12158 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

conservation benefits and who claim a 

lower rate of lost fish on circle hooks. 

Based on the economic incentives 

discussed above, the input from 

experienced billfish anglers who have 

acquired expertise with circle hooks, 

and existing studies (Prince et al., 2002) 

indicating that hook type (circle hook 

vs. J-hook) is not a significant factor in 

catchability of Atlantic blue marlin, 

NMFS is confident that the concerns of 

anglers regarding the effectiveness of 

circle hooks for catching blue marlin 

and the resistance to using circle hooks 

stemming from preconceived ideas of 

circle hook efficacy and a lack of 

experience with circle hooks will be 

overcome if anglers are given more time 

to become familiar and proficient with 

them through an additional phase-in 

period. NMFS believes that in the longterm, the additional time provided to 

anglers to become more familiar and 

proficient with circle hooks may lead to 

higher levels of compliance with circlehook requirements and increased use of 

circle hooks outside of tournaments 

thereby providing an increased 

conservation benefit for Atlantic billfish 

in the long-term. 

NMFS estimates that there will be few 

or no measurable social or economic 

impacts resulting from the preferred 

alternative. However, it is possible that 

the temporary suspension of billfish 

tournament circle hook requirements 

may provide for a short-term increase in 

angler’s willingness to pay based on the 

perception among many anglers that it 

is easier to catch a billfish with a Jhooks than a circle hook. Nonetheless, 

based in part on recent high levels of 

tournament registrations for 2007 

occurring under circle hook 

requirements, NMFS does not anticipate 

any measurable change in billfish 

tournament participation, increases in 

purchases of fuel or dockage, or other 

shore-side services. Should alternative 2 

result in an increased ecological benefit, 

there could be a long-term gain in 

angler’s willingness to pay if billfish 

stocks recover and interactions with 

billfish increase. 

NMFS does not anticipate that 

alternative 2 would result in additional 

expenditures to comply with the 

proposed regulations. Relative to 

expenditures that can quickly reach into 

the hundreds of thousands of dollars, or 

more, to purchase, equip, maintain, and 

fuel sportfishing vessels, hook 

expenditures are negligible. The FCHMS 

FMP identifies hook prices as ranging 

from $0.50 to $7.50 ($2.70 average) each 

for J-hooks and from $0.30 to $7.00 

($2.24 average) each for circle hooks 

(2006 dollars). Tournament anglers 

likely already possess circle hooks 

which have been required since January 

1, 2007, and which would be required 

upon reinstatement of existing 

requirements on January 1, 2008, under 

the preferred alternative. Further, 

existing regulations allow anglers to use 

J-hooks on artificial lures in 

tournaments and do not require anglers 

to utilize circle hooks outside of 

tournaments; because of this, anglers 

most likely already possess J-hooks, 

should they choose to stop using circle 

hooks in tournaments. Alternative 2 

does not mandate any particular 

terminal tackle, so anglers would be free 

to use any hook type, circle or J, 

available and which they already 

possess, which would further 

minimizing any potential compliance 

costs. 

Alternative 3, would remove Atlantic 

billfish tournament circle hook 

requirements and promote voluntary 

use of circle hooks by tournament 

anglers, and would be expected to have 

minimal impacts on businesses. Minor 

economic impacts would be incurred by 

those tournaments that choose to reprint 

tournament rules for distribution. 

Alternative 3 could result in minor 

short-term increases in angler-consumer 

surplus and/or willingness to pay, as 

anglers may perceive that their shortterm catch rates of Atlantic billfish may 

increase with the use of J-hooks. 

However, alternative 3 would not be 

expected to increase angler consumer 

surplus or willingness to pay in the 

long-term as it would result in an 

increase in post-release hooking 

mortality and thus be less likely to 

contribute to rebuilding of Atlantic 

billfish populations. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 635 

Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Fishing 

vessels, Management. 

Dated: March 9, 2007. 

William T. Hogarth, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

For reasons set out in the preamble, 

50 CFR part 635 is proposed to be 

amended as follows: 

PART 635—ATLANTIC HIGHLY 

MIGRATORY SPECIES 

1. The authority citation for part 635 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.; 16 U.S.C. 

1801 et seq. 

2. In § 635.21, paragraph (e)(2)(iii) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 635.21 Gear operation and deployment 

restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(e)* * * 

(2)* * * 

(iii) After December 31, 2007, persons 

who have been issued or are required to 

be issued a permit under this part and 

who are participating in a 

‘‘tournament’’, as defined in 635.2, that 

bestows points, prizes, or awards for 

Atlantic billfish must deploy only nonoffset circle hooks when using natural 

bait or natural bait/artificial lure 

combinations, and may not deploy a Jhook or an offset circle hook in 

combination with natural bait or a 

natural bait/artificial lure combination. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 07–1216 Filed 3–12–07; 2:43 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 061020273–7054–04; I.D. 

