62972 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 208 / Friday, October 27, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

RIN 0648–AT60 

[Docket No. 061020273–6273–01; I.D. 

101606A] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2007 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 

Sea Bass Specifications; 2007 

Research Set-Aside Projects 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed specifications; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications 

for the 2007 summer flounder, scup, 

and black sea bass fisheries. The 

implementing regulations for the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 

require NMFS to publish specifications 

for the upcoming fishing year for each 

of the species and to provide an 

opportunity for public comment. The 

intent of this action is to establish 

harvest levels that assure that the target 

fishing mortality rates (F) or 

exploitation rates specified for these 

species in the FMP are not exceeded 

and to allow for rebuilding of the stocks 

in accordance with the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act). NMFS has conditionally approved 

four research projects for the harvest of 

the portion of the quota that has been 

recommended by the Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

to be set aside for research purposes. In 

anticipation of receiving applications 

for Experimental Fishing Permits (EFPs) 

to conduct this research, the Assistant 

Regional Administrator for Sustainable 

Fisheries, Northeast Region, NMFS 

(Assistant Regional Administrator), has 

made a preliminary determination that 

the activities authorized under the EFPs 

issued in response to the approved 

Research Set-Aside (RSA) projects 

would be consistent with the goals and 

objectives of the FMP. However, further 

review and consultation may be 

necessary before a final determination is 

made to issue any EFP. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 17, 2006. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• E-mail: FSB2007@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line the following 

identifier: ‘‘Comments on 2007 Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Specifications.’’

• Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail and hand delivery: Patricia A. 

Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 

Northeast Regional Office, One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Mark the outside of the envelope: 

‘‘Comments on 2007 Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Specifications.’’

• Fax: (978) 281–9135. 

Copies of the specifications 

document, including the Environmental 

Assessment, Regulatory Impact Review, 

and Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) and other 

supporting documents for the 

specifications are available from Daniel 

Furlong, Executive Director, MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council, 

Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South 

Street, Dover, DE 19901–6790. Copies of 

the supplemental economic analysis are 

available from Patricia A. Kurkul, 

Regional Administrator, Northeast 

Region, National Marine Fisheries 

Service, One Blackburn Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930–2298. These 

documents are also accessible via the 

Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah McLaughlin, Fishery Policy 

Analyst, (978) 281–9279. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass fisheries are managed 

cooperatively by the Council and the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (Commission), in 

consultation with the New England and 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Councils. The management units 

specified in the FMP include summer 

flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in U.S. 

waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the 

southern border of North Carolina (NC) 

northward to the U.S./Canada border, 

and scup (Stenotomus chrysops) and 

black sea bass (Centropristis striata) in 

U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean from 

35°13.3′ N. lat. (the latitude of Cape 

Hatteras Lighthouse, Buxton, NC) 

northward to the U.S./Canada border. 

Implementing regulations for these 

fisheries are found at 50 CFR part 648, 

subpart A (General Provisions), subpart 

G (summer flounder), subpart H (scup), 

and subpart I (black sea bass). 

The regulations outline the process 

for specifying the annual commercial 

quotas and recreational harvest limits 

for the summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass fisheries, as well as other 

management measures (e.g., mesh 

requirements, minimum fish sizes, gear 

restrictions, possession restrictions, and 

area restrictions) for these fisheries. The 

measures are intended to achieve the 

annual targets set forth for each species 

in the FMP, specified either as an F or 

an exploitation rate (the proportion of 

fish available at the beginning of the 

year that are removed by fishing during 

the year). Once the catch limits are 

established, they are divided into quotas 

based on formulas contained in the 

FMP. 

As required by the FMP, a Monitoring 

Committee for each species, made up of 

members from NMFS, the Commission, 

and both the Mid-Atlantic and New 

England Fishery Management Councils, 

reviews the best available scientific 

information and recommends catch 

limits and other management measures 

that will achieve the target F or 

exploitation rate for each fishery. 

Consistent with the implementation of 

Framework Adjustment 5 to the FMP 

(69 FR 62818, October 28, 2004), each 

Monitoring Committee meets annually 

to recommend the Total Allowable 

Landings (TAL), unless the TAL has 

already been established for the 

upcoming calendar year as part of a 

multiple-year specification process, 

provided that new information does not 

require a modification to the multipleyear quotas. Further, the TALs may be 

specified in any given year for the 

following 1, 2, or 3 years. The Council 

is not obligated to specify multi-year 

TALs, but is able to do so, depending on 

the information available and the status 

of the fisheries. 

The Council’s Demersal Species 

Committee and the Commission’s 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Management Board (Board) 

consider the Monitoring Committees’

recommendations and any public 

comment and make their own 

recommendations. While the Board 

action is final, the Council’s 

recommendations must be reviewed by 

NMFS to assure that they comply with 

FMP objectives. The Council and Board 

made their recommendations, with the 

exception of Board recommendations 

for the 2007 summer flounder fishery, at 

a joint meeting held August 1–3, 2006. 

The Board delayed its action regarding 

a summer flounder TAL 

recommendation until its October 22–

26, 2006, meeting. 

Explanation of RSA 

In 2001, regulations were 

implemented under Framework 

Adjustment 1 to the FMP to allow up to 


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3 percent of the TAL for each species to 

be set aside each year for scientific 

research purposes. For the 2007 fishing 

year, a Request for Proposals was 

published to solicit research proposals 

based upon the research priorities that 

were identified by the Council (70 FR 

76253, December 23, 2005). Four 

applicants were notified in August 2005 

that their research proposals had 

received favorable preliminary review. 

For informational purposes, these 

proposed specifications include a 

statement indicating the amount of 

quota that has been preliminarily set 

aside for research purposes (3 percent of 

the TAL for each fishery, as 

recommended by the Council and 

Board), and a brief description of the 

RSA projects, and the amount of RSA 

requested for each project. The RSA 

amounts may be adjusted, following 

consultation with RSA applicants, in 

the final rule establishing the 2007 

specifications for the summer flounder, 

scup, and black sea bass fisheries. If the 

total amount of RSA is not awarded, 

NMFS will publish a document in the 

Federal Register to restore the unused 

amount to the applicable TAL. 

For 2007, four RSA projects have been 

conditionally approved by NMFS and 

are currently awaiting a notice of award. 

These projects collectively may be 

awarded the following amounts of RSA 

(3 percent of the proposed TALs): 

389,490 lb (177 mt) of summer flounder; 

360,000 lb (163 mt) of scup; and 150,000 

lb (68 mt) of black sea bass. The projects 

collectively also may be awarded up to 

1,124,356 lb (510 mt) of Loligo squid 

and 363,677 lb (165 mt) of bluefish. 

The University of Rhode Island 

submitted a proposal to conduct a 

fourth year of work in a fisheryindependent scup survey that would 

utilize unvented fish traps fished on 

hard bottom areas in southern New 

England waters to characterize the size 

composition of the scup population. 

Survey activities would be conducted 

from May 1 through November 30, 2007, 

at 10 rocky bottom study sites located 

offshore, where there is a minimal scup 

pot fishery and no active trawl fishery, 

and at 2 scup spawning ground sites. Up 

to two vessels would conduct the 

survey. Sampling would occur off the 

coasts of Rhode Island and southern 

Massachusetts. Up to three vessels 

would harvest the RSA during the 

period January 1 through December 31, 

2007. The preliminary RSA requested 

for this project is 2,000 lb (907 kg) of 

summer flounder; 40,000 lb (18 mt) of 

scup; and 30,000 lb (14 mt) of black sea 

bass. 

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) 

and Rutgers University submitted a 

proposal to conduct a fifth year of work 

on a commercial vessel-based trawl 

survey program in the Mid-Atlantic 

region that would track the migratory 

behavior of selected recreationally and 

commercially important species. 

Information gathered during this project 

would supplement the NMFS finfish 

survey databases and improve methods 

to evaluate how seasonal migration of 

fish in the Mid-Atlantic influences stock 

abundance estimates. Up to two vessels 

would conduct survey work in the MidAtlantic during January, March, May, 

and November 2007, along up to eight 

offshore transects. The transects would 

include six fixed offshore transects, one 

each near Alvin, Hudson, Baltimore, 

Poor Man’s, Washington, and Norfolk 

Canyons, and two to three adaptive 

transects positioned within the MidAtlantic area selected during a precruise meeting with NFI, Rutgers 

University, and the NMFS Northeast 

Fisheries Science Center (Center). Up to 

15 1–nautical mile tows would be 

conducted along each transect at depths 

from 40 to 250 fathoms (73 to 457 m). 

Up to 25 vessels would harvest the RSA 

during the period January 1 through 

December 31, 2007. The preliminary 

RSA requested for the project is 223,140 

lb (101 kg) of summer flounder; 221,581 

lb (101 mt) of scup; 61,500 lb (28 mt) of 

black sea bass; 281,059 lb (127 mt) of 

Loligo squid; and 363,677 lb (165 mt) of 

bluefish. 

The Cornell Cooperative Extension of 

Suffolk County submitted a proposal to 

evaluate summer flounder discard 

mortality in the bottom trawl fishery. 

The project is intended to improve and 

enhance fishery information relative to 

discard mortality of summer flounder in 

the bottom trawl fishery. Trawl-caught 

summer flounder, both legal and sublegal size, would be measured, tagged, 

and kept in a live holding pen (net pen) 

for mortality monitoring. Mortality 

would be monitored on a weekly basis 

and fish would be released with tags 

after 2 weeks. Extended mortality and 

migration information would be 

collected upon recapture of tagged fish. 

