10526 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

• Is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ subject to review by the Office 

of Management and Budget under 

Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• Does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• Does not have federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the Clean Air Act; 

and 

• Does not provide the EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address 

disproportionate human health or 

environmental effects with practical, 

appropriate, and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

In addition, the SIP is not approved 

to apply on any Indian reservation land 

or in any other area where the EPA or 

an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 

tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of 

Indian country, the rule does not have 

tribal implications and will not impose 

substantial direct costs on tribal 

governments or preempt tribal law as 

specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 

FR 67249, November 9, 2000). 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

New source review, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Dated: February 5, 2021. 

Deborah Jordan, 

Acting Regional Administrator, Region IX. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02912 Filed 2–19–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 210211–0020] 

RIN 0648–BJ82 

Pacific Island Fisheries; Mariana 

Archipelago Bottomfish Annual Catch 

Limits and Accountability Measures 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rulemaking proposes to 

establish annual catch limits (ACL) and 

annual catch targets (ACT) for 

bottomfish in Guam and the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands (CNMI), and accountability 

measures (AM) to correct or mitigate 

any overages by reducing the ACL and 

or ACT for the subsequent year. The 

proposed ACLs, ACTs, and AMs would 

be effective for fishing years 2020–2022 

in Guam and for fishing years 2020– 

2023 in the CNMI. The proposed action 

supports the long-term sustainability of 

the bottomfish fishery in the Mariana 

Islands. 

DATES: NMFS must receive comments 

by March 15, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2020–0119, by either of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020- 

0119, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Send written comments to 

Michael D. Tosatto, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Region (PIR), 1845 Wasp Blvd., Bldg. 

176, Honolulu, HI 96818. 

Instructions: NMFS may not consider 

comments sent by any other method, to 

any other address or individual, or 

received after the end of the comment 

period. 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, etc.), 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). 

NMFS prepared a draft environmental 

assessment (EA) that describes the 

potential impacts on the human 

environment that could result from the 

proposed ACLs and AMs. The draft EA 

and other supporting documents are 

available from www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Ellgen, NMFS Pacific Islands 

Regional Office, Sustainable Fisheries, 

808–725–5173. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Guam 

and CNMI bottomfish fisheries target an 

assemblage, or complex, of 13 

bottomfish management unit species 

(BMUS), including emperors, snappers, 

groupers, and jacks. NMFS and the 

Western Pacific Fishery Management 

Council (Council) manage the 

bottomfish fisheries in the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone (generally 

3–200 nautical miles (nm) from shore) 

around Guam and the CNMI through the 

Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the Mariana 

Archipelago (FEP), under the authority 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The FEP 

contains a process for the Council and 

NMFS to specify ACLs, ACTs, and AMs, 

codified at 50 CFR 665.4. 

The regulations require NMFS to 

specify an ACL and AM for each stock 

and stock complex of management unit 

species, as recommended by the 

Council, and considering the best 

available scientific, commercial, and 

other information about the fishery. If a 

fishery exceeds an ACL, the regulations 

require the Council to take action, 

which may include reducing the ACL 

for the subsequent fishing year by the 

amount of the overage, or other 

appropriate action. The specification of 

an ACT, which is set below the ACL, 

can help ensure that the catch does not 

exceed the ACL. When used, an ACT 

also serves as the basis for invoking 

accountability measures. 

The Council and NMFS manage 

bottomfish as a single multi-species 

stock complex that is assessed as one 

unit whether the fish are in territorial or 

Federal waters. As a result, while most 

fishing for BMUS occurs in territorial 

waters, generally from the shoreline out 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules 10527 

to 3 nm, catches from both territorial 

waters and Federal waters around the 

territories would be counted towards 

the specified ACT and ACL that applies 

only to Federal waters. 

The Council recommended that 

NMFS specify ACLs for BMUS in Guam 

at 27,000 lb (12,247 kg) for each fishing 

year 2020–2022 and in the CNMI at 

84,000 lb (38,102 kg) for each fishing 

year 2020–2023. The 2020 fishing year 

ended December 31, 2020. The Council 

also recommended an ACT of 78,000 lb 

(35,380 kg) for CNMI BMUS for the 

same period. The fishing year for 

bottomfish in the Mariana Islands is the 

calendar year. The Council based its 

recommendations on a 2019 benchmark 

stock assessment by the NMFS Pacific 

Islands Fisheries Science Center 

(PIFSC), and in consideration of the best 

available scientific, commercial, and 

other information about the fishery, and 

in accordance with the ACL process set 

forth in the FEP. 

