29044 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 121 / Friday, June 22, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

■ 2. In § 622.37, revise paragraphs (a)(5) 

and (b)(1) to read as follows: 

§ 622.37 Size limits. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(5) Mutton snapper—18 inches (45.7 

cm), TL. 

(b) * * * 

(1) Gag—24 inches (61.0 cm), TL. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 622.38, revise paragraph (b)(4) 

to read as follows: 

§ 622.38 Bag and possession limits. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(4) Snappers, combined, excluding 

red, lane, and vermilion snapper—10. In 

addition, within the 10-fish aggregate 

snapper bag limit, no more than 5 fish 

may be mutton snapper. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 622.41, revise the last sentence 

of paragraph (o) to read as follows: 

§ 622.41 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

* * * * * 

(o) * * * The stock ACL for mutton 

snapper, in round weight, is 134,424 lb 

(60,974 kg) for 2018, 139,392 lb (63,227 

kg) for 2019, and 143,694 lb (65,179 kg) 

for 2020 and subsequent fishing years. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–13401 Filed 6–21–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 170630611–8525–02] 

RIN 0648–BH01 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Spiny 

Lobster Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico 

and South Atlantic Regions; 

Regulatory Amendment 4 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS implements 

management measures described in 

Regulatory Amendment 4 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for Spiny Lobster in 

the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and South 

Atlantic (FMP), as prepared and 

submitted by the Gulf and South 

Atlantic Fishery Management Councils 

(Councils). This final rule increases the 

annual catch limit (ACL) for spiny 

lobster based on updated landings 

information and revised scientific 

recommendations. This final rule also 

prohibits the use of traps for 

recreational harvest of spiny lobster in 

the South Atlantic exclusive economic 

zone (EEZ) off Georgia, South Carolina, 

and North Carolina. The purposes of 

this final rule are to ensure catch levels 

for spiny lobster are based on the best 

scientific information available, to 

prevent overfishing, and to minimize 

potential negative effects of traps on 

habitat and protected species 

interactions in the South Atlantic EEZ. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on July 

23, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of 

Regulatory Amendment 4, which 

includes an environmental assessment 

and a regulatory flexibility analysis, and 

a regulatory impact review, may be 

obtained from the Southeast Regional 

Office website at http://

sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_

fisheries/gulf_sa/spiny_lobster/A4_

lobster_acl/a4_lobster_acl_index.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nikhil Mehta, NMFS Southeast Regional 

Office, telephone: 727–824–5305, or 

email: nikhil.mehta@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The spiny 

lobster fishery of the Gulf and the South 

Atlantic is managed under the FMP. The 

FMP was prepared by the Councils and 

implemented through regulations at 50 

CFR part 622 under the authority of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq.). 

On February 2, 2018, NMFS 

published a proposed rule for 

Regulatory Amendment 4 in the Federal 

Register and requested public comment 

(83 FR 4890). Regulatory Amendment 4 

and the proposed rule outline the 

rationale for the actions contained in 

this final rule. A summary of the 

management measures described in 

Regulatory Amendment 4 and 

implemented by this final rule is 

provided below. 

Management Measures Contained in 

This Final Rule 

This final rule modifies the stock ACL 

and annual catch target (ACT) for spiny 

lobster and prohibits the use of traps for 

the recreational harvest of spiny lobster 

in the South Atlantic EEZ. 

