19138 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

* * * * * 

Issued on: March 23, 2012. 

David L. Strickland, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7626 Filed 3–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 110816505–2184–03] 

RIN 0648–BB39 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery 

Management Plan; Secretarial 

Amendment 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule implements a 

Secretarial Amendment to the Northeast 

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan 

to establish a mechanism for specifying 

annual catch limits and accountability 

measures for the small-mesh 

multispecies fishery beginning in 

fishing year 2012. This amendment is 

necessary because the New England 

Fishery Management Council has been 

delayed in implementing a mechanism 

to specify annual catch limits and 

accountability measures for the silver 

hake, red hake, and offshore hake stocks 

that are managed as a sub-set of the 

Northeast Multispecies Fishery 

Management Plan to meet the 2011 

deadline in the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. 

DATES: This rule is effective on April 30, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: An environmental 

assessment (EA) was prepared for the 

Secretarial Amendment that describes 

the proposed action and other 

considered alternatives, and provides an 

analysis of the impacts of the proposed 

measures and alternatives. Copies of the 

Secretarial Amendment, including the 

EA and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (IRFA), are available on 

request from Daniel Morris, Acting 

Regional Administrator, Northeast 

Regional Office, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. These 

documents are also available online at 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9218. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The small-mesh multispecies complex 

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), 

and the fishery is managed through a 

series of exemptions from the other 

provisions of the Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP). 

Amendment 19 to the FMP was initiated 

by the New England Fishery 

Management Council (Council) in 2009 

to establish a mechanism for specifying 

annual catch limits (ACLs) and 

accountability measures (AMs) for the 

small-mesh multispecies fishery, as 

required by the 2007 reauthorization of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

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

et seq. The Council postponed 

development of the amendment in order 

to include the results of an updated 

stock assessment in November 2010. 

Developing the amendment has been 

further delayed by the Council due to 

other pressing actions, and Amendment 

19 is not scheduled to be implemented 

until October 2012, well past the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act’s deadline of 

2011 for implementing ACLs and AMs. 

NMFS has determined that it is 

necessary and appropriate, under 

section 304(c)(1)(A) of the MagnusonStevens Act, to develop a Secretarial 

Amendment in order to bring the smallmesh multispecies fishery into 

compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act requirements concerning ACLs and 

AMs. A description of the steps NMFS 

took to comply with the MagnusonStevens Act requirements for 

implementing a Secretarial Amendment 

was included in the proposed rule 

published on December 23, 2011 (76 FR 

80318) and is not repeated here. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 19139 

Final Measures 

Mechanism for Specifying Catch Limits 

and the Specification Process 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

that each FMP establish ‘‘a mechanism 

for specifying annual catch limits * * * 

at such a level that overfishing does not 

occur in the fishery, including measures 

to ensure accountability.’’ In order to do 

establish ACLs and AMs for the smallmesh multispecies fishery, the first step 

is to estimate the overfishing limit (OFL) 

for each stock. The OFL is the amount 

of catch above which overfishing is 

deemed to be occurring; that is, it is a 

status determination criterion for 

overfishing. It is an annual limit derived 

as the product of current exploitable 

biomass and the current rate of fishing, 

after taking into account the variance of 

each factor. To calculate the OFL for 

each stock, the Council’s Small-Mesh 

Multispecies Plan Development Team 

(PDT) derived a distribution of OFLs for 

each species; each OFL is equal to the 

50th percentile of that distribution. The 

3-year moving average biomass for silver 

hake is estimated using the fall trawl 

survey and the 3-year moving average 

biomass estimate for red hake is 

estimated using the spring trawl survey, 

based on guidance from the Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) and the November 2010 stock 

assessment. No reliable estimates for 

offshore hake are available. 

For fishing years 2012–2014, the OFLs 

are as follows: 

TABLE 1—FISHING YEARS 2012–2014 

OFLS

OFL 

(mt) 

Northern Red Hake .................. 314 

Northern Silver Hake ................ 24,840 

Southern Red Hake .................. 3,448 

Southern Silver Hake ............... 62,301 

The second step in establishing ACLs 

is to account for uncertainty in the OFL 

estimate by estimating the acceptable 

biological catch (ABC). ABC is the level 

of catch that accounts for scientific 

uncertainty in the estimate of the OFL 

and any other scientific uncertainty. 

Based on guidance from the SSC, the 

ABCs are set equal to the 40th percentile 

of the OFL distribution for both red 

hake stocks, and the 25th percentile for 

both silver hake stocks (Table 2). In 

order to account for offshore hake, 

which are caught incidentally in the 

southern silver hake fishery and are 

marketed together as ‘‘whiting,’’ the 

southern silver hake ABC is increased 

by 4 percent. 