NMFS proposes to implement the 

Council’s recommended AM to Guam 

and CNMI BMUS, which is to apply a 

three-year average catch to evaluate 

fishery performance against the ACLs 

and in the event of overage to adjust the 

ACL and or ACT for the subsequent 

year. Specifically, under the proposed 

AMs, NMFS and the Council would use 

the average catch of the past three 

fishing years to evaluate fishery 

performance against the ACL for a 

particular fishery. At the end of each 

fishing year, if NMFS and the Council 

determine that the average catch of the 

past three years for any fishery exceeds 

the specified ACL, NMFS would, by 

separate rulemaking, reduce the ACL in 

the subsequent year for that fishery by 

the amount of the overage. NMFS may 

also specify an ACT that is below the 

ACL, as recommended by the Council. 

When used, the ACT serves as the basis 

for invoking the AM. For CNMI, the 

ACT would also be subject to the same 

adjustment as the ACL for the 

subsequent fishing year. If the average 

catch from the most recent three-year 

period exceeds the ACT but remains 

below the ACL, then an overage 

adjustment would not be applied. 

The 2019 stock assessment concluded 

that, in 2017, the Guam BMUS stock 

was overfished, but not subject to 

overfishing. NMFS adopted the findings 

of the assessment and notified the 

Council in February 2020. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act requires the 

Council to prepare and implement an 

FEP, FEP amendment, or proposed 

regulations to rebuild the stock within 

two years of that notification (that is, by 

February 2022). Thus, the proposed 

Guam ACL will cover the period of 2021 

through 2022, during which time the 

Council will develop the necessary 

action to rebuild the stock. 

The 2019 stock assessment estimated 

the overfishing limit for Guam BMUS to 

be 36,000 lb (16,329 kg). The proposed 

Guam ACL corresponds to a 31 percent 

probability of overfishing, which is 

more conservative than the 50 percent 

risk threshold allowed under NMFS 

guidelines for National Standard 1 of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act (NS1). It is 

likely that annual catch in 2020 through 

2022 would not only approach the 

proposed ACL, but the three-year 

average of catch would exceed the 

proposed ACL. If the catch exceeds the 

three-year average, then the proposed 

post-season adjustment would be 

implemented to reduce the ACL in the 

subsequent year. The proposed ACLs 

and AMs are meant to prevent 

overfishing in accordance with NS1. 

ACLs designed to rebuild Guam 

bottomfish will be part of a subsequent 

Council rebuilding plan. 

The 2019 stock assessment also 

concluded that in 2017 the CNMI BMUS 

stock was not overfished and did not 

experience overfishing. The assessment 

estimated the overfishing limit for CNMI 

BMUS to be 98,000 lb (44,452 kg). The 

CNMI ACL and ACT correspond to 39 

percent and 34 percent probability of 

overfishing, respectively, which are 

more conservative than the 50 percent 

risk threshold allowed under NMFS 

guidelines for NS1 of the MagnusonStevens Act. NMFS does not anticipate 

that the CNMI fishery will reach the 

proposed ACT or ACL in any fishing 

year, nor will fishing for bottomfish be 

constrained during the fishing year. 

NMFS will consider public comments 

on this proposed rule and will 

announce the final ACLs, ACTs, and 

AMs in the Federal Register. NMFS 

must receive any comments by the date 

provided in the DATES heading. NMFS 

may not consider any comments not 

postmarked or otherwise transmitted by 

that date. Regardless of the final ACLs, 

ACTs and AMs, all other management 

measures will continue to apply in the 

fisheries. 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed action is consistent 

with the FEP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable laws, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

Certification of Finding of No 

Significant Impact on Substantial 

Number of Small Entities 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. A 

description of the proposed action, why 

it is being considered, and the legal 

basis for it are contained in the 

preamble to this proposed rule. 

The proposed rule would implement 

ACLs, ACTs, and AMs for the 

bottomfish in Guam and the CNMI. 