030107B] 

RIN 0648–AT60 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Recreational Management 

Measures for the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 

Fishing Year 2007 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes recreational 

management measures for the 2007 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass fisheries. The implementing 

regulations for these fisheries require 

NMFS to publish recreational measures 

for the upcoming fishing year and to 

provide an opportunity for public 

comment. The intent of these measures 

is to prevent overfishing of the summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass 

resources. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

5 p.m. local time, on March 30, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• E-mail: 

FSBrecreational2007@noaa.gov. Include 

in the subject line the following 

identifier: ‘‘Comments on 2007 Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Recreational Measures.’’

• Federal e-rulemaking portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov 

• Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Northeast 


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Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside 

of the envelope: ‘‘Comments on 2007 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Recreational Measures. 

• Fax: (978) 281–9135 

Copies of supporting documents used 

by the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committees 

and of the Environmental Assessment, 

Regulatory Impact Review, and Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/ 

RIR/IRFA) are available from Daniel T. 

Furlong, Executive Director, MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council, 

Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South 

New Street, Dover, DE 19901–6790. The 

EA/RIR/IRFA is also accessible via the 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael P. Ruccio, Fishery Policy 

Analyst, (978) 281–9104. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass fisheries are managed 

cooperatively by the Atlantic States 

Marine Fisheries Commission 

(Commission) and the Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

in consultation with the New England 

and South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Councils. 

The management units specified in 

the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for 

the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 

Sea Bass Fisheries include summer 

flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in U.S. 

waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the 

southern border of North Carolina 

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°15.3′ N. lat. (the latitude of Cape 

Hatteras Lighthouse, Buxton, NC) 

northward to the U.S./Canada border. 

The FMP and its implementing 

regulations, which are found at 50 CFR 

part 648, subparts A (General 

Provisions), G (summer flounder), H 

(scup), and I (black sea bass), describe 

the process for specifying annual 

recreational measures that apply in the 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The 

states manage these fisheries within 3 

miles of their coasts, under the 

Commission’s plan for summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass. The 

Federal regulations govern vessels 

fishing in the EEZ, as well as vessels 

possessing a Federal fisheries permit, 

regardless of where they fish. 

The FMP established Monitoring 

Committees (Committees) for the three 

fisheries, consisting of representatives 

from the Commission; the Mid-Atlantic, 

New England, and South Atlantic 

Councils; and NMFS. The FMP and its 

implementing regulations require the 

Committees to review scientific and 

other relevant information annually and 

to recommend management measures 

necessary to achieve the recreational 

harvest limits established for the 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass fisheries for the upcoming fishing 

year. The FMP limits these measures to 

minimum fish size, possession limit, 

and fishing season. 

The Council’s Demersal Species 

Committee and the Commission’s 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Management Board (Board) then 

consider the Committees’

recommendations and any public 

comment in making their 

recommendations to the Council and 

the Commission, respectively. The 

Council then reviews the 

recommendations of the Demersal 

Species Committee, makes its own 

recommendations, and forwards them to 

NMFS for review. The Commission 

similarly adopts recommendations for 

the states. NMFS is required to review 

the Council’s recommendations to 

ensure that they are consistent with the 

targets specified for each species in the 

FMP. 

Quota specifications for the 2007 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass fisheries were published on 

December 14, 2006 (71 FR 75134). The 

summer flounder quota specification 

was later increased by emergency rule 

on January 19, 2007 (72 FR 2458), 

consistent with the provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Reauthorization of 2006. The summer 

flounder emergency rule will expire 

after 180 days, on July 18, 2007, unless 

extended by NMFS. NMFS intends to 

undertake notice and comment 

rulemaking in the Federal Register 

before the current emergency rule 

expires to extend the initial rule’s 

measures through the fishing year 

ending December 31, 2007. However, 

should the emergency rule not be 

extended for any reason, the original 

summer flounder quota specification 

would become effective again and 

NMFS would revise the summer 

flounder recreational measures to be 

consistent with the lower recreational 

harvest limit. The quota specification 

contained in the emergency rule has 

been determined to be consistent with 

the 2007 target fishing mortality rate (F) 

for summer flounder. The specifications 

contained in the December 14, 2006, 

rule were determined to be consistent 

with the 2007 target exploitation rates 

for scup and black sea bass. 

