Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Proposed Rules 3207 

contractual relationship with that PSAP, 

statewide default answering point, or 

appropriate local emergency authority, 

shall be the 911 NOC Provider in that 

jurisdiction. 

(b) Responsibilities of 911 NOC 

Provider. The 911 NOC Provider in each 

jurisdiction shall monitor the 

availability of 911 services and 

coordinate situational awareness and 

information sharing during disruptions 

in 911 service. For purposes of this 

section, disruptions in 911 service 

include events resulting in a complete 

loss of 911 service, as well as events that 

substantially impair service quality or 

public access to 911 without a complete 

loss of service, including disruption of 

automatic location information (ALI), 

automatic number identification (ANI), 

location information services (LIS), or 

any other services that locate callers 

geographically. 

(1) In the event of such a disruption 

in 911 service, the 911 NOC Provider 

shall request information from any other 

affected covered 911 service provider(s) 

regarding their situational awareness of 

the cause and scope of the outage from 

the origination to the completion of 911 

communications, including voice calls, 

ALI, ANI, LIS, and text-to-911. The 911 

NOC Provider shall then communicate 

to any other affected covered 911 

service providers, PSAPs, state 

emergency management offices, and to 

the Commission’s Operations Center, all 

information reasonably available to 

mitigate the effects of the disruption and 

to restore service. 

(2) All other covered 911 service 

providers shall communicate to the 911 

NOC Provider all reasonably available 

information regarding the cause and 

scope of a disruption in 911 service that 

occurs on or affects portions of the 911 

network that they own, lease, or 

otherwise operate or control and shall 

respond promptly to any request for 

such information by the 911 NOC 

Provider. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00940 Filed 1–21–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 73 

[MB Docket No. 14–236; RM–11739; DA 15– 

10] 

Radio Broadcasting Services; Bogata, 

Texas 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This document requests 

comments on a Petition for Rule Making 

filed by Charles Crawford, proposing to 

amend the FM Table of Allotments, of 

the Commission’s rules, by allotting 

Channel 247A at Bogata, Texas, as a first 

local service. A staff engineering 

analysis indicates that Channel 247A 

can be allotted to Bogata, Texas 

consistent with the minimum distance 

separation requirements of the 

Commission’s rules with a site 

restriction located 12.9 kilometers (8 

miles) northwest of Bogata. The 

reference coordinates are 33–33–21 NL 

and 95–18–28 WL. 

DATES: Comments must be filed on or 

before March 2, 2015, and reply 

comments on or before March 17, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Secretary, Federal 

Communications Commission, 445 12th 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20554. In 

addition to filing comments with the 

FCC, interested parties should serve the 

petitioner as follows: Charles Crawford, 

2215 Cedar Springs Rd., #1605, Dallas, 

Texas 75201. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rolanda F. Smith, Media Bureau, (202) 

418–2700. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

synopsis of the Commission’s Notice of 

Proposed Rule Making, MB Docket No. 

14–236, adopted January 8, 2015, and 

released January 9, 2015. The full text 

of this Commission decision is available 

for inspection and copying during 

normal business hours in the FCC’s 

Reference Information Center at Portals 

II, CY–A257, 445 12th Street SW., 

Washington, DC 20554. This document 

may also be purchased from the 

Commission’s duplicating contractors, 

Best Copy and Printing, Inc., 445 12th 

Street SW., Room CY–B402, 

Washington, DC 20554, telephone 1– 

800–378–3160 or via email 

www.BCPIWEB.com. This document 

does not contain proposed information 

collection requirements subject to the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 

Public Law 104–13. In addition, 

therefore, it does not contain any 

proposed information collection burden 

‘‘for small business concerns with fewer 

than 25 employees,’’ pursuant to the 

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 

2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C. 

3506(c)(4). 

Provisions of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of l980 do not apply to 

this proceeding. 

Members of the public should note 

that from the time a Notice of Proposed 

Rule Making is issued until the matter 

is no longer subject to Commission 

consideration or court review, all ex 

parte contacts are prohibited in 

Commission proceedings, such as this 

one, which involve channel allotments. 

See 47 CFR 1.1204(b) for rules 

governing permissible ex parte contacts. 

For information regarding proper 

filing procedures for comments, see 47 

CFR 1.415 and 1.420. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73 

Radio, Radio broadcasting. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Nazifa Sawez, 

Assistant Chief, Audio Division, Media 

Bureau. 

Proposed Rule 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR 

part 73 as follows: 

PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST 

SERVICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 73 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334, 336 and 

339. 

