35602 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 145 / Friday, July 27, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

tournament that bestows points, prizes, 

or awards for Atlantic sharks must 

deploy only non-offset, corrodible circle 

hooks when fishing for, retaining, 

possessing, or landing sharks, except 

when fishing with flies or artificial 

lures. 

(2) A person on board a vessel that 

has been issued or is required to be 

issued an HMS Angling permit with a 

shark endorsement or a person on board 

a vessel with an HMS Charter/Headboat 

permit with a shark endorsement must 

deploy only non-offset, corrodible circle 

hooks when fishing for, retaining, 

possessing, or landing, except when 

fishing with flies or artificial lures. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 635.24, remove paragraphs 

(a)(4)(v) and (vi), lift the suspension for 

paragraphs (a)(4)(i) and (iii), and revise 

paragraphs (a)(4)(i) and (iii) to read as 

follows: 

§ 635.24 Commercial retention limits for 

sharks, swordfish, and BAYS tunas. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(i) A person who owns or operates a 

vessel that has been issued a directed 

shark LAP may retain, possess, or land 

pelagic sharks if the pelagic shark 

fishery is open per §§ 635.27 and 

635.28. Shortfin mako sharks may only 

be retained by persons using pelagic 

longline gear, and only if each shark is 

dead at the time of haulback per 

§ 635.21 (c)(1). 

* * * * * 

(iii) Consistent with paragraph 

(a)(4)(ii) of this section, a person who 

owns or operates a vessel that has been 

issued an incidental shark LAP may 

retain, possess, land, or sell no more 

than 16 SCS and pelagic sharks, 

combined, per vessel per trip, if the 

respective fishery is open per §§ 635.27 

and 635.28. Of those 16 SCS and pelagic 

sharks per vessel per trip, no more than 

8 shall be blacknose sharks. Shortfin 

mako sharks may only be retained by 

persons using pelagic longline gear, and 

only if each shark is dead at the time of 

haulback per § 635.21(c)(1). 

* * * * * 

■ 6. In § 635.30, paragraph (c)(4) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 635.30 Possession at sea and landing. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(4) Persons aboard a vessel that has 

been issued or is required to be issued 

a permit with a shark endorsement must 

maintain a shark intact through landing 

and offloading with the head, tail, and 

all fins naturally attached. The shark 

may be bled and the viscera may be 

removed. 

* * * * * 

■ 7. In § 635.71, revise paragraphs 

(d)(22), (23), (27), (28), and (29) to read 

as follows: 

§ 635.71 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(22) Except when fishing only with 

flies or artificial lures, fish for, retain, 

possess, or land sharks without 

deploying non-offset, corrodible circle 

hooks when fishing at a registered 

recreational HMS fishing tournament 

that has awards or prizes for sharks, as 

specified in § 635.21(f) and (k). 

(23) Except when fishing only with 

flies or artificial lures, fish for, retain, 

possess, or land sharks without 

deploying non-offset, corrodible circle 

hooks when issued an Atlantic HMS 

Angling permit or HMS Charter/ 

Headboat permit with a shark 

endorsement, as specified in § 635.21(f) 

and (k). 

* * * * * 

(27) Retain, land, or possess a shortfin 

mako shark that was caught with gear 

other than pelagic longline gear as 

specified at § 635.21(a). 

(28) Retain, land, or possess a shortfin 

mako shark that was caught with pelagic 

longline gear and was alive at haulback 

as specified at § 635.21(c)(1). 

(29) As specified at § 635.21(c)(1), 

retain, land, or possess a shortfin mako 

shark that was caught with pelagic 

longline gear when the electronic 

monitoring system was not installed and 

functioning in compliance with the 

requirements at § 635.9. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–15822 Filed 7–26–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

RIN 0648–BH16 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; 

Amendment 20 to the Atlantic 

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish 

Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Announcement of availability of 

fishery management plan amendment; 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council has submitted Amendment 20 

to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 

Butterfish Fishery Management Plan to 

the Secretary of Commerce for review 

and approval. We are requesting 

comments from the public on this 

amendment. This action is necessary to 

prevent the reactivation of latent effort 

in the longfin squid fishery, preserve 

economic opportunities for more 

recently active participants in the 

longfin squid fishery, avoid overharvest 

during Trimester II (May–August) of the 

longfin squid fishery, and reduce 

potential negative impacts on inshore 

spawning longfin squid aggregations 

and egg mops. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council intends that these 

proposed measures would promote the 

sustainable utilization and conservation 

of the squid and butterfish resources, 

while promoting the sustained 

participation of fishing communities 

and minimizing adverse economic 

impacts on such communities. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before September 25, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2017–0110, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017- 

0110, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Michael Pentony, Regional 

Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic 

Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great 

Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Mark the outside of the envelope, 

‘‘Comments on Amendment 20.’’ 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 


amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 145 / Friday, July 27, 2018 / Proposed Rules 35603 

The Council prepared an 

environmental assessment (EA) for 

Amendment 20 to the Atlantic 

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) that describes 

the proposed action and other 

alternatives considered and provides a 

thorough analysis of the impacts of the 

proposed measures and alternatives 

considered. Copies of Amendment 20, 

including the EA, the Regulatory Impact 

Review, and the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act analysis, are available from: 

Christopher Moore, Executive Director, 

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council, Suite 201, 800 State Street, 

Dover, DE 19901. The EA and associated 

analysis is accessible via the internet at: 

http://www.mafmc.org/s/SquidAmendment-Draft-EA.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Douglas Christel, Fishery Policy 