Stock ACL and ACT 

This final rule revises the stock ACL 

and ACT based on the new acceptable 

biological catch (ABC) recommendation 

provided by the Councils’ Scientific and 

Statistical Committees (SSCs). This final 

rule sets the ACL equal to the 

recommended ABC of 9.60 million lb 

(4.35 million kg), which is based on the 

mean landings from the years 1991/ 

1992–2015/2016 plus 1.5 standard 

deviations. This final rule sets the ACT 

at 8.64 million lb (3.92 million kg), 

which is 90 percent of the ACL. As 

established in Amendment 10 to the 

FMP (Amendment 10), the optimum 

yield (OY) equals the ACT. NMFS does 

not expect the increase in the ACT and 

ACL to result in negative biological 

effects on the stock because current 

fishing effort is limited by several 

variables. These variables include the 

number of trap tags issued by the state 

of Florida, commercial and recreational 

bag and possession limits in the Gulf 

and South Atlantic EEZ, and the 

duration of the fishing season, which 

varies depending on the area where 

spiny lobsters are harvested. 

Recreational Harvest of Spiny Lobster 

Using Traps in the South Atlantic EEZ 

This final rule prohibits the use of 

traps for recreational harvest of spiny 

lobster in all of the South Atlantic EEZ. 

The Councils are concerned that using 

these traps for recreational harvest may 

become more popular and result in 

potential negative impacts on essential 

fish habitat and an increase in the use 

of vertical lines that may interact with 

protected species, for example, by 

creating entanglement issues, 

continuing to fish after a trap is lost, or 

creating bycatch. 

Measures in Regulatory Amendment 4 

Not Codified Through This Final Rule 

As established in Amendment 10, the 

maximum sustainable yield (MSY) 

proxy and maximum fishing mortality 

threshold (MFMT) are equal to the OFL, 

which was set at 7.9 million lb (3.58 

million kg). Consistent with 

Amendment 10, Regulatory Amendment 

4 would modify the MSY proxy and 

MFMT values, so that they are equal to 

the revised OFL of 10.46 million lb (4.74 

million kg). 

Measures in This Final Rule Not 

Included in Regulatory Amendment 4 

In addition to implementing the 

measures associated with Regulatory 

Amendment 4, this final rule corrects 

regulatory language that was mistakenly 

included in the final rule implementing 

Amendment 10. This final rule changes 

50 CFR 622.407(c) to remove the phrase 

‘‘whichever is greater’’ and the first 

occurrence of a duplicative sentence. 

This final rule also makes a minor 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 121 / Friday, June 22, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 29045 

wording revision to more directly state 

that the total number of undersized 

spiny lobster allowed on-board a vessel 

is 50 plus 1 per trap. 

Comments and Responses 

A total of 14 comments were received 

on the proposed rule to implement 

Regulatory Amendment 4. Comments 

that were beyond the scope of the 

proposed rule and comments that 

agreed with the proposed actions are not 

responded to in this final rule. Other 

comments that relate to the actions 

contained in Regulatory Amendment 4 

and the proposed rule are grouped as 

appropriate and summarized below, 

followed by NMFS’ respective 

responses. 

Comment 1: The ACL for spiny 

lobster should not be increased. The 

ACL should remain at its current level 

for another 5 years to allow the spiny 

lobster populations to increase. 

Response: NMFS disagrees. The new 

ACL is consistent with a new ABC 

recommendation by the Councils’ SSCs. 

The prior ABC recommendation was 

based on a time period when landings 

were historically low. The new ABC and 

the corresponding increase in the ACL 

are based on a longer time period (1991/ 

1992 through 2015/2016) to better 

capture the dynamics of the fishery that 

are influenced by factors beyond spiny 

lobster biology and harvest, such as 

environmental, economic, and social 

conditions. As described in Regulatory 

Amendment 4, increasing the ACL is 

not expected to negatively affect the 

spiny lobster population because fishing 

effort is not expected to increase. 

Current fishing effort is limited by such 

measures as the number of commercial 

trap tags issued by the state of Florida, 

commercial and recreational bag and 

possession limits in the South Atlantic 

and Gulf EEZ, and the duration of the 

fishing seasons, which varies based on 

location. Further, maintaining the 

current ACL for 5 years would not 

necessarily allow for the spiny lobster 

populations to increase in U.S. waters. 