§ 73.202 [Amended] 

■ 2. Section 73.202(b), the Table of FM 

Allotments under Texas, is amended by 

adding Bogata, Channel 247A. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01021 Filed 1–21–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 140501394–5011–01] 

RIN 0648–BE20 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery Off the Southern 

Atlantic States; Amendment 32 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to 

implement Amendment 32 to the 

Fishery Management Plan for the 

Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South 

Atlantic Region (FMP), as prepared by 

the South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council (Council). If implemented, this 

rule would remove blueline tilefish 

from the deep-water complex; establish 

blueline tilefish commercial and 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
3208 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

recreational sector annual catch limits 

(ACLs) and accountability measures 

(AMs); revise the deep-water complex 

ACLs and AMs; establish a blueline 

tilefish commercial trip limit; and revise 

the blueline tilefish recreational bag 

limit. The purpose of this rule is to 

specify ACLs and AMs for blueline 

tilefish to end overfishing of the stock 

and maintain catch levels consistent 

with achieving optimum yield (OY) for 

the blueline tilefish resource. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before February 23, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the proposed rule identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2014–0145’’ 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-2014- 

0145, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Rick DeVictor, 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 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). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. 

Electronic copies of Amendment 32, 

which includes an environmental 

assessment, an initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis (IRFA), and a 

regulatory impact review, may be 

obtained from the Southeast Regional 

Office Web site at http://

sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_

fisheries/s_atl/sg/2014/am32/

index.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick 

DeVictor, telephone: 727–824–5305, or 

email: rick.devictor@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

blueline tilefish is in the snappergrouper fishery of the South Atlantic, 

and the fishery is managed under the 

FMP. The FMP was prepared by the 

Council and is implemented through 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

Background 

A benchmark assessment for the 

blueline tilefish stock in the South 

Atlantic was conducted through the 

Southeast, Data, Assessment, and 

Review (SEDAR) process in 2013 

(SEDAR 32). At its October 2013 

meeting, the Council’s Scientific and 

Statistical Committee (SSC) determined 

the 2013 stock assessment was based on 

the best scientific information available 

and considered the assessment to be 

appropriate for management decisions. 

The assessment determined that the 

blueline tilefish stock is undergoing 

overfishing in the South Atlantic. As 

required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 

the Council must therefore implement 

measures to end overfishing within 2 

years of notification of an overfishing 

status. NMFS notified the Council of the 

blueline tilefish stock status on 

December 6, 2013. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

that ACLs and AMs be implemented to 

prevent overfishing and achieve the OY 

from a fishery. An ACL is the level of 

annual catch of a stock that, if exceeded, 

triggers AMs. AMs are management 

controls to prevent ACLs from being 

exceeded and to correct any overages of 

ACLs if they occur. Two examples of 

AMs include an in-season closure if 

landings reach or are projected to reach 

the ACL, and a post-season overage 

adjustment which would reduce the 

ACL if an overage occurred during the 

previous fishing year. 

NMFS published an emergency rule 

on April 17, 2014 (79 FR 21636), that 

implemented temporary measures to 

reduce overfishing of blueline tilefish 

while Amendment 32 was being 

developed. Those measures were 

extended through a temporary rule on 

October 14, 2014 (79 FR 61262, October 

10, 2014), and are effective through 

April 18, 2015, while Amendment 32 

and the associated rulemaking are under 

review. The temporary measures of the 

emergency action include the following: 

Removal of blueline tilefish from the 

deep-water complex, specification of 

sector ACLs and AMs for blueline 

tilefish, and revision to the deep-water 

complex ACL to reflect the removal of 

blueline tilefish from the complex. 

Management Measures Contained in 

This Proposed Rule 

Removal of Blueline Tilefish From the 

Deep-Water Complex 

This proposed rule would remove 

blueline tilefish from the deep-water 

complex. In 2012, the Comprehensive 

ACL Amendment established a deepwater complex that contained the 

following eight species: blueline tilefish, 

yellowedge grouper, silk snapper, misty 

grouper, queen snapper, sand tilefish, 

black snapper, and blackfin snapper (77 

FR 15916, March 16, 2012). The 

Comprehensive ACL Amendment also 

specified ACLs and AMs for the 

complex where the complex’s ACLs 

were based upon an acceptable 

biological catch (ABC) recommendation 

provided by the Council’s SSC. In the 

absence of stock assessments, the ABCs 

for these and other unassessed species 

in the Comprehensive ACL Amendment 

were based on median or average catch. 

The Council placed most unassessed 

snapper-grouper species into complexes 

because many unassessed snappergrouper species are data-limited stocks 

that are known to have issues with 

species identification and/or extreme 

fluctuations in relative landings through 

time due to rarity, or lack of targeted 

fishing effort. 

