64482 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 241 / Monday, December 17, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

Dated: December 11, 2018. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27200 Filed 12–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 180906820–8999–02] 

RIN 0648–BI48 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2019 

Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS implements 2019 

specifications for the summer flounder 

and black sea bass fisheries and 

maintains previously-established 2019 

specifications for the scup fishery. 

Additionally, this action reopens the 

February 2018 black sea bass 

recreational fishery and adjusts the 

current commercial incidental 

possession limit for scup. The 

implementing regulations for the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Fishery Management Plan require 

us to publish specifications for the 

upcoming fishing year for each of these 

species. The intent of this action is to 

inform the public of the specifications 

and management measures for the start 

of the 2019 fishing year for these three 

species. These specifications may be 

revised mid-year based on the results of 

ongoing stock assessments. 

DATES: Effective January 1, 2019. 

ADDRESSES: An environmental 

assessment (EA) was prepared for this 

action that describes these measures and 

other considered alternatives, and 

provides an analysis of the impacts of 

the measures and alternatives. Copies of 

the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 

Sea Bass 2019 Specifications, including 

the EA, are available on request 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.mafmc.org/s/ 

SFSBSB_2019_specs_EA.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emily Gilbert, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9244. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

General Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council and the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission 

cooperatively manage the summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass 

fisheries. The Summer Flounder, Scup, 

and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) and its implementing 

regulations outline the Council’s 

process for establishing specifications. 

Specifications in these fisheries include 

various catch and landing subdivisions, 

such as the commercial and recreational 

sector annual catch limits (ACL), annual 

catch targets (ACT), and sector-specific 

landing limits (i.e., the commercial 

fishery quota and recreational harvest 

limit), as well as management measures, 

as needed, that are designed to ensure 

these catch limits will not be exceeded. 

Annual specifications may be 

established for three-year periods, and, 

in interim years, specifications are 

reviewed by the Council to ensure 

previously established multi-year 

specifications remain appropriate. 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. Rulemaking for measures 

used to manage the recreational 

fisheries (minimum fish sizes, open 

seasons, and bag limits) for these three 

species occurs separately, and typically 

takes place in the spring of each year. 

This action sets 2019 specifications 

for summer flounder and black sea bass. 

The previously-approved 2019 scup 

specifications (82 FR 60682; December 

22, 2017) remain unchanged from the 

current two-year specifications and are 

maintained through this action. 

An ongoing summer flounder 

benchmark assessment incorporating 

updated Marine Recreational 

Information Program (MRIP) data is 

scheduled to be available in early 2019. 

Operational assessments for black sea 

bass and scup will also be completed in 

April 2019 to incorporate revised MRIP 

data. Because new information for all 

three species is likely in the next few 

months, the Council and Commission’s 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Board only recommended interim 

specifications for 2019, and the Council 

and Board may develop mid-year 

changes to the summer flounder 

specifications, and possibly black sea 

bass specifications, to address the 

forthcoming updated assessment 

information. 

The proposed rule for this action 

published in the Federal Register on 

November 15, 2018 (83 FR 57389), and 

comments were accepted through 

November 30, 2018. We received 11 

comments. 

2019 Summer Flounder Specifications 

At their August 2018 meeting, the 

Council and Board recommended 

interim summer flounder specifications 

for the start of the 2019 fishing year 

(Table 1). Compared to 2018, the interim 

2019 commercial quota and recreational 

harvest limit are a 16-percent increase. 

The Council and Board intend to 

consider revising these interim summer 

flounder specifications at a joint 

meeting in February 2019 to address the 

results of the benchmark stock 

assessment. If a change in catch limits 

is recommended by the Council and 

Board, we anticipate updated catch 

limits could be in place this spring and 

would announce any adjustments 

through a future rule. 