One inshore day trip would be made 

every 14 to 17 days from May to 

September for a total of 10 day trips. 

Overall, with 120 fish taken on each 

trip, a total of 1,200 fish would be 

collected from commercial vessels 

during the project. The research trips 

would be made aboard 15 commercial 

vessels (vessels of opportunity) engaged 

in the mixed trawl fishery, and would 

be conducted inshore along the coast of 

southern Long Island from Jones Inlet to 

Montauk Point, reaching depths of 240 

ft (73 m). Areas sampled would include 

NMFS statistical areas 611, 612, 613, 

and 539. Vessels would be compensated 

to make three specific tows for summer 

flounder to assess trawl mortality. 

Duration of these tows would be 1, 2, 

and 3 hours. An additional 25 vessels 

would harvest the RSA amounts 

allocated to the project over the course 

of the fishing year. The preliminary RSA 

requested for the project is 178,000 lbs 

(81 mt) of summer flounder. 

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) 

and Rutgers University submitted a 

proposal to conduct studies on bycatch 

reduction and gear development in the 

Mid-Atlantic through evaluation of 

optimal codend mesh size in the Loligo 

squid fishery. The project would 

evaluate the performance of 

intermediate codend mesh sizes above 

the present legal size of 1.875 inches 

(4.8 cm) and below 2.5 inches (6.35 cm), 

e.g. mesh sizes of 2.125 inches (5.4 cm) 

and 2.25 inches (5.7 cm). The 

researchers would also attempt to 

determine the influence of these 

intermediate mesh sizes on the catch of 

other species such as butterfish, silver 

hake, and accompanying bycatch 

species as well as Loligo squid 

measuring below market size (4 inches 

(10.2 cm)). The project would use two 

similar vessels in the 75- to 100–ft (23- 

to 30–m) range to test different mesh 

sizes in squid nets under commercial 

use. The exact number of tows would 

depend on the duration of each tow, 

which would be determined by the 

vessel captain during fishing. The 

research would involve a total of 108 to 

144 tows, each lasting approximately 2–

3 hours, and would take place in 

February and/or March 2007 near the 

Hudson Canyon. Approximately 25 

vessels would harvest the RSA amounts 

allocated to the project over the course 

of the fishing year. The preliminary RSA 

requested for the project is 163,633 lb 

(74 mt) of summer flounder; 269,305 lb 

(122 mt) of scup; 40,358 lb (18 mt) of 

black sea bass; and 331,000 lb (150 mt) 

of Loligo squid. 

Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Act require publication of this 

notification to provide interested parties 

the opportunity to comment on 

applications for proposed EFPs. 

Explanation of Quota Adjustments Due 

to Quota Overages 

This action proposes commercial 

quotas based on the proposed TALs and 

Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and the 

formulas for allocation contained in the 

FMP. In 2002, NMFS published final 

regulations to implement a regulatory 

amendment (67 FR 6877, February 14, 

2002) that revised the way in which the 

commercial quotas for summer 


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flounder, scup, and black sea bass are 

adjusted if landings in any fishing year 

exceed the quota allocated (thus 

resulting in a quota overage). If NMFS 

approves a different TAL or TAC at the 

final specifications stage, the 

commercial quotas will be recalculated 

based on the formulas in the FMP. 

Likewise, if new information indicates 

that overages have occurred and 

deductions are necessary, NMFS will 

publish notice of the adjusted quotas in 

the Federal Register. NMFS anticipates 

that the information necessary to 

determine whether overage deductions 

are necessary will be available by the 

time the final specifications are 

published. The commercial quotas 

contained in these proposed 

specifications for summer flounder, 

scup, and black sea bass do not reflect 

any deductions for overages. The final 

specifications, however, will contain 

quotas that have been adjusted 

consistent with the procedures 

described above. 

Summer Flounder 

The Center’s Southern Demersal 

Working Group met in May 2005 to 

address the terms of reference for Stock 

Assessment Workshop (SAW) 41. The 

Stock Assessment Review Committee 

(SARC) accepted the 2005 stock 

assessment update as the basis for 

management advice, and also accepted 

the Demersal Working Group’s 

recommended updated biological 

reference point values as follows: 

Fmsy=Fmax=0.276; MSY=42 million lb 

(22,000 mt), and Bmsy=204 million lb 

(92,532 mt). Fmsy is the fishing mortality 

rate that, if applied constantly, would 

result in maximum sustainable yield 

(MSY). Fmax is the level of fishing 

mortality that produces maximum yield 

per recruit. When F > Fmax, overfishing 

is considered to be occurring, and when 

B<1⁄2 Bmsy, the stock is considered 

overfished. 

The Southern Demersal Working 

Group met on June 20, 2006, to update 

the summer flounder assessment 

through 2005/2006 based on the latest 

research survey and fisheries catch data 

available. This was a routine annual 

update, as called for by the FMP, and 

was based on the same population 

model as used in recent years. Key 

results of the update were as follows: 

Overfishing is occurring (i.e., F > Fmax). 

Almost all of the full-age structure state 

and Federal survey indices used to 

update the assessment have dropped 

since 2003. Mean fish weight has 

decreased, and this has contributed to 

increased fishing mortality, as more fish 

are taken by weight for a given catch 

level. The 2005 F was estimated to have 

been 0.53, a significant decline from the 

1.32 estimated for 1994, but well above 

the threshold F of 0.276. The stock was 

not determined to be overfished and 

was estimated to be just above the 

biomass threshold. Total stock biomass 

(TSB) increased substantially during the 

1990s and through 2004, but decreased 

slightly since 2004, and was estimated 

to be 105 million lb (47,627 mt) on 

January 1, 2006, just over the biomass 

threshold (1⁄2Bmsy) of 102 million lb 

(46,266 mt)). Spawning stock biomass 

(SSB) also increased during the 1990s 

through 2004 (to 72 million lb (32,659 

mt) in 2004), before decreasing to 67 

million lb (30,391 mt) in 2005. 

Recruitment since 1988 was estimated 

to have improved, generally, although 

the 2003 and 2005 year classes were 

estimated to have been well below the 

median (33 million fish) at 24.5 million 

fish and 14.5 million fish, respectively. 

It has been recognized since 1995 that 

the summer flounder stock assessment 

model tends to underestimate F and 

overestimate stock biomass and 

recruitment in the most recent years of 

the analysis (typically for the previous 

5 years), until those estimates stabilize 

as new data are added to the analysis. 

For example, the 2006 stock assessment 

update showed that the estimate for 

F2004 had increased from last year’s 

estimate of 0.4 to 0.46; and that the 

estimate for F2005 was 0.53. This pattern 

is likely the result of an underestimation 

of the true catch, due to discards and/ 

or unreported landings. The impact for 

management, given these persistent 

retrospective patterns, is that, although 

the summer flounder stock continues to 

increase, it is increasing at a lower rate 

than, and is currently at a smaller size 

than, previously forecast. Because the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act requires stocks 

to be rebuilt to a level that produces 

MSY, it was clear from the 2006 stock 

assessment update that additional 

rebuilding of these species is still 

required. For summer flounder, the 

rebuilding period ends December 31, 

2009. 

The regulations state that the Council 

shall recommend, and NMFS shall 

implement, measures (including the 

TAL) necessary to ensure, with at least 

a 50–percent probability of success, that 

the applicable specified F will not be 

exceeded. This requirement is also 

consistent with a 2000 Federal Court 

Order (Natural Resources Defense 

Council v. Daley, Civil No. 1:99 CV 

00221 (JLG)) regarding the setting of the 

summer flounder TAL. Through the 

course of the rebuilding period, NMFS 

has set TALs estimated to have at least 

a 50–percent probability of not 

exceeding Fmax. 

For 2007, the Council’s Summer 

Flounder Monitoring Committee 

considered that a TAL of 19.9 million lb 

(9,026 mt) would meet the 50–percent 

probability of success standard (based 

on the Southern Demersal Working 

Group 2006 update), but recommended 

a TAL (13.88 million lb (6,296 mt)) 

associated with an F of 0.185, i.e., a 33–

percent reduction of the Fmax (0.276), in 

order to account for the retrospective 

pattern of F underestimation. In August 

2006, the Council and the Board 

discussed at length the Southern 

Demersal Working Group 2006 update, 

the TAL for 2007, and potential TALs 

for the remainder of the rebuilding 

period. The Council considered the 

following TAL options: (1) a 2007 TAL 

of 19.9 million lb (9,026 mt); (2) the 

Summer Flounder Monitoring 

Committee’s recommendation of 13.88 

million lb (6,296 mt) for 2007; (3) a 2007 

TAL projected to result in rebuilding of 

the summer flounder stock by 2010 

(7.69 million lb (3,489 mt)); (4) a 2007 

TAL that would both allow for 

rebuilding by 2010 and account for the 

retrospective F pattern (5.22 million lb 

(2,368 mt)); (5) a constant TAL for 2007 

through 2009 that would allow for 

rebuilding by 2010 (10.04 million lb 

(4,554 mt)); and (6) a constant TAL for 

2007 through 2009 that would allow for 

rebuilding by 2010 and that corrects for 

the retrospective pattern of F 

underestimation (6.72 million lb (3,048 

mt)). The Council focused discussion on 

a 2007 TAL of 19.9 million lb (9,026 

mt). 

During the August 2006 Council 

discussion of the feasibility of achieving 

the biomass target, given recent 

recruitment levels, NMFS offered to reexamine the biological reference point 

values based on the use of the most 

recent scientific information available 

and on use of a subset (rather than the 

full range) of recruitment input data. 