Analyst, (978) 281–9141. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In 1995, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) adopted 

a limited access permit system for 

longfin squid and butterfish as part of 

Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Mackerel, 

Squid, and Butterfish FMP (April 2, 

1996; 61 FR 14465). Under Amendment 

5, NMFS issued longfin squid/butterfish 

moratorium permits to vessels that 

landed a minimum amount of either 

species during a specified qualification 

period. Since then, the number of 

vessels landing longfin squid has 

decreased, with a relatively small 

portion of vessels issued longfin squid/ 

butterfish moratorium permits landing 

the majority of longfin squid in recent 

years. The Council is concerned that 

unused longfin squid/butterfish 

moratorium permits could be activated, 

which could lead to excessive fishing 

effort and bycatch of both longfin squid 

and non-target species. This could cause 

negative biological impacts to these 

species. In addition, this increased effort 

could increase the race to fish and 

reduce access to available longfin squid 

quota by vessels with a continuous 

history of landings in recent years. 

Therefore, the Council developed 

Amendment 20 to consider the 

appropriate number of vessels in the 

directed and incidental longfin squid 

fishery and design appropriate measures 

to prevent unanticipated increases in 

fishing effort. The proposed measures 

described below could help prevent a 

race to fish, frequent and disruptive 

fishery closures, and reduced fishing 

opportunities for vessels that are more 

recently dependent upon longfin squid. 

Longfin squid spawning occurs year 

round, but is most frequently observed 

inshore during the late spring through 

early fall. Spawning aggregations and 

associated egg masses (mops) that are 

attached to the bottom are vulnerable to 

bottom fishing activities during the 

summer months when longfin squid are 

easily accessible to the fishery in large 

concentrations. In 2007, the Council 

implemented reduced quotas during 

summer months (May through August, 

or Trimester II) as part of the trimester 

quota system (January 30, 2007; 71 FR 

4211). The Council developed the 

trimester quota system to improve the 

monitoring and management of the 

longfin squid fishery and prevent 

allowable quotas from being exceeded. 

Once a trimester quota has been caught, 

possession limits are reduced to 

incidental levels for all longfin squid 

permits. The FMP currently includes a 

possession limit of 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) 

per trip for incidental permits and when 

the directed fishery has closed. 

However, this incidental limit has 

allowed vessels to continue to land large 

amounts of longfin squid even after the 

directed fishery is closed, which 

contributed to the Trimester II quota 

being exceeded by large amounts in 

several years. The Council is concerned 

that excessive fishing effort inshore 

during Trimester II could negatively 

impact the stock, interrupting spawning 

activity, increasing the mortality of 

squid eggs, and reducing future 

recruitment. Measures developed by the 

Council under this action are intended 

to reevaluate the management of longfin 

squid during Trimester II primarily to 

reduce impacts to spawning squid and 

egg mops. 

The purpose of Amendment 20 is to 

optimize management measures in the 

squid fisheries by reducing latent 

(unused) effort in the longfin squid 

fishery and adjusting the management of 

the longfin squid fishery during 

Trimester II (May through August) to 

avoid overharvesting the longfin squid 

resource. Although the Council 

considered reducing the number of Illex 

squid moratorium permits in the 

fishery, the Council decided a reduction 

in the number of Illex moratorium 

permits was not appropriate at this time 

given low Illex landings and limited 

vessel participation in the fishery in 

recent years. Measures proposed under 

this action would promote the 

sustainable utilization and conservation 

of the longfin squid and butterfish 

resources, while promoting the 

sustained participation of fishing 

communities and minimizing adverse 

economic impacts on such 

communities. If approved, Amendment 

20 would: 

1. Separate butterfish from the current 

longfin/butterfish moratorium permit to 

create a new butterfish moratorium 

permit and a separate longfin squid 

moratorium permit; 

2. Reissue longfin squid moratorium 

permits to vessels that landed at least 

10,000 lb (4,536 kg) of longfin squid in 

any year from 1997–2013; 

3. Create a new longfin squid 

moratorium permit with a 5,000 lb 

(2,268 kg) possession limit for vessels 

that have not landed at least 10,000 lb 

(4,536 kg) of longfin squid in any year 

from 1997–2013; 

4. Create a new longfin squid 

incidental moratorium permit to enable 

vessels to continue to land 2,500 lb 

(1,134 kg) of longfin squid per trip; 

5. Allow individual entities issued 

multiple longfin squid moratorium 

permits a one-time opportunity to swap 

such permits among their vessels; and 

6. Reduce the longfin squid 

possession limit from 2,500 lb (1,134 kg) 

to 250 lb (113 kg) for squid/butterfish 

incidental catch permits and for all 

longfin squid permits after the Trimester 

II longfin squid quota is landed. 

NMFS seeks public comments on 

Amendment 20 and its incorporated 

documents through the end of the 

comment period specified in the DATES

section of this notice of availability 

(NOA). Concurrent with NMFS’s review 

of the amendment under the MagnusonStevens Act procedures, NMFS may 

publish a rule proposing to implement 

measures outlined in this amendment in 

the Federal Register for public 

comment. All comments received by the 

end of the comment period on the NOA, 

whether specifically directed to the 

NOA or the proposed rule, will be 

considered in the approval/disapproval 

decision. NMFS will not consider 

comments received after the end of the 

comment period for the NOA in the 

approval/disapproval decision of this 

action. 

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

Dated: July 23, 2018. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–15970 Filed 7–26–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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