TABLE 1—CURRENT 2018 AND FINAL 2019 SUMMER FLOUNDER SPECIFICATIONS

2018 (current) 2019 Difference 

(%) million lb mt million lb mt 

Overfishing Limits (OFL) ...................................................... 18.69 8,476 20.60 9,344 10 

ABC ...................................................................................... 13.23 5,999 15.41 6,990 16 

Commercial ACL .................................................................. 7.70 3,491 9.18 4,164 19 

Commercial ACT .................................................................. 7.70 3,491 * 8.14 3,692 19 

Projected Commercial Discards .......................................... 1.07 485 1.47 667 2 

Commercial Quota ............................................................... 6.63 3,006 * 6.67 3,030 16 

Recreational ACL ................................................................. 5.53 2,508 6.22 2,821 12 

Recreational ACT ................................................................. 5.53 2,508 6.22 2,821 12 


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TABLE 1—CURRENT 2018 AND FINAL 2019 SUMMER FLOUNDER SPECIFICATIONS—Continued 

2018 (current) 2019 Difference 

(%) million lb mt million lb mt 

Projected Recreational Discards ......................................... 1.11 504 1.08 490 ¥3 

Recreational Harvest Limit ................................................... 4.42 2,004 5.15 2,336 16 

* As further explained below, a required accountability measure reduces the commercial ACT from 9.18 million pounds (4,164 mt) to 8.14 million pounds (3,692 mt) and reduces the commercial quota from 7.72 million pounds (3,502 mt) to 6.67 million pounds (3,030 mt). 

The Council and Board recommended 

no adjustment to the commercial 

minimum fish size (14-inch (35.6 cm) 

total length), gear requirements, and 

possession limits. The Council and 

Board will develop recreational 

management measures (i.e., minimum 

fish sizes, open seasons, and bag limits) 

for summer flounder this fall and NMFS 

rulemaking will occur in early spring of 

2019. 

2019 Summer Flounder Commercial 

Non-Landing Accountability Measure 

Our final catch accounting shows that 

the 2017 commercial fishery exceeded 

its ACL by 21 percent and the ABC was 

exceeded by 7 percent, due to higher 

than expected discards in the 

commercial fishery. The newly-revised 

accountability measures (AM) 

regulations (83 FR 53825, October 25, 

2018) require a scaled payback against 

the commercial fishery’s ACT, based on 

the amount of the overage and the status 

of the summer flounder stock, using the 

most recent biological reference points. 

Based on our AMs, a scaled payback is 

required because the most recent 

assessment update (2016) indicated that 

the stock is experiencing overfishing 

and is not overfished. 

The scaled payback based on the 2016 

assessment status is 1.04 million lb (472 

mt). This overage, when applied to the 

2019 commercial ACT of 9.18 million lb 

(3,502 mt), results in a commercial 

quota of 6.67 million lb (3,030 mt), after 

subtracting the 2019 projected estimated 

discards. The resulting quota is less 

than one percent higher than the 2018 

quota. The timing of this final rule did 

not allow for the results of the 2018 

benchmark assessment to be 

incorporated into the AM evaluation. 

Final results of that assessment are 

anticipated to be available in early 2019. 

If the assessment results in changes to 

the current stock determination criteria, 

any adjustments to the summer flounder 

specifications can incorporate a reevaluation of this AM. 

2019 Commercial State Quota Shares 

Table 2 summarizes the commercial 

summer flounder quotas for each state, 

incorporating the revised 2019 

commercial ACT. This rule announces 

commercial state quota overage 

reductions necessary for fishing year 

2019. Table 2 includes percent shares as 

outlined in § 648.102(c)(1)(i), the 

resultant 2019 commercial quotas, quota 

overages (as needed), and the final 

adjusted 2019 commercial quotas. The 

2018 quota overage is determined by 

comparing landings for January through 

October 2018, plus any 2017 landings 

overage that was not previously 

addressed in establishing the 2018 

summer flounder specifications, for 

each state. For Delaware, this includes 

continued repayment of overharvest 

from previous years. 

TABLE 2—FINAL STATE-BY-STATE COMMERCIAL SUMMER FLOUNDER QUOTAS FOR 2019 

State 

FMP 

percent 

share 

2019 Initial quota 2019 Adjusted quota 

(ACL overage) 

Overages through October 

31, 2018 

Final adjusted 2019 

Quota, less overages 

lb kg lb kg lb kg lb kg 

Maine ......................................... 0.04756 3,672 1,665 3,172 1,439 0 0 3,172 1,439 

New Hampshire ......................... 0.00046 36 16 31 14 0 0 31 14 

Massachusetts .......................... 6.82046 526,540 235,406 454,925 202,922 ¥7,559 ¥3,429 447,366 202,922 