Based on the specifications currently 

in place, the 2007 coastwide 

recreational harvest limits are 6,844,800 

lb (3,105 mt) for summer flounder, 

2,744,200 lb (1,245 mt) for scup, and 

2,473,500 lb (1,122 mt) for black sea 

bass. The specification rules did not 

establish recreational measures, since 

final recreational catch data for 2006 

were not available when the Council 

made its recreational harvest limit 

recommendation to NMFS. 

All minimum fish sizes discussed 

hereafter are total length measurements 

of the fish, i.e., the straight-line distance 

from the tip of the snout to the end of 

the tail while the fish is lying on its 

side. For black sea bass, total length 

measurement does not include the 

caudal fin tendril. All possession limits 

discussed below are per person. 

Summer Flounder 

Overall, recreational landings for 2006 

were estimated to have been 11.74 

million lb (5,325 mt). This exceeded, by 

approximately 26 percent, the 2006 

recreational harvest limit of 9.29 million 

lb (4,214 mt). Five individual states are 

projected to have exceeded their 2006 

state harvest limits when their 

allocations are converted to number of 

fish using the average weight of summer 

flounder harvested during 2005 and 

2006. These states are, with their 

respective percent overage, as follows: 

MA (2 percent); RI (25 percent); NY (29 

percent); NJ (9 percent); and VA (41 

percent). 

The 2007 coastwide harvest limit is 

6,844,800 lb (3,105 mt), a 26.4–percent 

decrease from the 2006 harvest limit. 

Assuming the same level of fishing 

effort in 2007, a 41.7–percent reduction 

in landings coastwide would be 

required for summer flounder. The 

Council is recommending conservation 

equivalency, described as follows, that 

would require individual states to 

reduce summer flounder landings (in 

number of fish) to achieve the necessary 

recreational harvest reductions for 2007. 

NMFS implemented Framework 

Adjustment 2 to the FMP (Framework 

Adjustment 2) on July 29, 2001 (66 FR 

36208), which established a process that 

makes conservation equivalency an 

option for the summer flounder 

recreational fishery. Conservation 

equivalency allows each state to 

establish its own recreational 

management measures (possession 

limits, minimum fish size, and fishing 

seasons) to achieve its state harvest 

limit, as long as the combined effect of 

all of the states’ management measures 

achieves the same level of conservation 

as would Federal coastwide measures 

developed to achieve the overall 


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recreational harvest limit, if 

implemented by all of the states. 

The Council and Board recommend 

annually that either state-specific 

recreational measures be developed 

(conservation equivalency) or coastwide 

management measures be implemented 

by all states to ensure that the 

recreational harvest limit will not be 

exceeded. Even when the Council and 

Board recommend conservation 

equivalency, the Council must specify a 

set of coastwide measures that would 

apply if conservation equivalency is not 

approved. If conservation equivalency is 

recommended, and following 

confirmation that the proposed state 

measures would achieve conservation 

equivalency, NMFS may waive the 

permit condition found at § 648.4(b), 

which requires federally permitted 

vessels to comply with the more 

restrictive management measures when 

state and Federal measures differ. 

Federally permitted charter/party 

permit holders and recreational vessels 

fishing for summer flounder in the EEZ 

then would be subject to the 

recreational fishing measures 

implemented by the state in which they 

land summer flounder, rather than the 

coastwide measures. 

In addition, the Council and the 

Board must recommend precautionary 

default measures. The Commission 

would require adoption of the 

precautionary default measures by any 

state that either does not submit a 

summer flounder management proposal 

to the Commission’s Summer Flounder 

Technical Committee, or that submits 

measures that are determined not to 

achieve the required reduction. The 

precautionary default measures are 

defined as the set of measures that 

would achieve the greatest reduction in 

landings required for any state. 

In December 2006, the Council and 

Board voted to recommend conservation 

equivalency to achieve the 2007 

recreational harvest limit. The 

Commission’s conservation equivalency 

guidelines require the states to 

determine and implement appropriate 

state-specific management measures 

(i.e., possession limits, fish size limits, 

and fishing seasons) to achieve statespecific harvest limits. Under this 

approach, each state may implement 

unique management measures 

appropriate to that state, so long as these 

measures are determined by the 

Commission to provide equivalent 

conservation as would Federal 

coastwide measures developed to 

achieve the overall recreational harvest 

limit. According to the conservation 

equivalency procedures established in 

Framework Adjustment 2, each state 

from MA to NC, excluding MD, would 

be required to reduce 2007 landings by 

the percentages shown in Table 1. MD 

may submit more liberal management 

measures, provided that they are 

sufficient to meet the 2007 state harvest 

limit. ME and NH have no recreational 

summer flounder harvest limit and are 

not required to submit management 

measures to the Commission. 

