Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Proposed Rules 6085 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 240124–0022] 

RIN 0648–BM63 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Fishery 

Management Plans of Puerto Rico, St. 

Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John; 

Framework Amendment 2 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement 

management measures described in 

Framework Amendment 2 to the Fishery 

Management Plans for Puerto Rico, St. 

Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John 

(collectively, the island-based FMPs). If 

implemented, this proposed rule would 

modify annual catch limits (ACLs) for 

spiny lobster in the U.S. Caribbean 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off 

Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas 

and St. John. The purpose of this 

proposed rule is to update management 

reference points for spiny lobster, 

consistent with the best scientific 

information available to prevent 

overfishing and achieve optimum yield 

(OY). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received no later than March 1, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the proposed rule, identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2023–0137’’ by either 

of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://

www.regulations.gov and type ‘‘NOAA– 

NMFS–2023–0137’’ in the Search box 

(copying and pasting the FDMS Docket 

Number directly from this document 

may not yield results). Click on the 

‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete the required 

fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 

• Mail: Submit all written comments 

to Sarah Stephenson, Southeast 

Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th 

Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

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 https://www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

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

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). 

An electronic copy of Framework 

Amendment 2, which includes an 

environmental assessment, a regulatory 

impact review, and a Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis, may be 

obtained from the Southeast Regional 

Office website at https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/action/generic-frameworkamendment-2-updates-spiny-lobsteroverfishing-limit-acceptable-biological. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Stephenson, Southeast Regional 

Office, NMFS, telephone: 727–824– 

5305, email: sarah.stephenson@

noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas 

and St. John fisheries include spiny 

lobster, and are managed under the 

island-based FMPs. The island-based 

FMPs were prepared by the Caribbean 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

and NMFS. NMFS implements the 

island-based FMPs through regulations 

at 50 CFR part 622 under the authority 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

Background 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

NMFS and regional fishery management 

councils to prevent overfishing and to 

achieve, on a continuing basis, the OY 

from federally managed fish stocks to 

ensure that fishery resources are 

managed for the greatest overall benefit 

to the Nation, particularly with respect 

to providing food production and 

recreational opportunities, and 

protecting marine ecosystems. 

For Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands (USVI), NMFS, with the advice 

of the Council, manages fisheries under 

the island-based FMPs. The islandbased FMPs contain management 

measures applicable for Federal waters 

off the respective island group. Federal 

waters around Puerto Rico extend 

seaward from 9 nautical miles (nmi; 

16.7 km) from shore to the offshore 

boundary of the EEZ. Federal waters 

around St. Croix, and St. Thomas and 

St. John extend seaward from 3 nmi (5.6 

km) from shore to the offshore boundary 

of the EEZ. 

For spiny lobster in the U.S. 

Caribbean EEZ, only commercial 

landings data are collected. Because 

recreational landings data are not 

available, the ACLs for spiny lobster are 

based on commercial landings and 

apply to all harvest for the stock, 

whether commercial or recreational. 

In 2019, the Southeast Data, 

Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) 

completed separate stock assessments 

for spiny lobster for the Puerto Rico, St. 

Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John 

management areas (SEDAR 57). The 

Council’s Scientific and Statistical 

Committee (SSC) reviewed SEDAR 57, 

determined it to be suitable for 

management advice, and provided catch 

level recommendations. In response to 

SEDAR 57 and the SSC’s advice, the 

Council prepared Framework 

Amendment 1 to the island-based FMPs 

to update the OFLs, ABCs, and ACLs, 

and accountability measures (AMs) for 

spiny lobster. Framework Amendment 1 

set ACLs for spiny lobster based on 

recommendations from its SSC. NMFS 

published the final rule to implement 

Framework Amendment 1 on March 16, 

2023 (88 FR 16194). 

Subsequent to the implementation of 

Framework Amendment 1, the Council 

requested that the NMFS Southeast 

Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) 

conduct an update to SEDAR 57 to 

provide overfishing limits (OFL) and 

acceptable biological catch (ABC) 

estimates for spiny lobster for each 

island group for 2024 to 2026. Update 

assessments occur between regular, 

more comprehensive SEDAR 

assessments to determine trends in 

stock condition and project future catch 

advice. The SEFSC presented results of 

the 2022 Update Assessment to SEDAR 

57 (SEDAR 57 Update) to the Council’s 

SSC at its November–December 2022 

meeting. The SSC accepted the SEDAR 

57 Update and recommended both 

variable- and constant-catch OFLs and 

ABCs for spiny lobster under each FMP. 

The constant-catch values 

recommended by the SSC were equal to 

the average OFL or ABC values 

projected for 2024 to 2026 in the 2022 

Update Assessment. The Council 

reviewed these recommendations in 

December 2022. 

