota 

(kg) 

NC ........................................................................................................................ 32.0608 3,307,827 1,500,405 

SC ........................................................................................................................ 0.0352 3,632 1,647 

GA ........................................................................................................................ 0.0095 980 445 

FL ......................................................................................................................... 10.0597 1,037,894 470,781 

Total .............................................................................................................. 100.0001 10,317,362 4,679,878 

Comments and Responses 

The public comment period for the 

proposed rule ended on March 1, 2012. 

Five comments were received on the 

proposed rule. A summary and response 

to the concerns raised by the 

commenters are included below. 

Comment 1: One commenter generally 

criticized the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council and the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission for 

using poor data and allowing 

overharvest of bluefish, but provided no 

clear evidence to support their claims. 

Response: Atlantic bluefish are not 

overfished, nor are they subject to 

overfishing; therefore, there is no 

scientific basis for making changes to 

the quotas based on this comment. 

NMFS used the best scientific 

information available and selected 

specifications for the bluefish fishery 

that are consistent with the FMP and 

recommendations of the Council. 

Comment 2: Three commenters 

opposed the quota transfer from the 

recreational sector to the commercial 

sector. They suggested that the transfer 

would increase the total takes from the 

fishery overall and allow the 

commercial sector to harvest the most 

mature fish which would lead to an 

unsustainable fishery. Additionally, 

they commented that the increased 

commercial quota as a result of the 

transfer allows commercial fishermen to 

take fish once reserved for the 

recreational sector. 

Response: These comments included 

no scientific justifications for decreasing 

or eliminating the transfer between 

sectors. NMFS used the best scientific 

information available and selected 

specifications for the bluefish fishery 

that are consistent with the FMP and 

recommendations of the Council. 

Bluefish are not considered overfished 

or subject to overfishing, and the 

recreational sector is not projected to 

harvest its allocation. Sufficient analysis 

and scientific justification for NMFS’s 

action in this final rule are contained 

within the supporting documents. 

Comment 3: A charter/party boat 

operator in the Atlantic bluefish fishery 

in Massachusetts was supportive of the 

proposed ACL. 

Response: NMFS agrees that the 

approved ACL meets the requirements 

of the Atlantic Bluefish FMP. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this final rule is consistent with the 

Atlantic Bluefish FMP, other provisions 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law. 

This final rule is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. This final 

rule does not duplicate, conflict, or 

overlap with any existing Federal rules. 

The FRFA included in this final rule 

was prepared pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

604(a), and incorporates the IRFA and a 

summary of analyses completed to 

support the action. No significant issues 

were raised by the public comment in 

response to the IRFA, other than the 

comment noted above. A public copy of 

the EA/RIR/IRFA is available from the 

Council (see ADDRESSES). 

The preamble to the proposed rule 

included a detailed summary of the 

analyses contained in the IRFA, and that 

discussion is not repeated here. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Statement of Objective and Need 

A description of the reasons why this 

action is being taken, and the objectives 

of and legal basis for this final rule are 

contained in the preambles to the 

proposed rule and this final rule and are 

not repeated here. 

Summary of Significant Issues Raised in 

Public Comments 

Five comments were submitted on the 

proposed rule. However, none were 

specific to the IRFA or to the economic 

impacts of the proposed rule more 

generally. 

Description and Estimate of Number of 

Small Entities to Which the Rule Will 

Apply 

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 Atlantic 

bluefish, as well as owners of vessels 

that fish for Atlantic bluefish 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 final 

rule. 

An active participant in the 

commercial sector was defined as any 

vessel that reported having landed 1 or 

more lb (0.45 kg) in the Atlantic bluefish 

fishery in 2010 (the last year for which 

there are complete data). The active 

participants in the commercial sector 

were defined using two sets of data. The 

Northeast seafood dealer reports were 

used to identify 718 vessels that landed 

bluefish in states from Maine through 

North Carolina in 2010. However, the 

Northeast dealer database does not 

provide information about fishery 

participation in South Carolina, Georgia, 

or Florida. South Atlantic Trip Ticket 

reports were used to identify 732 vessels 

that landed bluefish in North Carolina, 

and 827 vessels that landed bluefish on 

Florida’s east coast. Some of these 

vessels were also identified in the 

Northeast dealer data; therefore, double 

counting is possible. Bluefish landings 

in South Carolina and Georgia were near 

zero in 2010, representing a negligible 

proportion of the total bluefish landings 

along the Atlantic Coast. Therefore, this 

analysis assumed that no vessel activity 

for these two states took place in 2010. 

