14870 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

List of Subjects in 42 CFR Part 410 

Health facilities, Health professions, 

Kidney diseases, Laboratories, 

Medicare, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Rural areas, X-rays. 

Accordingly, 42 CFR chapter IV is 

corrected by making the following 

correcting amendments to part 410: 

PART 410—SUPPLEMENTARY 

MEDICAL INSURANCE (SMI) 

BENEFITS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 410 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: Secs. 1102, 1834, 1871, 1881, 

and 1893 of the Social Security Act (42 

U.S.C. 1302, 1395m, 1395hh, and 1395ddd. 

■ 2. Section 410.26 is amended by 

revising paragraph (b)(5) to read as 

follows: 

§ 410.26 Services and supplies incident to 

a physician’s professional services: 

Conditions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(5) In general, services and supplies 

must be furnished under the direct 

supervision of the physician (or other 

practitioner). Chronic care management 

services and transitional care 

management services (other than the 

required face-to-face visit) can be 

furnished under general supervision of 

the physician (or other practitioner) 

when they are provided by clinical staff 

incident to the services of a physician 

(or other practitioner). The physician (or 

other practitioner) supervising the 

auxiliary personnel need not be the 

same physician (or other practitioner) 

upon whose professional service the 

incident to service is based. 

* * * * * 

Dated: March 13, 2015. 

C’Reda Weeden, 

Executive Secretary to the Department, 

Department of Health and Human Services. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06427 Filed 3–19–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–C 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 140902739–5224–02] 

RIN 0648–BE49 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 

Butterfish Fisheries; Specifications 

and Management Measures 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing 2015 

specifications and management 

measures for Atlantic mackerel, 2015– 

2017 specifications for Illex squid, 

2015–2017 specifications for longfin 

squid, and 2015–2017 specifications for 

butterfish. This action also establishes a 

simplified butterfish fishery closure 

mechanism. These specifications set 

catch levels to prevent overfishing and 

allocate catch to commercial and 

recreational fisheries. Additionally, the 

simplified butterfish closure mechanism 

makes operation of the fishery more 

efficient and consistent with the higher 

catch limit for butterfish. These 

specifications and management 

measures are consistent with the 

Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish 

Fishery Management Plan and the 

recommendations of the Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council. 

DATES: Effective April 20, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the specifications 

document, including the Environmental 

Assessment and Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (EA/IRFA) and 

other supporting documents for the 

specifications, are available from Dr. 

Christopher Moore, Executive Director, 

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council, Suite 201, 800 N. State Street, 

Dover, DE 19901. The specifications 

document is also accessible via the 

Internet at: http://

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Carly Bari, Fishery Policy Analyst, (978) 

281–9224. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Specifications, as referred to in this 

rule, are the combined suite of 

commercial and recreational catch 

levels established for one or more 

fishing years. The specifications process 

also allows for the modification of a 

select number of management measures, 

such as closure thresholds, gear 

restrictions, and possession limits. The 

Council’s process for establishing 

specifications relies on provisions 

within the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, 

and Butterfish Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) and its implementing 

regulations, as well as requirements 

established by the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act. Specifically, section 302(g)(1)(B) of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act states that 

the Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) for each Regional Fishery 

Management Council shall provide its 

Council ongoing scientific advice for 

fishery management decisions, 

including recommendations for 

acceptable biological catch (ABC), 

preventing overfishing, maximum 

sustainable yield, and achieving 

rebuilding targets. The ABC is a level of 

catch that accounts for the scientific 

uncertainty in the estimate of the stock’s 

defined overfishing level (OFL). 

The Council’s SSC met on May 7 and 

8, 2014, to recommend ABCs for the 

2015 Atlantic mackerel specifications, 

and the 2015–2017 butterfish, Illex 

squid, and longfin squid specifications. 

On November 14, 2014, NMFS 

published a proposed rule for fishing 

year 2015 for the mackerel, squid, and 

butterfish fishery specifications and 

management measures (79 FR 68202); 

the public comment period for the 

proposed rule ended December 15, 

2014. 

The Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 

Butterfish FMP regulations require the 

specification of annual catch limits 

(ACL) and accountability measures 

(AM) for mackerel and butterfish (both 

squid species are exempt from the ACL/ 

AM requirements because they have a 

life cycle of less than 1 year). In 

addition, the regulations require the 

specification of domestic annual harvest 

(DAH), domestic annual processing 

(DAP), and total allowable level of 

foreign fishing (TALFF), along with 

joint venture processing for (JVP) 

commercial and recreational annual 

catch totals (ACT) for mackerel, the 

butterfish mortality cap in the longfin 

squid fishery, and initial optimum yield 

(IOY) for both squid species. Details 

concerning the Council’s development 

of these measures were presented in the 

preamble of the proposed rule and are 

not repeated here. 

In addition to the specifications, this 

action simplifies the management 

measure for the directed buttefish 

fishery and changes the regulations in 

regard to possession limits. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 14871 

Final 2015 Specifications for Atlantic 

Mackerel 

TABLE 1—2015 SPECIFICATIONS IN

METRIC TONS (mt) FOR ATLANTIC

MACKEREL

Overfishing limit 

(OFL) Unknown 

ABC ...................................... 40,165 

ACL ....................................... 25,039 

Commercial ACT .................. 21,138 

Recreational ACT/Recreational Harvest Limit 

(RHL) ................................. 1,397 

DAH/DAP .............................. 20,872 

JVP ....................................... 0 

TALFF ................................... 0 

The proposed rule for this action 

included the details of how the Council 

derived its recommended mackerel 

specifications, and NMFS is not 

including these details in this final rule. 

This action establishes the mackerel 

stock-wide ABC of 40,165 mt and the 

U.S. ABC of 25,039 mt, based on the 

formula U.S. ABC = Stock-wide 

ABC¥C, where C is the estimated catch 

of mackerel in Canadian waters (15,126 

mt) for the 2014 fishing year. The ACL 

is set equal to U.S. ABC at 25,039 mt, 

the commercial ACT is set at 21,138 mt, 

the DAH and DAP are both set at 20,872 

mt, and the recreational ACT is set at 

1,397 mt. 

The recreational fishery allocation for 

mackerel is 1,552 mt (6.2 percent of the 

U.S. ABC). The recreational ACT of 

1,397 mt (90 percent of 1,552 mt) 

accounts for uncertainty in recreational 

catch and discard estimates. The 

Recreational ACT is equal to the 

Recreational Harvest Limit (RHL), 

which is the effective cap on 

recreational catch. 

The commercial fishery allocation for 

mackerel is 23,487 mt (93.8 percent of 

the U.S. ABC, the portion of the ACL 

that was not allocated to the recreational 

fishery). The commercial ACT of 21,138 

mt (90 percent of 23,487 mt) 

compensates for management 

uncertainty in estimated Canadian 

landings, uncertainty in discard 

estimates, and possible misreporting of 

mackerel catch. The commercial ACT is 

further reduced by a discard rate of 1.26 

percent to arrive at the DAH of 20,872 

mt. The DAH is the effective cap on 

commercial catch. 

Additionally, this action maintains 

JVP at zero (the most recent allocation 

was 5,000 mt of JVP in 2004). In the 

past, JVP was set greater than zero 

because it believed U.S. processors 

lacked the ability to process the total 

amount of mackerel that U.S. harvesters 

could land. However, for the past 10 

years, the Council has recommended 

zero JVP because U.S. shoreside 

processing capacity for mackerel has 

expanded. The Council concluded that 

processing capacity was no longer a 

limiting factor relative to domestic 

production of mackerel. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides 

that the specification of TALFF, if any, 

shall be the portion of the optimum 

yield (OY) of a fishery that will not be 

harvested by U.S. vessels. TALFF would 

allow foreign vessels to harvest U.S. fish 

and sell their product on the world 

market, in direct competition with U.S. 

industry efforts to expand exports. 

