[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2587-2588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00629]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 220110-0007]
RTID 0648-XX075


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Skate 
Complex; 2022 and 2023 Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes Northeast skate specifications for the 2022 
fishing year, and projects specifications for fishing year 2023, as 
recommended by the New England Fishery Management Council. This action 
is necessary to establish annual allowable harvest levels for the skate 
fishery that prevent overfishing while enabling optimum yield, using 
the best scientific information available. This rule also informs the 
public of the proposed fishery specifications and provides an 
opportunity for comment.

DATES: Comments must be received by February 17, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2021-0116, by the following method:
    Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
    1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov, and enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2021-
0116'' in the Search box;
    2. Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields; and
    3. Enter or attach your comments.
    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).
    Copies of the Supplemental Information Report (SIR) and other 
supporting documents for this action are available upon request from 
Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management 
Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. These documents are 
also accessible via the internet at https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/skates.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, (978) 281-9180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) manages a 
complex of seven skate species (barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette, 
smooth, thorny, and winter skate) in the New England and Mid-Atlantic 
regions under the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP). Skates are harvested and managed in two different fishery 
sectors, one for food (the wing fishery) and one for bait used in other 
fisheries (the bait fishery). The FMP requires the review and 
specification of annual skate harvest limits, including: An annual 
catch limit (ACL), an annual catch target (ACT), a fishery-level total 
allowable landings limit (TAL), separate TALs for the wing and bait 
fisheries, and other management measures, as needed, for up to two 
fishing years (FY) at a time. This action proposes skate specifications 
for the 2022 fishing year, and projects specifications for 2023, as 
recommended by the Council. The current specifications that were 
implemented through Framework Adjustment 8 to the FMP (85 FR 33579; 
June 2, 2020) expire on April 30, 2022, but will roll over beyond that 
date until a final rule for new specifications is in effect.

Proposed Specifications

    This action proposes the Council's recommended northeast skate 
fishery specifications for fishing year 2022 and projects unchanged 
specifications for fishing year 2023. These proposed catch limits are 
consistent with recommendations from the Council's SSC, Skate 
Committee, and Skate Plan Development Team (Skate PDT). The resulting 
proposed specifications would increase all catch limits by at least 14 
percent in fishing year 2022, largely as a result of increased skate 
biomass throughout the complex. A comparison of the current 2021 and 
the proposed 2022-2023 specifications is summarized below in Table 1. 
The Council will review the projected 2023 specifications to determine 
if any changes need to be made prior to the 2023 fishing year. We will 
publish a notice prior to the 2023 fishing year to confirm these limits 
as projected or a proposed rule for any necessary changes.

    Table 1--Comparison of Current 2021, and Proposed 2022-2023 Skate Fishery Specifications, in Metric Tons
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                                                                                      2022-23
                                                                  2021 (current)    (proposed)    Percent change
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ABC/ACL.........................................................          32,715          37,236             +14
ACT.............................................................          29,444          33,513             +14
Overall Fishery TAL.............................................          17,864          21,142             +18
Wing TAL (66.5% of Overall TAL).................................          11,879          14,059             +18
Wing Season 1 TAL (57% of Wing TAL).............................           6,771           8,014             +18
Wing Season 2 TAL...............................................           5,108           6,045             +18
Bait TAL (33.5% of Overall TAL).................................           5,984           7,082             +18
Bait Season 1 TAL (30.8% of Bait TAL)...........................           1,843           2,181             +18
Bait Season 2 TAL (37.1% of Bait TAL)...........................           2,220           2,627             +18

[[Page 2588]]

 
Bait Season 3 TAL...............................................           1,921           2,274             +18
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    The Council did not recommend changes to regulations governing the 
skate fishery. Although the Skate PDT considered increasing trip limits 
along these proposed specifications, no changes to other management 
measures are recommended. Trip limits were recently raised in both the 
wing and bait fisheries through Framework Adjustment 8 to the Skate FMP 
(85 FR 23240; April 27, 2020), and it was determined that it is 
unnecessary to consider trip limit changes again at this time.

Classification

    Consistent with regulations at 50 CFR 648.320, the NMFS Assistant 
Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with 
the Northeast Skate Complex FMP, the Magnuson Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act, and other applicable law, subject to 
further consideration after public comment.
    This action is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866 
because it contains no implementing regulations.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The factual basis for this determination is as follows.
    The Council conducted an evaluation of the potential socioeconomic 
impacts of the proposed measures in conjunction with a SIR. There are 
no proposed regulatory changes in this skate action, so none are 
considered in the evaluation. The proposed specifications would 
increase quotas in both the wing and bait skate fisheries by 18 percent 
in fishing year 2022 and maintain these proposed catch limits with no 
changes for fishing year 2023. This action proposes no changes to other 
management measures beyond specifications, such as per-trip possession 
limits.
    This proposed action would affect entities that participate in 
commercial skate fishing (those that hold commercial skate permits and/
or report skate landings). Vessels may hold multiple fishing permits 
and some entities own multiple vessels and/or permits. According to the 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center commercial ownership database, 295 
commercial fishing affiliate firms owning 321 vessels landed skates 
during the 2018-2020 period (the most recent and complete data 
available), and all 295 of those commercial entities are categorized as 
small businesses.
    The proposed specifications are expected to provide some additional 
operational flexibility and opportunity within the skate fishery 
without increasing risk to the resource or substantially changing 
fishing behavior. Under this action, the annual coastwide quotas would 
increase, but there are no proposed changes to the management measures 
(such as per-trip possession limits) that are most likely to affect 
fishery behavior. While entities issued a commercial skate permit may 
experience a slight positive impact related to potentially higher 
landings throughout the course of the entire year, short-term landings 
are not expected to increase. Additionally, fishing behavior and short-
term landings are often based on market conditions, which are not 
expected to substantially change as a result of these specifications. 
As such, the proposed action is not expected to have an impact on the 
way the fishery operates/fishing behavior, or a substantial impact on 
the revenue of small entities.
    Overall, the Council's analyses indicate that the overall economic 
impact of this proposed action is expected to be slightly positive, and 
that the proposed specifications are not expected to substantially 
change fishing effort, the risk of overfishing, prices/revenues, or 
fishery behavior. Therefore, the Council concluded, and NMFS agrees, 
that this action would not have a significant impact on a substantial 
number of small businesses. As a result, an initial regulatory 
flexibility analysis is not required and none has been prepared.
    This action would not establish any new reporting or record-keeping 
requirements.
    This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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

    Dated: January 10, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-00629 Filed 1-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P