TABLE 2—FISHING YEARS 2012–2014 ABCS

OFL 

(mt) 

Percentile of 

OFL distribution Percent of OFL ABC 

Northern Red Hake .......................................................................... 314 40th 89.17 280 

Northern Silver Hake ....................................................................... 24,840 25th 53.05 13,177 

Southern Red Hake ......................................................................... 3,448 40th 94.52 3,259 

Southern Whiting * ........................................................................... 62,301 25th 54.48 33,940 

* Southern Whiting ABC = Silver Hake 25th percentile of OFL (32,635 mt) + 4% (1,305 mt). 

The final step in setting the ACLs, 

after estimating OFL and ABC, is to take 

into account any uncertainty in the 

ability of managers to effectively 

implement the recommended catch 

levels. The Council has recommended 

that ACLs for the small-mesh 

multispecies fishery be set equal to 95 

percent of the corresponding ABC to 

account for management uncertainty. 

The mechanism to establish ACLs for 

the small-mesh multispecies fishery 

results in four ABCs (northern red hake, 

northern silver hake, southern red hake, 

and southern whiting), set below their 

respective OFLs to account for scientific 

uncertainty, and four corresponding 

ACLs, set below ABC to account for 

management uncertainty, where ACL = 

95 percent ABC (Table 3.) 

TABLE 3—FISHING YEARS 2012–2014 ABCS AND ACLS FOR SMALL-MESH MULTISPECIES

ABC 

(mt) 

ACL 

(95% of ABC) 

(mt) 

Northern Red Hake .......................................................................................................................................... 280 266 

Northern Silver Hake ....................................................................................................................................... 13,177 12,518 

Southern Red Hake ......................................................................................................................................... 3,259 3,096 

Southern Whiting ............................................................................................................................................. 33,940* 32,243 

* Southern Whiting ABC = Silver Hake 25th percentile of OFL (32,635 mt) + 4% (1,305 mt). 

This final rule implements total 

allowable landings (TAL) on a stock 

area basis, with southern silver and 

offshore hake combined. This results in 

four TALs (Table 4) that relate directly 

to the ACLs recommended by the SSC 

and the Council. Discards and estimated 

state landings are deducted from the 

ACLs, and stock area TALs are used as 

the management limit. At its September 

2011 meeting, the Council 

recommended a 3-percent allowance for 

state landings. The Council also 

recommended using a discard estimate 

based on the average discards from 

2008–2010 for all stocks. 


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19140 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 4—FISHING YEAR 2012–2014 ACLS AND TALS

Northern 

Red Hake 

Northern 

Silver Hake 

Southern 

Red Hake 

Southern 

Whiting 

ACL ...................................................................................................... 266 mt .............. 12,518 mt ......... 3,096 mt ........... 32,295 mt. 

Discard % (2008–2010) ....................................................................... 65% .................. 26% .................. 56% .................. 13%. 

Discards (mt) ........................................................................................ 173 mt .............. 3,255 mt ........... 1,718 mt ........... 4,198 mt. 

State Landings (3% of ACL—Discards) .............................................. 2.8 mt ............... 278 mt .............. 42 mt ................ 842 mt. 

Federal TAL (mt) .................................................................................. 90.3 mt ............. 8,985 mt ........... 1,336 mt ........... 27,255 mt. 

Federal TAL (lb) ................................................................................... 199,077.4 lb ..... 19,809,243 lb ... 2,945,376 lb ...... 60,086,990 lb. 

After the publication of the proposed 

rule, the Council’s PDT corrected a 

calculation error in the information 

provided to the Whiting Oversight 

Committee, upon which NMFS based 

the measures in the proposed rule. The 

PDT inadvertently used the 2007–2009 

discard rates instead of the 2008–2010 

discard rates as was intended by the 

Council. Correcting this error results in 

a slight decrease in the TALs for both 

northern silver hake and southern 

whiting (southern silver hake plus 

offshore hake), a slight increase in the 

TAL for southern red hake, and a 

relatively significant decrease in the 

TAL for northern red hake. The 

northern red hake TAL set by this rule 

is the only TAL that is close to or below 

recent landings levels: Based on the 

updated information, the discard rate 

for northern red hake changed from 58 

percent to 65 percent, which reduced 

the northern red hake TAL from the 

proposed 108 mt to 90.3 mt. The 

Whiting Oversight Committee and the 

Council did not object to correcting the 

data for Amendment 19, and do not 

objecting to doing the same in the 

Secretarial Amendment. 