While a surplus existed between ABC 

and the mackerel fleet’s harvesting 

capacity for many years, that surplus 

has disappeared due to downward 

adjustments of the specifications in 

recent years. Based on analysis of the 

global mackerel market and possible 

increases in U.S. production levels, the 

Council concluded that specifying a 

DAH/DAP that would result in zero 

TALFF would yield positive social and 

economic benefits to both U.S. 

harvesters and processors, and to the 

Nation. For these reasons, consistent 

with the Council’s recommendation, the 

DAH is set at a level that can be fully 

harvested by the domestic fleet, thereby 

precluding the specification of a TALFF, 

in order to support the U.S. mackerel 

industry. NMFS concurs that it is 

reasonable to assume that in 2015 the 

commercial fishery has the ability to 

harvest 20,872 mt of mackerel. 

2015 Final River Herring and Shad 

Catch Cap in the Mackerel Fishery 

In order to limit river herring and 

shad catch, Amendment 14 to the FMP 

(February 24, 2014; 79 FR 10029) allows 

the Council to set a river herring and 

shad cap through annual specifications. 

For 2015 the cap is set at 89 mt initially, 

but if mackerel landings surpass 10,000 

mt before closure, then the cap will 

increase to 155 mt. The 89-mt cap 

represents the median annual river 

herring and shad catch by all vessels 

landing over 20,000 lb (9.08 mt) of 

mackerel per trip from 2005–2012. 

These were years when the fishery 

caught about 13,000 mt of mackerel. The 

155-mt cap is based on the median river 

herring and shad catch by all vessels 

landing over 20,000 lb (9.08 mt) of 

mackerel per trip from 2005–2012, 

adjusted to the 2015 proposed DAH 

(20,872 mt). The purpose of the two-tier 

system is to encourage the fishery to 

avoid river herring and shad regardless 

of the rate of mackerel catches. If 

mackerel catch is low, the 89-mt cap 

would encourage fishermen to avoid 

catching river herring and shad. If 

mackerel catch increases, the 155-mt 

cap should still allow mackerel fishing 

to occur as long as river herring and 

shad catch rates remain below the 

recent median. Once the mackerel 

fishery catches 95 percent of the river 

herring and shad cap, we will close the 

directed mackerel fishery and 

implement a 20,000-lb (9.08-mt) 

incidental catch trip limit for the 

remainder of the year. 

2015–2017 Final Illex Specifications 

TABLE 2—2015–2017 SPECIFICATIONS

IN METRIC TON (mt) FOR ILLEX SQUID

OFL Unknown 

ABC ...................................... 24,000 

Initial Optimum Yield (IOY) ... 22,915 

DAH/DAP .............................. 22,915 

This action establishes the Illex ABC 

as 24,000 mt for the 2015–2017 fishing 

years, subject to annual review. The 

ABC is reduced by the status quo 

discard rate of 4.52 percent, which 

results in an IOY, DAH, and DAP of 

22,914 mt for the 2015–2017 fishing 

years. These levels are the same as was 

specified for the Illex fishery in 2012– 

2014. The FMP does not authorize the 

specification of JVP and TALFF for the 

Illex fishery because of the domestic 

fishing industry’s capacity to harvest 

and to process the OY from this fishery. 

2015–2017 Final Longfin Squid 

Specifications 

TABLE 3—2015–2017 SPECIFICATIONS

IN METRIC TONS (mt) FOR LONGFIN

SQUID

OFL Unknown 

ABC ...................................... 23,400 

IOY ........................................ 22,445 

DAH/DAP .............................. 22,445 

This action establishes the longfin 

squid ABC of 23,400 mt for the 2015– 

2017 fishing years, subject to annual 

review. The ABC is reduced by the 

status quo discard rate of 4.08 percent, 

which results in an IOY, DAH, and DAP 

of 22,445 mt for the 2015–2017 fishing 

years. The FMP does not authorize the 

specification of JVP and TALFF for the 

longfin squid fishery because of the 

domestic industry’s capacity to harvest 

and process the OY for this fishery. 