TABLE 1. REQUIRED STATE BY STATE REDUCTIONS IN SUMMER FLOUNDER RECREATIONAL HARVEST LIMITS FOR 2007. 

State ME NH MA RI CT NY NJ DE MD VA NC 

Percent change from 2006 to 2007 — — -35.3 -47.2 -13.7 -48.6 -39.5 -29.3 0.0 -53.0 -8.1 

The Board required that each state 

submit its conservation equivalency 

proposal to the Commission by January 

15, 2007. The Commission’s Summer 

Flounder Technical Committee then 

evaluated the proposals and advised the 

Board of each proposal’s consistency 

with respect to achieving the coastwide 

recreational harvest limit. The 

Commission invited public 

participation in its review process by 

allowing public comment on the state 

proposals at the Technical Committee 

meeting held on January 22, 2007. The 

Board met on January 31, 2007, and 

approved a range of management 

proposals for each state, as well as 

regional and coastwide management 

options designed to attain conservation 

equivalency. Once the states select and 

submit their final summer flounder 

management measures to the 

Commission, the Commission will 

notify NMFS as to which individual 

state, regional, or coastwide proposals 

have been approved or disapproved. 

NMFS retains the final authority either 

to approve or to disapprove using 

conservation equivalency in place of the 

coastwide measures and will publish its 

determination as a final rule in the 

Federal Register to establish the 2007 

recreational measures for these fisheries. 

States that do not submit conservation 

equivalency proposals, or for which 

proposals were disapproved by the 

Commission, will be required by the 

Commission to adopt the precautionary 

default measures. In the case of states 

that are initially assigned precautionary 

default measures, but subsequently 

receive Commission approval of revised 

state measures, NMFS will publish a 

notice in the Federal Register 

announcing a waiver of the permit 

condition at § 648.4(b). 

As described above, for each fishing 

year, NMFS implements either 

coastwide measures or conservation 

equivalent measures at the final rule 

stage. The coastwide measures 

recommended by the Council and Board 

for 2007 are a 19–inch (48.26–cm) 

minimum fish size, a possession limit of 

one fish, and an open season from 

January 1 through December 31. In this 

action, NMFS proposes these coastwide 

measures in the EEZ, as they are 

expected to constrain landings to the 

overall recreational harvest. These 

measures would be waived if 

conservation equivalency is approved. 

The precautionary default measures 

specified by the Council and Board are 

an 18.5–inch (46.99–cm) minimum fish 

size, a possession limit of one fish, and 

an open season of January 1 through 

December 31. These measures are also 

estimated to achieve the 2007 target if 

applied coastwide. 

Scup 

The 2007 scup recreational harvest 

limit is approximately 2.74 million lb 

(1,245 mt), a 34–percent decrease from 

the 2006 recreational harvest limit of 

4.15 million lb (1,882 mt). Recreational 

landings in 2006 were estimated to have 

been 2.8 million lb (1,270 mt). The 2.1–

percent difference in the estimated 2006 

landings and 2007 target is well within 

the percent standard error for scup 

landings estimated from the Marine 

Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey 

(MRFSS). As such, no reduction from 

the 2006 measures would be necessary 

for 2007, as the status quo measures are 

unlikely to result in exceeding the 2007 

target. 

The 2007 scup recreational fishery 

will be managed under separate 

regulations for state and Federal waters; 

the Federal measures would apply to 

party/charter vessels with Federal 

permits and other vessels subject to the 

possession limit that fish in the EEZ. In 

Federal waters, to achieve the 2007 

target, NMFS proposes to maintain the 

status quo coastwide management 

measures of a 10–inch (25.40–cm) 

minimum fish size, a 50–fish possession 


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limit, and open seasons of January 1 

through February 28, and September 18 

through November 30, as recommended 

by the Council. 

As has occurred in the past 5 years, 

the scup fishery in state waters will be 

managed under a regional conservation 

equivalency system developed through 

the Commission. Addendum XI to the 

Interstate FMP (Addendum XI), 

approved by the Board at the January 

2004 Council/Commission meeting, 

requires that the states of Massachusetts 

through New York each develop statespecific management measures to 

constrain their landings to an annual 

harvest level for this region in number 

of fish (approximately 3.1 million fish 

for 2007), through a combination of 

minimum fish size, possession limits, 

and seasonal closures. Because the 

Federal FMP does not contain 

provisions for conservation equivalency, 

and states may adopt their own unique 

measures under Addendum XI, the 

Federal and state recreational scup 

management measures will differ for 

2007. 