These measures would apply in 2020– 

2022 for Guam and in 2020–2023 for the 

CNMI. The Council recommended the 

proposed measures based on the most 

recent stock assessment for bottomfish 

in Guam and the CNMI, consistent with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act and in 

accordance with the ACL process set 

forth in the FEP. 

For the CNMI, NMFS proposes an 

ACL of 84,000 lb (38,102 kg), which is 

associated with a 39 percent risk of 

overfishing, which is more conservative 

than the 50 percent threshold allowed 

by the NS1 guidelines. The proposed 

ACL is a 63 percent reduction from the 

228,000 lb (103,419 kg) ACL set in 2016 

and 2017. This reduction is based on the 

most recent stock assessment, which 

incorporated several changes that 

resulted in markedly different outputs 

compared to the previous assessment 

that informed the 2016 and 2017 ACL. 

As described in the 2019 stock 

assessment and discussed at the October 

2019 Council meeting, these changes 

included using a new species list, 

filtering data in a new way, and 

standardizing data for covariates that 

may affect the catch rate. NMFS did not 

specify ACLs for 2018 and 2019 while 

the Council and NMFS completed 

Amendment 5 to the FEP, which 

reclassified certain management unit 

species as ecosystem component 

species. Taking into account social, 

economic, and ecological considerations 

and management uncertainty, NMFS 

proposes to set an ACT at 78,000 lb 

(35,380 kg), which is associated with a 

34 percent risk of overfishing. 

For Guam, NMFS proposes an ACL of 

27,000 lb (12,247 kg), which is 

associated with a 31 percent risk of 

overfishing and is a 59 percent 

reduction from the 66,000 lb (29,937 kg) 

ACL set in 2016 and 2017. Like in the 

CNMI, this reduction is based on the 

most recent stock assessment, which 

incorporated several changes that 

resulted in markedly different outputs 


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10528 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

compared to the previous assessment. 

Additionally, according to the recent 

stock assessment, the stock is 

overfished, but not subject to 

overfishing. The previous assessment 

indicated the stock was fished at 

sustainable levels. NMFS adopted the 

findings of the assessment and so 

notified the Council in February 2020. 

ACLs designed to rebuild will be part of 

the Council’s rebuilding plan. 

The fishing year for bottomfish in 

Guam and the CNMI begins January 1 

and ends December 31. NMFS would 

count bottomfish catches from both 

territorial waters and the Exclusive 

Economic Zone toward the ACL and 

ACT. Because real-time catch data are 

not currently available for this fishery, 

the Council and NMFS consider postseason AMs only. Specifically, for 

Guam, if NMFS and the Council 

determine that the average catch from 

the most recent three-year period 

exceeds the ACL, NMFS would reduce 

the ACL in the subsequent fishing years 

by the amount of the overage. For the 

CNMI, if NMFS and the Council 

determine that the average catch from 

the most recent three-year period 

exceeds the ACL, NMFS would reduce 

the ACL and ACT in the subsequent 

fishing year by the amount of the 

overage. If the average catch from the 

most recent three-year period exceeds 

the ACT, but is below the ACL, NMFS 

would not apply a post-season AM. 

The bottomfish fisheries in Guam and 

the CNMI share many similarities in 

terms of gear, fishing methods, and 

species targeted. Many people who 

participate in the bottomfish fishery are 

either subsistence or part-time 

commercial fishermen, and they 

generally do not sell all of their catch. 

The majority of fishermen operate 

vessels less than 25 ft long, but a few 

longer vessels also participate in the 

fishery. Commercial vessels tend to 

concentrate effort on deepwater 

bottomfish at offshore banks, but they 

face higher operating costs than the 

shallow-water fishery operating closer 

to shore. In addition to sales to seafood 

dealers, some bottomfish sales are 

within community social networks. 

In Guam, the number of vessels 

landing BMUS increased from 29 

vessels in 2012 to 52 vessels in 2019. 