Projections were to be re-run based on 

the revised reference points, the current 

growth potential of the population, and 

the recent history of reproductive effort 

(recruitment), and the results were to be 

peer-reviewed. NMFS encouraged the 

Council to recommend a TAL for 2007, 

and indicated that any new information 

resulting from the stock assessment reexamination and the peer review 

thereof, if appropriate, would be 

reflected in the proposed specifications. 

In the end, the Council adopted a 2007 

TAL of 19.9 million lb (9,026 mt), with 

3 percent of the TAL set aside for 

research. This TAL would represent a 

16–percent decrease for 2007 from the 

2006 TAL of 23.59 million lb (10,700 

mt). After deducting the RSA, the TAL 


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would be divided into a commercial 

quota (60 percent) and a recreational 

harvest limit (40 percent). The Board 

delayed its vote until its October 22–26, 

2006, meeting, to consider the updated 

analyses. 

NMFS’s re-examination of the 

biological reference points, the peer 

review of this work, and subsequent 

analysis stemming from the peer review 

was completed in September 2006 and 

is documented in ‘‘Summer Flounder 

Assessment and Biological Reference 

Point Update for 2006.’’ This update is 

available at http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/ 

nefsc/saw/2006FlukeReview/. 

The Peer Review Panel’s (Panel’s) 

review did not result in any change in 

the current stock status determinations 

of the summer flounder stock. It 

confirmed that overfishing occurred 

throughout the rebuilding period, and 

that F must be substantially lowered for 

2007 through 2009 to allow for 

rebuilding by 2010. The stock continues 

to be considered not overfished, but is 

still just slightly above the biomass 

threshold. Table 1 summarizes and 

compares findings from the Southern 

Demersal Working Group 2006 Update 

and the recent peer reviewed 

assessment and biological reference 

point update. 

TABLE 1. COMPARISON OF THE FINDINGS OF THE SOUTHERN DEMERSAL WORKING GROUP 2006 UPDATE) AND THE PEER

REVIEWED SUMMER FLOUNDER ASSESSMENT AND BIOLOGICAL REFERENCE POINT UPDATE) 

Factor 2006 Assessment (June 2006) Update (September 2006) 

Fmax 0.276 0.280 

Frebuild 0.099 0.15 

F2005 0.528 0.407 

Overfishing Yes Yes 

R 33.11 million fish (median) 37 million fish (mean) 

Bmsyproxy TSB=204 million lb (92,645 mt) TSB (age 1 + fish) = 215 million lb (97,430 mt) 

SSB=197 million lb (89,411 mt)* 

Biomass threshold 1⁄2TSB=102 million lb (46,323 mt) 1⁄2SSB=98.5 million lb (44,706 mt) 

SSB2005 67 million lb (30,600 mt) 105 million lb (47,498 mt) 

TSB2005 105 million lb (47,800 mt) (age 0+ fish) 113 million lb (51,317 mt) (age 1+ fish) 

Overfished No (52% of Bmsy) No (53% of Bmsy) 

MSY 42 million lb (19,072 mt) 47 million lb (21,444 mt) 

* Panel suggested use of SSB as Bmsy proxy in the future, but provided TSB information for comparison. 

The Panel recommended several 

adjustments in the assessment. The 

most important of these are that the 

stock condition be assessed using SSB 

rather than TSB, and several changes in 

how the weight of fish not yet Age 1 is 

used in the stock assessment model. 

With respect to the Southern Demersal 

Working Group 2006 Update, the 

recently updated analysis (which 

incorporated the Panel 

recommendations) lowered the best 

estimate of Bmsy, raised Fmax slightly, 

raised MSY, and raised the SSB 

estimates and lowered the F estimates 

for 2000–2005. The annual F projected 

to allow for rebuilding to SSBmax by 

2010 (Frebuild) is currently estimated to 

be 0.15. Should an F of 0.15 in the 2007 

fishing year prove to be inconsistent 

with allowing the stock to rebuild by 

2010, based on the results of the annual 

summer flounder stock assessment 

update in June 2007, NMFS would 

adjust the target F for 2008. Similar 

adjustment for the 2009 target F would 

occur based on the June 2008 stock 

assessment update, if necessary. Fishing 

at F=0.15 starting in 2007 is also 

anticipated to rebuild the stock to 

within 1 percent of the Bmsy proxy 

currently in the FMP (a TSB of 204 

million lb (92,645 mt)) by 2010. The 

Panel acknowledged the retrospective 

pattern of F underestimation (by 34 

percent), biomass overestimation (by 12 

percent), and recruitment 

overestimation (by 4 percent). The Panel 

made no recommendation on how to 

adjust the analysis for this pattern, but 

noted that it should be taken into 

account when setting management 

targets. 

At the October 10–12, 2006, Council 

meeting, following a presentation of the 

Panel’s findings, the Council voted to 

include a provision to amend the 

summer flounder biomass target, based 

on the updated, best available scientific 

information, in Amendment 14 to the 

FMP, which is currently under Council 

development. 

Projections indicate that fishing at a 

constant Fmax level of 0.28 would result 

in not achieving the biomass target until 

after 2022. As indicated above, 

commensurate with the objectives of the 

FMP, reduced TALs will be needed for 

2007 through 2009 to achieve the 

biomass target by the end of the 10-year 

rebuilding period for summer flounder. 

The best available scientific information 

indicates that a TAL of 14.156 million 

lb (6,421 mt) is expected to have at least 

a 50–percent probability of achieving an 

F of 0.15 in 2007, if the TAL and 

assumed discard level in 2006 are not 

exceeded. It also will also ensure, with 

a much greater than 50–percent 


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probability of success, that Fmax will not 

be exceeded. The setting of an annual 

TAL greater than this amount would be 

contrary to the rebuilding requirements 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and 

objectives of the FMP. 

In consideration of the Panel’s 

recommendation to take the 

retrospective pattern of F 

underestimation into account when 

setting management targets, and the 

requirement to rebuild the stock by the 

end of 2009, NMFS proposes a TAL that 

is associated with a 75–percent 

probability of achieving the F that is 

projected to allow the stock to rebuild 

to an SSB of 197 million lb (89,411 mt) 

and further assure to an even greater 

extent that Fmax will not be exceeded. 

The best available scientific information 

indicates that a TAL of 12.983 million 

lb (5,889 mt) is expected to have at least 

a 75–percent probability of achieving an 

F of 0.15 in 2007, if the TAL and 

assumed discard level in 2006 are not 

exceeded, and is expected to allow for 

rebuilding of the stock to the target 

biomass by the end of 2009. 

For these reasons, NMFS proposes a 

summer flounder TAL of 12.983 million 

lb (5,889 mt) for 2007. This TAL would 

represent a 45–percent decrease for 

2007 from the 2006 TAL of 23.59 

million lb (10,700 mt). The initial TAL 

would be allocated 60 percent 

(7,789,800 lb (3,533 mt)) to the 

commercial sector and 40 percent 

(5,193,200 lb (2,356 mt)) to the 

recreational sector, as specified in the 

FMP. For 2007, the Council and Board 

agreed to set aside 3 percent of the 

summer flounder TAL for research 

activities. After deducting the RSA 

(389,490 lb (177 mt)) from the TAL 

proportionally for the commercial and 

recreational sectors, as specified in the 

FMP, i.e., 60 percent and 40 percent, 

respectively, the commercial quota 

would be 7,556,106 lb (3,427 mt) and 

the recreational harvest limit would be 

5,037,404 lb (2,285 mt). The commercial 

quota then would be allocated to the 

coastal states based upon percentage 

shares specified in the FMP. 

In addition, the Commission is 

expected to maintain the voluntary 

measures currently in place to reduce 

regulatory discards that occur as a result 

of landing limits established by the 

states. The Commission established a 

system whereby 15 percent of each 

state’s quota would be voluntarily set 

aside each year to enable vessels to land 

an incidental catch allowance after the 

directed fishery has been closed. The 

intent of the incidental catch set-aside is 

to reduce discards by allowing 

fishermen to land summer flounder 

caught incidentally in other fisheries 

during the year, while also ensuring that 

the state’s overall quota is not exceeded. 

These Commission set-asides are not 

included in these proposed 

specifications because these measures 

are not authorized by the FMP and 

NMFS does not have authority to 

implement them. 

Table 2 presents the proposed 

allocations by state, with and without 

the commercial portion of the RSA 

deduction. These state quota allocations 

are preliminary and are subject to 

reductions if there are overages of states 

quotas carried over from a previous 

fishing year (using the landings 

information and procedures described 

earlier). Any commercial quota 

adjustments to account for overages will 

be included in the final rule 

implementing these specifications. 

TABLE 2. 2007 PROPOSED INITIAL SUMMER FLOUNDER STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTAS. 

State Percent Share 

Commercial Quota Commercial Quota less RSA1

lb kg2 lb kg2

ME 0.04756 3,705 1,681 3,594 1,630 

NH 0.00046 36 16 35 16 

MA 6.82046 531,300 240,998 515,361 233,768 

RI 15.68298 1,221,673 554,151 1,185,023 537,526 

CT 2.25708 175,822 79,753 170,547 77,360 

NY 7.64699 595,685 270,203 577,815 262,097 

NJ 16.72499 1,302,843 590,970 1,263,758 573,241 

DE 0.01779 1,386 629 1,344 610 

MD 2.03910 158,842 72,051 154,077 69,889 

VA 21.31676 1,660,533 753,218 1,610,717 730,621 

NC 27.44584 2,137,976 969,786 2,073,837 940,692 

TOTAL3 100.00001 7,789,801 3,553,456 7,556,108 3,427,450 

1 Preliminary Research Set-Aside: 3 percent of the commercial quota, i.e., 233,694 lb (106 mt). 2 Kilograms are as converted from pounds and do not sum to the converted total due to rounding. 3 Rounding of quotas results in totals exceeding 100 percent. 