At the January 31, 2007, meeting, the 

Board approved a regional management 

proposal for MA through NY that would 

allow a season of at least 150 days. The 

Board retained a minimum fish size of 

10.5 inches (26.7 cm) and a common 

possession limit (25 fish for private 

vessels and shore-based anglers; and 60 

fish for party/charter vessels, dropping 

to 25 fish after a 2–month period) for the 

states of MA through NY. These 

northern states are expected to submit 

their final management measures to the 

Commission by March 1, 2007. New 

Jersey will maintain status quo scup 

recreational management measures of a 

9–inch (22.9–cm) minimum size, a 50–

fish possession limit, and open seasons 

of January 1 through February 28, and 

July 1 through December 31. Due to low 

scup landings in Delaware through 

North Carolina, the Board approved the 

retention of status quo management 

measures for those states as well, i.e., an 

8–inch (20.3–cm) minimum fish size, a 

50–fish possession limit, and no closed 

season. 

Black Sea Bass 

Recreational landings in 2007 were 

estimated to have been 1.91 million lb 

(866 mt)-- 52 percent below the 2006 

target of 3.99 million lb (1,809 mt) and 

23 percent below the 2007 target of 2.47 

million lb (1,122 mt). The 2007 

recreational harvest limit of 2.47 million 

lb (1,122 mt) is a 38–percent decrease 

from the 2006 target. Based on 2006 

landings, no reduction in landings is 

necessary to achieve the 2007 target. 

For Federal waters, the Council and 

Board have approved measures that 

would maintain the 25–fish possession 

limit, the 12–inch (30.48–cm) minimum 

size, and open season of January 1 

through December 31. NMFS proposes 

to maintain these measures, which are 

expected to constrain recreational black 

sea bass landings to the 2007 target. 

Classification 

NMFS has determined that the 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

FMP and preliminarily determined that 

the rule is consistent with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act and 

other applicable laws. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

An IRFA was prepared, as required by 

section 603 of the RFA. The IRFA 

describes the economic impact this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would have 

on small entities. A description of the 

action, why it is being considered, and 

the legal basis for this action are 

contained at the beginning of this 

section of the preamble and in the 

SUMMARY section of the preamble. A 

summary of the analysis follows. A copy 

of the complete IRFA is available from 

the Council (see ADDRESSES). 

This proposed rule does not 

duplicate, overlap, or conflict with other 

Federal rules. 

The proposed action could affect any 

recreational angler who fishes for 

summer flounder, scup, or black sea 

bass in the EEZ or on a party/charter 

vessel issued a Federal permit for 

summer flounder, scup, and/or black 

sea bass. However, the IRFA focuses 

upon the impacts on party/charter 

vessels issued a Federal permit for 

summer flounder, scup, and/or black 

sea bass because these vessels are 

considered small business entities for 

the purposes of the RFA, i.e., businesses 

with gross revenues of up to $3.5 

million. These small entities can be 

specifically identified in the Federal 

vessel permit database and would be 

impacted by the recreational measures, 

regardless of whether they fish in 

Federal or state waters. Although 

individual recreational anglers are likely 

to be impacted, they are not considered 

small entities under the RFA. Also, 

there is no permit requirement to 

participate in these fisheries; thus, it 

would be difficult to quantify any 

impacts on recreational anglers in 

general. 

The Council estimated that the 

proposed measures could affect any of 

the 920 vessels possessing a Federal 

charter/party permit for summer 

flounder, scup, and/or black sea bass in 

2005, the most recent year for which 

complete permit data are available. 

However, only 331 of these vessels 

reported active participation in the 

recreational summer flounder, scup, 

and/or black sea bass fisheries in 2005. 

In the IRFA, the no-action alternative 

(i.e., maintenance of the regulations as 

codified) is defined as implementation 

of the following: (1) for summer 

flounder, coastwide measures of a 17–

inch (43.18–cm) minimum fish size, a 

4–fish possession limit, and no closed 

season, i.e., the current Federal 

regulatory measure that would be 

implemented if conservation 

equivalency is not implemented in the 

final rule; (2) for scup, a 10–inch 

(25.40–cm) minimum fish size, a 50–

fish possession limit, and open seasons 

of January 1 through February 28, and 

September 18 through November 30; 

and (3) for black sea bass, a 12–inch 

(30.48–cm) minimum size, a 25–fish 

possession limit, and an open season of 

January 1 through December 31. 