Spiny lobster is widely distributed 

throughout the western Atlantic Ocean 

from as far north as North Carolina to 

as far south as Brazil, including 

Bermuda, The Bahamas, Caribbean, and 

Central America. Genetic studies show 

that most larval recruits in U.S. waters 

are from elsewhere in the Caribbean, 

with only 10–40 percent locally 

spawned larvae retained in U.S. waters. 

Comment 2: The timeframe used to 

specify catch limits for spiny lobster 

should be continuously updated to 

incorporate periods of low and high 

landings, natural disasters such as 

hurricanes, and to allow for accurate 

estimates of the stock OFL and ABC. 

Response: NMFS agrees that is 

appropriate to reevaluate the ABC, 

which is used to set the catch limit, 

when relevant new information 

becomes available. That is what 

occurred through the process leading to 

up to the Council proposing Regulatory 

Amendment 4. As explained above, the 

current OFL and ABC for spiny lobster 

were established using the mean of the 

most recent 10 years of landings at that 

time (i.e., fishing years 2000/2001 

through 2009/2010). The Councils’ SSCs 

reevaluated this approach in 2016 in 

response to a recommendation from a 

review panel, which was convened as 

required by the accountability measures 

when landings exceeded the ACT. The 

SSCs agreed with the review panel’s 

recommendation to use a longer time 

series of landings (i.e., fishing years 

1991/1992 through 2015/2016) to respecify the OFL and ABC for spiny 

lobster. This resulted in the increase in 

the ACL and ACT implemented through 

this final rule. Regulatory Amendment 4 

also states that a review panel should be 

convened if there are 2 consecutive 

years of low landings (below 5.3 million 

lb). Thus, there are mechanisms in place 

to respond to changes in harvest and 

update the ACL as appropriate. 

Comment 3: The increase in spiny 

lobster ACL and prohibition of 

recreational harvest using traps will 

allow more commercial harvest of spiny 

lobster. This will have an economic 

impact on small business entities and 

therefore, as a result of increased 

commercial harvest, NMFS should 

prepare an initial regulatory flexibility 

act analysis (IRFA) to better address the 

economic impacts of these actions. 

Response: NMFS disagrees that it is 

necessary to prepare an IRFA. As stated 

in the Classification section of the 

proposed rule and again in this final 

rule, the increase in the ACL and ACT 

for spiny lobster will have no impact on 

small commercial fishing businesses 

because the AMs do not require a 

closure or otherwise limit commercial 

landings of spiny lobster taken from 

Federal waters if landings reach or 

exceed the ACL or ACT. Further, the 

majority of commercial harvest of spiny 

lobster occurs off Florida, and effort is 

limited by the number of trap tags 

issued by the state of Florida, 

commercial limits, and the length of the 

fishing season. Therefore, any reduction 

in the use of traps for recreational 

harvest is not expected to increase 

commercial harvest. 

Comment 4: NMFS should not 

prohibit the use of traps for recreational 

harvest in the EEZ off North Carolina. 

To avoid interaction of traps with 

whales, it would be better to close the 

recreational fishing season for spiny 

lobster in the EEZ off North Carolina 

during the whale migration period. 

Response: NMFS does not agree that 

a season restriction on the use of traps 

for recreational harvest is appropriate. 

Potential interactions between traps and 

protected species was one issue the 

Councils considered in deciding to 

prohibit the use of traps for recreational 

harvest in the EEZ off all of the South 

Atlantic states. However, the Councils 

were also concerned about bycatch and 

damage to habitat. Therefore, the 

Councils did not consider seasonal 

restrictions for recreational harvest of 

spiny lobster in Regulatory 

Amendment 4. 

Comment 5: NMFS should allow the 

use of traps for recreational harvest in 

the EEZ off Florida to make current 

spiny lobster regulations consistent in 

the EEZ off all the states in the South 

Atlantic region. The proposed rule did 

not include any evidence that the 

recreational sector is harming the 

resource or its habitat as a result of trap 

use. 