Scup 

For scup, the stock is considered 

overfished when the 3-year average of 

scup SSB is less than the biomass 

threshold (2.77 kg/tow; the maximum 

Center spring survey 3-year average of 

SSB). Scup was last formally assessed in 

June 2002 at the 35th Northeast Regional 

Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW). At 

that time, SARC 35 indicated that the 

species was no longer overfished, but 

that stock status with respect to 

overfishing could not be evaluated. An 

anomalously large spring SSB index 

value for 2002 resulted in the 3-year 

SSB average exceeding the biomass 

threshold for 2001 through 2003. 

However, more recent information 


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indicates that the scup SSB has 

decreased, and the 3-year SSB average 

values for 2004 (0.69 kg/tow) and 2005 

(1.32 kg/tow) were under one-quarter 

and one-half of the SSB threshold, 

respectively. Therefore, the stock is 

considered overfished. 

The proposed scup specifications for 

2007 are based on an exploitation rate 

(21 percent) in the rebuilding schedule 

that was approved when scup was 

added to the FMP in 1996, prior to 

passage of the Sustainable Fisheries Act 

(SFA). Subsequently, to comply with 

the SFA amendments to the MagnusonStevens Act, the Council prepared 

Amendment 12 to the FMP, which 

proposed to maintain the existing 

rebuilding schedule for scup established 

by Amendment 8 to the FMP. On April 

28, 1999, NMFS disapproved the 

proposed rebuilding plan for scup 

because the rebuilding schedule did not 

appear to be sufficiently risk-averse. 

Later, however, NMFS advised the 

Council that use of the exploitation rate 

as a proxy for F would be acceptable 

and sufficiently risk-averse. NMFS 

considers the risks associated with the 

disapproved rebuilding plan as not 

applicable to the proposed 

specifications because they apply only 

for 1 fishing year and will be reviewed, 

and modified as appropriate, by the 

Council and NMFS annually. 

Furthermore, setting the scup 

specifications using an exploitation rate 

of 21 percent is a more risk-averse 

approach to managing the resource than 

not setting any specifications until the 

Council submits, and NMFS approves, a 

revised rebuilding plan that complies 

with all Magnuson-Stevens Act 

requirements. The Council is currently 

addressing this deficiency through 

Amendment 14 to the FMP, which is 

under development. 

Given the uncertainty associated with 

the spring survey, the Council and 

Board agreed with the Scup Monitoring 

Committee recommendation to set a 

TAC and TAL for 1 year only. A 

recommendation on the TAC for 2007 is 

complicated by the lack of information 

on discards and mortality estimates for 

fully recruited fish. In recent years, 

Council staff has used the 3-year SSB 

index average, the relative exploitation 

index (based on total landings and the 

spring survey SSB index), and 

assumptions about F to develop a TAL 

recommendation. That approach would 

indicate that a TAL of 31.12 million lb 

(14,116 mt; nearly double that for 2006) 

would achieve the target exploitation 

rate of 21 percent in 2007. Council staff 

cautioned against use of the SSB index 

to derive a TAC for 2007, given the 

current overfished status for scup, poor 

2004 and 2005 year classes, and the 

uncertainty associated with the survey 

indices, and instead suggested a TAL of 

12 million lb (5,443 mt). This value, 

which is 26–percent lower than the 

2006 TAL, falls within the range of 

yields expected at about 1⁄2Bmsy (11–16.5 

million lb (4,990–7,484 mt)) based on 

the long-term potential catch, and 

would constrain harvest to the level of 

actual landings in 2005. The Scup 

Monitoring Committee agreed with the 

Council staff recommendation. 

Estimated discards of 1.97 million lb 

(894 mt) were added to the TAL to 

derive a TAC of 17.97 million lb (8,151 

mt). 

Reasoning that the scup winter trip 

limits have been effective in reducing 

scup discards and that the commercial 

fishery has not met its quota in the last 

few years, and concerned about 

potential shift in effort from summer 

flounder to scup, the Council and Board 

rejected the Monitoring Committee 

recommendation and instead 

recommended a TAL of 16 million lb 

(7,258 mt), an amount at the high end 

of the range of yields expected at 1⁄2Bmsy, 

and representing a less than 2–percent 

decrease from 2006, with 3 percent of 

the TAL set aside for research. 

NMFS is concerned about 

implementing the scup TAL 

recommended by the Council and Board 

for the reasons identified by the Scup 

Monitoring Committee and because the 

spring survey index values have fallen 

below the biomass threshold, upon 

which long-term potential catch 

projections are based. Following 

NMFS’s notification to the Council in 

August 2005 that the scup stock had 

been designated as overfished, the 

Council initiated development of 

Amendment 14 to implement a plan to 

rebuild the scup fishery. Although the 

amendment is not scheduled to be 

effective until 2007 (affecting TAL 

specification for 2008 and beyond), the 

setting of a more conservative 2007 TAL 

would contribute to the rebuilding 

efforts for this overfished stock. 

For these reasons, NMFS proposes to 

implement a scup TAL of 12 million lb 

(5,443 mt) for 2007. This TAL would 

represent a 26–percent decrease for 

2007 from the 2006 TAL of 16.27 

million lb (7,380 mt). The FMP specifies 

that the TAC associated with a given 

exploitation rate be allocated 78 percent 

to the commercial sector and 22 percent 

to the recreational sector. Scup discard 

estimates are deducted from both 

sectors’ TACs to establish TALs for each 

sector, i.e., TAC minus discards equals 

TAL. The commercial TAC, discards, 

and TAL (commercial quota) are then 

allocated on a percentage basis to three 

quota periods, as specified in the FMP: 

Winter I (January-April)--45.11 percent; 

Summer (May-October)--38.95 percent; 

and Winter II (November-December)-- 

15.94 percent. The commercial TAC 

would be 10,900,000 lb (4,943 mt) and 

the recreational TAC would be 

3,070,000 lb (1,394 mt). After deducting 

estimated discards (1.72 million lb (780 

mt) for the commercial sector and 

250,000 lb (113 mt) for the recreational 

sector), the initial commercial quota 

would be 9,176,600 lb (4,163 mt) and 

the recreational harvest limit would be 

2,823,400 lb (1,281 mt). The Council 

and Board agreed to set aside 3 percent 

of the TAL for research activities. 

Deducting this RSA (360,000 lb (163 

mt)) would result in a commercial quota 

of 8,895,800 lb (4,035 mt) and a 

recreational harvest limit of 2,744,200 lb 

(1,245 mt). 

The proposed specifications would 

maintain the base scup possession 

limits, i.e., 30,000 lb (13,608 mt) for 

Winter I, to be reduced to 1,000 lb (454 

kg) when 80 percent of the quota is 

projected to be reached, and 2,000 lb 

(907 kg) for Winter II), as implemented 

for 2006. 

Table 3 presents the 2007 commercial 

allocation recommended by the Council, 

with and without the preliminary 

280,800–lb (127–mt) RSA deduction. 

These 2007 allocations are preliminary 

and may be subject to downward 

adjustment due to 2005 overages in the 

final rule implementing these 

specifications, based on the procedures 

for calculating overages described 

earlier. 

TABLE 3. 2007 PROPOSED INITIAL TAC, COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA, AND POSSESSION LIMITS. 

Period Percent TAC in lb (mt) Discards in lb (mt) Commercial Quota 

in lb (mt) 

Commercial Quota 

less RSA in lb (mt) 

Possession Limits 

in lb (kg) 

Winter I 45.11 4,915,456 

(2,230) 

775,892 

(352) 

4,139,564 

(1878) 

4,012,895 

(1820) 

30,0001

(13,608) 


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TABLE 3. 2007 PROPOSED INITIAL TAC, COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA, AND POSSESSION LIMITS.—Continued 

Period Percent TAC in lb (mt) Discards in lb (mt) Commercial Quota 

in lb (mt) 

Commercial Quota 

less RSA in lb (mt) 

Possession Limits 

in lb (kg) 

Summer 38.95 4,244,226 

(1,925) 

669,940 

(304) 

3,574,286 

(1,621) 

3,464,914 

(1,572) 

n/a 

Winter II 15.94 1,736,918 

(788) 

274,168 

(124) 

1,462,750 

(664) 

1,417,991 

(643) 

2,000 

(907) 

Total2 100.00 10,896,600 

(4,943) 

1,720,000 

(780) 

9,176,600 

(4,163) 

8,895,800 

(4,035) 

1The Winter I landing limit would drop to 1,000 lb (454 kg) upon attainment of 80 percent of the seasonal allocation. 

2Totals subject to rounding error. 

n/a-Not applicable 

The final rule to implement 

Framework 3 to the FMP (68 FR 62250, 

November 3, 2003) implemented a 

process, for years in which the full 

Winter I commercial scup quota is not 

harvested, to allow unused quota from 

the Winter I period to be rolled over to 

the quota for the Winter II period. As 

shown in Table 4, the proposed 

specifications would maintain the 

Winter II possession limit-to-rollover 

amount ratios (1,500 lb (680 kg) per 

500,000 lb (227 mt) of unused Winter I 

period quota), as implemented for 2006. 