The no-action alternatives for scup 

and black sea bass are the same (status 

quo) measures being proposed for 2007. 

Landings of these species in 2006 were 

either less than their respective target 

(black sea bass) or within the within the 

average observed percent standard error 

for the estimated landings (scup), and 

the status quo measures are expected to 

constrain landings to the 2007 targets. 

As such, since there is no regulatory 

change being proposed for these two 

species, there is no need of further 

discussion of the economic impacts 

within this section. 

For summer flounder, state-specific 

implications of adopting the no-action 

(coastwide) alternative would result in 

more restrictive measures than 

conservation equivalent regulations in 

place for all Northeast (NE) states in 

2006. In consideration of the 

recreational harvest limits established 

for the 2007 fishing year, taking no 

action in the summer flounder fishery 

would be inconsistent with the goals 

and objectives of the FMP and its 

implementing regulations because the 

no-action alternative would not be 

expected to prevent the 2007 summer 

flounder recreational harvest limits from 

being exceeded. 

Effects of the various management 

measures were analyzed by employing 

quantitative approaches, to the extent 

possible. Where quantitative data were 

not available, the Council conducted 

qualitative analyses. Although NMFS’s 

RFA guidance recommends assessing 

changes in profitability as a result of 

proposed measures, the quantitative 

impacts were instead evaluated using 


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changes in party/charter vessel revenues 

as a proxy for profitability. This is 

because reliable cost data are not 

available for these fisheries. Without 

reliable cost data, profits cannot be 

discriminated from gross revenues. As 

reliable cost data become available, 

impacts to profitability can be more 

accurately forecast. Similarly, changes 

to long-term solvency were not assessed 

due both to the absence of cost data and 

because the recreational management 

measures change annually according to 

the specification-setting process. 

Assessments of potential changes in 

gross revenues for all 18 combinations 

of alternatives proposed in this action 

were conducted for federally permitted 

party/charter vessels in each state in the 

NE region. Management measures 

proposed under the summer flounder 

conservation equivalency alternative 

have yet to be adopted; therefore, 

potential losses under this alternative 

could not be analyzed in conjunction 

with alternatives proposed for scup and 

black sea bass. Since conservation 

equivalency allows each state to tailor 

specific recreational fishing measures to 

the needs of that state, while still 

achieving conservation goals, it is likely 

that the measures developed under this 

alternative, when considered in 

combination with the measures 

proposed for scup and black sea bass, 

would have fewer overall adverse effects 

than any of the other combinations that 

were analyzed. 

Impacts were examined by first 

estimating the number of angler trips 

aboard party/charter vessels in each 

state in 2006 that would have been 

affected by the proposed 2007 

management measures. All 2006 party/ 

charter fishing trips that would have 

been constrained by the proposed 2007 

measures in each state were considered 

to be affected trips. 

There is very little information 

available to estimate empirically how 

sensitive the affected party/charter 

vessel anglers might be to the proposed 

fishing regulations. If the proposed 

measures discourage trip-taking 

behavior among some of the affected 

anglers, economic losses may accrue to 

the party/charter vessel industry in the 

form of reduced access fees. On the 

other hand, if the proposed measures do 

not have a negative impact on the value 

or satisfaction the affected anglers 

derive from their fishing trips, party/ 

charter revenues would remain 

unaffected by this action. In an attempt 

to estimate the potential changes in 

gross revenues to the party/charter 

vessel industry in each state, two 

hypothetical scenarios were considered: 

A 25–percent reduction, and a 50–

percent reduction, in the number of 

fishing trips that are predicted to be 

affected by implementation of the 

management measures in the NE (ME 

through NC) in 2007. 

Total economic losses to party/charter 

vessels were then estimated by 

multiplying the number of potentially 

affected trips in each state in 2007, 

under the two hypothetical scenarios, 

by the estimated average access fee paid 

by party/charter anglers in the NE in 

2006. Finally, total economic losses 

were divided by the number of federally 

permitted party/charter vessels that 

participated in the summer flounder 

fisheries in 2005 in each state 

(according to homeport state in the NE 

database) to obtain an estimate of the 

average projected gross revenue loss per 

party/charter vessel in 2007. 

MRFSS data indicate that anglers took 

36.98 million fishing trips in 2006 in the 

Northeastern U.S., and that party/ 

charter anglers accounted for 5.1 

percent of the angler fishing trips. The 

number of party/charter trips in each 

state ranged from approximately 29,700 

in NH to approximately 510,000 in DE. 