As a result of blueline tilefish being 

assessed through SEDAR 32 and the 

Council’s SSC providing an assessmentbased ABC recommendation for blueline 

tilefish, the Council decided to remove 

blueline tilefish from the deep-water 

complex and establish individual ACLs 

and AMs for the blueline tilefish stock. 

The Council has determined that 

sufficient information is now available 

for blueline tilefish and the rationale for 

grouping the species with other datalimited species in the deep-water 

complex no longer applies. 

Blueline Tilefish Commercial and 

Recreational ACLs and AMs 

This proposed rule would implement 

individual blueline tilefish commercial 

and recreational sector ACLs (based on 

the revised ABC for blueline tilefish 

specified in Amendment 32) to end 

overfishing of the stock. In Amendment 

32, the Council defines the blueline 

tilefish stock ACL equal to 98 percent of 

the ABC. Due to improved data 

reporting, the Council has consistently 

chosen to set ACL equal to ABC for 

snapper-grouper species. However, for 

blueline tilefish in Amendment 32, the 

Council decided to set the stock ACL at 

98 percent of the proposed ABC to 

account for landings that occur north of 

the Council’s area of jurisdiction. 

Approximately 2 percent of the total 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Proposed Rules 3209 

blueline tilefish harvested were landed 

north of the North Carolina/Virginia 

border. Therefore, this rule would 

establish blueline tilefish stock ACLs 

(combined commercial and recreational 

ACLs, equivalent to a total ACL), of 

35,632 lb (16,162 kg) for 2015, 53,457 lb 

(24,248 kg) for 2016, 71,469 lb (32,418 

kg) for 2017, and 87,974 lb (39,904 kg) 

for 2018, and subsequent fishing years. 

All ACL weights are expressed in round 

weight. Additionally, this rule would 

establish sector-specific ACLs for the 

blueline tilefish commercial and 

recreational sectors based upon the 

Council’s previously established 

blueline tilefish allocations of 50.07 

percent and 49.93 percent for the 

commercial and recreational sectors, 

respectively. The commercial ACLs 

would be 17,841 lb (8,093 kg) for 2015, 

26,766 lb (12,141 kg) for 2016, 35,785 lb 

(16,232 kg) for 2017, and 44,048 lb 

(19,980 kg) for 2018, and subsequent 

fishing years. The recreational ACLs 

would be 17,791 lb (8,070 kg) for 2015, 

26,691 lb (12,107 kg) for 2016, 35,685 lb 

(16,186 kg) for 2017, and 43,925 lb 

(19,924 kg) for 2018, and subsequent 

fishing years. 

This rule would implement 

commercial and recreational in-season 

AMs for blueline tilefish. If commercial 

or recreational landings for blueline 

tilefish reach or are projected to reach 

the applicable ACL, then the 

commercial or recreational sector, as 

applicable, would be closed for the 

remainder of the fishing year. The 

recreational sector would not have an 

in-season closure if the Regional 

Administrator (RA) determines, using 

the best scientific information available, 

that a closure would be unnecessary. 

Additionally, if the total ACLs are 

exceeded in a fishing year, then during 

the following fishing year the 

commercial and recreational sectors will 

not have an increase in their respective 

sector ACLs. 

This rule would also implement postseason ACL overage adjustments 

(paybacks) for blueline tilefish. For the 

commercial sector, if commercial 

landings exceed the commercial ACL, 

and the combined commercial and 

recreational ACL (stock ACL) is 

exceeded, and blueline tilefish are 

overfished, then during the following 

fishing year the commercial ACL would 

be reduced for that following year by the 

amount of the commercial ACL overage 

in the prior fishing year. For the 

recreational sector, if recreational 

landings for blueline tilefish exceed the 

applicable recreational ACL, and the 

combined commercial and recreational 

ACL (stock ACL) is exceeded, and 

blueline tilefish are overfished, then the 

recreational fishing season in the 

following fishing year would be reduced 

to ensure recreational landings do not 

exceed the recreational ACL the 

following fishing year. Additionally, the 

recreational ACL would be reduced by 

the amount of the recreational ACL 

overage from the prior fishing year. 

However, the recreational fishing season 

and recreational ACL would not be 

reduced if the RA determines, using the 

best scientific information available that 

no reduction is necessary. 

Additional Blueline Tilefish 

Management Measures 

This rule would implement a 

commercial trip limit and revise the 

recreational bag limit for blueline 

tilefish. This rule would establish a 

commercial trip limit of 100 lb (45 kg), 

gutted weight; 112 lb (51 kg), round 

weight. The trip limit is expected to 

slow the rate of harvest, potentially 

lengthening the commercial season 

during a fishing year, and reduce the 

risk of the commercial ACL from being 

exceeded. 