Specifications Process 

Specifications will be set on a 3-year 

cycle, starting with the first year of 

implementation of the Secretarial 

Amendment. This process will be used 

to update the OFLs, ABCs, ACLs, and 

TALs based on the most recent available 

information using the calculations 

described above. Data expected to be 

used in the specifications setting 

process include, but are not limited to, 

new survey biomass indices, reported 

landings, estimated discards, and 

estimates of state-waters landings. 

The Council, the PDT, and the 

Whiting Oversight Committee will 

monitor the status of the small-mesh 

multispecies fishery and resource. The 

Small-Mesh Multispecies PDT will meet 

to review the status of the stocks and the 

fishery. Based on this review, the PDT 

will report to the Council any changes 

or new information about the smallmesh multispecies stocks and/or 

fishery, and the PDT should recommend 

whether the specifications for the 

upcoming year(s) need to be modified. 

If necessary, the PDT will provide 

advice and recommendations to the 

Whiting Oversight Committee and the 

Council regarding the need to adjust 

measures for the small-mesh 

multispecies fishery to better achieve 

the FMP’s objectives. 

The PDT’s recommendations will 

include the following information: OFL 

and ABC estimates for the next 3 fishing 

years, based on the control rules; ACLs 

that are set equal to 95 percent of the 

corresponding ABC; TALs that are 

calculated using an estimate of discards 

based on the most recent 3-year moving 

average for which data are available and 

an appropriate estimate of state-waters 

landings; an evaluation of catches 

compared to the ABCs in recent years; 

and any other measures that the PDT 

determines may be necessary to 

successfully implement the ACL 

framework, including, but not limited 

to, adjustments to the management 

uncertainty buffer between ABC and 

ACL. 

The PDT will provide these 

recommendations to the SSC for review. 

The SSC will either approve the PDT’s 

recommendations or provide alternative 

recommendations to the Council. The 

Council will then consider the SSC’s 

and PDT’s recommendations and make 

a decision on the specifications for the 

next 3 fishing years. The Council must 

establish ACLs that are equal to or lower 

than the SSC’s recommended ABCs. 

Once the Council has approved ACLs, 

they will be submitted to NMFS for 

approval and implementation. After 

receiving the Council’s ACLs, NMFS 

will review the recommendations and 

implement the ACLs in a manner 

consistent with the Administrative 

Procedure Act, if it is determined that 

the ACLs are consistent with applicable 

law. If the ACLs are determined to be 

inconsistent with applicable law, NMFS 

may publish alternative specifications 

that do not exceed the SSC’s 

recommendations and are consistent 

with applicable law. If new ACLs are 

not implemented for the start of the new 

specifications cycle, the old ACLs will 

remain in effect until they are replaced. 

Accountability Measures 

This final rule implements both a 

proactive (in-season) and a reactive 

(post-season) AM framework for the 

small-mesh multispecies fishery. NMFS 

intends for the two AMs to complement 

each other and to work jointly to ensure 

that the catch limits are not exceeded, 

and, if they are, to mitigate the potential 

harm to the small-mesh multispecies 

stocks. 

In-Season AM: Incidental Possession 

Limit Trigger 

This final rule implements an AM 

that will reduce the possession of a 

particular stock to an incidental level 

when a trigger limit for that stock’s TAL 

is projected to be reached. Under this 

approach, even if the TAL is exceeded, 

the possession limit will remain at the 

incidental level until the end of the 

fishing year. Based on a review of recent 

data and recommendations from the 

Council, this final rule implements the 

following incidental limits and triggers 

(Table 5). 

TABLE 5—INCIDENTAL POSSESSION LIMITS AND TRIGGERS

% of TAL Incidental limit 

Red Hake ......................................................................................................................... 90 400 lb ................ 181.44 kg 

Silver and Offshore Hake, Combined .............................................................................. 90 1,000 lb ............ 907.18 kg 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 19141 

Post-Season AM: Pound-for-Pound 

Payback of an ACL Overage 

The post-season AM requires NMFS, 

through the Northeast Regional 

Administrator, to deduct from a 

subsequent year’s ACL any overage of a 

stock’s ACL in a given year. ACL 

overages that occur in one year would 

be deducted from the ACL in the second 

year after the overage occurred (i.e., year 

3). The data that are necessary to 

determine if an ACL was exceeded is 

not available until sometime the 

following year. Implementing the AM in 

year 3 is appropriate for the small-mesh 

multispecies fishery because this fishery 

in the northern area is restricted by the 

groundfish regulations in area and 

season. An in-season adjustment (i.e., in 

year 2) to an ACL might result in some 

exemption areas opening, while others 

would not. This also allows vessel 

owners the opportunity to prepare for 

the reduction with ample time to adjust 

their business plans. 