Distribution of the Longfin DAH 

As was done in all fishing years since 

2007, the 2015–2017 longfin DAH is 

allocated into trimesters, according to 

percentages specified in the FMP, as 

follows: 

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14872 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 4—2015–2017 TRIMESTER ALLOCATION OF LONGFIN QUOTA

Trimester Percent Metric tons 

I (Jan–Apr) ............................................................................................................................................................... 43 9,651 

II (May–Aug) ............................................................................................................................................................ 17 3,816 

III (Sep–Dec) ............................................................................................................................................................ 40 8,978 

Total .................................................................................................................................................................. 100 22,445 

2015–2017 Final Butterfish 

Specifications 

TABLE 5—2015–2017 SPECIFICATIONS IN METRIC TONS (mt) FOR BUTTERFISH

2015 2016 2017 

OFL .............................................................................................................................................. 41,092 N/A N/A 

ABC .............................................................................................................................................. 33,278 31,412 30,922 

Commercial ACT (ABC minus 10-percent buffer) ....................................................................... 29,950 28,271 27,830 

DAH (ACT minus butterfish cap and discards) ........................................................................... 22,530 21,043 20,652 

Directed Fishery closure limit (DAH minus 1,411 mt buffer) ...................................................... 21,119 19,631 19,241 

Butterfish Cap (in the longfin squid fishery) ................................................................................ 3,884 3,884 3,884 

This action establishes the butterfish 

ABC at 33,278 mt for 2015 (increased 

dramatically from 9,100 mt in 2014) to 

account for the increased stock size and 

estimated expected fishing mortality in 

2014. The butterfish ABC is set at 

31,412 mt in 2016, and 30,933 mt in 

2017 to account for fishing mortality in 

2015 and 2016, respectively, with a 60- 

percent probability of not overfishing as 

required by the Council risk policy. The 

butterfish ACL is equal to the ABC, and 

establishing a 10-percent buffer between 

ACL and ACT for management 

uncertainty, results in an ACT of 29,950 

mt in 2015, 28,271 mt in 2016, and 

27,830 mt in 2017. 

The butterfish cap is set at 3,884 mt 

for the 2015–2017 fishing years, which 

is the same level as 2014. This cap has 

not constrained the longfin fishery and 

reserves most of the available butterfish 

quota for the directed butterfish fishery. 

The DAH is set at 22,530 mt in 2015, 

21,042 mt in 2016, and 20,652 in 2017, 

accounting for the butterfish cap and 

discards in non-longfin fisheries). 

Butterfish TALFF is only specified to 

address bycatch by foreign fleets 

targeting mackerel TALFF. Because 

there is no mackerel TALFF, butterfish 

TALFF would also be set at zero. 

The 2015 butterfish mortality cap is 

allocated by Trimester, as follows: 

TABLE 6—TRIMESTER ALLOCATION OF BUTTERFISH MORTALITY CAP ON THE LONGFIN SQUID FISHERY FOR 2015 

Trimester Percent Metric tons 

I (Jan–Apr) ............................................................................................................................................................... 43 1,670 

II (May–Aug) ............................................................................................................................................................ 17 660 

III (Sep–Dec) ............................................................................................................................................................ 40 1,554 

Total .................................................................................................................................................................. 100 3,844 

Butterfish Directed Fishery Closure 

Mechanism 

This action simplifies butterfish 

directed fishery closure mechanism to 

account for the dramatic increase in 

butterfish availability and increased 

DAH. Instead of the three-phased 

butterfish management season, this rule 

will allow vessels issued longfin squid/ 

butterfish moratorium permits (as 

specified at § 648.4(a)(5)(i)) to land 

unlimited amounts of butterfish if using 

mesh greater than or equal to 3 inches 

(76 mm) until projected landings reach 

within 1,411 mt of a given year’s DAH. 

Once landings are within 1,411 mt of 

the DAH, NMFS will implement a 

5,000-lb (2.27-mt) trip limit. Vessels 

issued a longfin squid/butterfish 

moratorium permit fishing with mesh 

less than 3 inches (76 mm) are currently 

prohibited from landing more than 

2,500 lb (1.13 mt) of butterfish per trip, 

and there are no changes for those 

vessels. The Council identified 1,411 mt 

as the amount that would allow some 

landings under a 5,000-lb (2.27-mt) trip 

limit without reaching the DAH. In the 

unlikely event that projected landings 

reach the annual DAH, then the trip 

limit will be reduced to 600 lb (0.27 mt) 

to prevent an overage of the ACT. 

Corrections 

This final rule also contains a minor 

adjustment to an existing regulation. 