For the recreational bag limit, blueline 

tilefish are currently part of the 

aggregate grouper and tilefish bag limit 

of 3 fish per person per day. This 

proposed rule would revise the blueline 

tilefish bag limit within the aggregate to 

set a specific blueline tilefish bag limit 

of one per vessel per day for the months 

of May through August. There would be 

no retention of blueline tilefish by the 

recreational sector from January through 

April and from September through 

December each year. A bag limit of one 

blueline tilefish per vessel per day and 

an 8-month annual closure was 

determined to best meet address ending 

overfishing, reducing recreational 

harvest, and potentially reducing 

blueline tilefish discards if blueline 

tilefish are targeted less during the open 

season because of the lower bag limit. 

The Council determined that the 

shortened summer seasonal opening 

could provide increased stability for 

planning purposes to recreational 

fishermen as it could minimize the risk 

of an in-season closure and the 

recreational ACL being exceeded, which 

may require post-season AMs in the 

following fishing year. In addition, the 

Council determined that an opening 

during the summer months could 

increase safety at sea by allowing fishing 

to occur in the generally calmer summer 

weather compared to a January 1 season 

opening during the winter. The vessel 

limit and fishing season dates for the 

blueline tilefish recreational sector 

would match what is being proposed by 

the Council for snowy grouper through 

Regulatory Amendment 20 to the FMP. 

The Council determined that similar 

recreational management measures and 

fishing seasons would be beneficial to 

the fish stocks as both species are 

caught at the same depths and have 

similar high release mortality rates. 

Deep-Water Complex Commercial and 

Recreational ACLs and AMs 

This proposed rule would revise the 

ACLs and AMs for the deep-water 

complex (composed of yellowedge 

grouper, silk snapper, misty grouper, 

queen snapper, sand tilefish, black 

snapper, and blackfin snapper). The 

ACLs are being revised for two reasons. 

First, as Amendment 32 proposes to 

remove blueline tilefish from the deepwater complex, this proposed rule 

would remove the current blueline 

tilefish portion from the complex total 

ACL. The permanent blueline tilefish 

portion of the complex ACL is 631,341 

lb (286,371 kg), round weight, and the 

total deep-water complex ACL is 

711,025 lb (322,516 kg), round weight. 

The emergency rule set both a new, 

separate blueline tilefish ACL of 

224,100 lb (101,650 kg), round weight 

and a revised deep-water complex ACL 

without blueline tilefish of 79,684 lb 

(36,144 kg), round weight. Second, 

through Amendment 29 to the FMP, 

which is currently in rulemaking, the 

Council is proposing a revision to the 

ABC control rule for data-poor species 

based on recommendations from the 

SSC. If Amendment 29 is approved and 

implemented, the portion of the deepwater complex ABC for silk snapper and 

yellowedge grouper would change. The 

Council submitted Amendment 29 to 

the Secretary of Commerce on October 

14, 2014, the notice of availability for 

the amendment was published in the 

Federal Register on November 24, 2014 

(79 FR 69819), and the proposed rule 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 8, 2014 (79 FR 72567). 

Therefore, this proposed rule would 

change the deep-water complex total 

ACL (both sectors without blueline 

tilefish but with the increased catch 

levels for silk snapper and yellowedge 

grouper resulting from Amendment 29), 

to 170,278 lb (77,237 kg), round weight. 

Additionally, this proposed rule would 

establish sector specific ACLs for the 

deep-water complex based on the 

allocations for species in the deep-water 

complex that were established in the 

Comprehensive ACL Amendment (77 

FR 15916, March 16, 2012). The 

commercial ACL for the complex would 

be 131,634 lb (59,708 kg), round weight 

and the recreational ACL for the 

complex would be 38,644 lb (17,529 kg), 

round weight. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
3210 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

This proposed rule would revise the 

AMs for the deep-water complex. This 

proposed rule would retain the current 

commercial in-season AM, revise the 

commercial post-season AM, and 

implement revised recreational AMs for 

the deep-water complex. If commercial 

or recreational landings for the deepwater complex reach or are projected to 

reach their applicable ACL, then the 

commercial or recreational sector, as 

applicable, would be closed for the 

remainder of the fishing year. The 

recreational sector would not have an 

in-season closure if the RA determined, 

using the best scientific information 

available, that a closure was 

unnecessary. The Council decided that 

the in-season AM for both sectors is 

necessary to reduce the risk that 

landings exceed the ACL. 