Council Actions 

Since the publication of the proposed 

rule for the Secretarial Amendment, the 

Council has preliminarily selected 

preferred measures for the purpose of 

public hearings on a draft of 

Amendment 19. Most of the measures 

being implemented in the Secretarial 

Amendment were also the Council’s 

preferred alternatives, with three 

exceptions. First, the Council likely will 

propose a post-season AM that would 

reduce the in-season possession limit 

trigger by the same percentage by which 

the ACL was exceeded, instead of the 

pound-for-pound payback of an ACL 

overage implemented by this final rule. 

For example, if an ACL is exceeded by 

5 percent, the Council may propose in 

Amendment 19 that the trigger would be 

reduced to 85 percent for the next 

fishing year. Second, the Council may 

propose in Amendment 19 an in-season 

AM incidental possession limit for 

silver hake and offshore hake, 

combined, of 2,000 lb (907.18 kg), 

instead of the 1,000-lb (453.59 kg), 

combined, in-season possession limit 

trigger implemented by this final rule. 

The third measure that differs between 

the Council’s preliminary draft of 

Amendment 19 and the Secretarial 

Amendment is for the southern stock 

area quota framework. This final rule 

establishes an annual, stock-wide quota 

for the southern stock area. The Council 

may propose in Amendment 19 an 

annual, stock-wide quota that would 

switch to a quarterly, stock-wide quota 

in a subsequent fishing year if twothirds of a southern stock area quota is 

harvested in a year. None of these 

alternatives were analyzed in the 

Secretarial Amendment. The Council 

did not provide any comments on the 

Secretarial Amendment; therefore, no 

changes from the proposed rule have 

been made based on the Council’s work 

on Amendment 19. 

Comments and Responses 

One comment was received from an 

individual expressing support for the 

Secretarial Amendment and increased 

management of the small-mesh 

multispecies fishery in general. A 

second comment simply stated that ‘I’m 

not sure this is a good idea,’ without 

further explanation. For the reasons 

stated above, this rule is necessary and 

appropriate to bring the small-mesh 

multispecies fishery into compliance 

with the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

requirements concerning ACLs and 

AMs. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

As described above, we are 

implementing a change in the TAL 

calculations, based on updated 

information from the Council’s PDT. 

A technical correction to the 

regulations at 50 CFR 648.88, and the 

corresponding prohibition at 

§ 648.14(k)(15)(ii)(C) is also being 

implemented through this rule. This 

change is necessary to remove the 

confusion regarding which species a 

vessel issued a ‘‘non-regulated’’ 

Northeast multispecies permit may 

land. Specifically, there may be 

confusion regarding ocean pout, which 

is not, by definition, a ‘‘regulated 

species,’’ but is not one of the species 

that a vessel issued a ‘‘non-regulated’’ 

permit may land. 

Classification 

The Administrator, Northeast Region, 

NMFS, determined that the Secretarial 

Amendment to the Northeast 

Multispecies FMP is necessary for 

conservation and management of the 

small-mesh multispecies fishery and 

that it is consistent with the MagnusonStevens Act and other applicable laws. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to section 604 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), this 

final rule includes a FRFA in support of 

the Secretarial Amendment analyzing 

the rule’s impact on small entities. This 

FRFA incorporates the IRFA, a summary 

of the significant issues raised by the 

public comments in response to the 

IRFA, NMFS’ responses to those 

comments, relevant analyses in the 

Amendment and its EA, and a summary 

of the analyses completed to support the 

action implemented through this rule. A 

copy of the analyses done in the 

Amendment and EA is available from 

the Northeast Regional Administrator 

(see ADDRESSES). A summary of the 

IRFA was published in the proposed 

rule for this action and is not repeated 

here. A description of why this action 

was considered, the objectives of, and 

the legal basis for this rule is contained 

in the preamble to the proposed rule 

and this final rule and 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 

Proposed Rule as a Result of Such 

Comments 

Two comments were received on the 

proposed rule and the amendment. 

However, neither addressed the IRFA or 

economic analysis contained in the 

Secretarial Amendment, and neither 

resulted in any changes to the rule. 

