Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 87 / Monday, May 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 25709 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 070227048–7091–02; I.D. 

020807C] 

RIN 0648–AU63 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery; Total Allowable Catches for 

Georges Bank Cod, Haddock, and 

Yellowtail Flounder in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area for Fishing Year 

2007 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; specifications. 

SUMMARY: The following Total 

Allowable Catches (TACs) in the United 

States (U.S.)/Canada Management Area 

are implemented for the 2007 fishing 

year (FY): 494 mt of Georges Bank (GB) 

cod, 6,270 mt of GB haddock, and 900 

mt of yellowtail flounder. This action is 

intended to meet the conservation and 

management requirements of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act. 

These TACs may be adjusted during FY 

2007, if NMFS determines that the 

harvest of these stocks in FY 2006 

exceeded the TACs specified for FY 

2006. 

DATES: This rule is effective May 3, 

2007, through April 30, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the 

Transboundary Management Guidance 

Committee’s (TMGC) 2006 Guidance 

Document and copies of the 

Environmental Assessment (EA) of the 

2007 TACs (including the Regulatory 

Impact Review and Final Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (FRFA)) may be 

obtained from NMFS at One Blackburn 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930; telephone 

(978) 281–9315. NMFS prepared a 

summary of the FRFA, which is 

contained in the Classification section 

of this rule. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Tobey Curtis, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9273, fax (978) 

281–9135, e-mail 

Tobey.Curtis@NOAA.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A 

proposed rule for this action was 

published on March 12, 2007, (72 FR 

10967) with public comments accepted 

though April 11, 2006. A detailed 

description of the administrative 

process used to develop the TACs was 

contained in the preamble of the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

For GB cod, the TMGC concluded that 

the most appropriate combined U.S./ 

Canada TAC for FY 2007 is 1,900 mt. 

The U.S. is entitled to 26 percent and 

Canada to 74 percent, resulting in a 

national quota of 494 mt of cod for the 

U.S. and 1,406 mt of cod for Canada. For 

GB haddock, the TMGC concluded that 

the most appropriate combined U.S./ 

Canada TAC for FY 2007 is 19,000 mt. 

The U.S. is entitled to 33 percent and 

Canada to 67 percent, resulting in a 

national quota of 6,270 mt of haddock 

for the U.S. and 12,730 mt of haddock 

for Canada. For GB yellowtail flounder, 

the TMGC concluded that the most 

appropriate combined U.S./Canada TAC 

for FY 2007 is 1,250 mt. The U.S. is 

entitled to 72 percent and Canada to 28 

percent, resulting in a national quota of 

900 mt of yellowtail flounder for the 

U.S. and 350 mt of yellowtail flounder 

for Canada. On November 16, 2006, the 

New England Fishery Management 

Council (Council) approved, consistent 

with the 2006 Guidance Document, the 

following U.S. TACs recommended by 

the TMGC and recommended their 

adoption to NMFS: 494 mt of GB cod, 

6,270 mt of GB haddock, and 900 mt of 

GB yellowtail flounder (Table 1). The 

2007 haddock and yellowtail flounder 

TACs represent a decrease from 2006 

TAC levels, and the 2007 cod TAC 

represents an increase from the 2006 

TAC (Tables 1 and 2). 

TABLE 1: 2007 U.S./CANADA TACS (MT) AND PERCENTAGE SHARES (IN PARENTHESES) 

GB Cod GB Haddock GB Yellowtail 

flounder 

Total Shared TAC 1,900 19,000 1,250 

U.S. TAC 494 (26) 6,270 (33) 900 (72) 

Canada TAC 1,406 (74) 12,730 (67) 350 (28) 

TABLE 2: 2006 U.S./CANADA TACS (MT) AND PERCENTAGE SHARES (IN PARENTHESES) 

GB Cod GB Haddock GB Yellowtail 

flounder 

Total Shared TAC 1,700 22,000 3,000 

U.S. TAC 374 (22) 7,480 (34) 2,070 (69) 

Canada TAC 1,326 (78) 14,520 (66) 930 (31) 

The 2007 TACs are based upon stock 

assessments conducted in July 2006 by 

the Transboundary Resource 

Assessment Committee (TRAC). The 

TACs are consistent with the results of 

the TRAC and the TMGC’s harvest 

strategy. 

The regulations for the U.S./Canada 

Management Understanding, 

implemented by Amendment 13, at 

§ 648.85(a)(2)(ii), state the following: 

‘‘Any overages of the GB cod, haddock, 

or yellowtail flounder TACs that occur 

in a given fishing year will be subtracted 

from the respective TAC in the 

following fishing year.’’ Therefore, 

should an analysis of the catch of the 

shared stocks by U.S. vessels indicate 

that an overage occurred during FY 

2006, the pertinent TAC will be 

adjusted downward in order to be 

consistent with the regulations. 