Rhode Island ............................. 15.68298 1,210,726 549,176 1,046,055 474,482 0 0 1,046,055 474,482 

Connecticut ............................... 2.25708 174,247 79,037 150,547 68,287 0 0 150,547 68,287 

New York ................................... 7.64699 590,348 267,777 510,054 231,357 0 0 510,054 231,357 

New Jersey ............................... 16.72499 1,291,169 585,665 1,115,557 506,008 0 0 1,115,557 506,008 

Delaware ................................... 0.01779 1,373 ¥24,346 1,187 ¥24,431 ¥55,047 ¥24,969 ¥53,860 ¥24,431 

Maryland .................................... 2.0391 157,419 71,404 136,008 61,692 0 0 136,008 61,692 

Virginia ...................................... 21.31676 1,645,654 746,456 1,421,828 644,930 0 0 1,421,828 644,930 

North Carolina ........................... 27.44584 2,118,819 961,080 1,830,638 830,363 0 0 1,830,638 830,363 

Total ................................... 100 7,720,000 3,497,682 6,670,000 3,021,494 0 .................... 6,661,255 3,021,494 

Notes: Kilograms are as converted from pounds and may not necessarily add due to rounding. Total quota is the sum for all states with an allocation. A state with 

a negative number has a 2019 allocation of zero (0). Total adjusted 2019 quota, less overages, does not include negative allocations (i.e., Delaware’s overage). 

Delaware Summer Flounder Closure 

Table 2 shows the amount of 

overharvest from previous years for 

Delaware is greater than the amount of 

commercial quota allocated to Delaware 

for 2019. As a result, there is no quota 

available for 2019 in Delaware. The 

regulations at § 648.4(b) provide that 

Federal permit holders, as a condition of 

their permit, must not land summer 

flounder in any state that the NMFS 

Greater Atlantic Region Administrator 

has determined no longer has 

commercial quota available for harvest. 

Therefore, landings of summer flounder 

in Delaware by vessels holding 

commercial Federal summer flounder 

permits are prohibited for the 2019 

calendar year, unless additional quota 

becomes available through a quota 

transfer and is announced in the 

Federal Register. Federally permitted 

dealers are advised that they may not 

purchase summer flounder from 

federally permitted vessels that land in 

Delaware for the 2019 calendar year, 

unless additional quota becomes 

available through a transfer, as 

mentioned above. 

2019 Black Sea Bass Specifications 

At the August meeting, the Council 

and Board made recommendations for 

the 2019 black sea bass specifications, 

but for reasons outlined below, we are 


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maintaining status quo measures 

currently in place for 2018. 

In June 2018, the Center provided the 

Council with a black sea bass data 

update, including updated catch, 

landings, and survey indices through 

2017. Black sea bass biomass continues 

to be high and the 2015 year class 

appears to be above average in both the 

northern and southern surveys. Updated 

stock status information and biomass 

projections incorporating data on the 

2015 year class were not available as 

part of the Center-provided data update, 

but will be once the operational 

assessment is completed in April 2019. 

The Council’s Scienctific and 

Statistical Committee (SSC) 

recommended a 2019 ABC of 7.97 

million lb (3,615 mt), which was based 

on biomass projections from the 2016 

benchmark stock assessment. This 

would have been an 11-percent 

reduction compared to the 2018 ABC. 

This decline in the ABC reflects the 

population responding to fishing at 

maximum sustainable yield and the 

decrease of the large 2011 year class, but 

does not incorporate the information on 

the 2015 year class. Based on this ABC 

recommendation, the Council and Board 

recommended the 2019 specifications 

that were 11 percent lower than those in 

place for 2018. 

Following the Council and Board 

meeting, we requested that the Center 

perform a sensitivity analysis of the 

2019 projection derived from the 2016 

benchmark stock assessment. As 

previously described, that projection 

did not include the 2015 year class 

because those fish were too small to be 

widely captured in the surveys at the 

time of the 2016 assessment. This 

sensitivity analysis used various 

recruitment scenarios applied to the 

original projection and compared them 

to the most recent survey indices. The 

objective of this analysis was to see if 

that projection would have supported 

different specifications for 2019 had we 

been able to incorporate what we know 

now about the strength of the 2015 year 

class. The results suggest that the 2015 

year class would have to be about 50 

percent above average to allow for 2019 

catch limits to be the same as what they 

were in 2018. Based on a comparison 

between the Center’s 2018 spring survey 

results and average recruitment from 

2003–2018, the 2015 year class appears 

to be more than 50 percent above 

average. Based on this information, we 

are maintaining status quo black sea 

bass specifications for 2019 (Table 3). 