The number of trips that targeted 

summer flounder was identified, as 

appropriate, for each measure, and the 

number of trips that would be impacted 

by the proposed measures was 

estimated. Finally, the revenue impacts 

were estimated by calculating the 

average fee paid by anglers on party/ 

charter vessels in the NE in 2006 

($41.07 per angler), and the revenue 

impacts on individual vessels were 

estimated. The analysis assumed that 

angler effort and catch rates in 2007 will 

be similar to 2006. 

The Council noted that this method is 

likely to result in overestimation of the 

potential revenue losses that would 

result from implementation of the 

proposed coastwide measures in these 

three fisheries for several reasons. First, 

the analysis likely overestimates the 

potential revenue impacts of these 

measures because some anglers would 

continue to take party/charter vessel 

trips, even if the restrictions limit their 

landings. Also, some anglers may 

engage in catch and release fishing and/ 

or target other species. It was not 

possible to estimate the sensitivity of 

anglers to specific management 

measures. Second, the universe of party/ 

charter vessels that participate in the 

fisheries is likely to be even larger than 

presented in these analyses, as party/ 

charter vessels that do not possess a 

Federal summer flounder, scup, or black 

sea bass permit because they fish only 

in state waters are not represented in the 

analyses. Considering the large 

proportion of landings from state waters 

(e.g., more than 81 percent of summer 

flounder landings in 2005), it is 

probable that some party/charter vessels 

fish only in state waters and, thus, do 

not hold Federal permits for these 

fisheries. Third, vessels that hold only 

state permits likely will be fishing under 

different, potentially less restrictive, 

recreational measures for summer 

flounder in state waters, if such program 

is implemented in the final rule. 

Impacts of Summer Flounder 

Alternatives 

The proposed action for the summer 

flounder recreational fishery would 

limit coastwide catch to approximately 

6.84 million lb (3,105 mt) by imposing 

coastwide Federal measures throughout 

the EEZ. As described earlier, upon 

confirmation that the proposed state 

measures would achieve conservation 

equivalency, NMFS may waive the 

permit condition found at § 648.4(b), 

which requires federally permitted 

vessels to comply with the more 

restrictive management measures when 

state and Federal measures differ. 

Federally permitted charter/party 

permit holders and recreational vessels 

fishing for summer flounder in the EEZ 

then would be subject to the 

recreational fishing measures 

implemented by the state in which they 

land summer flounder, rather than the 

coastwide measures. 

The impact of the proposed summer 

flounder conservation equivalency 

alternative (in Summer Flounder 

Alternative 1) among states is likely to 

be similar to the level of landings 

reductions that are required of each 

state. As indicated above, each state 

except MD would be required to reduce 

summer flounder landings in 2007, 

relative to state 2006 landings, by the 

percentages shown in Table 1 of the 

preamble of this proposed rule. If the 

preferred conservation equivalency 

alternative is effective at achieving the 

recreational harvest limit, then it is 

likely to be the only alternative that 

minimizes adverse economic impacts, to 

the extent practicable, yet achieves the 

biological objectives of the FMP. 

Because states have a choice, it is 

expected that the states would adopt 

conservation equivalent measures that 

result in fewer adverse economic 

impacts than the much more restrictive 

precautionary default measures (i.e., 

only one fish measuring at least 18.5 

inches (46.99 cm)). Under the 

precautionary default measures, 

impacted trips are defined as trips taken 

in 2006 that landed at least one summer 

flounder smaller than 18.5 inches (46.99 

cm) or landed more than one summer 

flounder. The analysis concluded that 


rmajette on PROD1PC67 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 50 / Thursday, March 15, 2007 / Proposed Rules 12163 

implementation of precautionary default 

measures could affect 4.06 percent of 

the party/charter vessel trips in the NE, 

including those trips were no summer 

flounder were caught. 

The impacts of the proposed summer 

flounder coastwide alternative (Summer 

Flounder Alternative 2), i.e., a 19–inch 

(48.26–cm) minimum fish size, a onefish possession limit, and no closed 

season, were evaluated using the 

quantitative method described above. 

Impacted trips were defined as 

individual angler trips taken aboard 

party/charter vessels in 2006 that 

landed at least one summer flounder 

smaller than 19 inches (48.26 cm), or 

that landed more than one summer 

flounder. The analysis concluded that 

the measures would affect 4.13 percent 

of the party/charter vessel trips in the 

NE, including those trips where no 

summer flounder were caught. 