TABLE 4. POTENTIAL INCREASE IN WINTER II POSSESSION LIMITS BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF SCUP ROLLED OVER FROM

WINTER I TO WINTER II PERIOD. 

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 mt lb kg lb kg 

2,000 907 0–499,999 0–227 0 0 2,000 907 

2,000 907 500,000–999,999 227–454 1,500 680 3,500 1,588 

2,000 907 1,000,000–1,499,999 454–680 3,000 1,361 5,000 2,268 

2,000 907 1,500,000–1,999,999 680–907 4,500 2,041 6,500 2,948 

2,000 907 2,000,000–2,500,000 907–1,134 6,000 2,722 8,000 3,629 

Black Sea Bass 

Amendment 12 to the FMP indicated 

that the black sea bass stock, which was 

determined by SARC 27 to be overfished 

in 1998, could be rebuilt to the target 

biomass within a 10-year period, i.e., by 

2010. The current target exploitation 

rate is based on the current estimate of 

Fmax, or 0.33 (25.6 percent). The 

northern stock of black sea bass was last 

assessed at the 43rd SAW in June 2006. 

The SARC 27 Panel did not consider the 

stock assessment to provide an adequate 

basis to evaluate stock status against the 

biological reference points, but did not 

recommend any other reference points 

to replace them. 

The most recent Center spring survey 

results indicate that the exploitable 

biomass of black sea bass decreased in 

2005. The 2005 biomass index, i.e., the 

3-year average exploitable biomass for 

2004 through 2006, is estimated to be 

0.804 kg/tow, below the threshold 

biomass value of 0.976 kg/tow. Based on 

these results, if the biological reference 

points in the FMP are applied, black sea 

bass once again would be determined to 

be overfished. 

The best available information on 

stock status indicates that stock size has 

increased in recent years. In addition, 

the 2005 year class may be above 

average. If protected, this year class 

should allow for additional stock 

rebuilding in 2006 and beyond. Given 

the lack of stock projections, it is 

difficult to predict what the actual 

biomass will be in 2007. Because the 

estimate of exploitable biomass is based 

on a 3-year average, the actual estimate 

for 2007 will not be derived until the 

spring 2008 survey results are available; 

if it is 0.328 (equal to the average for 

2004–2006), and assuming an 

exploitation rate of 21 percent in 2003, 

the TAL associated with the target 

exploitation rate would be 4.68 million 

lb (2,123 mt). However, if the 2007 

estimate is 0.396 (equal to the average 

for 2003–2005), the TAL associated with 

the target exploitation rate would be 

5.650 million lb (2,563 mt). Given the 

uncertainty in the survey estimates and 

the potential underestimation of the 

2003 exploitation rate (21 percent), the 

Monitoring Committee agreed with the 

Council staff recommendation to set a 1- 

year TAL (for 2007) of 5 million lb 

(2,270 mt), noting that it would 

constrain the 2007 landings to the 2005 

and 2006 levels. 

Reasoning that the TAL should be set 

at a level higher than 2005 landings (to 

avoid discards and highgrading, to 

accommodate a potential shift in effort 

from the summer flounder fishery, and 

assuming that black sea bass availability 

may improve in 2007), but recognizing 

the need for a more conservative TAL 

than implemented for 2006, the Council 

and Board rejected the Monitoring 

Committee recommendation, and 

recommended instead a 6.5–million-lb 

(2,948–mt) TAL for 2007, with 3 percent 

of the TAL set aside for research. This 

TAL would represent a 19–percent 

decrease from 2006. 

NMFS has concerns regarding the 

Council and Board-recommended black 


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sea bass TAL, which is well above the 

range of TALs considered by the 

Monitoring Committee, for the reasons 

specified above. More conservative 

black sea bass TALs will likely need to 

be implemented during the remainder of 

the rebuilding period to allow for 

growth of exploitable biomass (reflected 

by the spring survey index). NMFS has 

encouraged the Council to manage this 

stock with caution and to initiate a 

process to develop replacement stock 

status determination criteria that are 

scientifically supportable and that can 

be relied on to measure the progress of 

rebuilding. 

For the reasons described above, 

NMFS proposes to implement a black 

sea bass TAL of 5 million lb (2,270 mt) 

for 2007. This TAL would represent a 

37.5–percent decrease from the 2006 

TAL of 8 million lb (3,629 mt). The FMP 

specifies that the TAL associated with a 

given exploitation rate be allocated 49 

percent to the commercial sector and 51 

percent to the recreational sector; 

therefore, the initial TAL would be 

allocated 2.45 million lb (1,111 mt) to 

the commercial sector and 2.55 million 

lb (1,157 mt) to the recreational sector. 

The Council and Board also agreed to 

set aside 3 percent of the black sea bass 

TAL for research activities. After 

deducting the RSA (150,000 lb (68 mt)), 

the TAL would be divided into a 

commercial quota commercial quota of 

2,376,500 lb (1,078 mt) and a 

recreational harvest limit of 2,473,500 lb 

(1,122 mt), as specified in the FMP. 

Classification 

These proposed specifications are 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

An IRFA was prepared, as required by 

section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (RFA). The IRFA describes the 

economic impact these proposed 

specifications, 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 in the preamble to this 

proposed rule. A copy of this analysis 

is available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). A summary of the 

economic analysis follows. 

The economic analysis assessed the 

impacts of the various management 

alternatives. The no action alternative is 

defined as follows: (1) No proposed 

specifications for the 2007 summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass 

fisheries would be published; (2) the 

indefinite management measures 

(minimum mesh sizes, minimum sizes, 

possession limits, permit and reporting 

requirements, etc.) would remain 

unchanged; (3) there would be no quota 

set-aside allocated to research in 2007; 

(4) the existing gear restrictive areas 

would remain in place for 2007; and (5) 

there would be no specific cap on the 

allowable annual landings in these 

fisheries (i.e., there would be no quotas). 

Implementation of the no action 

alternative would be inconsistent with 

the goals and objectives of the FMP, its 

implementing regulations, and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. In addition, the 

no action alternative would 

substantially complicate the approved 

management program for these fisheries, 

and would very likely result in 

overfishing of the resources. Therefore, 

the no action alternative is not 

considered to be a reasonable alternative 

to the preferred action. 

The Council prepared economic 

analyses for Alternatives 1 through 3. 

Alternative 1 consists of the harvest 

limits proposed by the Council for 

summer flounder, and the Council and 

Board for scup and black sea bass. 

Alternative 2 consists of the most 

restrictive quotas (i.e., lowest landings) 

considered by the Council and the 

Board for all of the species. Alternative 

3 consists of the status quo quotas, 

which were the least restrictive quotas 

(i.e., highest landings) considered by the 

Council and Board for all three species. 

NMFS prepared a supplemental 

economic analysis for Alternatives 4 

through 6. Although NMFS defined 

Alternative 4 as the no action 

alternative, no analysis was undertaken 

for the reasons described above, i.e., 

because it would likely result in 

overfishing of the resources. Alternative 

5 consists of a summer flounder TAL of 

14.156 million lb (6,421 mt, associated 

with a 50–percent probability of not 

exceeding the F target) and the most 

restrictive quotas for scup and black sea 

bass. Alternative 6 consists of a summer 

flounder TAL of 12.983 million lb 

(5,889 mt, associated with a 75–percent 

probability of not exceeding the F target) 

and the most restrictive quotas for scup 

and black sea bass. For clarity, these 

proposed specifications are described in 

Alternative 6. 

Table 5 presents the 2007 initial 

TALs, RSA, commercial quotas adjusted 

for RSA, and preliminary recreational 

harvests for the fisheries under these 

three quota alternatives. 

TABLE 5. COMPARISON, IN LB (MT), OF THE ALTERNATIVES OF QUOTA COMBINATIONS REVIEWED. 

Initial TAL RSA Preliminary Adjusted Commercial Quota1

Preliminary Recreational Harvest Limit 

Quota Alternative 1 (Council’s Preferred) 

Summer Flounder 19.9 million 

(9,026) 

567,0922

(257) 

11.60 million 

(5,261) 

7.73 million 

(3,506) 

Scup 16 million 

(7,257) 

480,000 

(218) 

11.93 million 

(5,411) 

3.59 million 

(1,628) 

Black Sea Bass 6.5 million 

(2,948) 

132,0002

(60) 

3.12 million 

(1,415) 

3.25 million 

(1,474) 

Quota Alternative 2 (Most Restrictive) 

Summer Flounder 5.22 million 

(2,368) 

156,600 

(71) 

3.04 million 

(1,379) 

2.03 million 

(921) 

Scup 12 million 

(5,442) 

360,000 

(163) 

8.9 million 

(4,037) 

2.74 million 

(1,243) 

Black Sea Bass 5 million 

(2,268) 

132,0002

(60) 

2.39 million 

(1,084) 

2.48 million 

(1,125) 


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TABLE 5. COMPARISON, IN LB (MT), OF THE ALTERNATIVES OF QUOTA COMBINATIONS REVIEWED.—Continued 

Initial TAL RSA Preliminary Adjusted Commercial Quota1

Preliminary Recreational Harvest Limit 

Quota Alternative 3 (Status Quo-Least Restrictive) 

Summer Flounder 23.59 million 

(10,700) 

567,0622

(257) 

13.81 million 

(6,264) 

9.21 million 

(4,178) 

Scup 16.27 million 

(7,380) 

488,100 

(221) 

12.13 million 

(5,502) 

3.65 million 

(1,656) 

Black Sea Bass 8 million 

(3,629) 

132,0002

(60) 