TABLE 3—2019 BLACK SEA BASS

SPECIFICATIONS

million lb mt 

OFL ........................... 10.29 4,667 

ABC .......................... 8.94 4,055 

Commercial ACL ...... 4.35 1,974 

Commercial ACT ...... 4.35 1,974 

Projected Commercial Discards .......... 0.83 377 

Commercial Quota .... 3.52 1,596 

Recreational ACL ..... 4.59 2,083 

Recreational ACT ..... 4.59 2,083 

Projected Recreational Discards 0.93 422 

Recreational Harvest 

Limit ....................... 3.66 1,661 

Maintaining status quo allows for 

stability in the black sea bass 

commercial and recreational fisheries 

while we wait for the results of the 

MRIP operational assessment to be 

completed in April 2019. Once that 

information is available, the Council 

and Board may recommend adjusting 

black sea bass measures mid-year. 

No adjustments are made to the 

commercial minimum fish size (11-inch 

(27.9 cm) total length), gear 

requirements, and possession limits. 

Recreational Black Sea Bass Wave 1 

Fishery 

This action also reopens the black sea 

bass recreational fishery for the month 

of February (during MRIP Wave 1). The 

current Federal black sea bass 

recreational management measures (i.e., 

a 12.5-inch (31.8-cm) minimum size and 

a possession limit of 15 fish) will apply 

to the fishery for this limited winter 

season. The intent of this action is to 

allow for some recreational fishing 

access during a portion of Wave 1 in 

2019. 

There are currently no MRIP survey 

estimates collected for Wave 1 except 

for occasional estimates in North 

Carolina, but catch from this time 

period must be accounted for, and count 

against the recreational harvest limit. 

Similar to last year, to account for the 

harvest during this 28-day season, the 

Council and Board recommended a 

coastwide catch estimate of 100,000 lb 

(45.3 mt). The Board has further divided 

this coastwide catch estimate across the 

states. States that decide to participate 

in the Wave 1 fishery must account for 

this catch when developing their 

management measures for the remainder 

of the fishing year. Only two states 

participated in the 2018 February 

recreational fishery. The estimated catch 

was nominal. Measures for the rest of 

the 2019 recreational fishery will be 

developed through the winter for 

implementation in spring 2019. 

2019 Scup Specifications 

The scup fishery is currently 

operating under multi-year 

specifications projected through 2019. 

This action reaffirms the Council’s and 

Board’s previous recommendation for 

scup 2019 specifications. Those 

specifications result in the same 

commercial quota and recreational 

harvest limit as implemented in 2018 

(Table 4). 

TABLE 4—SCUP SPECIFICATIONS FOR

2019 

million lb mt 

OFL ........................... 41.03 18,612 

ABC .......................... 36.43 16,525 

Commercial ACL ...... 28.42 12,890 

Commercial ACT ...... 28.42 12,890 

Commercial Discards 4.43 2,011 

Commercial Quota .... 23.98 10,879 

Recreational ACL ..... 8.01 3,636 

Recreational ACT ..... 8.01 3,636 

Recreational Discards 0.65 293 

Recreational Harvest 

Limit ....................... 7.37 3,342 

The 2019 scup commercial quota is 

divided into three commercial fishery 

quota periods, as outlined in Table 5. 

TABLE 5—COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA ALLOCATIONS FOR 2019 BY QUOTA PERIOD

Quota period Percent share 

2019 Initial quota 

lb mt 

Winter I ........................................................................................................................................ 45.11 10,820,000 4,908 

Summer ....................................................................................................................................... 38.95 9,340,986 4,237 

Winter II ....................................................................................................................................... 15.94 3,822,816 1,734 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 100.0 23,983,802 10,879 

Note: Metric tons are as converted from lb and may not necessarily total due to rounding. 