Combined Impacts of Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Alternatives 

Since the management measures 

under Summer Flounder Alternative 1 

(i.e., conservation equivalency) have yet 

to be adopted, the effort effects of this 

alternative could not be analyzed in 

conjunction with the alternatives 

proposed for scup and black sea bass. 

The percent of total party/charter boat 

trips in the NE that are estimated to be 

affected by the proposed actions ranges 

from a low of 6.24 percent for the 

combination of measures proposed 

under the summer flounder 

precautionary default, scup alternative 

1, and black sea bass alternative 2, to 

7.30 percent for the measures proposed 

under summer flounder alternative 2 

combined with scup alternative 2 and 

black sea bass alternative 3. 

Regionally, party/charter revenue 

losses in 2007 from $4.392 million to 

$3.753 million in sales, $1.370 million 

to $1.588 million in income, and 

between 37 and 43 jobs if a 25–percent 

reduction in the number of affected trips 

occurs. The estimated losses are 

approximately twice as high if a 50–

percent reduction in affected trips is 

assumed to occur. 

Potential revenue losses in 2007 could 

differ for party/charter vessels that land 

more than one of the regulated species. 

The cumulative maximum gross 

revenue loss per vessel varies by the 

combination of permits held and by 

state. All 18 potential combinations of 

management alternatives for summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass are 

predicted to affect party/charter vessel 

revenues to some extent in all of the 

Northeastern coastal states. Although 

potential losses were estimated for 

party/charter vessels operating out of 

Maine and New Hampshire, these 

results are suppressed for 

confidentiality purposes. Average party/ 

charter losses for federally permitted 

vessels operating in the remaining states 

are estimated to vary across the 18 

combinations of alternatives. For 

example, in New York, average losses 

are predicted to range from $4,834 per 

vessel under the combined effects of 

summer flounder precautionary default 

measures (considered under alternative 

1), scup alternative 1, and black sea bass 

alternative 2 management measures, to 

$6,122 per vessel under the combined 

effects of summer flounder alternative 2, 

scup alternative 2, and black sea bass 

alternative 3 management measures, 

assuming a 25–percent reduction in 

effort, as described above. 

There are no new reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements contained 

in any of the alternatives considered for 

this action. 

Dated: March 9, 2007. 

William T. Hogarth, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed 

to be amended as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

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

2. In § 648.103, paragraph (b) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.103 Minimum fish sizes. 

* * * * * 

(b) Unless otherwise specified 

pursuant to § 648.107, the minimum 

size for summer flounder is 19 inches 

(48.26 cm) TL for all vessels that do not 

qualify for a moratorium permit, and 

charter boats holding a moratorium 

permit if fishing with more than three 

crew members, or party boats holding a 

moratorium permit if fishing with 

passengers for hire or carrying more 

than five crew members. 

* * * * * 

3. In § 648.105, the first sentence of 

paragraph (a) is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.105 Possession restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(a) Unless otherwise specified 

pursuant to § 648.107, no person shall 

possess more than one summer flounder 

in, or harvested from, the EEZ, unless 

that person is the owner or operator of 

a fishing vessel issued a summer 

flounder moratorium permit, or is 

issued a summer flounder dealer permit. 

* * * 

* * * * * 

4. In § 648.107, paragraph 

introductory text (a) and paragraph (b) 

are revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.107 Conservation equivalent 

measures for the summer flounder fishery. 

(a) The Regional Administrator has 

determined that the recreational fishing 

measures proposed to be implemented 

by Massachusetts through North 

Carolina for 2007 are the conservation 

equivalent of the season, minimum fish 

size, and possession limit prescribed in 

§§ 648.102, 648.103, and 648.105(a), 

respectively. This determination is 

based on a recommendation from the 

Summer Flounder Board of the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission. 

* * * * * 

(b) Federally permitted vessels subject 

to the recreational fishing measures of 

this part, and other recreational fishing 

vessels subject to the recreational 

fishing measures of this part and 

registered in states whose fishery 

management measures are not 

determined by the Regional 

Administrator to be the conservation 

equivalent of the season, minimum size, 

and possession limit prescribed in 

§§ 648.102, 648.103(b) and 648.105(a), 

respectively, due to the lack of, or the 

reversal of, a conservation equivalent 

recommendation from the Summer 

Flounder Board of the Atlantic States 

Marine Fisheries Commission, shall be 

subject to the following precautionary 

default measures: Season - January 1 

through December 31; minimum size - 

18.5 inches (46.99 cm); and possession 

limit – one fish. 

[FR Doc. E7–4780 Filed 3–14–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


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