[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 115 (Thursday, June 14, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27713-27716]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12780]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 180209147-8509-02]
RIN 0648-BH76


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; 2018-2020 Small-Mesh 
Multispecies Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS issues final 2018 and projected 2019-2020 specifications 
for the small-mesh multispecies fishery, and corrects an error from a 
previous action. The specifications are necessary to establish 
allowable catch limits for each stock within the fishery to control 
overfishing while allowing optimum yield, consistent with the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The intent of this 
action is to inform the public of these specifications for the 2018 
fishing year, projected specifications for 2019-2020, and the 
regulatory correction.

DATES: Effective June 14, 2018, through April 30, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Copies of these specifications, including the Environmental 
Assessment (EA), Regulatory Flexibility Act Analyses, and other 
supporting documents for the action, are available upon request from 
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management 
Council, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, 
Newburyport, MA 01950. These documents are also accessible via the 
internet at www.nefmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Hanson, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The small-mesh multispecies fishery is managed by the New England 
Fishery Management Council within the Northeast Multispecies Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP). The fishery is composed of five stocks of three 
species of hakes: Northern silver hake; southern silver hake; northern 
red hake; southern red hake; and offshore hake. Southern silver hake 
and offshore hake are often grouped together and collectively referred 
to as ``southern whiting.'' Amendment 19 to the FMP (78 FR 20260; April 
4, 2013) established a process and framework for setting catch 
specifications for the small-mesh fishery. The FMP requires the 
specification of an overfishing limit (OFL), acceptable biological 
catch (ABC), annual catch limit (ACL), and total allowable landings 
(TAL) for each stock within the fishery for up to three years at a 
time, based on the most recent stock projections for upcoming years. 
This action implements the Council's recommended small-mesh 
multispecies specifications for the 2018 fishing year, announces 
projected 2019 and 2020 specifications as recommended by the Council, 
and makes a minor regulatory correction.
    The proposed rule for this action published in the Federal Register 
on April 12, 2018 (83 FR 15780), and comments were accepted through 
April 27, 2018. Additional background information regarding the 
development

[[Page 27714]]

of these specifications was provided in the proposed rule (83 FR 15780; 
April 12, 2018) and is not repeated here.

Final Specifications

    This action implements the final 2018 and projected 2019-2020 
small-mesh multispecies specifications as proposed (Table 1). All other 
management measures in the small-mesh multispecies fishery (such as 
possession limits) will remain unchanged. By providing projected quotas 
for 2019 and 2020, NMFS hopes to assist fishery participants in 
planning ahead. The Council will review these specifications annually, 
and NMFS will provide notice prior to each fishing year to announce any 
necessary changes for 2019 and 2020. For more information on the 
Council's recommendations and decision-making process, please see the 
proposed rule (83 FR 15780).

               Table 1--Small-Mesh Multispecies Specifications for Fishing Years 2018-2020, With Percent Change From 2017, in Metric Tons
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                OFL             ABC             ACL       Percent change        TAL       Percent change
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern Silver Hake....................................          58,350          31,030          29,475             +27          26,604             +33
Northern Red Hake.......................................             840             721             685             +45             274            +128
Southern Whiting........................................          31,180          19,395          18,425             -35          14,465             -39
Southern Red Hake.......................................           1,150           1,060           1,007             -38             305             -59
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regulatory Correction

    This action also corrects regulatory text specifying the red hake 
possession limits in the southern small-mesh exemption areas (Southern 
New England and Mid-Atlantic Exemption Areas). In the 2015-2017 
specifications for this fishery (May 28, 2015; 80 FR 30379), we 
implemented a new 3,000-lb (1,361-kg) red hake possession limit for the 
northern exemption areas, but we did not specify that the possession 
limit in the southern areas would remain 5,000 lb (2,268 kg). This 
action revises the regulations to specify the 5,000-lb (2,268-kg) 
possession limit for red hake harvested in the southern small-mesh 
exemption areas, as originally intended by the Council.

Comments and Responses

    The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on April 27, 
2018. We received three comments from the public on this rule. One 
commenter asked how the input of the active fishing community 
contributed to the development of these specifications. These 
specifications were developed through the Council process, which 
involved multiple discussions at public Council meetings (such as 
meetings on June 20, 2017, in Portland, ME; on September 26, 2017, in 
Gloucester, MA; and on December 7, 2017, in Newport, RI) where concerns 
and interests of the active fishing community were considered. Active 
members of the fishing community also sit on the Small-Mesh 
Multispecies (Whiting) Advisory Panel, which makes recommendations on 
management of the fishery to the Council and its Small-Mesh 
Multispecies Committee. The public comment period announced by the 
proposed rule was another opportunity for fishermen to offer 
suggestions and improvements to the specifications. The other two 
comments were not relevant either to this action or to fisheries in 
general and did not warrant a response. No changes to the proposed 
specifications were made as a result of these comments.

Changes From the Proposed Rule

    There are no substantive changes from the proposed rule.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is 
consistent with the Small-Mesh Multispecies FMP, other provisions of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
    This final rule does not duplicate, conflict, or overlap with any 
existing Federal rules.
    This action does not contain a collection of information 
requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in the date of 
effectiveness for this rule, to ensure that the final specifications 
are in place as close as practicable to the start of the 2018 small-
mesh multispecies fishing year, which began on May 1, 2018. This action 
establishes the final specifications (i.e., annual catch limits) for 
the small-mesh multispecies fishery for the 2018 fishing year. A delay 
in effectiveness well beyond the start of the 2018 fishing year would 
be contrary to the public interest, as it could create confusion and 
potential economic harm to the commercial small-mesh multispecies 
industry. Additionally, it could compromise the effectiveness of the 
new specifications in achieving optimal yield and preventing 
overfishing.
    This rule is being issued at the earliest possible date. 
Preparation of the proposed rule was dependent on the submission of the 
EA, in support of the specifications, that is developed by the Council. 
A complete specifications document and accompanying EA was received by 
NMFS in late January 2018. Documentation in support of the Council's 
recommended specifications is required for NMFS to provide the public 
with information from the environmental and economic analyses, as 
required in rulemaking, and to evaluate the consistency of the 
Council's recommendation with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other 
applicable law. The proposed rule published on April 12, 2018, with a 
15-day comment period ending April 27, 2018.
    Although the specifications from 2017 are carried into 2018 until 
the new catch limits are implemented, the Council has recommended 
changes based on the most recent assessment of the four main small-mesh 
multispecies stocks that should be in place as soon as possible. 
Harvest occurring within the first weeks of the fishing year based on 
old catch limits could be detrimental to southern hake stocks, 
including southern red hake, which is experiencing overfishing.
    Furthermore, this action increases the northern silver hake quota 
by 33 percent and increases northern red hake quota by 128 percent, 
providing federally permitted vessels additional harvest opportunity 
for the 2018 fishing year. The timely implementation of these 
specifications will help to ensure that the industry has the 
opportunity to achieve optimal yield in the fishery, and to access the 
increased quotas for the

[[Page 27715]]

northern stocks. It is also important to implement the lower southern 
stock catch limits as soon as possible to avoid the potential for 
overfishing. The commercial whiting industry has been involved in the 
development of these specifications and is anticipating this rule. 
Therefore, there would be no benefit to delaying the implementation of 
these specifications. For these reasons, we find that there is good 
cause to waive the 30-day delay in the date of effectiveness.

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    The final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) included in this 
final rule was prepared consistent with 5 U.S.C. 604(a), and 
incorporates the initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) and a 
summary of analyses completed to support the action. A public copy of 
the environmental assessment/IRFA is available from the Council (see 
ADDRESSES). The preamble to the proposed rule included a detailed 
summary of the analyses contained in the IRFA, and that discussion is 
not repeated here.

A Summary of the Significant Issues Raised by the Public in Response to 
the IRFA, a Summary of the Agency's Assessment of Such Issues, and a 
Statement of Any Changes Made in the Final Rule as a Result of Such 
Comments

    NMFS did not receive any comments in response to the IRFA or 
regulatory flexibility analysis (RFA) process. Refer to the ``Comments 
and Responses'' section of this rule's preamble for more detail on the 
public comments that were received. No changes to the proposed rule 
were required to be made as a result of public comment.

Description and Estimate of Number of Small Entities to Which the Rule 
Would Apply