The vessel monitoring system (VMS) 

power-down exemption for vessels that 

will be at the dock for more than 30 

consecutive days, at § 648.10(c)(2)(i)(B), 

currently lists specific eligible permits. 

The regulatory text is simplified to 

clarify that the exemption is available to 

all permits that are required to have 

VMS. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS received seven comments in 

response to the proposed rule for this 

action. Two were from industry groups, 

including Garden State Seafood 

Association (GSSA) (a New Jersey 

fishing industry advocacy group), and 

The Town Dock (a Rhode Island fishing 

company and seafood dealer). One 

comment was from the Herring 

Alliance, an environmental group, and 

the remaining four comments were from 

individuals. Two of the four comments 

from individuals were unrelated to the 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 14873 

action and are not included in this rule, 

and NMFS provides no response. 

Comment 1: GSSA commented in 

support of the Council’s recommended 

specifications and management measure 

with the exception of the butterfish 

quota reductions in 2016 and 2017. 

GSSA would like the butterfish quota to 

remain at the 2015 level for the 2016 

and 2017 fishing years. 

Response: NMFS is implementing the 

specifications as proposed. The SSC 

determined the 2015–2017 ABCs based 

on projections from the recently 

accepted 2014 butterfish assessment 

(SAW–SARC 58), which concluded that 

the stock was above target stock size and 

experiencing low fishing mortality. The 

ABC projections work in a stepwise 

fashion and assume average recruitment 

(fish entering the population). Assuming 

that the full ABC is caught each year 

and applying a fishing mortality rate 

that should result in 60-percent 

probability of not overfishing, the result 

is a slightly declining ABC each year 

from 2015 to 2017. Since the stock is 

estimated to be above its target, catches 

fall slightly over time, but as long as the 

stock remains at or above its target, 

ABCs would not be expected to fall 

below 29,000 mt (if the same approach 

to addressing scientific uncertainty is 

used and average recruitment occurs). 

Comment 2: The Town Dock and one 

individual commented that they would 

like to see an increase in the Trimester 

II quota for longfin squid. Both 

commenters would like to see an 

increase in the rollover quota from 

Trimester I to Trimester II to prevent the 

closure of the longfin fishery during 

Trimester II. 

Response: NMFS has forwarded these 

comments to the Council for its 

consideration. NMFS does not have the 

authority to make this change, and the 

Council did not consider changes to the 

Trimester allocations for the 2015–2017 

specifications, but may in future 

actions. 

Comment 3: The Herring Alliance 

suggested that there should be an 

incremental increase in butterfish quota 

starting lower than the proposed 2015 

quota and increasing the quota in 2016 

and 2017. 

Response: The butterfish ABCs for 

2015–2017 were recommended by the 

SSC based on the best available science 

including the recently accepted 2014 

butterfish assessment (SAW–SARC 58), 

which concluded that the stock was 

above the target stock size and 

experiencing low fishing mortality. 

Comment 4: The Herring Alliance 

supports the recommended 2015 

mackerel ABC, but suggested that NMFS 

revisit the ABC within one year after a 

stock update. 

Response: NMFS is implementing the 

specifications as proposed. There is not 

a scheduled stock update for 2016, but 

the SSC hopes to extend analysis that 

considers the performance of data poor 

approaches to ABC determination to 

include highly periodic catch time 

series. Based on the results of these 

simulations, the SSC expects to produce 

a revised 2016 ABC for this stock. 

Comment 5: The Herring Alliance 

supports the lower river herring and 

shad cap of 89 mt, but does not support 

the increased cap option of 155 mt. 

Response: The two-phased approach 

for the river herring and shad cap 

creates a strong incentive for the 

mackerel fishery to avoid river herring 

and shad when mackerel catch are low 

or high. The 155 mt river herring and 

shad cap will allow the fishery to catch 

the proposed mackerel quota in 2015 if 

the ratio of river herring and shad catch 

to total catch is relatively low. If the 

fishery does not maintain a low ratio of 

river herring and shad catch, then the 

fishery will be closed once the 89-mt 

cap is caught. 

Comment 6: One individual 

commented that all of the quotas should 

be reduced by 50 percent. 

