15692 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 57 / Wednesday, March 25, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS received one comment on the 

proposed rule related to analysis in the 

final supplemental environmental 

impact statementfrom a Federal agency. 

That comment is outside the scope of 

the rule and is addressed in the Record 

of Decision for Amendment 16. No other 

comments were received. No changes 

were made to the final rule based on 

public comment. 

Classification 

The Regional Administrator, 

Southeast Region, NMFS has 

determined that this final rule is 

necessary for the conservation and 

management of royal red shrimp and is 

consistent with Amendment 16, the 

FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and 

other applicable law. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides 

the statutory basis for this rule. No 

duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting 

Federal rules have been identified. In 

addition, no new reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance 

requirements are introduced by this 

final rule. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this rule 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for this 

determination was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

the certification and NMFS has not 

received any new information that 

would affect its determination. As a 

result, a final regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required and none was 

prepared. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Accountability measures, Annual 

catch limits, Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf of 

Mexico, Royal red shrimp, Shrimp. 

Dated: March 18, 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 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. 

§ 622.57 [Removed and Reserved] 

■ 2. Section 622.57 is removed and 

reserved. 

■ 3. In § 622.58, paragraph (a)(1) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 622.58 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

(a) * * * 

(1) Commercial sector. If commercial 

landings, as estimated by the SRD, 

exceed the commercial ACL, then 

during the following fishing year, if 

commercial landings reach or are 

projected to reach the commercial ACL, 

the AA will file a notification with the 

Office of the Federal Register to close 

the commercial sector for the remainder 

of that fishing year. When the 

commercial sector is closed, royal red 

shrimp in or from the Gulf EEZ may not 

be retained, and the sale or purchase of 

royal red shrimp taken from the Gulf 

EEZ is prohibited. This prohibition on 

sale or purchase during a closure for 

royal red shrimp does not apply to royal 

red shrimp that were harvested, landed 

ashore, and sold prior to the effective 

date of the closure and were held in 

cold storage by a dealer or processor. 

The commercial ACL for royal red 

shrimp is 337,000 lb (152,861 kg), tail 

weight. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–06571 Filed 3–24–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 141103917–5223–02] 

RIN 0648–BE60 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; Black Sea 

Bass Fishery; Framework Adjustment 

8 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing 

regulations consistent with Framework 

Adjustment 8 to the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery 

Management Plan. This action allows 

the black sea bass recreational fishery to 

begin on May 15 of each year, instead 

of May 19, to provide additional fishing 

opportunities earlier in the year, unless 

otherwise modified by further 

rulemaking. 

DATES: Effective April 24, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Supplemental 

Information Report and other 

supporting documents for this action are 

available from Dr. Christopher M. 

Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, Suite 201, 

800 N. State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 

These documents are also accessible via 

the Internet at: http://

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9218. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

General Background 

The summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass fisheries are managed 

cooperatively under the provisions of 

the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 

Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) developed by the Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council and the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission, in consultation with the 

New England and South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Councils. This rule 

applies to black sea bass (Centropristis 

striata) in U.S. waters of the Atlantic 

Ocean from 35 E. 13.3′ N. lat. (the 

latitude of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, 

Buxton, North Carolina) northward to 

the U.S./Canada border. 

The FMP is managed jointly by the 

Council and Commission. States manage 

black sea bass within 3 nautical miles 

(4.83 km) of their coasts under the 

Commission’s plan. The applicable 

Federal regulations govern vessels and 

individual anglers fishing in Federal 

waters of the exclusive economic zone 

(EEZ), as well as vessels possessing a 

Federal black sea bass charter/party 

vessel permit, regardless of where they 

fish. The recreational fishery is 

essentially managed using four tools: 

The recreational harvest limit; the open 

season; minimum fish size; and a 

recreational angler bag limit. The 

recreational harvest limit is established 

based on the specifications formula in 

the FMP. The open season, minimum 

fish size, and bag limit are collectively 

referred to as the ‘‘recreational 

management measures,’’ which are 

designed to ensure that the recreational 

harvest limit is not exceeded. Because of 

the way we collect recreational fisheries 

data along the Atlantic coast, 

recreational fishing years are divided 

into 2-month waves: Wave 1 (January/

February); Wave 2 (March/April); Wave 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 57 / Wednesday, March 25, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 15693 

3 (May/June); Wave 4 (July/August); 

Wave 5 (September/October); and Wave 

6 (November/December). In the last 

several years, the black sea bass 

recreational season has opened during 

Wave 3. Additional background 

information on the standard recreational 

management process was provided in 

the proposed rule for this action (79 FR 

78022; December 29, 2014), and is not 

repeated here. Additional background 

information on recreational fishing data 

can be found on the Marine Recreational 

Information Program’s Web site (http:// 

www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/recreationalfisheries). 