This proposed rule would also modify 

the post-season ACL overage 

adjustments for the deep-water 

complex. Currently, if deep-water 

complex commercial landings exceed 

the ACL and at least one species in the 

complex is overfished, the commercial 

ACL is reduced in the following year by 

the overage amount. This proposed rule 

would modify the commercial postseason AMs as follows: If commercial 

landings exceed the commercial ACL, 

and the combined commercial and 

recreational ACL (total ACL) is 

exceeded, and at least one species in the 

deep-water complex is overfished, then 

during the following fishing year the 

complex commercial ACL would be 

reduced for that following year by the 

amount of the complex’s commercial 

ACL overage in the prior fishing year. 

Currently, if recreational landings for 

the deep-water complex exceed the 

recreational ACL, then during the 

following fishing year, recreational 

landings will be monitored for a 

persistence in increased landings and, if 

necessary, the length of the following 

recreational fishing season will be 

reduced by the amount necessary to 

ensure recreational landings do not 

exceed the recreational ACL in the 

following fishing year. This proposed 

rule would modify the recreational postseason AMs as follows: For the 

recreational sector, if recreational 

landings for the deep-water complex 

exceed the applicable recreational ACL, 

and the combined commercial and 

recreational ACL is exceeded, and at 

least one species in the complex is 

overfished, then length of the 

recreational fishing season in the 

following fishing year would be reduced 

to ensure recreational landings do not 

exceed the recreational ACL the 

following fishing year. Additionally, the 

recreational ACL would be reduced by 

the amount of the recreational ACL 

overage from the prior fishing year. 

However, the recreational fishing season 

and recreational ACL would not be 

reduced if the RA determined, using the 

best scientific information available, 

that no reduction is necessary. 

Additional Measures Contained in 

Amendment 32 

Amendment 32 also contains actions 

that would not be specified in the 

regulations. Amendment 32 revises the 

definitions of management thresholds 

for South Atlantic blueline tilefish, 

including maximum sustainable yield 

(MSY), OY, and ABC, and establishes 

recreational annual catch targets (ACTs) 

for blueline tilefish and revises the 

ACTs for the deep-water complex. 

Definitions of MSY and OY were 

established for blueline tilefish in 

Amendment 11 to the FMP (64 FR 

59126, November 2, 1999). Amendment 

32 would revise these definitions based 

upon the most recent scientific 

information contained in SEDAR 32. 

Amendment 32 would specify the MSY 

value for blueline tilefish and set the OY 

equal to the ACL. Amendment 32 would 

also establish recreational ACTs for 

blueline tilefish and revise the ACTs for 

the deep-water complex. The deepwater complex ACTs are being revised 

to reflect the removal of blueline tilefish 

from the complex and the change in the 

deep-water complex ABC as described 

above. These ACTs are management 

reference points to track performance of 

the management measures but do not 

trigger AMs. 

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 Amendment 32, the FMP, 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. 

NMFS prepared a supplemental IRFA 

for this rule, as required by section 603 

of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 

U.S.C. 603. The IRFA describes the 

economic impact that this proposed 

rule, if implemented, would have on 

small entities. A description of the 

action, why it is being considered, and 

the objectives of and legal basis for this 

action are contained in the preamble. A 

copy of the full analysis is available 

from the NMFS (see ADDRESSES). A 

summary of the supplemental IRFA 

follows. 

Every commercial fishing vessel in 

the South Atlantic snapper-grouper 

fishery must have either a valid Federal 

South Atlantic unlimited snappergrouper permit or a trip-limited permit. 

Both permits are limited access permits, 

and a vessel with a trip-limited permit 

is limited to no more than 225 lb (102.1 

kg) round weight (whole weight), per 

trip. As of November 5, 2014, there were 

539 vessels with a valid unlimited 

permit and 111 vessels with a valid triplimited permit. An estimated annual 

average of 277 vessels landed deepwater complex species from 2008 

through 2012. From that, it is estimated 

that up to 277 commercial fishing 

vessels and up to 277 commercial 

fishing businesses would be directly 

affected by the proposed rule. 

According to Small Business Act Size 

Standards, a business in the finfish 

fishing industry is small if its annual 

receipts are less than $20.5 million. 

Based on estimates of average annual 

dockside revenue per vessel, it is 

concluded that a substantial number of 

the directly affected commercial fishing 

businesses are small businesses. 

The proposed changes to management 

measures would directly apply to 

businesses in the finfish fishing 

industry (NAICS 114111) that harvest 

blueline tilefish and other species of the 

deep-water complex of the South 

Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery. 

Proposed changes in this rule would 

also directly apply to anglers; however, 

anglers, whether aboard for-hire fishing 

or private and leased vessels, are not 

considered small entities as that term is 

defined in 5 U.S.C. 601(6) and so 

therefore are not further discussed in 

this summary. 