Response: The quotas established 

through this final rule were based on the 

best available science, as recommended 

by the SSC. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

The proposed rule presented a table 

for the 2015–2017 butterfish 

specifications (Table 5 in the proposed 

rule). This table incorrectly listed the 

DAH subtracting the 1,411-mt buffer for 

2017. The correct butterfish DAH 

(minus the 1,411-mt buffer) for 2017 is 

presented in Table 5 in this final rule, 

and will be presented to industry in the 

small entity compliance guide sent to 

butterfish permit holders after the 

publication of this final rule. 

Additionally, a minor wording change 

was made to § 648.26(d) for consistency. 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries 

(AA) has determined that this final rule 

is consistent with the Atlantic Mackerel, 

Squid, and Butterfish FMP, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable laws. 

The Council prepared an EA for the 

2015–2017 specifications and 

management measures, and the AA 

concluded that there will be no 

significant impact on the human 

environment as a result of this rule. A 

copy of the EA is available upon request 

(see ADDRESSES). 

This action is authorized by 50 CFR 

part 648 and has been determined to be 

not significant for purposes of Executive 

Order 12866. 

NMFS, pursuant to section 604 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, has prepared 

a FRFA, included in the preamble of 

this final rule, in support of the 2015– 

2017 specifications and management 

measures. The FRFA describes the 

economic impact that this final rule, 

along with other non-preferred 

alternatives, will have on small entities. 

The FRFA incorporates the economic 

impacts and analysis summaries in the 

IRFA, a summary of the significant 

issues raised by the public in response 

to the IRFA, and NMFS’s responses to 

those comments. A copy of the IRFA, 

the RIR, and the EA are available upon 

request (see ADDRESSES). 

Statement of Need for This Action 

This action establishes 2015 

specifications for mackerel, and 2015– 

2017 specifications for butterfish, Illex 

squid, and longfin squid. It also 

modifies the river herring catch cap in 

the mackerel fishery and to simplify the 

closure mechanism in the butterfish 

fishery. A complete description of the 

reasons why this action is being 

considered, and the objectives of and 

legal basis for this action, are contained 

in the preamble to this rule and are not 

repeated here. 

A Summary of the Significant Issues 

Raised by the Public Comments in 

Response to the IRFA, a Summary of the 

Assessment of the Agency of Such 

Issues, and a Statement of Any Changes 

Made in the Final Rule as a Result of 

Such Comments 

None of the public comments raised 

issues related to the IRFA or the 

economic impact of the rule on affected 

entities. 

Description and Estimate of Number of 

Small Entities to Which the Rule Will 

Apply 

Based on permit data for 2013, the 

numbers of potential fishing vessels in 

the 2015 fisheries are as follows: 384 

separate vessels hold Atlantic mackerel, 

longfin squid, Illex squid, and butterfish 

limited access permits, 287 entities own 

those vessels, and, based on current 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

definitions, 274 are small entities. Of 

the 274 small entities, 29 had no 

revenue in 2013 and those entities with 

no revenue are listed as small entities 

for the purposes of this analysis. All of 

the entities that had revenue fell into 

the finfish or shellfish categories, and 

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14874 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

the SBA definitions for those categories 

for 2014 are $20.5 million for finfish 

fishing and $5.5 million for shellfish 

fishing. Many vessels participate in 

more than one of these fisheries; 

therefore, the number of permits is not 

additive. The only proposed alternatives 

that involve increased restrictions apply 

to mackerel limited access permits, so 

those numbers are listed separately 

(they are a subset of the above entities). 

This analysis found that 150 separate 

vessels hold Atlantic mackerel, longfin 

squid, Illex squid, and butterfish limited 

access permits, 114 entities own those 

vessels, and, based on current SBA 

definitions, 107 are small entities. 

Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

There are no new reporting or record 

keeping requirements contained in any 

of the alternatives considered for this 

action. In addition, there are no Federal 

rules that duplicate, overlap, or conflict 

with this rule. 