3.86 million 

(1,751) 

4.01 million 

(1,819) 

Quota Alternative 4 (No Action - not analyzed) 

Quota Alternative 5 (NMFS analysis) 

Summer Flounder 14.156 million 

(6,421) 

424,680 

(193) 

8.24 million 

(3,738) 

5.49 million 

(2,490) 

Scup 12 million 

(5,443) 

360,000 

(163) 

8.9 million 

(4,037) 

2.74 million 

(1,243) 

Black Sea Bass 5 million 

(2,268) 

150,000 

(68) 

2.38 million 

(1,078) 

2.47 million 

(1,122) 

Quota Alternative 6 (NMFS analysis - Proposed Action) 

Summer Flounder 12.983 

(5,889) 

389,490 

(177) 

7.56 million 

(3,429) 

5.04 million 

(2,286) 

Scup 12 million 

(5,443) 

360,000 

(163) 

8.9 million 

( ) 

2.74 million 

(1,243) 

Black Sea Bass 5 million 

(2,268) 

150,000 

(68) 

2.38 million 

(1,078) 

2.47 million 

(1,122) 

1 Note that preliminary quotas are provisional and may change to account for overages of the 2006 quotas. 2 Actual RSA amount analyzed by Council staff (rather than 3 percent of TAL) 3 Metric tons are as converted from pounds and are subject to rounding error 

Table 6 presents the percent change 

associated with each of these 

commercial quota alternatives (adjusted 

for RSA) compared to the final adjusted 

quotas for 2006. 

TABLE 6. PERCENT CHANGE ASSOCIATED WITH 2007 ADJUSTED COMMERCIAL QUOTA ALTERNATIVES COMPARED TO 2006 

COMMERCIAL ADJUSTED QUOTAS. 

Total Changes Including Overages and RSA 

Quota Alternative 1 

(Council Preferred) 

Quota Alternative 2 

(Most Restrictive) 

Quota Alternative 3*

(Least Restrictive) Quota Alternative 5 Quota Alternative 6 

Summer Flounder 

Aggregate Change -16% -78% + less than 1% -41% -46% 

Scup 

Aggregate Change no change -25% + less than 2% -25% -25% 

Black Sea Bass 

Aggregate Change -19% -38% + less than 1% -38% -38% 

*

Denotes status quo management measures. 

All vessels that would be impacted by 

this proposed rulemaking are 

considered to be small entities; 

therefore, there would be no 

disproportionate impacts between large 

and small entities. 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 summer 

flounder, scup, or black sea bass, as well 

as owners of vessels that fish for any of 


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these species in state waters. The 

Council estimates that the proposed 

2007 quotas could affect 2,242 vessels 

that held a Federal summer flounder, 

scup, and/or black sea bass permit in 

2005. However, the more immediate 

impact of this rule will likely be felt by 

the 906 vessels that actively participated 

in these fisheries (i.e., landed these 

species) in 2005. 

The Council estimated the total 

revenues derived from all species 

landed by each vessel during calendar 

year 2005 to determine a vessel’s 

dependence and revenue derived from a 

particular species. This estimate 

provided the base from which to 

compare the effects of the proposed 

quota changes from 2006 to 2007. 

The analysis of the harvest limits in 

Alternative 1 (the Council’s preferred 

alternative) indicated that these harvest 

levels would result in revenue losses of 

less than 5 percent for 34 vessels and 

greater than or equal to 5 percent for 859 

vessels. More specifically, vessels are 

projected to incur revenue reductions as 

follows: No change, 13 vessels; 5–9 

percent, 104 vessels; 10–19 percent, 755 

vessels; 20 percent or greater, 0 vessels. 

Most commercial vessels showing 

revenue reduction of greater than 5 

percent are concentrated in MA, RI, NY, 

NJ, and NC. The Council also examined 

the level of ex-vessel revenues for the 

impacted vessel to assess further 

impacts. While the analysis presented 

above indicates that in relative terms a 

large number of vessels (859) are likely 

to experience revenue reductions of 

more than 5 percent, dealer data show 

that a large proportion of those vessels 

(296 vessels, or 34 percent) had small 

gross sales (less than $1,000), thus 

indicating that the dependence on 

fishing is likely very small. 

The Council also analyzed changes in 

total gross revenue that would occur as 

a result of the quota alternatives. 

Alternative 1 would decrease total 

summer flounder and black sea bass 

revenues by approximately $3.72 

million and $1.80 million, respectively, 

relative to expected revenues earned 

from the 2006 quotas. No changes in 

scup revenues are expected in 2007 

relative to 2006 since the proposed scup 

quota under Alternative 1 is identical to 

quota in place in 2006. 

The overall reduction in ex-vessel 

gross revenue associated with the 

potential changes in quotas in 2007 

versus 2006 is approximately $5.52 

million (in 2005 dollars) under 

Alternative 1. Assuming that the 

decrease in total ex-vessel gross revenue 

associated with the proposed rule for 

each fishery is distributed equally 

among the vessels that landed those 

species in 2005 (the last full year of data 

availability), the average decrease in 

gross revenue per vessel associated with 

the preferred quota would be $4,960 for 

summer flounder and $3,197 for black 

sea bass. The total average gross revenue 

reduction for vessels that land both 

summer flounder and black sea bass 

would then be $8,157. No revenue 

reductions are expected for scup. The 

number of vessels landing summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass in 

2005 was 750, 439, and 563, 

respectively. 

The predicted changes in ex-vessel 

gross revenues associated with the 

potential changes in quotas in 2007 

versus 2006 assumed static 2005 prices 

(summer flounder--$1.70/lb; scup-- 

$0.75/lb; and black sea bass--$2.54/lb). 

However, if prices for these species 

change as a consequence of changes in 

landings, then the associated revenue 

changes could be different than those 

estimated above, and could mitigate 

some of the revenue reductions 

associated with lower quantities of 

quota available under this alternative. 

The analysis of the harvest limits of 

Alternative 2 (i.e., the most restrictive 

harvest limits) indicated that all 906 

vessels would incur revenue losses 

equal to or greater than 5 percent. More 

specifically, vessels are projected to 

incur revenue reductions as follows: 5–

9 percent, 0 vessels; 10–19 percent, 0 

vessels; 20–29 percent, 24 vessels; 30–

39 percent, 180 vessels; 40–49 percent, 

31 vessels; and greater or equal to 50 

percent, 671 vessels. The majority of the 

revenue losses of 50 percent or higher 

are attributed to quota reductions 

associated with the summer flounder 

fishery. Further examination shows that 

311 of the impacted vessels (34 percent) 

had gross sales of $1,000 or less and 491 

of the impacted vessels (54 percent) had 

gross sales of $10,000 or less, thus likely 

indicating that the dependence on these 

fisheries for some of these vessels is 

very small. As in Alternative 1, most 

commercial vessels showing revenue 

reduction are concentrated in MA, RI, 

NY, NJ, and NC. 

Alternative 2 was estimated to 

decrease total summer flounder, scup, 

and black sea bass revenues by 

approximately $18.28 million, $2.27 

million and $3.64 million respectively, 

relative to expected revenues earned 

from the 2006 quotas. The overall 

reduction in ex-vessel gross revenue 

associated with the potential changes in 

quotas in 2007 versus 2006 is 

approximately $24.19 million (in 2005 

dollars) under Alternative 2. Assuming 

that the decrease in total ex-vessel gross 

revenue associated with the proposed 

rule for each fishery is distributed 

equally among the vessels that landed 

those species in 2005 (the last full year 

of data availability), the average 

decrease in gross revenue per vessel 

associated with the Alternative 2 quota 

would be $24,373 for summer flounder, 

$5,170 for scup and $6,465 for black sea 

bass. The total average gross revenue 

reduction for vessels that land summer 

flounder, scup and black sea bass would 

then be $36,008. The number of vessels 

landing summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass in 2005 was 750, 439, and 

563, respectively. 

The predicted changes in ex-vessel 

gross revenues associated with the 

potential changes in quotas in 2007 

versus 2006 assumed static 2005 prices 

(summer flounder--$1.70/lb; scup-- 

$0.75/lb; and black sea bass--$2.54/lb). 

However, if prices for these species 

change as a consequence of changes in 

landings, then the associated revenue 

changes could be different than those 

estimated above, and could mitigate 

some of the revenue reductions 

associated with lower quantities of 

quota available under this alternative. 

The analysis of the harvest limits in 

Alternative 3 (i.e., the least restrictive 

harvest limits) indicated that these 

harvest levels would result in revenue 

increases for 488 vessels and losses of 

less than 5 percent for 418 vessels. As 

in the analysis for Alternative 1, it is 

likely that a large proportion of the 

impacted vessels are likely to have 

small gross sales (less than $1,000), thus 

indicating that the dependence on these 

fisheries is likely very small. 

Alternative 3 was estimated to 

increase total summer flounder, scup 

and black sea bass revenues by 

approximately $0.03 million, $0.15 

million and $0.08 million respectively, 

relative to expected revenues earned 

from the 2006 quotas (assuming the 

entire quotas are landed). 

The overall increase in ex-vessel gross 

revenue associated with the potential 

changes in quotas in 2007 versus 2006 

is approximately $0.26 million (in 2005 

dollars) under Alternative 3. Assuming 

that the increase in total ex-vessel gross 

revenue associated with the proposed 

rule for each fishery is distributed 

equally among the vessels that landed 

those species in 2005 (the last full year 

of data availability), the average increase 

in gross revenue per vessel associated 

with the Alternative 3 quota would be 

$40 for summer flounder, $342 for scup 

and $142 for black sea bass. The total 

average gross revenue reduction for 

vessels that land all three species would 

then be $524. The number of vessels 

landing summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass in 2005 was 750, 439, and 

563, respectively. 