Final Action 

This action revises the start date of 

the black sea bass recreational fishery by 

four days to begin on May 15 instead of 

May 19, unless otherwise changed by 

subsequent rulemaking. 

In recent years, the black sea bass 

recreational harvest limit has been 

achieved or exceeded. Because of this, 

starting the season on May 15 (i.e., 

earlier in Wave 3) requires the Council 

to compensate by shortening the Wave 

5 season, when fishing effort is 

equivalent to Wave 3, by four days, in 

addition to other potential management 

changes, to ensure that the recreational 

harvest limit is not exceeded in 2015. 

The Council made the necesary 

recommendations on other management 

measures, including shortening Wave 5 

to accommodate the earlier season 

opening, at its December 2014 meeting. 

The Commission is also preparing stateby-state management measures for the 

2015 season in order to ensure the 

recreational harvest limit is not 

exceeded. Pending submission and 

review of the Council’s and 

Commission’s proposed recreational 

management measures, NMFS will 

implement further changes to the black 

sea bass recreational management 

measures in a subsequent rulemaking 

later this year. 

Comments and Responses 

Two comments were received on the 

proposed rule. 

Comment: One commenter stated that 

the start date for the black sea bass 

season should not be changed to make 

the season longer. 

Response: As described above, the 

Wave 5 season will be adjusted in a 

future rulemaking action, as 

recommended by the Council and 

Commission, to offset the extra days 

added to Wave 3, so the fishing season 

as a whole is not getting longer. Because 

of the timing of the normal recreational 

management measures rulemaking, in 

order have the change effective for 

fishing year 2015, we needed to separate 

the changes into two rulemakings. 

Comment: A second commenter 

simply stated that black sea bass are 

delicious. 

Response: NMFS agrees (see 

FishWatch at http://

www.fishwatch.gov), but this comment 

is not directly relevant to the action. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

There are no changes from the 

proposed measures. 

Classification 

The Administrator, Greater Atlantic 

Region, NMFS, determined that this 

framework adjustment is necessary for 

the conservation and management of the 

black sea bass fishery and that it is 

consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act and other applicable laws. 

This final 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 during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification. As a result, a Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis was not 

required and none was prepared. 

There are no new reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements contained 

in any of the alternatives considered for 

this action. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: March 18, 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. Section 648.146 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 648.146 Black sea bass recreational 

fishing season. 

Vessels that are not eligible for a 

moratorium permit under § 648.4(a)(7), 

and fishermen subject to the possession 

limit specified in § 648.145(a), may only 

possess black sea bass from May 15 

through September 18, and October 18 

through December 31, unless this time 

period is adjusted pursuant to the 

procedures in § 648.142. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06797 Filed 3–24–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 665 

[Docket No. 141110950–5227–02] 

RIN 0648–BE63 

Pacific Island Fisheries; Pacific 

Remote Islands Marine National 

Monument Expansion 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this final rule, NMFS 

establishes requirements for fishing in 

the Pacific Remote Islands Marine 

National Monument Expansion. This 

final rule implements fishery 

management measures required by 

Presidential Proclamation 9173. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

April 24, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may review 

Presidential Proclamation 9173 

establishing the Pacific Remote Islands 

Marine National Monument (PRI 

Monument Expansion), Presidential 

Proclamation 8336 (establishing the PRI 

Monument), and the PRI Monument 

fishing requirements established in 

Amendment 2 to the Fishery Ecosystem 

Plan for the Pacific Remote Island Areas 

published in 2013, at 

www.regulations.gov. Amendment 2 is 

also available from the Western Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

1164 Bishop St., Suite 1400, Honolulu, 

HI 96813, tel 808–522–8220, fax 808– 

522–8226, or from www.wpcouncil.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob 

Harman, NMFS PIR Sustainable 

Fisheries, tel 808–725–5170. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and 

the Council manage Pacific Island 

fisheries through fishery ecosystem 

plans (FEP) for American Samoa, 


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