The proposed increase of the 

commercial ACL for the deep-water 

complex beyond its temporary value 

could have a beneficial economic 

impact by as much as an additional 

$244,116 to $338,690 (2012 dollars) 

annually in dockside revenue. The 

average annual economic benefit per 

vessel is estimated to be from $1,596 to 

$2,214 (2012 dollars). 

The proposed commercial ACL and 

AMs for blueline tilefish are expected to 

reduce average annual commercial 

landings of blueline tilefish from 2015 

through 2019 by as much as 142,300 to 

323,426 lb (64,546 to 146,704 kg) round 

weight, and dockside revenue by as 

much as $576,330 to $679,195 (2012 

dollars). That change represents an 

approximate 89 percent to 91 percent 

reduction of average annual dockside 

revenue from blueline tilefish landings 

over that time. The average annual loss 

per vessel is estimated to range from 

$4,648 to $5,477 (2012 dollars), which 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Proposed Rules 3211 

represents approximately 6 percent to 7 

percent of average annual receipts of 

these vessels. 

From 2008 through 2012, the average 

trip landed 525 lb (238.1 kg) gutted 

weight, of blueline tilefish, and an 

annual average of 124 commercial 

vessels had blueline tilefish landings. 

Without the proposed trip limit, the 

current average landings of 525 lb (238.1 

kg), gutted weight, per trip would reach 

the proposed commercial ACL of 17,841 

lb (8,092.5 kg) round weight, or 15,929 

lb (7,225.3 kg), gutted weight, in 2015, 

by 30 trips and an estimated 94 vessels 

and up to 94 small businesses would 

have no blueline tilefish landings in 

2015, as a result of AMs being triggered 

and the commercial season being 

closed. The proposed 100-lb (45.4-kg), 

gutted weight, trip limit would increase 

the number of trips necessary to reach 

the commercial ACL to 1,593, which 

would improve the likelihood that all of 

the estimated 124 vessels and small 

businesses, especially the smallest of 

those businesses, would have some 

blueline tilefish commercial landings 

during the year. 

The 100-lb (45.4-kg) trip limit would 

reduce average blueline tilefish landings 

per trip by 425 lb (192.8 kg) gutted 

weight, and $897 (2012 dollars), which 

is an 81 percent reduction in landings 

(by weight and value) per trip with 

blueline tilefish landings. That 

reduction of average blueline tilefish 

landings per trip represents a loss of 

approximately 28 percent of average 

dockside revenue per trip. 

The average of 525 lb (238.1 kg), 

gutted weight, per trip is not 

representative of all vessels in the 

snapper-grouper fishery. Vessels with a 

trip-limited permit cannot presently 

land more than 201 lb (91.2 kg), guttedweight, of blueline tilefish per trip. The 

small businesses with trip-limited 

permits would lose no more than $222 

(2012 dollars) in dockside revenue per 

trip. Hence, the 100 lb (45.4-kg), gutted 

weight, trip limit would represent at 

most a 51 percent reduction in landings 

(by weight and value) per trip for those 

vessels with a trip-limited permit. 

The proposed 100 lb (45.4 kg), gutted 

weight, trip limit would increase triprelated costs. Specifically, it would 

prevent larger vessels from experiencing 

traditional economies of scale. 

Consequently, it is expected that small 

businesses with vessels that have 

unlimited poundage permits would 

incur larger increases in average unit 

costs per pound of blueline tilefish 

landed than those with vessels that have 

225 lb (102.1 kg), round weight, trip 

limit permits. 

Commercial ACLs for the deep-water 

complex less than the proposed 131,634 

lb (59,708 kg), round weight, were 

considered but not adopted by the 

Council. A lesser commercial ACL 

would result in either a smaller 

beneficial economic impact than the 

preferred alternative or an adverse 

economic impact. 

A lesser commercial ACL for blueline 

tilefish was considered but not adopted 

and it, when combined with the inseason AM, would generate larger 

adverse economic impacts on small 

businesses. Other considered but not 

adopted alternatives would establish a 

higher commercial ACL than the 

preferred alternative for blueline 

tilefish, which would have smaller 

adverse economic impacts in the short 

run, but potentially larger adverse 

economic impacts in the long run. 

Among the considered but not 

adopted alternatives were higher 

commercial trip limits, which would 

have smaller adverse economic impacts 

on small businesses per trip. However, 

the higher trip limits would shorten the 

length of the open commercial season, 

reduce the number of small businesses 

that have landings of blueline tilefish 

during the year, and increase the 

likelihood that the smallest of the small 

businesses would have zero blueline 

tilefish landings during the year. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Blueline tilefish, deep-water complex, 

Fisheries, Fishing, South Atlantic, 

Snapper-Grouper. 