Description and Estimate of Number of 

Small Entities to Which the Final Rule 

Will Apply 

The Small Business Administration 

(SBA) considers commercial fishing 

entities (NAICS code 114111) to be 

small entities if they have no more than 

$4 million in annual sales, while the 

size standard for charter/party operators 

(part of NAICS code 487210) is $7 

million in sales. The participants in the 

commercial small-mesh multispecies 

fishery are those vessels issued limited 

or open access Northeast multispecies 

permits that land any of the small-mesh 

multispecies. Because any vessel at any 

time may be issued an open access 

Northeast multispecies permit, it is 

difficult to determine how many vessels 

or owners will participate in this fishery 

in a given year. Although some firms 

own more than one vessel, available 

data make it difficult to reliably identify 

ownership control over more than one 

vessel. For this analysis, the number of 

vessels landing at least 1 lb (0.45 kg) of 

any of the small-mesh multispecies is 

considered to be a maximum estimate of 

the number of small business entities. 

The average number of permitted 

vessels landing at least 1 lb (0.45 kg) of 

silver hake or red hake from 2005–2010 

was 562 vessels per year. Thus, all of 

the entities (fishing vessels) affected by 

this action are considered small entities 

under the SBA size standards for small 

fishing businesses ($4.0 million in 

annual gross sales). Therefore, there are 

no disproportionate effects on small 

versus large entities. 


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19142 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

Information on costs in the fishery is 

not readily available and individual 

vessel profitability cannot be 

determined directly; therefore, expected 

changes in gross revenues were used as 

a proxy for profitability. In general, the 

economic impacts from the measures 

implemented in the Secretarial 

Amendment are neutral. There may be 

slightly negative impacts if the inseason or post-season AMs are triggered. 

These measures would reduce the 

amount of fish available to the fleet, 

which in turn would reduce revenues. 

On the other hand, there are likely to be 

positive long-term impacts on the 

fishery, as these measures are intended 

to ensure that the sustainable harvesting 

of the small-mesh multispecies stocks. 

These effects would be evaluated at the 

time such measures, if necessary, are 

implemented. 

Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

There are no compliance 

requirements associated with this final 

rule implementing the Secretarial 

Amendment. 

This final rule does not duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with other Federal 

rules. 

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 

The management measures 

implemented in the Secretarial 

Amendment were developed to improve 

the overall management of the smallmesh multispecies fishery by 

establishing ACLs and AMs aimed at 

preventing overfishing. None of the 

measures being implemented in the 

Secretarial Amendment reduce fishing 

opportunities or flexibility. The TALs 

are well-above recent landings levels, 

except for northern red hake. These 

measures also promote efficiency within 

the fishery or reduce waste associated 

with regulatory discards by establishing 

incidental possession limits that take 

into account the existing behavior of the 

fleet and setting incidental possession 

limits at or above the current, marketdriven incidental level. 

Therefore, by implementing 

management measures that provide 

flexibility and efficiency and reduce 

waste, NMFS has taken the steps 

necessary to minimize the impacts of 

this action on small entities consistent 

with the stated objectives of applicable 

statutes. 

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 (the guide) was 

prepared. Copies of this final rule are 

available from the Northeast Regional 

Office, and the guide, i.e., permit holder 

letter, will be sent to all holders of 

permits for the Northeast multispecies 

fishery. The guide and this final rule 

will be available upon request, and 

posted on the Northeast Regional 

Office’s Web site at www.nero.noaa.gov. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: March 27, 2012. 

Alan D. Risenhoover, 

Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is 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. 

■ 1. In § 648.14, paragraph (k)(15)(ii)(C) 

is revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.14 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(k) * * * 

(15) * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(C) Open access NE multispecies 

(non-regulated species permit). It is 

unlawful for any owner or operator of a 

vessel issued a valid open access NE 

multispecies permit to possess or land 

any regulated species, as defined in 

§ 648.2, or to violate any applicable 

provisions of § 648.88, unless otherwise 

specified in §§ 648.14, 648.86, or 

648.88. 

* * * * * 

■ 2. In § 648.80, paragraphs (a)(8)(iii) 

and (a)(16)(iii) are revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.80 NE Multispecies regulated mesh 

areas and restrictions on gear and methods 

of fishing. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(8) * * * 

(iii) For exemptions allowing no 

incidental catch of regulated species, as 

defined under paragraph (a)(8)(i) of this 

section, the NEFMC may recommend to 

the Regional Administrator, through the 

framework procedure specified in 

§ 648.90(c), additions or deletions to 

exemptions for fisheries, either existing 

or proposed, for which there may be 

insufficient data or information for the 

Regional Administrator to determine, 

without public comment, percentage 

catch of regulated species. For 

exemptions allowing incidental catch of 

regulated species, as defined under 

paragraph (a)(8)(ii) of this section, the 

NEFMC may recommend to the 

Regional Administrator, through the 

framework procedure specified in 

§ 648.90(c), additions or deletions to 

exemptions for fisheries, either existing 

or proposed, for which there may be 

insufficient data or information for the 

Regional Administrator to determine, 

without public comment, the risk that 

this exemption would result in a 

targeted regulated species fishery, the 

extent of the fishery in terms of time 

and area, and the possibility of 

expansion in the fishery. 