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The predicted changes in ex-vessel 

gross revenues associated with the 

potential changes in quotas in 2007 

versus 2006 assumed static 2005 prices 

(summer flounder--$1.70/lb; scup-- 

$0.75/lb; and black sea bass--$2.54/lb). 

However, if prices for these species 

change as a consequence of changes in 

landings, then the associated revenue 

changes could be different than those 

estimated above, and could mitigate 

some of the revenue reductions 

associated with lower quantities of 

quota available under this alternative. 

The NMFS analysis of the harvest 

limits in Alternative 5 indicate that 

these harvest levels would result in 

revenue losses of less than 5 percent for 

548 vessels and greater than or equal to 

5 percent for 369 vessels (with a total of 

917 active vessels for 2005). More 

specifically, vessels are projected to 

incur revenue reductions as follows: 5–

9 percent, 86 vessels; 10–19 percent, 

149 vessels; 20–29 percent, 70 vessels; 

and 30–39 percent, 64 vessels. As in 

Alternative 1, most commercial vessels 

showing revenue reduction are 

concentrated in MA, RI, NY, NJ, and 

NC. 

The overall decrease in gross revenue 

associated with the reduced quotas in 

2007 compared to expected landings 

levels in 2006 is approximately 

$11,414,200 (in 2006 dollars) under 

Alternative 5. By species, Alternative 5 

would decrease total summer flounder, 

scup and black sea bass revenues by 

$9.68 million, $0.51 million and $1.22 

million, respectively. If the decreases 

are assumed to be distributed equally 

among the vessels that landed those 

species in 2005 (the last full year of data 

availability), the average decrease in 

gross revenue per vessel associated with 

Alternative 5 would be $12,810 for 

summer flounder, $1,145 for scup and 

$2,125 for black sea bass. The averages 

are additive so for vessels that land all 

three species the average gross revenue 

reduction is estimated at $16,080. The 

number of vessels landing summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass in 

2005 was determined by NMFS to be 

756, 448, and 574, respectively. 

In the NMFS analysis, a pricequantity equation was used to predict 

how reductions in summer flounder 

landings affect ex-vessel prices. The 

average nominal ex-vessel price per 

pound for summer flounder was 

estimated to be $1.79 in 2006 (assuming 

the entire TAL will be landed) and was 

estimated to increase to $1.91 in 2007 

under Alternative 5 in response to 

reduced landings levels. To compare 

projected summer flounder revenues 

under Alternative 5 to 2006 levels, the 

2007 average ex-vessel price per pound 

($1.91) was converted to its 2006 

inflation adjusted value of $1.86. For 

scup and black sea bass, it was assumed 

that the price-quantity relationships will 

remain constant under Alternative 5. 

Although to account for the effect of 

rising seafood prices, inflation adjusted 

2006 average ex-vessel prices per pound 

were calculated for both scup ($0.77) 

and black sea bass ($2.60) in the 

analysis. 

The NMFS analysis of the harvest 

limits in Alternative 6 indicated that 

these harvest levels would result in 

revenue losses of less than 5 percent for 

542 vessels and greater than or equal to 

5 percent for 375 vessels (with a total of 

917 active vessels for 2005). More 

specifically, vessels are projected to 

incur revenue reductions as follows: 5–

9 percent, 83 vessels; 10–19 percent, 

145 vessels; 20–29 percent, 64 vessels; 

30–39 percent, 52 vessels; and 40–49 

percent, 31 vessels. As in Alternative 1, 

most commercial vessels showing 

revenue reduction are concentrated in 

MA, RI, NY, NJ, and NC. 

The overall decrease in gross revenue 

associated with the reduced quotas in 

2007 compared to expected landings 

levels in 2006 is approximately 

$12,533,500 (in 2006 dollars) under 

Alternative 6. By species, Alternative 6 

would decrease total summer flounder, 

scup and black sea bass revenues by 

$10.8 million, $0.51 million and $1.22 

million, respectively. If the decreases 

are assumed to be distributed equally 

among the vessels that landed those 

species in 2005 (the last full year of data 

availability), the average decrease in 

gross revenue per vessel associated with 

Alternative 6 would be $14,290 for 

summer flounder, $1,145 for scup and 

$2,125 for black sea bass. The averages 

are additive so for vessels that land all 

three species the average gross revenue 

reduction is estimated at $17,560. The 

number of vessels landing summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass in 

2005 was determined by NMFS to be 

756, 448, and 574, respectively. 

In the NMFS analysis, a pricequantity equation was used to predict 

how reductions in summer flounder 

landings affect ex-vessel prices. The 

average nominal ex-vessel price per 

pound for summer flounder was 

estimated to be $1.79 in 2006 (assuming 

the entire TAL will be landed) and was 

estimated to increase to $1.93 in 2007 

under Alternative 6 in response to 

reduced landings levels. To compare 

projected summer flounder revenues 

under Alternative 6 to 2006 levels, the 

2007 average ex-vessel price per pound 

($1.93) was converted to its 2006 

inflation adjusted value of $1.88. For 

scup and black sea bass, it was assumed 

that the price-quantity relationships will 

remain constant under Alternative 6. 

Although to account for the effect of 

rising seafood prices, inflation adjusted 

2006 average ex-vessel prices per pound 

were calculated for both scup ($0.77) 

and black sea bass ($2.60) in the 

analysis. 

For the analysis of the alternative 

recreational harvest limits, the 2007 

recreational harvest limits were 

compared with previous years through 

2005, the most recent year with 

complete recreational data. Landings 

statistics from the last several years 

show that recreational summer flounder 

landings have generally exceeded the 

recreational harvest limits, ranging from 

a 5–percent overage in 1993 to a 122–

percent overage in 2000. In 2003, 

recreational landings were 11.64 million 

lb (5,280 mt), 25 percent above the 

recreational harvest limit of 9.28 million 

lb (4,209 mt). In 2004, recreational 

landings were 10.8 million lb (4,899 

mt), 4 percent below the recreational 

harvest limit of 11.21 million lb (5,085 

mt). In 2005, recreational landings were 

10.02 million lb (4,545 mt), 2 percent 

below the recreational harvest limit of 

11.98 million lb (5,085 mt). 

The Alternative 1 summer flounder 

2007 recreational harvest limit (adjusted 

for RSA) of 7.73 million lb (3,506 mt), 

would be a 17–percent decrease from 

the 2006 recreational harvest limit of 

9.29 million lb (4,214 mt), and would 

represent a 23–percent decrease from 

2005 landings. The 2007 summer 

flounder Alternative 2 recreational 

harvest limit of 2.03 million lb (921 mt) 

would be 78 percent lower than the 

2006 recreational harvest limit, and 

would represent an 80–percent decrease 

from 2005 recreational landings. The 

2007 summer flounder Alternative 3 

(status quo) recreational harvest limit of 

9.21 million lb (4,178 mt) would be a 

less than 1–percent decrease from the 

2006 recreational harvest limit (due to 

the preliminary summer flounder RSA 

for 2005) and would represent an 8–

percent decrease from 2005 recreational 

landings. The 2007 summer flounder 

Alternative 5 recreational harvest limit 

of 5.49 million lb (2,490 mt) would be 

41 percent lower than the 2006 

recreational harvest limit, and would 

represent a 45–percent decrease from 

2005 recreational landings. The 2007 

summer flounder Alternative 6 

recreational harvest limit of 5.04 million 

lb (2,286 mt) would be 46 percent lower 

than the 2006 recreational harvest limit, 

and would represent a 50–percent 

decrease from 2005 recreational 

landings. 

Scup recreational landings declined 

over 89 percent for the period 1991 to 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 208 / Friday, October 27, 2006 / Proposed Rules 62983 

1998, then increased by 517 percent 

from 1998 to 2000. The number of 

fishing trips also declined over 73 

percent from 1991 to 1998, and then 

increased by 127 percent from 1998 to 

2000. The decrease in the recreational 

fishery in the 1990s occurred both with 

and without any recreational harvest 

limits, and it is perhaps a result of the 

stock being over-exploited and at a low 

biomass level during that period. In 

addition, it is possible that party/charter 

boats may have targeted other species 

that were relatively more abundant than 

scup (e.g., striped bass), thus accounting 

for the decrease in the number of fishing 

trips in this fishery in the 1990s. In 

2003, recreational landings were 8.43 

million lb (3,824 mt), 110 percent above 

the recreational harvest limit of 4.01 

million lb (1,819 mt) and the highest for 

the 1991 through 2005 period. In 2004 

and 2005, recreational landings were 

4.41 million lb (2,000 mt) and 2.38 

million lb (1,080 mt), 10 percent above, 

and 40 percent below, respectively, the 

recreational harvest limit of 4.01 million 

lb (1,819 mt) for 2004 and 3.96 million 

lb (1,796 mt) for 2005. 

Under Alternative 1, the scup 

recreational harvest limit for 2007 

would be 3.59 million lb (1,628 mt)), 

13.5 percent below the 2006 recreational 

harvest limit of 4.15 million lb (1,882 

mt), and 51 percent above the 2005 

recreational landings. The scup 

recreational harvest limit of 2.74 million 

lb (1,243 mt) for 2007 under 

Alternatives 2, 5, and 6 would be 34 

percent less than the 2006 recreational 

harvest limit, and 15 above 2005 

recreational landings. The Alternative 3 

scup recreational harvest limit of 3.65 

million lb (1,656 mt) for 2007 would be 

a 12–percent decrease from the 2006 

recreational harvest limit and would 

represent a 53–percent increase over 

2005 recreational landings. 