Although it is very unlikely, it is 

possible that a very large overage could 

result in an adjusted TAC of zero. If an 

adjustment to one of the 2007 TACs for 

cod, haddock, or yellowtail flounder is 

necessary, the public will be notified 

through publication in the Federal 

Register and through a letter to permit 

holders. 

Comments and Responses 

No comments relevant to the 

proposed rule were received by the 

close of business on April 11, 2007. 


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25710 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 87 / Monday, May 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 

Classification 

NMFS has determined that this final 

rule is consistent with the FMP and is 

consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act and other applicable laws. 

This final rule is published pursuant 

to 50 CFR part 648 and has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

NMFS prepared a FRFA, which 

incorporates the IRFA and this final 

rule, and describes the economic impact 

that this action may have on small 

entities. No comments on the economic 

impacts of the TACs were received. 

The specification of hard TACs for the 

U.S./Canada shared stocks of Eastern GB 

cod, Eastern GB haddock, and GB 

yellowtail flounder is necessary in order 

to ensure that the fishing mortality 

levels for these shared stocks are 

achieved in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area (the geographic area 

on GB defined to facilitate management 

of stocks of cod, haddock, and 

yellowtail flounder that are shared with 

Canada). A full description of the 

objectives and legal basis for the TACs 

is contained in the preamble of the 

proposed rule. A summary of the 

analysis follows. A copy of this analysis 

is available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). 

The specification of hard TACs is 

necessary in order to ensure that the 

agreed upon U.S./Canada fishing 

mortality levels for these shared stocks 

of fish are achieved in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area. A description of the 

objectives and legal basis for these TACs 

is contained in the SUMMARY of the 

proposed rule. 

Under the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) size standards for 

small fishing entities ($3.5 million), all 

permitted and participating vessels in 

the groundfish fishery are considered to 

be small entities and, therefore, there 

are no differential impacts between 

large and small entities. Gross sales by 

any one entity (vessel) do not exceed 

this threshold. The maximum number of 

small entities that could be affected by 

the TACs is approximately 1,000 

vessels, i.e., those with limited access 

NE multispecies days-at-sea (DAS) 

permits that have an allocation of 

Category A or B DAS. Realistically, 

however, the number of vessels that 

choose to fish in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area, and that therefore 

would be subject to the associated 

restrictions, including hard TACs, 

would be substantially less. 

From May 2005 through April 2006 

(i.e., FY 2005), 184 individual NE 

multispecies DAS vessels fished in the 

U.S./Canada Management Area. Because 

the regulatory regime in FY 2007 will be 

similar to that in place in FY 2005, it is 

likely that the number of vessels that 

choose to fish in the area during FY 

2007 will be similar to the number of 

vessels that fished in the area during FY 

2005. 

The economic impacts of these TACs 

are difficult to predict due to several 

factors, but are based on the amount of 

catch, as well as the price of the fish. 

Furthermore, the economic impacts are 

difficult to predict due to the relative 

newness of these regulations (May 2004; 

Amendment 13 to the FMP). Therefore, 

there are relatively few historic data, 

and little is known about the specific 

fishing patterns or market impacts that 

may be caused by this hard TAC 

management system. In general, the rate 

at which yellowtail flounder is caught 

in the Eastern and Western U.S./Canada 

Management Area and the rate at which 

cod is caught in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area will determine the length of time 

the Eastern U.S./Canada Area will 

remain open. The length of time the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area is open will 

determine the amount of haddock that 

is caught. During the 2004 and 2005 

fishing years, the TACs were not fully 

utilized, and inseason changes to the 

regulations impacted the fishery. Two of 

the three specified TACs are being 

reduced (haddock and yellowtail 

flounder), and could, under certain 

circumstances, constrain fishing 

opportunity on cod (for which the TAC 

is increasing). 

The amount of GB cod, haddock, and 

yellowtail flounder landed and sold will 

not be equal to the sum of the TACs, but 

will be reduced as a result of discards 

(discards are counted against the hard 

TAC), and may be further reduced by 

limitations on access to stocks that may 

result from the associated rules. 

Reductions to the value of the fish may 

result from fishing derby behavior and 

the potential impact on markets. The 

overall economic impact of the 

proposed 2007 U.S./Canada TACs will 

likely be different from the economic 

impacts of the 2006 TACs due to the 

reduced yellowtail flounder TAC, and 

may result in reduced revenue. 

Although the 2007 cod TAC represents 

an increase from 2006, the 2007 

haddock and yellowtail flounder TACs 

represent decreases from 2006. For 

yellowtail flounder, the decrease is 

substantial. Based on the estimates in 

the EA, revenues from cod caught in the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area may increase 

from 2006 to 2007 by approximately 32 

percent, and revenue from haddock and 

yellowtail flounder in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area may decline by 16 

percent and 57 percent, respectively. 