* * * * * 

(16) * * * 

(iii) Annual review. On an annual 

basis, the Groundfish PDT will review 

data from this fishery, including sea 

sampling data, to determine whether 

adjustments are necessary to ensure that 

regulated species bycatch remains at a 

minimum. If the Groundfish PDT 

recommends adjustments to ensure that 

regulated species bycatch remains at a 

minimum, the Council may take action 

prior to the next fishing year through 

the framework adjustment process 

specified in § 648.90(c), and in 

accordance with the Administrative 

Procedure Act. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 648.86, paragraph (d)(4) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 648.86 NE Multispecies possession 

restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(d) * * * 

(4) In-season adjustment of smallmesh multispecies possession limits. If 

the Regional Administrator projects that 

90 percent of a stock area TAL, as 

defined in § 648.90(b)(3), has been 

landed, the Regional Administrator 

shall reduce the possession limit of that 


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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 19143 

stock described in paragraphs (d)(4)(i) 

and (ii) of this section, for the remainder 

of the fishing year through notice 

consistent with the Administrative 

Procedure Act, unless such a reduction 

in the possession limit would be 

expected to prevent the TAL from being 

reached. 

(i) Red hake. If a possession limit 

reduction is needed for a stock area, the 

incidental possession limit for red hake 

in that stock area will be 400 lb (181.44 

kg) for the remainder of the fishing year. 

(ii) Silver hake and offshore hake. If 

a possession limit reduction is needed 

for a stock area, the incidental 

possession limit for silver hake and 

offshore hake, combined, in that stock 

area will be 1,000 lb (453.59 kg) for the 

remainder of the fishing year. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 648.88, paragraph (d) is revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 648.88 Multispecies open access permit 

restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(d) Non-regulated NE multispecies 

permit. A vessel issued a valid open 

access non-regulated NE multispecies 

permit may possess and land one 

Atlantic halibut and unlimited amounts 

of the other non-regulated NE 

multispecies, unless otherwise 

restricted by § 648.86. The vessel is 

subject to restrictions on gear, area, and 

time of fishing specified in § 648.80 and 

any other applicable provisions of this 

part. 

■ 5. In § 648.90, the introductory text is 

revised, and paragraphs (b) and (c)(1)(ii) 

are revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.90 NE multispecies assessment, 

framework procedures and specifications, 

and flexible area action system. 

For the NE multispecies framework 

specification process described in this 

section, the regulated species and ocean 

pout biennial review is considered a 

separate process from the small-mesh 

species annual review, as described in 

paragraphs (a)(2) and (b)(1), 

respectively, of this section. In addition, 

the process for specifying ABCs and 

associated ACLs for regulated species 

and ocean pout, as described in 

paragraph (a)(4) of this section, is 

considered a separate process from the 

small-mesh species ABC and ACL 

process described in paragraph (b)(2) of 

this section. 

* * * * * 

(b) Small-mesh multispecies—(1) 

Three-year specifications process, 

annual review, and Stock Assessment 

and Fishery Evaluation. The Council 

will specify on at least a 3-year basis the 

OFL, ABC, ACLs, and TALs for each 

small-mesh multispecies stock in 

accordance with the following process. 

(i) At least every 3 years, based on the 

annual review, described below in 

paragraph (b)(3) of this section, and/or 

the SAFE Report described in paragraph 

(b)(4) of this section, recommendations 

for ABC from the Scientific and 

Statistical Committee (SSC), and any 

other relevant information, the SmallMesh Multispecies PDT will 

recommend to the Whiting Oversight 

Committee and Council specifications 

including the OFL, ABC, ACL and TAL 

for each small-mesh multispecies stock 

the following specifications for a period 

of at least 3 years. The Small-Mesh 

Multispecies PDT and the Council will 

follow the process in paragraph (b)(2) of 

this section for setting these 

specifications. 

(ii) The Small-Mesh Multispecies 

PDT, after reviewing the available 

information on the status of the stock 

and the fishery, may recommend to the 

Council any measures necessary to 

assure that the specifications will not be 

exceeded, as well as changes to the 

appropriate specifications. 

(iii) Taking into account the annual 

review and/or SAFE Report described in 

paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the 

advice of the SSC, and any other 

relevant information, the Small-Mesh 

Multispecies PDT may also recommend 

to the Whiting Oversight Committee and 

Council changes to stock status 

determination criteria and associated 

thresholds based on the best scientific 

information available, including 

information from peer-reviewed stock 

assessments of small-mesh multispecies. 