Dated: January 14, 2015. 

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 622 is proposed 

to be amended 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 § 622.183, paragraph (b)(7) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 622.183 Area and seasonal closures. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(7) Blueline tilefish recreational sector 

closure. The recreational sector for 

blueline tilefish in or from the South 

Atlantic EEZ is closed from January 1 

through April 30, and September 1 

through December 31, each year. During 

a closure, the bag and possession limit 

for blueline tilefish in or from the South 

Atlantic EEZ is zero. 

■ 3. In § 622.187, paragraphs (b)(2)(iii) 

and (iv) are revised and paragraph (v) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 622.187 Bag and possession limits. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(iii) No more than one fish may be a 

golden tilefish; 

(iv) No more than one fish per vessel 

may be a blueline tilefish; and 

(v) No goliath grouper or Nassau 

grouper may be retained. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 622.191, paragraph (a)(10) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 622.191 Commercial trip limits. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(10) Blueline tilefish. Until the 

applicable ACL specified in 

§ 622.193(z)(1)(iii) is reached or 

projected to be reached, 100 lb (45 kg), 

gutted weight; 112 lb (51 kg), round 

weight. See § 622.193(z)(1)(i) for the 

limitations regarding blueline tilefish 

after the commercial ACL is reached. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 622.193, the suspension on 

paragraph (h) is lifted and paragraph (h) 

is revised, and paragraph (z) is added to 

read as follows: 

§ 622.193 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

* * * * * 

(h) Deep-water complex (including 

yellowedge grouper, silk snapper, misty 

grouper, queen snapper, sand tilefish, 

black snapper, and blackfin snapper)— 

(1) Commercial sector—(i) If commercial 

landings for the deep-water complex, as 

estimated by the SRD, reach or are 

projected to reach the commercial ACL 

of 131,634 lb (59,708 kg), round weight, 

the AA will file a notification with the 

Office of the Federal Register to close 

the commercial sector for the remainder 

of the fishing year. On and after the 

effective date of such a notification, all 

sale or purchase of deep-water complex 

species is prohibited and harvest or 

possession of these species in or from 

the South Atlantic EEZ is limited to the 

bag and possession limit. This bag and 

possession limit applies in the South 

Atlantic on board a vessel for which a 

valid Federal commercial or charter 

vessel/headboat permit for South 

Atlantic snapper-grouper has been 

issued, without regard to where such 

species were harvested, i.e., in state or 

Federal waters. 


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3212 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 14 / Thursday, January 22, 2015 / Proposed Rules 

(ii) If commercial landings exceed the 

ACL, and the combined commercial and 

recreational ACL (total ACL) specified 

in paragraph (h)(3) of this section, is 

exceeded, and at least one of the species 

in the deep-water complex is 

overfished, based on the most recent 

Status of U.S. Fisheries Report to 

Congress, the AA will file a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register, 

at or near the beginning of the following 

fishing year to reduce the commercial 

ACL for that following year by the 

amount of the commercial ACL overage 

in the prior fishing year. 

(2) Recreational sector. (i) If 

recreational landings for the deep-water 

complex, as estimated by the SRD, are 

projected to reach the recreational ACL 

of 38,644 lb (17,529 kg), round weight, 

the AA will file a notification with the 

Office of the Federal Register to close 

the recreational sector for the remainder 

of the fishing year, unless the RA 

determines that no closure is necessary 

based on the best scientific information 

available. On and after the effective date 

of such a notification, the bag and 

possession limit is zero. 

(ii) If recreational landings for the 

deep-water complex, exceed the 

applicable recreational ACL, and the 

combined commercial and recreational 

ACL (total ACL) specified in paragraph 

(h)(3) of this section is exceeded, and at 

least one of the species in the deepwater complex is overfished, based on 

the most recent Status of U.S. Fisheries 

Report to Congress, the AA will file a 

notification with the Office of the 

Federal Register, to reduce the length of 

the recreational fishing season in the 

following fishing year to ensure 

recreational landings do not exceed the 

recreational ACL the following fishing 

year. When NMFS reduces the length of 

the following recreational fishing season 

and closes the recreational sector, the 

following closure provisions apply: The 

bag and possession limits for the deepwater complex in or from the South 

Atlantic EEZ is zero. Additionally, the 

recreational ACL will be reduced by the 

amount of the recreational ACL overage 

in the prior fishing year. The fishing 

season and recreational ACL will not be 

reduced if the RA determines, using the 

best scientific information available that 

no reduction is necessary. 