According to the analysis, the overall 

change in revenue from 2006 to 2007 for 

the 3 species combined could amount to 

a 33–percent decline (or approximately 

$ 3.5 million), although it is difficult to 

predict future fishing patterns, and there 

are factors that may mitigate the decline 

in overall revenue. For example, there 

could be an increase in yellowtail 

flounder price, as well as the potential 

for increased opportunity to harvest 

haddock from the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area. If the larger GB cod TAC results 

in a longer period of time that the 

Eastern U.S./Canada Area is open, and 

if vessels attempt to, and are successful 

in avoidance of cod, the Eastern Area 

may be open for a longer period of time, 

resulting in additional revenue from 

haddock. 

Although unlikely, a downward 

adjustment to the TACs specified for FY 

2007 could occur after the start of the 

fishing year, if it is determined that the 

U.S. catch of one or more of the shared 

stocks during the 2006 fishing year 

exceeded the relevant TACs specified 

for FY 2006. The economic effects of 

this downward adjustment would likely 

result in a short term loss of revenue 

proportional to the magnitude of the 

adjustment. 

Three alternatives were considered for 

FY 2007: The proposed TACs, the status 

quo TACs, and the no action alternative. 

No additional set of TACs are proposed 

because the process involving the 

TMGC and the Council yields only one 

proposed set of TACs. Accordingly, 

NMFS chooses to either accept or reject 

the recommendation of the Council. The 

TACs implemented through this action 

would have a similar economic impact 

as the FY 2006 TACs. Adoption of the 

status quo TACs, however, would not be 

consistent with the FMP because the 

status quo TACs do not represent the 

best available scientific information 

incorporated from the most recent 

TRAC. The status quo TACs are based 

on stock assessments conducted in 

2005, and are therefore outdated and do 

not reflect the most recent status of the 

stocks determined during the 2006 

assessments. Although the no action 

alternative (no TACs) would not 

constrain catch in the U.S./Canada 

Management Area, and therefore would 

likely provide some additional fishing 

opportunity, the no action alternative is 

not a reasonable alternative because it is 

inconsistent with the FMP in both the 

short and long term. On the short term, 

the no action alternative would not 

prevent overfishing, and in the long 

term, the no action alternative would 

not rebuild the stocks and consistently 

attain optimum yield for the fishery. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 87 / Monday, May 7, 2007 / Rules and Regulations 25711 

The FMP requires specification of hard 

TACs in order to limit catch of shared 

stocks to the appropriate level (i.e., 

consistent with the Understanding and 

the FMP). As such, the no action 

alternative would likely provide less 

economic benefits to the industry in the 

long term than the preferred alternative. 

There is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3), to waive the 30–day delay in 

effective date because doing otherwise 

may compromise full and effective 

management of the FMP. If the 30–day 

delay in effectiveness is not waived, the 

hard TACs would not be in effect at the 

beginning of the fishing year (May 1, 

2007). Such a delay in implementation 

could impact the fishery in several 

different ways. 

Implementation of the hard TAC after 

the beginning of the fishing year would 

prevent NMFS from being able to 

prevent the possible overharvest of 

some or all of the stocks managed by a 

hard TAC. Most notably, in the case of 

Eastern GB cod and GB yellowtail 

flounder, because the size of the TACs 

are relatively small, and the possibility 

that the catch rate of cod and yellowtail 

flounder could be high during the 

month of May, it is likely that the TACs 

could be reached and exceeded during 

the 30–day delay in effectiveness 

period. If no TACs are in place, the 

Regional Administrator would be 

unable to take action to stop fishing on 

these stocks. Failure to stop fishing on 

the stocks when the TAC is caught 

would undermine the GB cod and 

yellowtail flounder rebuilding 

schedules of the FMP. Furthermore, any 

resulting TAC overages must be 

deducted from the following year’s 

TAC, which would result in a negative 

economic impact to the fishery for FY 

2007. Due to the fact that the TAC 

specifications originally recommended 

by the TMGC were remanded by the 

Council, there was a delay of over two 

months in the Council’s final 

recommendation to NMFS for the FY 

2007 TACs on November 16, 2006. This 

caused subsequent delays in the TAC 

specification process by NMFS, which 

includes comprehensive environmental 

and socioeconomic analyses, internal 

review, and rule-making, thereby 

resulting in later than normal 

publication of the proposed rule for this 

action. 

The specified TACs do not modify 

any collection of information, reporting, 

or recordkeeping requirements. The 

specified TACs do not duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with any other 

Federal rules. 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity 

compliance guides.’’ The agency shall 

explain the actions a small entity is 

required to take to comply with a rule 

or group of rules. As part of this 

rulemaking process, a letter to permit 

holders that also serves as a small entity 

compliance guide (the guide) was 

prepared. Copies of this final rule are 

available from the Northeast Regional 

Office, and the guide, i.e., permit holder 

letter, will be sent to all holders of 

limited access DAS permits for the NE 

multispecies fishery. The guide and this 

final rule will be posted on the NMFS 

NE Regional Office web site at http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov and will also be 

available upon request. 

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

Dated: May 3, 2007. 

William T. Hogarth, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–2270 Filed 5–3–07; 2:07 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with RULES