Annual BMUS catch is variable, but has 

been trending upwards over the past 

eight years, ranging from a low of 10,882 

lb (4,936 kg) in 2015 to a high of 37,701 

lb (17,101 kg) in 2019. The annual catch 

for three out of the last eight years has 

exceeded the proposed ACL, and the 

average annual catch from 2017 to 2019 

was 26,906 lb (12,204 kg), which is 99.6 

percent of the proposed ACL. Data on 

the amount sold and revenue in 2019 

are not available due to confidentiality 

requirements. Applying the 2018 

percent sold (11 percent) and price per 

pound ($5.05) to the 2019 estimated 

catch, yields a projection that 4,147 lb 

(1,881 kg) was sold in 2019 with an 

estimated revenue of $20,942. 

In the CNMI, the number of vessels 

landing BMUS has fluctuated from a 

high of 51 vessels in 2005 to a low of 

two vessels in 2018. In 2019, eight 

vessels landed BMUS. The average 

annual catch of BMUS from 2017 to 

2019 was 23,223 lb (10,534 kg). In 2019, 

the fishery landed 21,012 lb (9,531 kg), 

which is 27 percent of the ACL and 30 

percent of the ACT, respectively, so the 

fishery is unlikely to reach the ACL or 

ACT in future years. We estimate that 

the 2019 revenue for this fishery was 

$35,840. 

NMFS has established a small 

business size standard for businesses, 

including their affiliates, whose primary 

industry is commercial fishing (see 50 

CFR 200.2). A business primarily 

engaged in commercial fishing is 

classified as a small business if it is 

independently owned and operated, is 

not dominant in its field of operation 

(including its affiliates), and its 

combined annual receipts are not in 

excess of $11 million for all of its 

affiliated operations worldwide. Based 

on available information, NMFS has 

determined that all vessels engaging in 

the Guam and CNMI commercial and 

non-commercial bottomfish fisheries 

(NAICS Code: 114111) are small 

entities. That is, they are engaged in the 

business of finfish harvesting, 

independently owned or operated, not 

dominant in their field of operation, and 

have annual gross receipts not in excess 

of $11 million. Therefore, there would 

be no disproportionate economic 

impacts between large and small 

entities. Furthermore, NMFS has 

determined that there would be no 

disproportionate economic impacts 

among the universe of vessels based on 

gear, home port, or vessel length. 

Even though this proposed action 

would apply to a substantial number of 

vessels, this action is not expected to 

result in significant adverse economic 

impact to individual vessels. While the 

fisheries could reach or exceed the ACL 

or ACT, the catch data are not available 

until six months after the local resource 

agencies have collected the data. 

Therefore, the proposed rule would not 

subject the fisheries to an in-season AM, 

such as a fishery closure and, without 

an in-season AM, fishing activity is not 

likely to be constrained. 

The proposed action does not 

duplicate, overlap or conflict with other 

Federal rules and is not expected to 

have significant impact on small entities 

(as discussed above), organizations or 

government jurisdictions. The proposed 

action also will not place a substantial 

number of small entities at a significant 

competitive disadvantage to large 

entities. For the reasons above, NMFS 

does not expect the proposed action to 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

As such, an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required and none has 

been prepared. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

This proposed rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 665 

Accountability measures, Annual 

catch limits, Bottomfish, Fisheries, 

Fishing, Guam, Mariana Archipelago, 

Northern Mariana Islands, Pacific 

Islands. 

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

Dated: February 12, 2021. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 665 as follows: 

PART 665—FISHERIES IN THE 

WESTERN PACIFIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for 50 CFR 

part 665 continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. Add § 665.408 to read as follows: 

§ 665.408 Annual Catch Limits (ACL) and 

Annual Catch Targets (ACT). 

(a) In accordance with § 665.4, the 

ACL and ACT for Guam and CNMI 

bottomfish MUS fisheries for each 

fishing year are as follows: 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 33 / Monday, February 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules 10529 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a) 

2020 2021 2022 

Guam 

ACL (lb) ................................................................................................................................ 27,000 27,000 27,000 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (a) 

2020 2021 2022 2023 

CNMI 

ACL (lb) .................................................................................................... 84,000 84,000 84,000 84,000 

ACT (lb) .................................................................................................... 78,000 78,000 78,000 78,000 

(b) If the average catch of the three 

most recent years exceeds the specified 

ACL or ACT in a fishing year, the 

Regional Administrator will reduce the 

ACL and or ACT for the subsequent year 

by the amount of the overage in a 

separate rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. 2021–03240 Filed 2–19–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


tkelley on DSKBCP9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS