Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 33 / Friday, February 19, 2010 / Proposed Rules 7435 

DATES: Comments and information 

regarding this proposed rule must be 

received by April 23, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

proposed rule may be submitted, 

identified by RIN 0648–AX06, and 

addressed to: David Cottingham, Chief, 

Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle 

Conservation Division, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic comments via the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov; 

• Facsimile (fax): 301–713–4060, 

Attn: David Cottingham; 

• Mail: Chief, Marine Mammal and 

Sea Turtle Conservation Division, 

NMFS, Office of Protected Resources, 

1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, 

MD, 20910. 

Instructions: No comments will be 

posted for public viewing until after the 

comment period has closed. All 

comments received are a part of the 

public record and will generally be 

posted to http://www.regulations.gov 

without change. NMFS may elect not to 

post comments that contain obscene or 

threatening content. All Personal 

Identifying Information (for example, 

name, address, etc.) voluntarily 

submitted by the commenter may be 

publicly accessible. Do not submit 

Confidential Business Information or 

otherwise sensitive or protected 

information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. The 

proposed rule and supporting 

documents, including the biological 

report, economic report, initial 

regulatory flexibility analysis, and 

4(b)(2) report, are also available 

electronically at http:// 

www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles/ 

leatherback.htm#documents. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara 

McNulty, NMFS, Office of Protected 

Resources, 301–713–2322; Elizabeth 

Petras, NMFS Southwest Region, 562– 

980–3238; Steve Stone, NMFS 

Northwest Region, 503–231–2317. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

January 5, 2010, NMFS published the 

Proposed Rule to Revise the Critical 

Habitat Designation for the Endangered 

Leatherback Sea Turtle (75 FR 319). 

That Federal Register notice began 

NMFS’ 60-day comment period, ending 

on March 8, 2010. 

NMFS subsequently received a 

request from the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council) to 

extend the public comment period for 

an additional 45 days. The date the 

initial comment period closes falls in 

the middle of the Council’s March 2010 

meeting, precluding an opportunity for 

the Council to formulate and transmit 

comments. Additionally, the Council 

felt this proposed rule would be more 

appropriately discussed at the April 

Council meeting, where they plan to 

develop their comments. In this notice 

NMFS is extending the public comment 

period until April 23, 2010, in order to 

allow adequate time for the Council and 

others to thoroughly review and 

thoughtfully comment on the proposed 

rule. 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq. 

Dated: February 12, 2010. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3275 Filed 2–18–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 100105009–0053–01] 

RIN 0648–AY51 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab 

Fisheries; 2010 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red 

Crab Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 2010 

specifications for the Atlantic deep-sea 

red crab fishery, including a target total 

allowable catch (TAC) and a fleet-wide 

days-at-sea (DAS) allocation. The 

implementing regulations for the 

Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) require NMFS 

to publish specifications for up to a 

period of 3 years and to provide an 

opportunity for public comment. The 

intent of this rulemaking is to specify 

the target TAC and other management 

measures in order to manage the red 

crab resource for fishing year (FY) 2010. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received no later than 5 p.m. eastern 

standard time, on March 22, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by 0648–AY51, by any one of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov 

• Fax: (978) 281–9135, Attn: 

Regional Administrator. 

• Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast 

Regional Office, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the 

outside of the envelope: ‘‘Comments on 

2010 Red Crab Specifications.’’ 

Instructions: No comments will be 

posted for public viewing until after the 

comment period has closed. All 

comments received are a part of the 

public record and will generally be 

posted to http://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All Personal Identifying 

Information (for example, name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter may be publicly 

accessible. Do not submit Confidential 

Business Information or otherwise 

sensitive or protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments (enter N/A in the required 

fields, if you wish to remain 

anonymous). You may submit 

attachments to electronic comments in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 

Adobe PDF file formats only. 

Copies of the specifications 

document, including the Environmental 

Assessment and Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (EA/IRFA) and 

other supporting documents for the 

specifications, are available from Paul 

Howard, Executive Director, New 

England Fishery Management Council, 

50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 

01950. The specifications document is 

also accessible via the Internet at http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9218. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The FMP includes a specification 

process that requires the New England 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

to recommend, on a triennial basis, a 

target TAC and a fleet DAS allocation 

that is consistent with that target TAC. 

In FY 2009, NMFS published an 

emergency rule to modify the target 

TAC and fleet DAS to be consistent with 

the recommendations of the Data Poor 

Stocks Working Group and Review 

Panel (Working Group). The Working 

Group recommended a reduction in the 

maximum sustainable yield (MSY) to 

3.75–4.19 million lb (1,700–1,900 mt). 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
7436 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 33 / Friday, February 19, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

In keeping with the FMP in setting the 

target TAC at 95% of MSY, NMFS 

implemented a target TAC of 3.56 

million lb (1,615 mt), and reduced the 

fleet DAS allocation from 780 DAS to 

581 DAS. The fleet DAS allocation is 

divided equally among the vessels 

active in the fishery, which can vary 

from year to year. For FY 2009, the 

allocation was initially divided among 

four vessels; however, NMFS allowed 

the fourth vessel to opt out of the fishery 

for the FY and reallocated the fleet DAS 

to the remaining three vessels. It is 

expected that only three vessels will be 

active in the red crab fishery in FY 

2010. The Council has requested 

waiving the 6–month notification 

requirement for opting out of the red 

crab fishery for FY 2010. 

In September 2009, the Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) accepted the Working Group’s 

recommendation that MSY for red crab 

should be set within the range 3.75–4.19 

million lb (1,700–1,900 mt), and 

recommended that the interim 

acceptable biological catch (ABC) be set 

commensurate with recent catch. The 

SSC determined recent catch to be the 

amount of red crab landed in FY 2007, 

which was 2.83 million lb (1,284 mt). 

The landings in FY 2007 were the 

lowest since the implementation of the 

FMP in 2002. During the Council’s 

review of the SSC’s recommendation at 

its September 2009 meeting, there was 

some concern among Council members 

that a quorum of SSC members was not 

present during the red crab discussion. 

As a result, the Council approved a 

motion to ‘‘send the red crab ABC back 

to the SSC for further analysis after new 

peer review information is available and 

that a quorum is present throughout 

SSC deliberations.’’ Further, at its 

November 2009 meeting, the Council 

approved a follow-up motion to ‘‘direct 

the PDT and the SSC to review the SSC 

recommended interim ABC for red crab 

to determine if it should be revised.’’ To 

date, the SSC has not reviewed its 

interim ABC recommendation, nor as 

any new peer-reviewed information 

been made available. 

As described in the FMP, and 

specified at § 648.260(b)(2), if the 

effective date of a final rule falls after 

the start of the FY on March 1, fishing 

may continue under the specifications 

for the previous year. Because the 

specifications currently in place under 

the emergency action will expire on 

February 28, 2010, the target TAC and 

DAS allocation will revert to those 

specified in the regulations (5.928 

million lb (2,688 mt) and 780 DAS, 

respectively) if the effective date of the 

final rule is after March 1. However, any 

DAS used by a vessel on or after March 

1 will be counted against the DAS 

allocation the vessel ultimately receives 

for FY 2010. 

Proposed Specifications 

Despite the recommendation from the 

SSC that the target TAC not exceed an 

ABC of 2.83 million lb (1,284 mt), the 

Council recommended a target TAC and 

fleet DAS allocation equal to the 2009 

emergency rule, 3.56 million lb (1,615 

mt) and 581 DAS, respectively. The 

Council vote reflected the majority view 

of members that the ABC 

recommendation by the SSC is 

inappropriate, and that setting the ABC 

equal to a single year’s landings, rather 

than a range of recent year’s landings, is 

improper. The Council based its target 

TAC on the MSY advice from the 

Working Group, rather than that 

recommended by the SSC, because the 

Council considers the advice of the 

Working Group to provide an acceptably 

low risk of avoiding overfishing. The 

Council considers it their role to 

determine an acceptable level of risk of 

overfishing after receiving scientific 

information about what is the level of 

overfishing. To be consistent with the 

Council’s SSC recommendation and 

relevant Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) provisions, 

NMFS is instead proposing to set the 

target TAC for FY 2010 equal to the 

SSC’s recommended ABC (2.83 million 

lb; 1,284 mt) and a recalculated fleet 

DAS allocation of 464 DAS. This is the 

maximum allowable level of fishing 

effort that is consistent with the SSC 

recommendation; however, should the 

SSC revise its ABC recommendation 

prior to publication of final 

specifications for FY 2010, NMFS 

would consider revising these 

specifications to the levels 

recommended by the Council, so long as 

the revised specifications remain 

consistent with the advice of the SSC. 