These adjustments may be included in 

the Council’s specifications for the 

small-mesh multispecies fishery. 

(iv) Council recommendation. (A) The 

Council will review the 

recommendations of the Small-Mesh 

Multispecies PDT, Whiting Oversight 

Committee, and SSC, any public 

comment received thereon, and any 

other relevant information, and make a 

recommendation to the Regional 

Administrator on appropriate 

specifications and any measures 

necessary to assure that the 

specifications will not be exceeded. 

(B) The Council’s recommendation 

must include supporting 

documentation, as appropriate, 

concerning the environmental, 

economic, and social impacts of the 

recommendations. The Regional 

Administrator will consider the 

recommendations and publish a rule in 

the Federal Register proposing 

specifications and associated measures, 

consistent with the Administrative 

Procedure Act. 

(C) The Regional Administrator may 

propose specifications different than 

those recommended by the Council. If 

the specifications published in the 

Federal Register differ from those 

recommended by the Council, the 

reasons for any differences must be 

clearly stated and the revised 

specifications must satisfy the criteria 

set forth in this section, the FMP, and 

other applicable laws. 

(D) If the final specifications are not 

published in the Federal Register for 

the start of the fishing year, the previous 

year’s specifications will remain in 

effect until superseded by the final rule 

implementing the current year’s 

specifications, to ensure that there is no 

lapse in regulations while new 

specifications are completed. 

(2) Process for specifying ABCs, ACLs 

and TALs. The Small-Mesh 

Multispecies PDT will calculate the OFL 

and ABC values for each small-mesh 

multispecies stock based on the control 

rules established in the FMP. These 

calculations will be reviewed by the 

SSC, guided by terms of reference 

developed by the Council. The ACLs 

and TALs will be calculated based on 

the SSC’s approved ABCs, as specified 

in paragraphs (a)(2)(i)(A) through (C), 

and (a)(2)(ii)(A) through (C) of this 

section. 

(i) Red hake—(A) ABCs. The 

Council’s SSC will recommend an ABC 

to the Council for both the northern and 

southern stocks of red hake. The red 

hake ABCs are reduced from the OFLs 

based on an adjustment for scientific 

uncertainty as specified in the FMP; the 

ABCs must be less than or equal to the 

OFL. 

(B) ACLs. The red hake ACLs are 

equal to 95 percent of the corresponding 

ABCs. 

(C) TALs. The red hake TALs are 

equal to the ACLs minus a discard 

estimate based on the most recent 3 

years of data. The red hake TALs are 

then reduced by 3 percent to account for 

red hake landings that occur in state 

waters. 

(ii) Silver and Offshore Hake—(A) 

ABCs. The Council’s SSC will 

recommend an ABC to the Council for 

both the northern and southern stocks of 

silver hake. The ABC for the southern 

stock of silver hake will be increased by 

4 percent to account for catch of 

offshore hake. The combined silver hake 

and offshore hake ABC in the southern 

area will be the southern whiting ABC. 

The silver hake and whiting ABCs are 

reduced from the OFLs based on an 

adjustment for scientific uncertainty as 

specified in the FMP; the ABCs must be 

less than or equal to the OFLs. 


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19144 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 62 / Friday, March 30, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

(B) ACLs. The northern silver hake 

and southern whiting ACLs are equal to 

95 percent of the ABCs. 

(C) TALs. The northern silver hake 

and southern whiting TALs are equal to 

the northern silver hake and southern 

whiting ACLs minus a discard estimate 

based on the most recent 3 years of data. 

The northern silver hake and southern 

whiting TALs are then reduced by 3 

percent to account for silver hake and 

offshore hake landings that occur in 

state waters. 

(3) Annual Review. (i) The SmallMesh Multispecies PDT will meet at 

least once annually to review the status 

of the stock and the fishery and the 

adequacy of the 3-year specifications. 

Based on such review, the PDT will 

provide a report to the Council on any 

changes or new information about the 

small-mesh multispecies stocks and/or 

fishery, and it will recommend whether 

the specifications for the upcoming 

year(s), established pursuant to 

paragraph (b)(1) of this section, need to 

be modified. At a minimum, this review 

should include a review of at least the 

following data, if available: Commercial 

catch data; current estimates of fishing 

mortality and catch-per-unit-effort 

(CPUE); discards; stock status; recent 

estimates of recruitment; virtual 

population analysis results and other 

estimates of stock size; sea sampling, 

port sampling, and survey data or, if sea 

sampling data are unavailable, length 

frequency information from port 

sampling and/or surveys; impact of 

other fisheries on the mortality of smallmesh multispecies; and any other 

relevant information. 