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The current quota period possession 

limits are not changed by this action, 

and are outlined in Table 6. The Winter 

I possession limit will drop to 1,000 lb 

(454 kg) upon attainment of 80 percent 

of that period’s allocation. If the Winter 

I quota is not fully harvested, the 

remaining quota is transferred to Winter 

II. The Winter II possession limit may be 

adjusted (in association with a transfer 

of unused Winter I quota to the Winter 

II period) via notice in the Federal 

Register. The regulations specify that 

the Winter II possession limit increases 

consistent with the increase in the 

quota, as described in Table 7. 

TABLE 6—COMMERCIAL SCUP POSSESSION LIMITS BY QUOTA PERIOD

Quota period Percent share 

Federal possession limits 

(per trip) 

lb kg 

Winter I ........................................................................................................................................ 45.11 50,000 22,680 

Summer ....................................................................................................................................... 38.95 N/A N/A 

Winter II ....................................................................................................................................... 15.94 12,000 5,443 

Total ...................................................................................................................................... 100.0 N/A N/A 

TABLE 7—POTENTIAL INCREASE IN WINTER II POSSESSION LIMITS BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF UNUSED SCUP ROLLED

OVER FROM WINTER I TO WINTER II 

Initial Winter II 

possession limit 

Rollover from Winter I to Winter II Increase in initial Winter II possession limit Final Winter II possession limit 

after rollover from Winter I to 

Winter II 

lb kg lb kg lb kg lb kg 

12,000 ..... 5,443 0–499,999 ................ 0–226,796 ................ 0 0 12,000 5,443 

12,000 ..... 5,443 500,000–999,999 ..... 226,796–453,592 ..... 1,500 680 13,500 6,123 

12,000 ..... 5,443 1,000,000–1,499,999 453,592–680,388 ..... 3,000 1,361 15,000 6,804 

12,000 ..... 5,443 1,500,000–1,999,999 680,389–907,184 ..... 4,500 2,041 16,500 7,484 

12,000 ..... 5,443 * 2,000,000– 

2,500,000.

907,185–1,133,981 .. 6,000 2,722 18,000 8,165 

* This process of increasing the possession limit in 1,500 lb (680 kg) increments would continue past 2,500,000 lb (1,122,981 kg), but we end 

here for the purpose of this example. 

Adjustment to the Commercial Scup 

Gear-Based Possession Limit Thresholds 

This action adjusts the gear-based 

incidental possession limit for the 

commercial fishery. The incidental 

possession limit applies to vessels with 

commercial moratorium scup permits 

fishing with nets with diamond mesh 

smaller than 5 inches (12.7 cm) in 

diameter. The incidental possession 

limit is currently 1,000 lb (454 kg) 

during October 1–April 30 and 200 lb 

(91 kg) during May 1-September 30. The 

action adds another threshold period 

from April 15–June 15 to allow for 

higher retention in the small-mesh 

squid fishery that operates during that 

time and occasionally catches larger 

amounts of scup than the current limits 

allow to be landed (Table 8). During that 

time, vessels with scup moratorium 

permits using small mesh can land up 

to 2,000 lb (907 kg) of scup. 

No adjustments are made to the 

current commercial minimum fish size 

(9-inch (22.9-cm) total length) and 

winter quota period directed-fishery 

possession limits. 

Comments and Responses 

On November 15, 2018, NMFS 

published the proposed specifications 

for public notice and comment. NMFS 

received six comments from 

individuals, and comments from the 

Jersey Coast Anglers Association, the 

Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), the 

New York Recreational & For-Hire 

Fishing Alliance, the State of New York 

and the New York State Department of 

Environmental Conservation, and the 

Massachusetts Division of Marine 

Fisheries. No changes to the proposed 

specifications were made as a result of 

these comments. 

Comment 1: Two members of the 

public, a representative of the Jersey 

Coast Anglers Association, and the 

Massachusetts Division of Marine 

Fisheries offered their support of the 

proposed specifications, particularly the 

decision to maintain status quo 

specifications for black sea bass. 

Response: NMFS agrees and is 

implementing the proposed 


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specifications for the reasons outlined 

in the preamble to this rule. 

Comment 2: One individual 

commented that specifications for all 

three species should be reduced by 50 

percent, but offered no rationale as to 

why. 