Consistent with the SEDAR 57 

Update, and recommendations from the 

SSC, the Council developed Framework 

Amendment 2 to prevent overfishing of 

spiny lobster and achieve OY for each 

stock, consistent with the requirements 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. For each 

FMP, the Council recommended 

constant-catch ACLs for spiny lobster 

equal to 95 percent of the constant-catch 

ABCs recommended by the SSC, which 

reflects the Council’s management 

uncertainty buffer. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
6086 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

All weights described in this 

proposed rule are in round weight. 

Management Measures Contained in 

This Proposed Rule 

This proposed rule would revise the 

ACLs for spiny lobster in the EEZ 

around Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. 

Thomas and St. John. 

For the Puerto Rico FMP, the ACL for 

spiny lobster would decrease from the 

current ACL of 366,965 lb (166,452 kg) 

to 357,629 lb (162,218 kg). 

For the St. Croix FMP, the ACL for 

spiny lobster would increase from the 

current ACL of 120,830 lb (54,807 kg) to 

137,254 lb (62,257 kg). 

For the St. Thomas and St. John FMP, 

the ACL for spiny lobster would 

increase from the current ACL of 

126,089 lb (57,193 kg) to 133,207 lb 

(60,422 kg). 

NMFS notes that Puerto Rico 

commercial landings of spiny lobster in 

recent years have come close to or 

exceeded the ACL. Therefore, NMFS 

reduced the length of the 2021 and 2022 

fishing seasons as required by the AMs 

specified in 622.440(c)(2) (87 FR 38008, 

June 27, 2022 and 86 FR 40787, July 29, 

2021). Conversely, commercial landings 

of spiny lobster in St. Croix, and St. 

Thomas and St. John in recent years 

have been below the respective ACLs, 

and therefore no reduction in the length 

of their fishing seasons was required. 

Measures in Framework Amendment 2 

Not Codified in This Proposed Rule 

In addition to the revised ACLs 

described in this proposed rule, 

Framework Amendment 2 would revise 

the spiny lobster OFLs and ABCs for 

Puerto Rico, St. Croix, and St. Thomas 

and St. John. 

For the Puerto Rico FMP, the OFL for 

spiny lobster would decrease from 

438,001 lb (198,673 kg) to 426,858 lb 

(193,620 kg) and the ABC for spiny 

lobster would decrease from 386,279 lb 

(175,213 kg) to 376,452 lb (170,756 kg). 

For the St. Croix FMP, the OFL for 

spiny lobster would increase from 

144,219 lb (65,416 kg) to 163,823 lb 

(74,309 kg) and the ABC for spiny 

lobster would increase from 127,189 lb 

(57,691 kg) to 144,478 lb (65,534 kg). 

For the St. Thomas and St. John FMP, 

the OFL for spiny lobster would 

increase from 150,497 lb (68,264 kg) to 

158,993 lb (75,118 kg) and the ABC for 

spiny lobster would increase from 

132,725 lb (60,203 kg) to 140,218 

(63,602 kg). 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the FMPs for Puerto Rico, St. 

Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John, 

other provisions of the MagnusonStevens 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. A 

description of this proposed rule, why 

it is being considered, and the purpose 

of this proposed rule are contained in 

the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

of the preamble. A copy of the full 

analysis is available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). The factual basis of this 

determination follows. The purpose of 

this proposed rule is to update the 

OFLs, ABCs, and ACLs for spiny lobster, 

consistent with the best scientific 

information available, with the objective 

to prevent overfishing and achieve OY. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the 

legal basis for this proposed rule. No 

duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting 

Federal rules have been identified. No 

new reporting and record-keeping 

requirements are introduced by this 

proposed rule. All monetary estimates 

in the following analysis are in 2021 

dollars. 

The proposed action would directly 

affect both anglers (recreational fishers) 

and commercial fishing businesses that 

harvest spiny lobster in the U.S. 

Caribbean EEZ. Anglers, however, are 

not considered small entities as that 

term is defined in 5 U.S.C. 601(6), 

whether fishing from for-hire fishing, 

privately owned, or leased vessels. 

Therefore, neither estimates of the 

number of anglers nor the impacts on 

them are required or provided in this 

analysis. 

Any business that operates a 

commercial fishing vessel that lands 

spiny lobster in Puerto Rico or the USVI 

must be licensed to do so by the 

respective territorial government. Each 

licensed fisher represents a unique 

commercial fishing business. 

For RFA purposes, NMFS has 

established a small business size 

standard for businesses, including their 

affiliates, whose primary industry is 

commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). 

A business primarily involved in 

commercial fishing (North American 

Industry Classification System 11411) is 

classified as a small business if it is 

independently owned and operated, is 

not dominant in its field of operation 

(including its affiliates), and its 

combined annual receipts are not in 

excess of $11 million for all of its 

affiliated operations worldwide. 

From 2017 through 2021, the 

commercial sector of the Puerto Rico 

fishery as a whole generated average 

annual direct revenues of about $9.58 

million. Therefore, all commercial 

fishing businesses in Puerto Rico are 

small. During the same 5 years, an 

annual average of 710 commercial 

fishers reported landings; however, not 

all small businesses reported operating 

in the EEZ and harvesting spiny lobster. 