Response: NMFS disagrees that 

consistency in the regulations related to 

recreational harvest by traps should be 

achieved by allowing the use of traps in 

the EEZ off Florida. Consistency was not 

the basis for the Councils’ decision to 

prohibit the use of this gear. Although 

current recreational harvest using traps 

in the EEZ outside Florida is likely 

minimal, the Councils were concerned 

that there could be an increase in the 

use of recreational traps and associated 

negative impacts. As discussed in 

Regulatory Amendment 4, trap gear can 

negatively affect the bottom substrate, 

entangle protected species, and 

continue ghost fishing when the trap is 

lost. Because the majority of spiny 

lobster harvest occurs in the EEZ off 

Florida, opening this area to recreational 

traps would be expected to increase 

these negatives impacts. In addition, 

because spiny lobsters are larger in the 

EEZ off Georgia, South Carolina, and 

North Carolina than in Florida, traps in 

those areas would require larger mouths 

(entrances) that would likely increase 

bycatch. Recreational harvest is still 

permitted with dive and snorkel gears, 

which are the predominant gears used 

by the recreational sector, and these 

gears do not have the same impact on 

habitat and other species as traps do. 

Comment 6: Commercial harvest of 

spiny lobster has fluctuated, while 

recreational harvest, a small part of 

overall harvest, has remained 

consistent. In order to protect the 

resource, there should be restrictions on 


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29046 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 121 / Friday, June 22, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 

both the commercial and recreational 

sectors. 

Response: Restrictions are already in 

place for spiny lobster in place for both 

the commercial and recreational sectors, 

and this final rule will not remove these 

restrictions. Commercial and 

recreational bag and possession limits, 

and fishing seasons for spiny lobster are 

in place to control harvest. Any person 

who commercially fishes for and sells 

spiny lobster caught in either the Gulf 

or South Atlantic EEZ, except off 

Florida, must have a Federal spiny 

lobster vessel permit. Any person who 

commercially fishes for spiny lobster 

caught in the EEZ off Florida, or sells 

spiny lobster in Florida must have the 

permits and licenses required by Florida 

(http://www.myfwc.com/fishing/ 

saltwater/commercial/spiny-lobster/). 

There are also requirements related to 

gear and vessel identification, and trap 

construction. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

This final rule revises a reference to 

a boundary point coordinate for the 

Tortugas shrimp sanctuary in 50 CFR 

622.55(c)(2)(iii), which incorrectly refers 

to paragraph (d)(1) rather than 

paragraph (c)(1). 

Classification 

The Regional Administrator, 

Southeast Region, NMFS has 

determined that this final rule is 

consistent with Regulatory Amendment 

4, the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 

and other applicable law. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides 

the statutory basis for this rule. No 

duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting 

Federal rules have been identified. In 

addition, no new reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance 

requirements are introduced by this 

final rule. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this final 

rule would not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The factual 

basis for this determination was 

published in the proposed rule and is 

not repeated here. 

One public comment (Comment 3) 

stated that the increase in commercial 

harvest would have an economic impact 

on small entities and therefore an IRFA 

analysis must be prepared. As stated in 

the Classification section of the 

proposed rule, although the rule would 

increase the ACL and ACT, there would 

be no impact on small commercial 

fishing businesses because there are no 

AMs that can either close the Federal 

season early or otherwise limit 

commercial landings of spiny lobster 

taken from Federal waters if landings 

reach or exceed the ACL or ACT. 

No changes were made to the final 

rule in response to public comments, 

and NMFS has not received any new 

information that would affect its 

previous determination. As a result, a 

final regulatory flexibility analysis is not 

required and none was prepared. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

NOAA Fisheries finds that with respect 

to the change to 50 CFR 622.55(c)(2)(iii) 

there is good cause to waive the 

requirements to provide prior notice 

and opportunity for public comment 

pursuant to the authority set forth in 5 

U.S.C. 553(b)(B), as such procedures are 

unnecessary. Such procedures are 

unnecessary because the rule 

implementing the provision has been 

subject to notice and comment and the 

revision corrects only a typographical 

error. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 640 

Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf, South 

Atlantic, Spiny lobster, Trap. 