(3) The combined commercial and 

recreational sector ACL (total ACL) is 

170,278 lb (77,237 kg), round weight. 

* * * * * 

(z) Blueline tilefish—(1) Commercial 

sector. (i) If commercial landings for 

blueline tilefish, as estimated by the 

SRD, reach or are projected to reach the 

applicable ACL in paragraph (z)(1)(iii) 

of this section, the AA will file a 

notification with the Office of the 

Federal Register to close the commercial 

sector for the remainder of the fishing 

year. On and after the effective date of 

such a notification, all sale or purchase 

of blueline tilefish is prohibited and 

harvest or possession of this species in 

or from the South Atlantic EEZ is 

limited to the bag and possession limit. 

This bag and possession limit applies in 

the South Atlantic on board a vessel for 

which a valid Federal commercial or 

charter vessel/headboat permit for 

South Atlantic snapper-grouper has 

been issued, without regard to where 

such species were harvested, i.e., in 

state or Federal waters. 

(ii) If commercial landings exceed the 

ACL, and the combined commercial and 

recreational ACL (total ACL) specified 

in paragraph (z)(3) of this section is 

exceeded, and blueline tilefish are 

overfished, based on the most recent 

Status of U.S. Fisheries Report to 

Congress, the AA will file a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register, 

at or near the beginning of the following 

fishing year to reduce the commercial 

ACL for that following year by the 

amount of the commercial ACL overage 

in the prior fishing year. 

(iii) The applicable commercial ACLs, 

in round weight, are 17,841 lb (8,093 kg) 

for 2015, 26,766 lb (12,141 kg) for 2016, 

35,785 lb (16,232 kg) for 2017, and 

44,048 lb (19,980 kg) for 2018 and 

subsequent fishing years. The 

commercial ACL will not increase 

automatically in a subsequent fishing 

year if landings exceed or are projected 

to exceed the total ACL in the prior 

fishing year, as specified in paragraph 

(z)(3) of this section. 

(2) Recreational sector. (i) If 

recreational landings for blueline 

tilefish, as estimated by the SRD, are 

projected to reach the applicable ACL in 

paragraph (z)(2)(iii) of this section, the 

AA will file a notification with the 

Office of the Federal Register to close 

the recreational sector for the remainder 

of the fishing year, unless the RA 

determines that no closure is necessary 

based on the best scientific information 

available. On and after the effective date 

of such a notification, the bag and 

possession limit is zero. 

(ii) If recreational landings for 

blueline tilefish, exceed the applicable 

recreational ACL, and the combined 

commercial and recreational ACL (total 

ACL) specified in paragraph (z)(3) of 

this section, is exceeded, and blueline 

tilefish is overfished, based on the most 

recent Status of U.S. Fisheries Report to 

Congress, the AA will file a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register, 

to reduce the length of the recreational 

fishing season in the following fishing 

year to ensure recreational landings do 

not exceed the recreational ACL the 

following fishing year. When NMFS 

reduces the length of the following 

recreational fishing season and closes 

the recreational sector, the following 

closure provisions apply: the bag and 

possession limit for blueline tilefish in 

or from the South Atlantic EEZ is zero. 

Additionally, the recreational ACL will 

be reduced by the amount of the 

recreational ACL overage in the prior 

fishing year. The fishing season and 

recreational ACL will not be reduced if 

the RA determines, using the best 

scientific information available that no 

reduction is necessary. 

(iii) The applicable recreational ACLs, 

in round weight, are 17,791 lb (8,070 kg) 

for 2015, 26,691 lb (12,107 kg) for 2016, 

35,685 lb (16,186 kg) for 2017, and 

43,925 lb (19,924 kg) for 2018 and 

subsequent fishing years. The 

recreational ACL will not increase 

automatically in a subsequent fishing 

year if landings exceed or are projected 

to exceed the total ACL in the prior 

fishing year, as specified in paragraph 

(z)(3) of this section. 

(3) Without regard to overfished 

status, if the combined commercial and 

recreational ACL (total ACL), as 

estimated by the SRD, is exceeded in a 

fishing year, then during the following 

fishing year, an automatic increase will 

not be applied to the commercial and 

recreational ACLs. The RA will evaluate 

the landings data, using the best 

scientific information available, to 

determine whether or not an increase in 

the commercial and recreational ACLs 

will be applied. The applicable 

combined commercial and recreational 

sector ACLs (total ACLs), in round 

weight are 35,632 lb (16,162 kg) for 

2015, 53,457 lb (24,248 kg) for 2016, 

71,469 lb (32,418 kg) for 2017, and 

87,974 lb (39,904 kg) for 2018 and 

subsequent fishing years. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00880 Filed 1–21–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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