Description of the Steps the Agency Has 

Taken To Minimize the Significant 

Economic Impacts on Small Entities 

Consistent With the Stated Objectives of 

Applicable Statutes, Including a 

Statement of the Factual, Policy, and 

Legal Reasons for Selecting the 

Alternative Adopted in the Final Rule 

and Why Each One of the Other 

Significant Alternatives to the Rule 

Considered by the Agency Which Affect 

the Impact on Small Entities Was 

Rejected 

The mackerel commercial DAH 

(20,872 mt) represents a reduction from 

status quo (2014 DAH = 33,821 mt). 

Despite the reduction, the DAH is above 

recent U.S. landings; mackerel landings 

for 2010–2013 averaged 5,873 mt. Thus, 

the reduction does not pose a constraint 

to vessels relative to the landings in 

recent years. Even though the 2015 

quota is lower than the 2014 quota, it 

will still allow more than a tripling of 

catch compared to any year 2011–2013. 

This action establishes a Recreational 

ACT/RHL of 1,552 mt. Because 

recreational harvest from 2010–2013 

averaged 850 mt, it does not appear that 

the allocation for the recreational 

fishery will constrain recreational 

harvest. Overall, this action is not 

expected to result in any reductions in 

revenues for vessels that participate in 

either the commercial or recreational 

mackerel fisheries. 

The river herring and shad catch cap 

in the mackerel fishery has the potential 

to prevent the fishery from achieving its 

full mackerel quota if the river herring 

and shad encounter rates are high, but 

it is very unlikely that the fishery would 

close before exceeding the levels of 

landings experienced since 2010, when 

landings have been less than 11,000 mt. 

Based on the operation of the cap in 

2014 (the first year of the cap), as long 

as the fishery can maintain relatively 

low river herring and shad catch rates, 

this alternative is unlikely to constrain 

the mackerel fishery. Examination of 

river herring and shad catch rates in 

2011–2013 suggest that the only year 

that the cap would have been binding 

would have been 2012. In 2012, relevant 

trips landed 5,074 mt of mackerel, but 

the fishery would have closed at 

approximately 4,439 mt if the 2015 cap 

had been in place. Given the river 

herring and shad encounter rate in 2012, 

approximately 608 mt of mackerel 

landings would have been forgone. 

Using the 2013 price of mackerel, 608 

mt mackerel would have amounted to 

$265,105 of potentially forgone exvessel revenues. However, based on the 

operation of the cap in 2014, actual river 

herring and shad catch rates may be 

lower under the cap and, therefore, the 

cap may not be binding. 

The Illex IOY (22,915 mt) renews the 

status quo for three more years. Though 

annual Illex landings have approached 

this amount in some recent years 

(15,825 mt for 2010, 18,797 mt for 2011, 

11,709 mt for 2012, and 3,835 mt for 

2013), the landings were lower than the 

2015–2017 levels. Thus, 

implementation of this action should 

not result in a reduction in revenue or 

a constraint on expansion of the fishery 

in 2015–2017. 

The longfin squid IOY (22,445 mt) 

renews the status quo levels for three 

more years. Because longfin squid 

landings from 2010–2013 averaged 

10,093 mt, the 2015–2017 IOY provides 

an opportunity to increase landings, 

though if recent trends of low landings 

continue, there may be no increase in 

landings despite the increase in the 

allocation. No reductions in revenues 

for the longfin squid fishery are 

expected as a result of this action. 

The butterfish DAHs established in 

this action (21,119 mt in 2015, 19,631 

mt in 2016, and 19,241 mt in 2017) 

represents a 660-percent increase over 

the 2014 DAH (3,200 mt). Due to market 

conditions, there has not been a directed 

butterfish fishery in recent years; 

therefore, recent landings have been 

low. The increase in the DAH has the 

potential to increase revenue for 

permitted vessels, having a positive 

economic impact. 

This action also simplifies the closure 

mechanism for the butterfish fishery. 

This allows permitted vessels to take 

butterfish when they are available or 

when dealers may process them, and 

should have a positive economic impact 

on the fishery. 

