39398 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

[FR Doc. C1–2018–14985 Filed 8–6–18; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 1301–00–D 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 180220191–8191–01] 

RIN 0648–BH80 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Fisheries; Commercial 

Accountability Measure Framework 

Adjustment 13 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 

modifications to the commercial 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass accountability measures, as 

recommended by the Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council. The 

proposed change would adjust the 

accountability measures based on the 

status of the stocks. This rule is 

intended to provide additional 

flexibility in determining when 

accountability measures are appropriate, 

similar to how the accountability 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALSEP09AU18.002</GPH>
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Proposed Rules 39399 

measures are applied towards the 

recreational fisheries for these species. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

September 10, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: An environmental 

assessment (EA) was prepared for this 

action and describes the proposed 

measures and other considered 

alternatives, and provides an analysis of 

the impacts of the proposed measures 

and alternatives. Copies of the Summer 

Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Commercial Accountability Measure 

Framework, including the EA, are 

available on request from Dr. 

Christopher M. Moore, Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, Suite 201, 800 

North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 

These documents are also accessible via 

the internet at http://www.mafmc.org/s/ 

sfsbsb-commercial-AM-FW-draftEA.pdf. 

You may submit comments on this 

document, identified by NOAA–NMFS– 

2018–0080, by either of the following 

methods: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. 

1. Go to www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018- 

0080, 

2. Click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and 

3. Enter or attach your comments. 

—OR— 

Mail: Submit written comments to 

Michael Pentony, Regional 

Administrator, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the 

outside of the envelope, ‘‘Comments on 

the Proposed Rule to Modify the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Commercial Accountability 

Measures.’’ 

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 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). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emily Gilbert, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9244. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

General Background 

The summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass fisheries are managed 

cooperatively under the provisions of 

the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 

Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) developed by the Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council and the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission, in consultation with the 

New England and South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Councils. The 

management units specified in the FMP 

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°13.3′ N lat. 

(the approximate latitude of Cape 

Hatteras, North Carolina). States manage 

these three species within 3 nautical 

miles (4.83 km) of their coasts, under 

the Commission’s management plan for 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass. The applicable species-specific 

Federal regulations govern vessels and 

individual fishermen commercially 

fishing in Federal waters of the 

exclusive economic zone, as well as 

vessels possessing a summer flounder, 

scup, or black sea bass Federal charter/ 

party vessel permit, regardless of where 

they fish. This rule proposes to modify 

current Federal regulations that require 

accountability measures (AM) when the 

commercial annual catch limit (ACL) is 

exceeded for any of these three species. 

AMs and ACLs are only required in the 

Federal FMP and, as such, no joint 

action is needed with the Commission. 

There are currently two types of 

commercial sector AMs for summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass. The 

first is a pound-for-pound landings 

overage repayment that is applied when 

the commercial quota is exceeded. This 

AM is functioning as intended and 

would not be adjusted by this action. 

The second is a non-landings based AM 

that is applied to the commercial annual 

catch target (ACT) when the commercial 

annual catch limit (ACL) has been 

exceeded and the overage is caused by 

commercial fishery discards. This action 

would adjust this non-landings based 

AM for summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass. The proposed revisions 

are designed to better account for the 

variability in commercial discard 

estimates and provide additional 

flexibility to these AMs based on stock 

status and the biological consequences, 

if any, of estimated discard overages. 

NMFS adopted similar AMs for the 

recreational fisheries managed by the 

Council in 2013 (78 FR 76759; 

December 19, 2013). 

Proposed Action 

The Council reviewed the proposed 

regulations and deemed them necessary 

and appropriate to implement 

consistent with section 303(c) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Conservation and 

Management Act. 

Incorporate Stock Status in NonLandings AM Determination 

This rule proposes the following 

system of AMs to be applied when 

discards cause the commercial ACL to 

be exceeded. 

(1) If the current biomass (B) is above 

the biomass target (BMSY) (i.e., B/BMSY ≥ 

1), no overage payback is required. 

(2) If the current biomass is above the 

biomass threshold (i.e., not overfished), 

but below the biomass target (1 ≥ B/ 

BMSY ≥ 1⁄2), and the stock is not under 

a rebuilding plan, then the following 

non-landing payback is applied: 

a. If fishery discards cause the 

commercial ACL to be exceeded, but not 

the acceptable biological catch (ABC), 

no overage is required; or 

b. If the fishery discards casue the 

commercial ACL to be exceeded, and 

the ABC is exceeded, then a scaled, 

single-year adjustment to the 

commercial ACT would be made based 

on stock biomass (as explained below), 

so that the adjustment is larger the 

closer the overall biomass is to the 

threshold. 