Response: The reasons for 

implementing these specifications, 

which are outlined in the preamble to 

this rule, are based on the best scientific 

information available. This information 

does not suggest that 50-percent 

reductions in catch and harvest limits 

are appropriate. 

Comment 3: Two commenters 

mentioned that they have noticed a 

decline in abundance of summer 

flounder and that the stock is being 

subject to overfishing. 

Response: The most recent stock 

assessment update (2016) indicates that 

the summer flounder stock is not 

overfished, but is experiencing 

overfishing. The 2019 catch limits for 

summer flounder consider this 

information on stock status. We are 

waiting for the results of a new 

benchmark assessment and can respond 

to any adjustments that may be 

necessary based on new information as 

it becomes available. 

Comment 4: One commenter 

representing the New York Recreational 

& For-Hire Fishing Alliance was 

supportve of the summer flounder and 

scup specifications, but wanted higher 

black sea bass specifications, noting that 

the stock is healthy. This commenter 

also requested that the black sea bass 

Wave 1 fishery be open in January and 

February, and if that was not an option, 

then January would be preferable due to 

the better weather conditions. 

Response: We agree that the black sea 

bass stock is healthy, which is why we 

are maintaining status quo measures, 

rather than reducing catch limits. The 

MRIP operational assessment will 

provide more updated information on 

the status of the black sea bass stock and 

will inform future management. The 

Council and Board may consider 

adjustments to the Wave 1 fishery next 

year, but for 2019 decided to 

recommend the same measures that 

were in place for 2018 (i.e., opening in 

February). A longer season in a future 

year would require a larger payback 

later in the year for states that choose to 

participate. 

Comment 5: Although supportive of 

the scup and black sea bass 

specifications, the RFA stated that the 

revised MRIP information released this 

summer should be used to automatically 

adjust the current commercial and 

recreational allocations. As a result, 

RFA suggests that the recreational 

allocation should be increased and the 

recreational harvest limit for 2019 

should be higher. 

Response: NMFS disagrees that the 

updated MRIP information 

automatically adjusts the current 

commercial and recreational allocations. 

Adjustments to these allocations must 

occur through an amendment to the 

FMP. As mentioned throughout the 

preamble to this rule, we expect the 

final results from the new summer 

flounder assessment to be available 

early in 2019. Once that information is 

available, the Council and Board intend 

to review the results and determine if 

these 2019 specifications should be 

adjusted. The Council and Board also 

intend to consider adjustments to the 

summer flounder recreational fishery, 

including consideration of the current 

60/40 commercial and recreational 

allocation split, in a future amendment. 

Comment 6: The State of New York 

and the New York State Department of 

Environmental Conservation submitted 

a letter stating that the commercial 

summer flounder state quotas date back 

to 1993 and have not been updated. The 

letter claims those allocations are based 

on unreliable data from 1993 and 

suggests NMFS implement a coastwide 

quota for the commercial fishery. 

Response: The current regulations 

governing the FMP require that quota 

allocations be distributed based on the 

percentages outlined in Table 2. 

Adjustments to these quota allocations 

must be developed through an 

amendment to the FMP. The Council 

and Board are taking final action on an 

amendment considering such 

adjustments at their December 2019 

meeting and will forward their 

recommendations to NMFS for 

approval. Adjustments to these state 

quota allocations are outside the scope 

of this action. If the Council and Board 

recommend commercial fishery 

allocation changes at the joint December 

meeting, NMFS expects to conduct 

rulemaking on those recommendations 

in 2019. 

Comment 7: One commenter 

mentioned frustration over summer 

flounder recreational measures in state 

waters. 

Response: This topic is outside of the 

scope of this action. The Council and 

NMFS will determine summer flounder 

recreational measures in Federal waters 

later next year, but do not make 

determinations about individual state 

measures. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

There are no changes to the measures 

from the proposed rule. 

Classification 

The Administrator, Greater Atlantic 

Region, NMFS, determined that these 

specifications are necessary for the 

conservation and management of the 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass fisheries and that they are 

consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and other applicable laws. 