From 2017 through 2021, an average of 

64 (9.0 percent) of Puerto Rico’s small 

businesses reported landings of spiny 

lobster from the EEZ annually. These 64 

small businesses collectively accounted 

for about 6.6 percent of all spiny lobster 

commercial landings by weight and 

value. 

From 2015 through 2019, which is the 

most recent revenue data available for 

the USVI, the commercial fishing sector 

collectively generated average annual 

direct revenues of $4.39 million. 

Therefore, all commercial fishing 

businesses in the USVI (St. Croix, and 

St. Thomas and St. John) are small. 

During the same 5-year period, an 

annual average of 59 small businesses 

reported landings in St. Croix. Not all of 

these 59 active commercial fishing 

businesses operated in the EEZ and 

harvested spiny lobster. From 2015 

through 2019, an average of 11 (18.3 

percent) of St. Croix’s 59 active small 

businesses reported landings of spiny 

lobster from the EEZ. These 11 small 

businesses collectively accounted for 

33.5 percent of all spiny lobster 

commercial landings in St. Croix by 

weight and 34.2 percent by value. 

During the period from 2015 through 

2019, an annual average of 67 small 

businesses reported landings in St. 

Thomas and St. John. Not all of these 

active businesses landed spiny lobster 

from the EEZ. During that time period, 

an annual average of 20 (30.1 percent) 

of St. Thomas and St. John’s 67 active 

small businesses reported landings of 

spiny lobster from the EEZ. These 20 

small businesses collectively accounted 

for 61.8 percent of all spiny lobster 

landings in St. Thomas and St. John by 

weight and 61.3 percent by value. 

In summary, 64 small commercial 

fishing businesses in Puerto Rico, 11 in 

St. Croix, and 20 in St. Thomas and St. 

John would be directly affected by the 

proposed rule annually. 

This proposed rule would decrease 

the spiny lobster ACL for Puerto Rico 

from 366,965 lb (166,452 kg) to 357,629 

lb (162,218 kg). The average of the 3 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 21 / Wednesday, January 31, 2024 / Proposed Rules 6087 

most recent years of landings is 

compared to the ACL. In 2022, the 3 

most recent years of landings were 2017 

through 2019 and NMFS compared the 

average of those landings to the ACL 

and found the average to exceed the 

ACL at that time. In 2024, the most 

recent 3 years of landings are from 2019 

through 2021. From 2019 through 2021, 

an annual average of 313,837 lb 

(142,354 kg) of spiny lobster was landed 

in Puerto Rico, and that annual average 

is less than the proposed ACL. More 

recently, from 2020 through 2022, the 

annual average was 228,522 lb (103,656 

kg), and that average is less than the 

proposed ACL. Because those more 

recent averages are less than the 

proposed ACL, there is expected to be 

no economic impact on small 

commercial fishing businesses in Puerto 

Rico that harvest spiny lobster in the 

EEZ. 

This proposed rule would increase 

the spiny lobster ACL for St. Croix from 

120,830 lb (54,807 kg) to 137,254 lb 

(62,257 kg). From 2015 through 2019, 3- 

year averages of landings of spiny 

lobster in St. Croix have been much 

lower than the current and proposed 

ACLs every year. As such, the proposed 

rule is expected to have no economic 

impact on small businesses of St. Croix. 

This proposed rule would increase 

the spiny lobster ACL for St. Thomas 

and St. John from 126,089 lb (57,193 kg) 

to 133,207 lb (60,422 kg). From 2015 

through 2019, 3-year averages of 

landings of spiny lobster in St. Thomas 

and St. John have been much lower than 

the current and proposed ACLs every 

year. As such, the proposed rule is 

expected to have no economic impact 

on small businesses of St. Thomas and 

St. John. 

In summary, this proposed rule is 

expected to have no significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities of Puerto Rico, 

St. Croix, and St. Thomas and St. John. 

As a result, an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis is not required and 

none has been prepared. 

This proposed rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Caribbean, Fisheries, Fishing, Spiny 

lobster. 

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

Dated: January 24, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 622 as follows: 

PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE 

CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND 

SOUTH ATLANTIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 622 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 622.440, revise paragraph (c)(1) 

to read as follows: 

§ 622.440 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

* * * * * 

(c) * * *. (1) The ACL is 357,629 lb 

(162,218 kg), round weight. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 622.480, revise paragraph (c)(1) 

to read as follows: 

§ 622.480 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

* * * * * 

(c) * * *. (1) The ACL is 137,254 lb 

(62,257 kg), round weight. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 622.515, revise paragraph (c)(1) 

to read as follows: 

§ 622.515 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

* * * * * 

(c) * * *. (1) The ACL is 133,207 lb 

(60,422 kg), round weight. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–01716 Filed 1–30–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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