NMFS considers the best available 

science, as required under National 

Standard 2, is best represented by a 

recommendation from an SSC based on 

its review of the available scientific 

information. The Council’s SSC 

accepted the Working Group’s results 

and has recommended setting the 

overfishing limit (OFL) equal to the 

MSY range proposed by the Working 

Group. The SSC also concluded that 

‘‘[g]iven the data-poor nature of the 

stock assessment, the SSC derived an 

interim ABC on the basis of status quo 

catch . . . Landings in 2007 were 1,284 

mt [2.83 million lb], which is 68–76 

percent of the approximate OFL. This 

magnitude of catch provides a 24- to 32– 

percent buffer between OFL and ABC, 

which is consistent with general 

guidance on buffers for data-moderate to 

data-poor stocks.’’ The SSC also noted 

‘‘that there should be a substantial buffer 

between OFL and ABC for data-poor 

stocks, an ABC based on the 2002–2007 

average landings would contradict the 

[Working Group’s advice]. Therefore, 

the SSC recommendation is for an 

interim ABC that is based on 2007 

landings until a better estimate of OFL 

can be determined.’’ 

Other Proposed Measures 

The Council has proposed waiving 

the 6–month notification requirement to 

opt out of the red crab fishery. 

Currently, vessel owners must inform 

NMFS of their intention to opt out of the 

fishery 6 months prior to the start of the 

next fishing; i.e., by September 1. The 

Council feels that because the 

specifications decisions were not made 

until November, it would seem unfair to 

industry to require vessel owners make 

business decisions without knowing 

what the target TAC would be for the 

upcoming FY. NMFS is proposing to 

adopt this waiver for FY 2010. 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has 

preliminarily determined that this 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab FMP, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law, subject to 

further consideration after public 

comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

An IRFA was prepared, as required by 

section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (RFA). The IRFA describes the 

economic impact this proposed rule, if 

adopted, would have on small entities. 

A description of the action, why it is 

being considered, and the legal basis for 

this action are contained at the 

beginning of this preamble and in the 

SUMMARY. A summary of the analysis 

follows. A copy of this analysis is 

available from the Council (see 

ADDRESSES). 

There are no large entities that 

participate in this fishery, as defined in 

section 601 of the RFA; therefore, there 

are no disproportionate effects on small 

versus large entities. Information on 

costs in the fishery are not readily 

available, and individual vessel 

profitability cannot be determined 

directly; therefore, changes in gross 

revenues were used as a proxy for 

profitability. In the absence of 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 33 / Friday, February 19, 2010 / Proposed Rules 7437 

quantitative data, qualitative analyses 

were conducted. 

The participants in the commercial 

sector are the owners of vessels issued 

limited access red crab vessel permits. 

There are five limited access red crab 

vessel permits, although only three 

vessels participated in the fishery in FY 

2009. 

The IRFA in the Draft EA analyzed 

three alternatives (including the no 

action alternative) for establishing a 

target TAC and fleet-wide DAS 

allocation for FY 2010. Alternative 1 

(status quo) would set the MSY, OY, 

target TAC, and DAS allocation equal to 

those adopted through emergency action 

on April 6, 2009. If the status quo 

alternative were adopted, MSY would 

be 3.75 million lb (1,700 mt), OY and 

the target TAC would be 3.56 million lb 

(1,615 mt), and the fleet DAS would be 

582. If the DAS were allocated equally 

to the four vessels that have been active 

in recent years, the DAS per vessel 

would be 146. If only three vessels 

remain in the fishery, the resulting DAS 

allocation would be 194 DAS for each 

active vessel. Alternative 2 would adopt 

the SSC’s recommended interim ABC 

value of 2.83 million lb (1,284 mt) as the 

target TAC for FY 2010. The 

corresponding fleet DAS would be 464, 

based on the fleet average daily landings 

per charged DAS for the years 2006– 

2008 (6,106 lb/DAS; 2,770 kg/DAS). The 

fleet DAS would be divided by the five 

current limited access permits, or less 

depending on the number of permits 

that declare out of the fishery. As noted 

above, one of the limited access permits 

has been declared out of the fishery 

each year since 2004 and a second 

vessel opted out for FY 2009 as well. If 

four vessels remain in the fishery, the 

resulting DAS allocation would be 116 

DAS for each active vessel. If only three 

vessels remain in the fishery, the 

resulting DAS allocation would be 155 

DAS for each active vessel. If no action 

were taken (Alternative 3), MSY would 

revert to the 6.24–million-lb (2,830–mt) 