(3) If the stock is overfished (i.e., the 

most recent estimate of biomass is 

below the threshold, or B/BMSY < 1⁄2), 

under a rebuilding plan, or the 

biological reference points (i.e., stock 

status) are unknown, then a pound-forpound payback is required for any nonlandings overage. 

Scaled Payback Calculation 

The Council recommends that the 

amount of a payback (if determined to 

be appropriate under criteria 2b, as 

defined above) be scaled relative to the 

biomass. The payback would be 

calculated as the difference between the 

catch and the ACL (i.e., the overage 

amount) and the payback coefficient. 

The payback coefficient is equal to the 

difference between the most recent 

estimate of BMSY and the current 

biomass, divided by 1⁄2 BMSY. 

This would result in a smaller 

payback the closer the estimated 

biomass is to the target and a larger 

payback the farther away the estimated 

biomass is from the target. This scaling 

is intended to minimize impacts of a 

payback for healthy stocks, while still 

accounting for the biological 


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39400 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Proposed Rules 

consequences of the overage. As 

previously noted under criterion 3, this 

scaling would not be used if the stock 

was overfished (i.e., if B/BMSY < 1⁄2), or 

if the stock status is unknown. In those 

cases, the payback would be equal to the 

full amount of the overage. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Assistant 

Administrator has determined that this 

proposed rule is consistent with the 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass FMP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The Council conducted an evaluation 

of the potential socioeconomic impacts 

of the proposed measures in 

conjunction with an environmental 

assessment. According to the 

commercial ownership database, 910 

affiliate firms landed summer flounder, 

scup, and/or black sea bass during 

2014–2016, with 906 of those business 

affiliates categorized as small business 

and four categorized as large business. 

Summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass represented approximately 12 

percent of the average gross receipts of 

the small entities considered and 3 

percent of the average receipts of the 

large entities considered over this time 

period. This action does not affect the 

for-hire recreational fishery. 

Analyses indicate that the proposed 

action would range from no payback or 

to a pound-for-pound payback (status 

quo) and is not expected to substantially 

change fishing effort or the spatial and/ 

or temporal distribution of current 

fishing effort. The proposed non-landing 

AM payback alternative is expected to 

minimize the frequency and magnitude 

of non-landing annual catch limit 

overage repayments. This alternative 

would make regulated small entities no 

worse off than they would be if no 

action was taken, and better off under 

current and expected future stock 

conditions. 

There are no new reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements contained 

in any of the alternatives considered for 

this action. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: August 3, 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 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)(3) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.103 Summer flounder accountability 

measures. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(3) Non-landing accountability 

measure. In the event that the 

commercial ACL is exceeded and that 

the overage has not been accommodated 

through the landings-based AM, then 

the following procedure will be 

followed: 

(i) Overfishing, rebuilding, or 

unknown stock status. If the most recent 

estimate of biomass is below the BMSY

threshold (i.e., B/BMSY is less than 0.5), 

the stock is under a rebuilding plan, or 

the biological reference points (B or 

BMSY) are unknown, and the commercial 

ACL has been exceeded, then the exact 

amount, in pounds, by which the most 

recent year’s commercial catch estimate 

exceeded the most recent year’s 

commercial ACL will be deducted, in 

the following fishing year from the 

commercial ACT, as a single-year 

adjustment. 

(ii) If biomass is above the threshold, 

but below the target, and the stock is not 

under rebuilding. If the most recent 

estimate of biomass is above the 

biomass threshold (B/BMSY is greater 

than 0.5), but below the biomass target 

(B/BMSY is less than 1.0), and the stock 

is not under a rebuilding plan, then the 

following AMs will apply: 

(A) If the Commercial ACL has been 

exceeded, but not the overall ABC, then 

no single-year AM payback is required. 

(B) If the Commercial ACL and ABC 

have been exceeded, then a scaled 

single-year adjustment to the 

commercial ACT will be made, in the 

following fishing year. The ACT will be 

reduced by the exact amount, in 

pounds, of the product of the overage, 

defined as the difference between the 

commercial catch and the commercial 

ACT, and the payback coefficient. The 

payback coefficient is the difference 

between the most recent estimate of 

biomass and BMSY (i.e., BMSY ¥ B) 

divided by one-half of BMSY. 