Black sea bass recreational landings 

have shown a slight upward trend from 

1991 through 1997, and increased 

substantially in 2002 to 4.35 million lb 

(1,973 mt). In 2003, 2004, and 2005, 

recreational landings were 3.29 million 

lb (1,492 mt), 1.67 million lb (757 mt), 

and 1.77 million lb (802 mt), 

respectively. 

Under Alternative 1, the black sea 

bass recreational harvest limit for 2007 

would be 3.25 million lb (1,474 mt)), 19 

percent below the 2006 recreational 

harvest limit of 3.99 million lb (1,810 

mt), and 82 percent above the 2005 

recreational landings. The black sea bass 

recreational harvest limit of 2.48 million 

lb (1,125 mt) for 2007 under 

Alternatives 2, 5, and 6 would be 38 

percent less than the 2006 recreational 

harvest limit, and 40 percent above 2005 

recreational landings. The Alternative 3 

black sea bass recreational harvest limit 

of 4.01 million lb (1,819 mt) for 2007 

would be a less than 1–percent increase 

from the 2006 recreational harvest limit 

and would represent a 127–percent 

increase over 2005 recreational 

landings. 

If Alternative 1, 2, 5, or 6 is 

implemented, more restrictive summer 

flounder management measures (i.e., 

lower possession limits, larger 

minimum size limits, and/or shorter 

open seasons) may be required to 

prevent anglers from exceeding the 2007 

recreational harvest limit. If 2007 scup 

and black sea bass landings are similar 

to those for 2006, more restrictive limits 

(i.e., lower possession limits, greater 

minimum size limits, and/or shorter 

seasons) may not be necessary to 

prevent anglers from exceeding this 

recreational harvest limit under any of 

the alternatives. 

While it is likely that proposed 

management measures under 

Alternative 6 would restrict the 

recreational fishery for 2007, and that 

these measures may cause some 

decrease in recreational satisfaction, 

there is neither behavioral or demand 

data available to estimate how sensitive 

party/charter boat anglers might be to 

proposed fishing regulations. Currently, 

the market demand for this sector is 

relatively stable. Summer flounder 

recreational trips averaged 5.1 million 

for the 1991 to 2005 period, ranging 

from 3.8 million in 1992 to 6.1 million 

in 2001. For 2002 through 2005, 

summer flounder recreational fishing 

trips were estimated at 4.6 million, 5.6 

million, 5.1 million, and 5.8 million per 

year, respectively. Scup recreational 

trips have shown a slight upward trend 

from the early 1990s to the early 2000s, 

ranging from approximately 199,000 

trips in 1997 to 972,000 trips in 2003, 

with an average of approximately 

454,000 trips per year for the 1991 

through 2005 period. For 2004 and 

2005, scup recreational fishing trips 

were estimated at approximately 

568,000 and 458,000, respectively. 

Black sea bass recreational fishing trips 

have averaged approximately 247,000 

per year for the 1991 through 2005 

period, ranging from approximately 

136,000 trips in 1999, to 311,000 trips 

in 1997. In 2005, recreational trips for 

black sea bass numbered approximately 

166,000, the third lowest value in the 

1991 through 2005 time series. 

It is unlikely that these measures 

would result in any substantive 

decreases in the demand for party/ 

charter boat trips. It is likely that party/ 

charter anglers would target other 

species when faced with potential 

reductions in the amount of summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass that 

they are allowed to catch. The Council 

intends to recommend specific 

measures to attain the 2007 summer 

flounder recreational harvest limit in 

December 2006, and will provide 

additional analysis of the measures 

upon submission of its 

recommendations in early 2007. 

In summary, the proposed 

specifications represent substantially 

lower 2007 TALs for summer flounder, 

scup, and black sea bass. The proposed 

specifications were chosen because they 

allow for the maximum level of 

commercial and recreational landings, 

while allowing the NMFS to meet its 

legal requirements under the MagnusonStevens Act and while achieving the 

objectives of the FMP. The summer 

flounder TAL was chosen to allow for 

rebuilding of the stock by 2010 and to 

acknowledge the pattern of fishing 

mortality rate underestimation. Due to 

the level of uncertainty in the scup and 

black sea bass stock assessments and to 

the recent stock indices, the scup and 

black sea bass TALs were selected as 

risk-averse management alternatives 

intended to constrain 2007 landings to 

recent (2005) levels. The proposed 2007 

adjusted commercial quotas for summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass for 

the year 2007 are 46 percent, 34 percent, 

and 38 percent lower, respectively, 

relative to the adjusted quotas for year 

2006. The proposed recreational harvest 

limits (adjusted for RSA) would be 45- 

, 25-, and 38–percent lower than the 

adjusted recreational harvest limits for 

year 2006. 

The proposed commercial scup 

possession limits for Winter I (30,000 lb 

(13.6 mt) per trip, to be reduced to 1,000 

lb (454 kg) upon attainment of 80 

percent of the Winter I quota) and 

Winter II (2,000 lb (907 kg) per trip) and 

the Winter II possession limit-torollover amount ratio were chosen as an 

appropriate balance between the 

economic concerns of the industry (i.e., 

landing enough scup to make the trip 

economically viable) and the need to 

ensure the equitable distribution of the 

quota over each period. The proposed 

Winter I possession limit specifically 

coordinates with the 30,000–lb (13.6–

mt) landing limits per 2-week period 

recommended by the Commission 

(beginning in 2005) to be implemented 

by most states, while satisfying concerns 

about enforcement of possession limits. 

Continuation of these possession limits 

and ratios is not expected to result in 

changes to the economic or social 

aspects of the fishery relative to 2006. 

The commercial portion of the 

summer flounder RSA preliminary 


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62984 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 208 / Friday, October 27, 2006 / Proposed Rules 

allocation in the proposed 

specifications, if made available to the 

commercial fishery, could be worth as 

much as $397,280 dockside, based on a 

2005 ex-vessel price of $1.70/lb (or 

$439,344 based on NMFS’ inflation 

adjusted summer flounder price 

estimate of $1.88/lb). Assuming an 

equal reduction in fishing opportunity 

among all active vessels (i.e., the 750 

vessels that landed summer flounder in 

2005), this could result in a per-vessel 

potential revenue loss of approximately 

$530 (or $581 based on NMFS’ 2006 

summer flounder price and 2005 active 

vessel estimate). Changes in the summer 

flounder recreational harvest limit as a 

result of the RSA are not expected to be 

significant as the deduction of RSA from 

the TAL would result in a relatively 

marginal decrease in the recreational 

harvest limit from 5.2 million lb (2,359 

mt) to 5.0 million lb (2,268 mt). Because 

this is a marginal change, it is unlikely 

that the recreational possession, size, or 

seasonal limits would change as the 

result of the RSA allocation. 

The commercial scup RSA allocation, 

if made available to the commercial 

fishery, could be worth as much as 

$210,600 dockside, based on a 2005 exvessel price of $0.75/lb (or $216,216 

based on NMFS’ inflation adjusted scup 

price estimate of $0.77/lb). Assuming an 

equal reduction in fishing opportunity 

for all active commercial vessels (i.e., 

the 439 vessels that landed scup in 

2005), this could result in a loss of 

potential revenue of approximately $480 

per vessel (or $482 based on NMFS’

2006 scup price and 2005 active vessel 

estimate). The deduction of RSA from 

the TAL results in a relatively marginal 

decrease in the recreational harvest 

limit from 2.64 million lb (1,197 mt) to 

2.56 million lb (1,162 mt). It is unlikely 

that scup recreational possession, size, 

or seasonal limits would change as the 

result of the RSA allocation. 

The commercial portion of the black 

sea bass RSA, if made available to the 

commercial fishery, could be worth as 

much as $186,690 dockside, based on a 

2005 ex-vessel price of $2.54/lb (or 

$191,100 based on NMFS’ inflation 

adjusted scup price estimate of $2.60/ 

lb). Assuming an equal reduction in 

fishing opportunity for all active 

commercial vessels (i.e., the 563 vessels 

that caught black sea bass in 2005), this 

could result in a loss of approximately 

$332 per vessel (or $333 based on 

NMFS’ 2006 black sea bass price and 

2005 active vessel estimate). The 

deduction of RSA from the TAL would 

result in a relatively marginal decrease 

in recreational harvest from black sea 

bass recreational harvest limit from 2.55 

million lb (1,157 mt) to 2.48 million lb 

(1,122 mt). It is unlikely that the black 

sea bass possession, size, or seasonal 

limits would change as the result of this 

RSA allocation. 

Overall, long-term benefits are 

expected as a result of the RSA program. 

The results of these projects will 

provide needed information on highpriority fisheries management issues 

related to Mid-Atlantic fisheries 

management. If the total amount of 

quota set-aside is not awarded for any 

of the three fisheries, the unused setaside amount will be restored to the 

appropriate fishery’s TAL. It should also 

be noted that fish harvested under the 

RSAs would be sold, and the profits 

would be used to offset the costs of 

research. As such, total gross revenue to 

the industry would not decrease if the 

RSAs are utilized. 

There are no new reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements contained 

in any of the alternatives considered for 

this action. 

Dated: October 23, 2006. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

RegulatoryPrograms, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 06–8932 Filed 10–24–06; 11:07 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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