The 2015–2017 butterfish discard cap 

of 3,884 mt renews the status quo for 

three more years. The longfin squid 

fishery will close during Trimester I, II, 

or III if the butterfish discards reach the 

trimester allocation. If the longfin squid 

fishery is closed in response to 

butterfish catch before the entire longfin 

squid quota is harvested, then a loss in 

revenue is possible. The potential for 

longfin squid revenue loss is dependent 

upon the size of the butterfish discard 

cap. This cap level was in effect for the 

2013 and 2014 fishing years, and did 

not restrict the fishery in either year. For 

that reason, additional revenue losses 

are not expected as a result of this 

proposed action. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: March 17, 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 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. 

■ 2. In § 648.10, paragraph (c)(2)(i)(B) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.10 VMS and DAS requirements for 

vessel owners/operators. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(B) The vessel owner signs out of the 

VMS program for a minimum period of 

30 consecutive days by obtaining a valid 

letter of exemption pursuant to 

paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section, the 

vessel does not engage in any fisheries 

or move from the dock/mooring until 

the VMS unit is turned back on, and the 

vessel complies with all conditions and 

requirements of said letter; 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 648.24, paragraph (c)(1) 

introductory text is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.24 Fishery closures and 

accountability measures. 

* * * * * 

(c) Butterfish AMs—(1) Directed 

butterfish fishery closure. When 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 54 / Friday, March 20, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 14875 

butterfish catch reaches the butterfish 

closure threshold as determined in the 

annual specifications, NMFS shall 

implement a 5,000-lb (2.27-mt) 

possession limit for vessels issued a 

longfin squid/butterfish moratorium 

permit and that are fishing with a 

minimum mesh size of 3 inches (76 

mm). When the butterfish catch is 

projected to reach the butterfish DAH as 

determined in the annual specifications, 

NMFS shall implement a 600-lb (0.27- 

mt) possession limit for all vessels 

issued a longfin squid/butterfish 

moratorium or incidental catch permit. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 648.26, paragraph (d) is revised 

to read as follows: 

§ 648.26 Mackerel, squid, and butterfish 

possession restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(d) Butterfish. (1) A vessel issued a 

longfin squid/butterfish moratorium 

permit (as specified at § 648.4(a)(5)(i)) 

fishing with a minimum mesh size of 3 

inches (76 mm) is authorized to fish for, 

possess, or land butterfish with no 

possession restriction in the EEZ per 

trip, and may only land butterfish once 

on any calendar day, which is defined 

as the 24-hr period beginning at 0001 

hours and ending at 2400 hours, 

provided that directed butterfish fishery 

has not been closed and the reduced 

possession limit has not been 

implemented, as described in 

§ 648.24(c)(1). When butterfish harvest 

is projected to reach the threshold for 

the butterfish fishery (as described in 

§ 648.24(c)(1)), these vessels may not 

fish for, possess, or land more than 

5,000 lb (2.27 mt) of butterfish per trip 

at any time, and may only land 

butterfish once on any calendar day. 

When butterfish harvest is projected to 

reach the DAH limit (as described in 

§ 648.24(c)(1)), these vessels may not 

fish for, possess, or land more than 600 

lb (0.27 mt) of butterfish per trip at any 

time, and may only land butterfish once 

on any calendar day. 

(2) A vessel issued longfin squid/

butterfish moratorium permit fishing 

with mesh less than 3 inches (76 mm) 

may not fish for, possess, or land more 

than 2,500 lb (1.13 mt) of butterfish per 

trip at any time, and may only land 

butterfish once on any calendar day, 

provided that butterfish harvest has not 

reached the DAH limit and the reduced 

possession limit has not been 

implemented, as described in 

§ 648.24(c)(1). When butterfish harvest 

is projected to reach the DAH limit (as 

described in § 648.24(c)(1)), these 

vessels may not fish for, possess, or land 

more than 600 lb (0.27 mt) of butterfish 

per trip at any time, and may only land 

butterfish once on any calendar day. 

(3) A vessels issued a longfin squid/ 

butterfish incidental catch permit, 

regardless of mesh size used, may not 

fish for, possess, or land more than 600 

lb (0.27 mt) of butterfish per trip at any 

time, and may only land butterfish once 

on any calendar day, which is defined 

as the 24-hr period beginning at 0001 

hours and ending at 2400 hours. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06401 Filed 3–19–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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