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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 18 (Friday, January 29, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7524-7525]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01224]

[[Page 7524]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

RIN 0648-BK22

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery Off the Atlantic States; Amendment 12

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

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

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) 
submitted Amendment 12 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 
Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery off the Atlantic States (Dolphin Wahoo FMP) 
for review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. If approved by the 
Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 12 to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP (Amendment 
12) would add bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the Dolphin Wahoo 
FMP and designate them as ecosystem component (EC) species. The purpose 
of Amendment 12 is to acknowledge the ecological role of bullet 
mackerel and frigate mackerel as forage fish and to achieve the 
ecosystem management objectives in the Dolphin Wahoo FMP.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before March 30, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on Amendment 12, identified by 
``NOAA-NMFS-2020-0146,'' by either of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020-0146, click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Nikhil Mehta, Southeast 
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information, 
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender 
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter 
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Electronic copies of Amendment 12, which includes a fishery impact 
statement, a Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis, and a regulatory 
impact review, may be obtained from the Southeast Regional Office 
website at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/amendment-12-add-bullet-mackerel-and-frigate-mackerel-ecosystem-component-species.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nikhil Mehta, telephone: 727-824-5305, 
or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each regional 
fishery management council to submit any FMP or FMP amendment to the 
Secretary of Commerce (the Secretary) for review and approval, partial 
approval, or disapproval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that 
NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or amendment, publish an announcement in 
the Federal Register notifying the public that the FMP or amendment is 
available for review and comment.
    The Council prepared the Dolphin Wahoo FMP that is being revised by 
Amendment 12. If approved, Amendment 12 would be implemented by NMFS 
through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Background

    The Council manages dolphin and wahoo under the Dolphin Wahoo FMP 
in Federal waters off the Atlantic states from Maine south to the 
Florida Keys in the Atlantic. In the western North Atlantic, bullet 
mackerel are found from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico, and frigate 
mackerel are found mostly from North Carolina to Florida. As described 
in Amendment 12, both bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are found in 
the diets of dolphin and wahoo in the North Atlantic. In particular, 
wahoo has been demonstrated to have a strong dietary reliance on bullet 
and frigate mackerel, indicating that these mackerel species are the 
most dominant forage species observed in the diets of wahoo. Dolphin 
tend to have more diverse diets than wahoo and have a lower reliance on 
these mackerel species as prey. Additionally, bullet and frigate 
mackerel have been identified as important forage species for other 
offshore pelagic predatory species in the Atlantic such as blue marlin 
and yellowfin tuna. Bullet mackerel feed on a variety of prey, 
especially clupeoids (i.e., herrings and sardines), crustaceans, and 
squids. Frigate mackerel feed on a variety of fish, squid, and small 
crustaceans. Therefore, given their presence as a common forage fish 
and prey food source, bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are an 
important component of the marine environment in the Atlantic. There is 
no stock assessment for dolphin, wahoo, bullet mackerel, or frigate 
mackerel. In Atlantic Federal waters, dolphin and wahoo are targeted 
both commercially and recreationally. Annual reported commercial and 
recreational landings of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are low 
along the entire Atlantic coastline.
    Regulations implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Act define EC 
species as ``stocks that a Council or the Secretary has determined do 
not require conservation and management, but desire to list in a FMP in 
order to achieve ecosystem management objectives'' (50 CFR 
600.305(d)(13)). National Standards (NS) General guidelines state that 
a Council should consider a list of ten non-exhaustive list of factors 
when deciding whether additional stocks require Federal conservation 
and management (50 CFR 600.305(c)(1)). The proposed EC designation for 
bullet and frigate mackerel was recommended to the Council by the 
Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), their Dolphin 
Wahoo Advisory Panel (AP), the Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based 
Management (Habitat) AP, and through extensive positive comments from 
the public during scoping of Amendment 12. The Dolphin Wahoo AP and 
Habitat AP members acknowledged that wahoo particularly target these 
mackerel species as prey. The AP members also stated that the Council 
should consider a ``conservative approach'' to ensure there are no 
major increases in the harvest of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel 
in the foreseeable future as a result of any EC designation. This 
designation would address the Council's growing emphasis on developing 
ecosystem management approaches to fisheries management and advancing 
ecosystem management objectives in the Dolphin Wahoo FMP.
    The extent to which the low landings of bullet mackerel and frigate 
mackerel occur within the dolphin and wahoo fishery is unknown; 
however, it is unlikely that these species are often harvested in 
conjunction with efforts to target dolphin and wahoo, especially in the 
commercial sector. Bullet and frigate

[[Page 7525]]

mackerel have largely been landed commercially in the Mid-Atlantic 
region using gill net, pound net, float trap, and otter trawl gear, 
none of which are allowable gear types in the dolphin and wahoo 
fishery. Recreational landings of bullet and frigate mackerel have 
largely occurred in the South Atlantic Region, with some limited 
catches reported from the Mid-Atlantic Region. Furthermore, 
recreational fishermen have also noted that these species are used as 
bait for tuna and billfish, such as blue marlin. NMFS and the Council 
have determined that bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are currently 
not in need of conservation and management, making them eligible for 
consideration as EC species. This preliminary eligibility determination 
was done after consideration of the provisions within the NS Guidelines 
and requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Furthermore, adding 
bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP as EC 
species meets the FMP's ecosystem management objectives (50 CFR 
600.305(c)(5) and 600.310(d)(1)).

Action Contained in Amendment 12

    Amendment 12 would add bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the 
Dolphin Wahoo FMP and designate them as EC species. There would be no 
additional management measures added to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP as a 
result of this EC species designation, either for bullet and frigate 
mackerel, or for dolphin and wahoo.
    If approved and implemented, Amendment 12 and the proposed rule 
could be expected to result in potential indirect benefits such as 
increased awareness among the fishermen, fishing communities, data 
collecting agencies, and regulatory entities managing dolphin, wahoo, 
bullet mackerel, and frigate mackerel. If landings for these two 
mackerel species were to greatly increase in the future to 
unsustainable levels, fisheries managers could be made aware of the 
changing stock status before the stocks are depleted which may have 
subsequent beneficial effects on populations of several economically 
important predatory fish species, including dolphin, wahoo, blue 
marlin, and yellowfin tuna.

Proposed Rule for Amendment 12

    A proposed rule to implement Amendment 12 has been drafted. In 
accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the 
proposed rule for Amendment 12 to determine whether it is consistent 
with the Dolphin Wahoo FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 
applicable law. If that determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish 
the proposed rule in the Federal Register for public review and 
comment.

Consideration of Public Comments

    The Council has submitted Amendment 12 for Secretarial review, 
approval, and implementation. Comments on Amendment 12 must be received 
by March 30, 2021. Comments received during the respective comment 
periods, whether specifically directed to Amendment 12 or the proposed 
rule, will be considered by NMFS in the decision to approve, partially 
approve, or disapprove, Amendment 12. All comments received by NMFS on 
the amendment or the proposed rule during their respective comment 
periods will be addressed in the final rule.

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

    Dated: January 14, 2021.
Kelly Denit,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-01224 Filed 1-28-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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