value established by the FMP, and OY 

and the target TAC for FY 2010 would 

revert to 5.93 million lb (2,689 mt). The 

fleet-wide DAS allocation would be 780 

DAS. If these DAS were distributed 

equally to the four limited access 

vessels that have been active in the 

fishery in recent years, the allocation 

per vessel would be 195 DAS. If a 

second vessel were to opt out for FY 

2010, the allocation for each of the 

remaining three vessels would be 260 

DAS. 

Under the Council’s recommended 

specifications, approximately $730,000 

of additional potential revenue could be 

available to the red crab fleet compared 

to NMFS’s proposed specifications, and 

approximately $2.4 million less 

potential revenue than the No Action 

alternative. The current target TAC that 

would be maintained by the Council’s 

alternative is greater than the average of 

the past 4 years’ landings, 2 of which 

were higher, and 2 lower. For the past 

2 years, the fleet has landed less than 

the target TAC that would result from 

the Council’s recommended 

specifications. Whereas a limited market 

has been responsible for the shortfall in 

landings compared to the target TAC, 

red crab vessel owners have invested 

heavily in a new processing plant in 

New Bedford, MA, and have developed 

new marketing outlets with hopes to 

increase demand for their product. 

The loss in revenue to the red crab 

fleet from NMFS’s proposed 

specifications compared to the no action 

alternative would potentially be 

approximately $3.1 million. Potential 

losses from alternative fisheries that 

may result from the need to readjust 

vessel time among fisheries are 

uncertain. The loss in revenue to the red 

crab fleet from this target TAC 

compared to the Council recommended 

target TAC would potentially be 

approximately $730,000. 

The target TAC prescribed by the FMP 

would allow for approximately $3.1 

million more potential revenue for the 

red crab fleet in the short-term 

compared to NMFS’s proposed target 

TAC, and approximately $2.4 million 

more revenue compared to the Council’s 

recommended target. However, not 

implementing a target TAC consistent 

with the Working Group’s advice could 

create potentially negative long-term 

economic effects due to 

overexploitation. 

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

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: February 12, 2010. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 

to be 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 § 648.4, paragraph 

(a)(13)(i)(B)(2)(ii) is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.4 Vessel permits. 

(a) * * * 

(13) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(B) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(ii) A limited-access permit holder 

may choose to declare out of the red 

crab fishery for the next fishing year by 

submitting a binding declaration on a 

form supplied by the Regional 

Administrator, which must be received 

by NMFS at least 180 days before the 

last day of the current fishing year. 

NMFS will presume that a vessel 

intends to fish during the next fishing 

year unless such binding declaration is 

received at least 180 days before the last 

day of the current fishing year. Any 

limited-access permit holder who has 

submitted a binding declaration must 

submit either a new binding declaration 

or a renewal application for the year 

after which they were declared out of 

the fishery. For the 2010 fishing year 

only, the 6–month notification 

requirement is waived, and a vessel may 

be declared out of the fishery at any 

time prior to fishing under a limited 

access red crab DAS. 

* * * * * 

3. In § 648.260, paragraph (a)(1) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.260 Specifications. 

(a) * * * 

(1) Target total allowable catch. The 

target TAC for fishing year 2010 will be 

2.830 million lb (1,283 mt), unless 

modified pursuant to this paragraph. 

* * * * * 

4. In § 648.262, paragraph (b)(2) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.262 Effort-control program for red 

crab limited access vessels. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) For fishing year 2010. Each limited 

access permit holder shall be allocated 

93 DAS unless one or more vessels 

declares out of the fishery consistent 

with § 648.4(a)(13)(i)(B)(2) or the TAC is 

adjusted consistent with § 648.260. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2010–3270 Filed 2–18–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with PROPOSALS