This rule has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of 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 during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification, and the initial 

certification remains unchanged. As a 

result, a final regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required and none has 

been prepared. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 

30-day delay of effectiveness period for 

this rule, to ensure that the final 

specifications are in place on January 1, 

2019. This action establishes the final 

specifications (i.e., annual catch limits) 

for the scup, summer flounder, and 

black sea bass fisheries for the 2019 

fishing year, which begins on January 1, 

2019. 

This rule is being issued at the earliest 

possible date. Preparation of the 

proposed rule was dependent on the 

submission of the EA in support of the 

specifications that is developed by the 

Council. An initial draft was received by 

NMFS in mid-October, with a complete 

document submitted in early December 

2018. Documentation in support of the 

Council’s recommended specifications 

is required for NMFS to provide the 

public with information from the 

environmental and economic analyses, 

as required in rulemaking, and to 

evaluate the consistency of the 

Council’s recommendation with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and other 

applicable law. The proposed rule 

published on November 15, 2018, with 

a 15-day comment period ending 

November 30, 2018. Publication of the 

summer flounder quotas at the start of 

the fishing year that begins January 1 of 

each fishing year is required by the 

order of Judge Robert Doumar in North 

Carolina Fisheries Association v. Daley. 

If the 30-day delay in effectiveness 

were not waived, the lack of effective 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 241 / Monday, December 17, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 64487 

quota specifications on January 1, 2019, 

for summer flounder and black sea bass, 

would present significant confusion to 

the complex cooperative management 

regime governing these fisheries. The 

summer flounder and black sea bass 

fisheries are all expected, based on 

historic participation and harvest 

patterns, to be very active at the start of 

the fishing season in 2019. Individual 

states would be unable to set 

commercial possession and/or trip 

limits, which apportion the catch over 

the entirety of the calendar year. NMFS 

would be unable to control harvest in 

any way, as there would be no quotas 

in place for these two species until the 

regulations are effective. NMFS would 

be unable to control harvest or close the 

fishery, should landings exceed the 

quotas. All of these factors would result 

in a race for fish wherein uncontrolled 

landings could occur. 

Disproportionately large harvest 

occurring within the first weeks of 2019 

could have distributional effects on 

other quota periods, and would 

disadvantage some gear sectors or 

owners and operators of smaller vessels 

that typically fish later in the fishing 

season. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: December 11, 2018. 

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 § 648.125, paragraphs (a)(1) and 

(5) are revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.125 Scup gear restrictions. 

(a) * * * 

(1) Minimum mesh size. No owner or 

operator of an otter trawl vessel that is 

issued a scup moratorium permit may 

possess more than 1,000 lb (454 kg) of 

scup from October 1 through April 14, 

more than 2,000 lb (907 kg) from April 

15 through June 15, or more than 200 lb 

(91 kg) of scup from June 16 through 

September 30, unless fishing with nets 

that have a minimum mesh size of 5.0- 

inch (12.7-cm) diamond mesh, applied 

throughout the codend for at least 75 

continuous meshes forward of the 

terminus of the net, and all other nets 

are stowed and not available for 

immediate use as defined in § 648.2. 

* * * * * 

(5) Stowage of nets. The owner or 

operator of an otter trawl vessel 

retaining 1,000 lb (454 kg) or more of 

scup from October 1 through April 14, 

2,000 lb (907 kg) or more of scup from 

April 15 through June 15, or 200 lb (90.7 

kg) or more of scup from June 16 

through September 30, and subject to 

the minimum mesh requirements in 

paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and the 

owner or operator of a midwater trawl 

or other trawl vessel subject to the 

minimum size requirement in § 648.126, 

may not have available for immediate 

use any net, or any piece of net, not 

meeting the minimum mesh size 

requirement, or mesh that is rigged in a 

manner that is inconsistent with the 

minimum mesh size. A net that is 

stowed and not available for immediate 

use as defined in § 648.2, and that can 

be shown not to have been in recent use, 

is considered to be not available for 

immediate use. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Section 648.146 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 648.146 Black sea bass recreational 

fishing season. 

Vessels that are not eligible for a 

moratorium permit under § 648.4(a)(7), 

and fishermen subject to the possession 

limit specified in § 648.145(a), may only 

possess black sea bass from February 1 

through February 28, May 15 through 

December 31, unless this time period is 

adjusted pursuant to the procedures in 

§ 648.142. 

[FR Doc. 2018–27213 Filed 12–14–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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