In recent years, approximately 2,063 

party/charter vessels may have been 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES

Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 82 / Friday, April 27, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 25103 

active in the bluefish fishery and/or 

have caught bluefish. 

Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

No additional reporting, 

recordkeeping, or other compliance 

requirements are included in this final 

rule. 

Description of the Steps Taken To 

Minimize Economic Impact on Small 

Entities 

Specification of commercial quota, 

recreational harvest levels, and 

possession limits is constrained by the 

conservation objectives of the FMP, 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Act. The commercial quota 

contained in this final rule is 10 percent 

higher than the 2011 quota and 113 

percent higher than actual 2011 bluefish 

landings. All affected states will receive 

increases in their individual commercial 

quota allocation in comparison to their 

respective 2011 individual state 

allocations. However, the magnitude of 

the increase varies depending on the 

state’s relative percent share in the total 

commercial quota, as specified in the 

FMP. 

The RHL contained in this final rule 

is approximately 2 percent lower than 

the RHL in 2011. The small reduction in 

RHL is a reflection of a declining trend 

in recreational bluefish harvest in recent 

years. Because the 2012 RHL is greater 

than the total estimated recreational 

bluefish harvest for 2011, it does not 

constrain recreational bluefish harvest 

below a level that the fishery is 

anticipated to achieve. The possession 

limit for bluefish will remain at 15 fish 

per person, so there should be no 

impact on demand for party/charter 

vessel fishing and, therefore, no impact 

on revenues earned by party/charter 

vessels. No negative economic impacts 

on the recreational fishery are 

anticipated. 

The impacts on revenues associated 

with the proposed RSA quota were 

analyzed and are expected to be 

minimal. Assuming that the full RSA 

quota 491,672 lb (223 mt) is landed and 

sold to support the proposed research 

projects, then all of the participants in 

the fishery would benefit from the 

improved fisheries data yielded from 

each project. 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity 

compliance guides.’’ The agency shall 

explain the actions a small entity is 

required to take to comply with a rule 

or group of rules. As part of this 

rulemaking process, a small entity 

compliance guide will be sent to all 

holders of Federal permits issued for the 

Atlantic bluefish fishery. 

In addition, copies of this final rule 

and guide (i.e., permit holder letter) are 

available upon request, and posted on 

the Northeast Regional Office’s Web site 

at www.nero.noaa.gov. 

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

Dated: April 24, 2012. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10242 Filed 4–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 111220786–1781–01] 

RIN 0648–XC002 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder Fishery; 

Quota Transfer 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; quota transfer. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

State of North Carolina is transferring a 

portion of its 2012 commercial summer 

flounder quota to the Commonwealth of 

Virginia. NMFS is adjusting the quotas 

and announcing the revised commercial 

quota for each state involved. 

DATES: Effective April 26, 2012, through 

December 31, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carly Bari, Fishery Management 

Specialist, 978–281–9224. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Regulations governing the summer 

flounder fishery are in 50 CFR part 648, 

and require annual specification of a 

commercial quota that is apportioned 

among the coastal states from North 

Carolina through Maine. The process to 

set the annual commercial quota and the 

percent allocated to each state are 

described in § 648.100. 

The final rule implementing 

Amendment 5 to the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery 

Management Plan, which was published 

on December 17, 1993 (58 FR 65936), 

provided a mechanism for summer 

flounder quota to be transferred from 

one state to another. Two or more states, 

under mutual agreement and with the 

concurrence of the Administrator, 

Northeast Region, NMFS (Regional 

Administrator), can transfer or combine 

summer flounder commercial quota 

under § 648.102(c)(2). The Regional 

Administrator is required to consider 

the criteria in § 648.102(c)(2)(i) to 

evaluate requests for quota transfers or 

combinations. 

North Carolina has agreed to transfer 

180,061 lb (81,674 kg) of its 2012 

commercial quota to Virginia. This 

transfer was prompted by summer 

flounder landings of 12 North Carolina 

vessels that were granted safe harbor in 

Virginia due to mechanical failures, 

between March 2, 2012, and March 31, 

2012, thereby requiring a quota transfer 

to account for an increase in Virginia’s 

landings that would have otherwise 

accrued against the North Carolina 

quota. The Regional Administrator has 

determined that the criteria set forth in 

§ 648.102(c)(2)(i) have been met. The 

revised summer flounder quotas for 

calendar year 2012 are: North Carolina, 

1,603,359 lb (727,271 kg); and Virginia, 

4,603,985 lb (2,088,332 kg). 

Classification 

This action is taken under 50 CFR 

part 648 and is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

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

Dated: April 24, 2012. 

Carrie Selberg, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–10246 Filed 4–26–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with RULES