(ii) If new and/or additional 

information becomes available, the 

Small-Mesh Multispecies PDT will 

consider it during this annual review. 

Based on this review, the Small-Mesh 

Multispecies PDT will provide guidance 

to the Whiting Oversight Committee and 

the Council regarding the need to adjust 

measures for the small-mesh 

multispecies fishery to better achieve 

the FMP’s objectives. After considering 

this guidance, the Council may submit 

to NMFS its recommendations for 

changes to management measures, as 

appropriate, through the specifications 

process described in this section, the 

process specified in paragraph (c) of this 

section, or through an amendment to the 

FMP. 

(4) SAFE Report. (i) The Small-Mesh 

Multispecies PDT will prepare a SAFE 

Report at least every 3 years. Based on 

the SAFE Report, the Small-Mesh 

Multispecies PDT will develop and 

present to the Council recommended 

specifications as defined in paragraph 

(a) of this section for up to 3 fishing 

years. The SAFE Report will be the 

primary vehicle for the presentation of 

all updated biological and socioeconomic information regarding the 

small-mesh multispecies fishery. The 

SAFE Report will provide source data 

for any adjustments to the management 

measures that may be needed to 

continue to meet the goals and 

objectives of the FMP. 

(ii) In any year in which a SAFE 

Report is not completed by the SmallMesh Multispecies PDT, the annual 

review process described in paragraph 

(a) of this section will be used to 

recommend any necessary adjustments 

to specifications and/or management 

measures in the FMP. 

(5) Accountability measures for the 

small-mesh multispecies fishery—(i) Inseason adjustment of possession limits. 

If the Regional Administrator projects 

that 90 percent of a stock area TAL, as 

defined in § 648.90(b)(3), has been 

landed, the Regional Administrator 

shall reduce the possession limit of that 

stock to the incidental level, as specified 

in § 648.86(d)(4), for the remainder of 

the fishing year through notice 

consistent with the Administrative 

Procedure Act, unless such a reduction 

in the possession limit would be 

expected to prevent the TAL from being 

reached. 

(ii) Post-season adjustment for an 

overage. If NMFS determines that a 

small-mesh multispecies ACL was 

exceeded in a given fishing year, the 

exact amount of the landings overage 

will be deducted, as soon as is 

practicable, from a subsequent single 

fishing year’s ACL for that stock, 

through notification consistent with the 

Administrative Procedure Act. 

(c) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(ii) Adjustment process for whiting 

DAS. The Council may develop 

recommendations for a whiting DAS 

effort reduction program through the 

framework process outlined in 

paragraph (c) of this section only if 

these options are accompanied by a full 

set of public hearings that span the area 

affected by the proposed measures in 

order to provide adequate opportunity 

for public comment. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2012–7710 Filed 3–29–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 111213751–2102–02] 

RIN 0648–XB138 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod for 

American Fisheries Act Catcher/ 

Processors Using Trawl Gear in the 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; closure. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is prohibiting directed 

fishing for Pacific cod by American 

Fisheries Act (AFA) trawl catcher/ 

processors in the Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands management area 

(BSAI). This action is necessary to 

prevent exceeding the B season 

allowance of the 2012 Pacific cod total 

allowable catch specified for AFA trawl 

catcher/processors in the BSAI. 

DATES: Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local 

time (A.l.t.), April 1, 2012, through 1200 

hrs, A.l.t., June 10, 2012. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Obren Davis, 907–586–7228. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS 

manages the groundfish fishery in the 

BSAI exclusive economic zone 

according to the Fishery Management 

Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea 

and Aleutian Islands Management Area 

(FMP) prepared by the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council under 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. Regulations governing fishing by 

U.S. vessels in accordance with the FMP 

appear at subpart H of 50 CFR part 600 

and 50 CFR part 679. 

The B season allowance of the 2012 

Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) 

specified for AFA trawl catcher/ 

processors in the BSAI is 1,340 metric 

tons (mt) as established by the final 

2012 and 2013 harvest specifications for 

groundfish in the BSAI (77 FR 10669, 

February 23, 2012). 

In accordance with § 679.20(d)(1)(i) 

and (d)(1)(ii)(B), the Administrator, 

Alaska Region, NMFS (Regional 

Administrator), has determined that the 

B season allowance of the 2012 Pacific 

cod TAC allocated to AFA trawl 

catcher/processors in the BSAI will be 

taken as incidental catch in the directed 

fishing for other species. Therefore, the 


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