    This final rule affects small entities engaged in commercial 
fishing operations within the small-mesh multispecies fishery that is a 
subset of the northeast multispecies fishery. For the purposes of the 
RFA analysis, the ownership entities (or firms), not the individual 
vessels, are considered to be the regulated entities. Because of this, 
some vessels with northeast multispecies permits may be considered to 
be part of the same firm because they may have the same owners. In 
terms of RFA, a business primarily engaged in commercial fishing 
activity is classified as a small business if it has combined annual 
gross receipts not in excess of $11 million (NAICS 11411) for all its 
affiliated operations worldwide. To identify these small and large 
firms, vessel ownership data from the permit database were grouped 
according to common owners and sorted by size. The current ownership 
data set used for this analysis is based on calendar year 2016 (the 
most recent complete year available) and contains average gross sales 
associated with those permits for calendar years 2014 through 2016.
    The small-mesh exempted fishery allows vessels to harvest species 
in designated areas using mesh sizes smaller than the minimum mesh size 
required by Regulated Mesh Area (RMA) regulations. To participate in 
the small-mesh multispecies exempted fishery, vessels must possess 
either a limited access multispecies permit (categories A, C, D, E or 
F) or an open access multispecies permit (category K). Limited access 
multispecies permit holders can target small-mesh multispecies with 
different possession limit requirements depending on fishing region and 
mesh size used. Open access, Category K permit holders may fish for 
small-mesh multispecies when participating in an exempted fishing 
program. Therefore, entities holding one or more multispecies permits 
(permit type A, C-F, K) are the entities that have the potential to be 
directly impacted by this action. According to the commercial database, 
there were 853 distinct ownership entities, based on entities' 
participation during the 2014-2016 time-period, that could potentially 
target small-mesh multispecies. This includes entities that could not 
be classified into a business type because they did not earn revenue 
from landing and selling fish in 2014-2016 and thus are considered to 
be small. Of the 853 total firms, 844 are categorized as small business 
entities and nine are categorized as large businesses.
    While 853 commercial entities have the potential to be impacted by 
the proposed action, not all of these entities actively land small-mesh 
multispecies for commercial sale. There are 406 distinct entities that 
commercially sold small-mesh multispecies from 2014-2016 and may be 
directly affected by the proposed action. Of those, 404 are categorized 
as small businesses.

Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 
Requirements

    No additional reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance 
requirements are included in this final rule.

Description of the Steps the Agency Has Taken To Minimize the 
Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities Consistent With the 
Stated Objectives of Applicable Statutes

    Specification of commercial catch limits is constrained by the 
conservation objectives of in the FMP and implemented at 50 CFR part 
648 under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This action implements final 2018 
and projected 2019-2020 commercial catch specifications for the small-
mesh multispecies fishery based on the most recent stock assessment 
update. The Council also considered taking no action, where the same 
catch limits and specifications from 2017 would continue into 2018 with 
no change. Only these two alternatives were considered by the Council. 
The alternative status quo specifications do not address the 
overfishing and overfished designations raised by the 2017 stock 
assessment update, and thus do not meet the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
requirements. The specifications implemented by this final rule 
minimize the economic impacts on small entities to the extent 
practicable while adhering to the conservation requirements of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act. As described in the proposed rule for this 
action, we do not anticipate these specifications to have a significant 
impact on those small entities to which this final rule would apply.

Small Entity Compliance Guide

    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 
small entity compliance guide was prepared and will be sent to all 
holders of Federal permits issued for the small-mesh multispecies 
fishery. In addition, copies of this final rule and guide (i.e., permit 
holder letter) are available from NMFS at the following website: 
www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.


[[Page 27716]]


    Dated: June 11, 2018.
Donna S. Wieting,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended 
as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:

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


0
2. In Sec.  648.86, revise the introductory text of paragraphs of 
(d)(1)(i), (ii), and (iii) and add paragraph (d)(1)(v) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  648.86  NE Multispecies possession restrictions.

* * * * *
    (d) * * *
    (1) * * *
    (i) Vessels possessing on board or using nets of mesh size smaller 
than 2.5 in (6.35 cm). Owners or operators of a vessel may possess and 
land not more than 3,500 lb (1,588 kg) of combined silver hake and 
offshore hake, if either of the following conditions apply:
* * * * *
    (ii) Vessels possessing on board or using nets of mesh size equal 
to or greater than 2.5 in (6.35 cm) but less than 3 in (7.62 cm). An 
owner or operator of a vessel that is not subject to the possession 
limit specified in paragraph (d)(1)(i) of this section may possess and 
land not more than 7,500 lb (3,402 kg) of combined silver hake and 
offshore hake if either of the following conditions apply:
* * * * *
    (iii) Vessels possessing on board or using nets of mesh size equal 
to or greater than 3 in (7.62 cm). An owner or operator of a vessel 
that is not subject to the possession limits specified in paragraphs 
(d)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section may possess and land not more than 
30,000 lb (13,608 kg) of combined silver hake and offshore hake when 
fishing in the GOM or GB Exemption Areas, as described in Sec.  
648.80(a), and not more than 40,000 lb (18,144 kg) of combined silver 
hake and offshore hake when fishing in the SNE or MA Exemption Areas, 
as described in Sec.  648.80(b)(10) and (c)(5), respectively, if both 
of the following conditions apply:
* * * * *
    (v) Possession limits for red hake. Vessels participating in the 
small-mesh multispecies fishery consistent with paragraph (d)(1) of 
this section, may possess and land not more than 3,000 lb (1,361 kg) of 
red hake when fishing in the GOM or GB Exemption areas, as described in 
Sec.  648.80(a), and not more than 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) of red hake when 
fishing in the SNE or MA Exemption Areas, as described in Sec.  
648.80(b)(10) and (c)(5), respectively.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2018-12780 Filed 6-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P