Dated: June 18, 2018. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR parts 600 and 622 are 

amended as follows: 

PART 600—MAGNUSON-STEVENS 

ACT PROVISIONS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 600 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 561 and 16 U.S.C. 1801 

et seq. 

Subpart R—Spiny Lobster Fishery of 

the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic 

■ 2. In § 600.725, in the table in 

paragraph (v), under heading ‘‘III. South 

Atlantic Fishery Management Council,’’ 

under entry 7, revise entry B pertaining 

to the ‘‘Recreational fishery’’ in the 

‘‘Authorized gear types’’ column to read 

as follows: 

§ 600.725 General prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(v) * * * 

Fishery Authorized gear types 

*******

III. South Atlantic Fishery Management Council 

*******

7. South Atlantic Spiny Lobster Fishery (FMP):.

*******

B. Recreational fishery .................................................................................................................... B. Dip net, bully net, snare, hand harvest. 

*******

* * * * * PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE 

CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND 

SOUTH ATLANTIC 

■ 3. The authority citation for part 622 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 4. In § 622.55, revise paragraph 

(c)(2)(iii) to read as follows: 

§ 622.55 Closed areas. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) * * * 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 121 / Friday, June 22, 2018 / Rules and Regulations 29047 

(iii) Effective from May 26 through 

July 31, each year, that part of the 

Tortugas shrimp sanctuary seaward of 

rhumb lines connecting the following 

points is open to trawling: From point 

F, as specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section, to point Q at 24°46.7′ N lat., 

81°52.2′ W long. (on the line denoting 

the seaward limit of Florida’s waters); 

thence along the seaward limit of 

Florida’s waters, as shown on the 

current edition of NOAA chart 11439, to 

point U and north to point T, both 

points as specified in paragraph (c)(2)(i) 

of this section. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 622.404, add paragraph (d) to 

read as follows: 

§ 622.404 Prohibited gear and methods. 

* * * * * 

(d) Except for black sea bass pots and 

golden crab traps as allowed in 

§ 622.188 and § 622.248, respectively, 

the possession of all other traps is 

prohibited onboard a vessel in the South 

Atlantic EEZ when spiny lobster subject 

to the recreational bag and possession 

limits specified in § 622.408 is also 

onboard the vessel. The recreational 

harvest of spiny lobster using a trap is 

prohibited in the South Atlantic EEZ. 

■ 6. In § 622.407, revise paragraph (c) to 

read as follows: 

§ 622.407 Minimum size limits and other 

harvest limitations. 

* * * * * 

(c) Undersized attractants. A live 

spiny lobster under the minimum size 

limit specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this 

section that is harvested in the EEZ by 

a trap may be retained aboard the 

harvesting vessel for future use as an 

attractant in a trap provided it is held 

in a live well aboard the vessel. The live 

well must provide a minimum of 3⁄4

gallons (1.7 liters) of seawater per spiny 

lobster. An undersized spiny lobster so 

retained must be released to the water 

alive and unharmed immediately upon 

leaving the trap lines and prior to 1 hour 

after official sunset each day. No more 

than 50 undersized spiny lobsters plus 

1 per trap aboard the vessel may be 

retained aboard for use as attractants. 

* * * * * 

■ 7. Revise § 622.411 to read as follows: 

§ 622.411 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

For recreational and commercial 

spiny lobster landings combined, the 

ACL is 9.60 million lb (4.35 million kg), 

whole weight. The ACT is 8.64 million 

lb, (3.92 million kg) whole weight. 

[FR Doc. 2018–13400 Filed 6–21–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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