(iii) If biomass is above BMSY. If the 

most recent estimate of biomass is above 

BMSY (i.e., B/BMSY is greater than 1.0), 

then no single-year AM payback is 

required. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 648.123, paragraph (b) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.123 Scup accountability measures. 

* * * * * 

(b) Non-landing accountability 

measure. In the event that the 

commercial ACL has been exceeded and 

the overage has not been accommodated 

through the landings-based AM, then 

the following procedure will be 

followed: 

(1) Overfishing, rebuilding, or 

unknown stock status. If the most recent 

estimate of biomass is below the BMSY

threshold (i.e., B/BMSY is less than 0.5), 

the stock is under a rebuilding plan, or 

the biological reference points (B or 

BMSY) are unknown, and the commercial 

ACL has been exceeded, then the exact 

amount, in pounds, by which the most 

recent year’s commercial catch estimate 

exceeded the most recent year’s 

commercial ACL will be deducted, in 

the following fishing year from the 

commercial ACT, as a single-year 

adjustment. 

(2) If biomass is above the threshold, 

but below the target, and the stock is not 

under rebuilding. If the most recent 

estimate of biomass is above the 

biomass threshold (B/BMSY is greater 

than 0.5), but below the biomass target 

(B/BMSY is less than 1.0), and the stock 

is not under a rebuilding plan, then the 

following AMs will apply: 

(i) If the Commercial ACL has been 

exceeded, but not the overall ABC, then 

no single-year AM payback is required. 

(ii) If the Commercial ACL and ABC 

have been exceeded, then a scaled 

single-year adjustment to the 

commercial ACT will be made, in the 

following fishing year. The ACT will be 

reduced by the exact amount, in 

pounds, of the product of the overage, 

defined as the difference between the 

commercial catch and the commercial 

ACT, and the payback coefficient. The 

payback coefficient is the difference 

between the most recent estimate of 

biomass and BMSY (i.e., BMSY ¥ B) 

divided by one-half of BMSY. 

(3) If biomass is above BMSY. If the 

most recent estimate of biomass is above 

BMSY (i.e., B/BMSY is greater than 1.0), 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 154 / Thursday, August 9, 2018 / Proposed Rules 39401 

then no single-year AM payback is 

required. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 648.143, paragraph (b) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.143 Black sea bass accountability 

measures. 

* * * * * 

(b) Non-landing accountability 

measure. In the event that the 

commercial ACL has been exceeded and 

the overage has not been accommodated 

through the landings-based AM, then 

the following procedure will be 

followed: 

(1) Overfishing, rebuilding, or 

unknown stock status. If the most recent 

estimate of biomass is below the BMSY

threshold (i.e., B/BMSY is less than 0.5), 

the stock is under a rebuilding plan, or 

the biological reference points (B or 

BMSY) are unknown, and the commercial 

ACL has been exceeded, then the exact 

amount, in pounds, by which the most 

recent year’s commercial catch estimate 

exceeded the most recent year’s 

commercial ACL will be deducted, in 

the following fishing year from the 

commercial ACT, as a single-year 

adjustment. 

(2) If biomass is above the threshold, 

but below the target, and the stock is not 

under rebuilding. If the most recent 

estimate of biomass is above the 

biomass threshold (B/BMSY is greater 

than 0.5), but below the biomass target 

(B/BMSY is less than 1.0), and the stock 

is not under a rebuilding plan, then the 

following AMs will apply: 

(i) If the Commercial ACL has been 

exceeded, but not the overall ABC, then 

no single-year AM payback is required. 

(ii) If the Commercial ACL and ABC 

have been exceeded, then a scaled 

single-year adjustment to the 

commercial ACT will be made, in the 

following fishing year. The ACT will be 

reduced by the exact amount, in 

pounds, of the product of the overage, 

defined as the difference between the 

commercial catch and the commercial 

ACT, and the payback coefficient. The 

payback coefficient is the difference 

between the most recent estimate of 

biomass and BMSY (i.e., BMSY ¥ B) 

divided by one-half of BMSY. 

(3) If biomass is above BMSY. If the 

most recent estimate of biomass is above 

BMSY (i.e., B/BMSY is greater than 1.0), 

then no single-year AM payback is 

required. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2018–17031 Filed 8–8–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS