1688 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No.: 220105–0005] 

RIN 0648–BK68 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 

Amendment 21 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS implements the 

measures included in Amendment 21 to 

the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 

Management Plan as adopted and 

submitted by the New England Fishery 

Management Council. This action 

allows for more controlled access to the 

scallop resource by the limited access 

and limited access general category 

fleets and increases monitoring to a 

growing directed scallop fishery in 

Federal waters, including the Northern 

Gulf of Maine Management Area. These 

management measures are intended to 

promote conservation of the scallop 

resource in the Northern Gulf of Maine 

Management Area and to manage total 

removals from the area by all fishery 

components. Amendment 21 also 

expands flexibility in the limited access 

general category individual fishing 

quota fishery to reduce impacts of 

potential decreases in ex-vessel price 

and increases in operating costs. 

DATES: Effective March 31, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: The Council has prepared a 

draft Environmental Assessment (EA) 

for this action that describes the 

measures contained in Amendment 21 

to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) and other 

considered alternatives and analyzes the 

impacts of these measures and 

alternatives. The Council submitted a 

draft of the amendment to NMFS that 

includes the draft EA, a description of 

the Council’s preferred alternatives, the 

Council’s rationale for selecting each 

alternative, and a Regulatory Impact 

Review (RIR). Copies of supporting 

documents used by the New England 

Fishery Management Council, including 

the EA and RIR, are available from: 

Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 

New England Fishery Management 

Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, 

MA 01950 and accessible via the 

internet in documents available at: 

https://www.nefmc.org/library/ 

amendment-21. 

Comments regarding the burden-hour 

estimates or other aspects of the 

collection-of-information requirements 

contained in this rule may be submitted 

to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by using the 

search function and entering either the 

title of the collection or the OMB 

Control Number 0648–0546. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Travis Ford, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9233. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On December 3, 2021, pursuant to 

section 304(a)(3) of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act), NMFS approved Amendment 21 to 

the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP in its 

entirety as recommended by the New 

England Fishery Management Council. 

The Council developed this action, and 

the measures described in this rule, to 

adjust the Northern Gulf of Maine 

(NGOM) Management Program to allow 

more controlled access by the limited 

access and limited access general 

category (LAGC) components, increase 

monitoring to support a growing 

directed scallop fishery in Federal 

waters, and adjust the LAGC individual 

fishing quota (IFQ) program to support 

overall economic performance while 

allowing for continued participation in 

the general category fishery at varying 

levels. 

This final rule implements 

Amendment 21, which: 

• Accounts for biomass in the NGOM 

as part of the overfishing limit (OFL) 

and the acceptable biological catch 

(ABC) to be consistent with other 

portions of scallop resource 

management; 

• Develops landing limits for all 

permit categories in the NGOM and 

establishes an 800,000-lb (362,874-kg) 

NGOM Set-Aside trigger for the NGOM 

directed fishery, with a sharing 

agreement for access by all permit 

categories for allocation above the 

trigger. Allocation above the trigger will 

be split 5 percent for the NGOM fleet 

and 95 percent for limited access and 

LAGC IFQ fleets; 

Æ The NGOM Set-Aside supports a 

directed LAGC fishery (including 

NGOM and LAGC IFQ permitted 

vessels) at a possession limit of 200 lb 

(90.7 kg) per vessel per day. 

Æ The Council will determine how 

allocation above the NGOM Set-Aside 

trigger could be harvested by the limited 

access and LAGC IFQ components in a 

subsequent specifications package or 

framework adjustment. 

• Expands the scallop industryfunded observer program to monitor 

directed scallop fishing in the NGOM by 

using a portion of the NGOM allocation 

to off-set monitoring costs; 

• Allocates 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) of 

the NGOM allocation to increase the 

overall Scallop Research Set-Aside 

(RSA) and support Scallop RSA 

compensation fishing; 

• Increases the LAGC IFQ possession 

limit from 600 lb (272 kg) to 800 lb (363 

kg) per trip only for access area trips; 

• Prorates the daily observer 

compensation rate in 12-hour 

increments for observed LAGC IFQ trips 

longer than 1 day; and 

• Allows for temporary transfers of 

IFQ from limited access vessels with 

IFQ to LAGC IFQ-only vessels. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

NMFS to approve, partially approve, or 

disapprove measures proposed by the 

Council based on whether the measures 

are consistent with an FMP, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and its National 

Standards, and other applicable law. 

NMFS published a Notice of 

Availability (NOA) announcing its 

review of the Amendment on September 

8, 2021 (86 FR 50320). The public 

comment period on the NOA ended on 

November 8, 2021. NMFS published a 

proposed rule for Amendment 21 on 

October 5, 2021 (86 FR 54903). The 

public comment period for the proposed 

rule ended on November 4, 2021. 

Accounting for the NGOM as Part of the 

Acceptable Biological Catch and 

Annual Catch Limit 

Amendment 21 modifies the annual 

catch limit (ACL) flowchart to account 

for the scallop biomass in the NGOM as 

part of the legal limits in the fishery by 

adding biomass from the area into 

calculations of the OFL and ABC. This 

action moves the accounting of the 

NGOM ACL from only within the OFL 

into the OFL and ABC/ACL for the 

entire fishery (Figure 1). By including 

exploitable scallop biomass from the 

NGOM as part of the scallop OFL and 

ABC, the ACL and sub-ACLs for the 

limited access and LAGC IFQ, and the 

limited access annual catch target (ACT) 

will increase. The observer set-aside 

will also increase with the NGOM as 

part of the OFL/ABC. The ABC/ACL 

will be reduced by the NGOM Set-Aside 

value, along with the Research and 

Observer Set-Asides and incidental 

catch (Figure 1). The Council will set 

specifications for the NGOM though 

future specifications actions. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 1689 

The Council will use the following 

approach to include the NGOM in the 

ACL flowchart: 

1. Exploitable biomass from surveyed 

areas of the NGOM will be estimated; 

2. The contribution to the OFL will be 

calculated at the fishing mortality (F) 

rate equal to the estimate of F at 

Maximum Sustainable Yield (FMSY) for 

Georges Bank from the most recent 

research or management track 

assessment, unless direct estimates of 

FMSY for the Gulf of Maine are available; 

and 

3. Combining OFL values from areas 

on Georges Bank/Mid Atlantic and the 

NGOM could be done in a single model 

(e.g., add the NGOM to the Scallop Area 

Management Simulator model), or as 

separate calculations. The method will, 

in part, be determined by the available 

data. 

Incorporating the NGOM into the ACL 

flowchart will have no impact on 

limited access days-at-sea (DAS), or any 

other fishery allocation that is part of 

the annual projected landings (APL). 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 

Creating the NGOM Total Allowable 

Limit 

Amendment 21 requires that the 

Council set an overall total allowable 

limit (TAL) for the NGOM management 

area for all permit categories. If NGOM 

survey data are available, the NGOM 

TAL will be developed using a 

projection method to estimate 

exploitable biomass in upcoming fishing 

years. The allowable landings will be set 

by applying an F rate ranging from 

F=0.15 to F=0.25 to exploitable biomass 

in open areas of the NGOM, as specified 

by the Council. Modifying the F rate 

used to set the NGOM TAL could be 

adjusted in a future specification or 

framework action. A portion of the 

NGOM TAL will be added to the 

fishery-wide RSA (described below). In 

addition, one percent of the NGOM’s 

contribution to the fishery-wide ABC 

will be removed from the NGOM TAL 

to off-set monitoring costs (described 

below). 

NGOM Set-Aside and NGOM Annual 

Projected Landings 

The remaining portion of NGOM TAL 

after contributions to the fishery-wide 

observer and RSAs are removed will 

then be allocated to the NGOM SetAside up to the NGOM Set-Aside trigger 

(800,000 lb (362,874 kg)). The NGOM 

Set-Aside supports a directed LAGC 


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l> 

u:, 

n 

II 

l> 

p 

V 

I State Waters Catch I 

OFL = F of 0.61 

Reduced b scientific uncertain 

ABC = ACL (F of 0.45) 

Reduced by LAGC incidental catch, observer (1 %), and RSA set asides, NGOM Set-Aside • ~I AU_,__ I 

... 

Allocate sub-ACLs to LA and LAGC IFQ 

LASub-ACL 

(94.5%} 

Reduced :fur Management Uncertainty 

LA Sub-ACT (F=0.39) 

LAGC IFQ 

sub-ACL = sub-ACT 

(5.5%) 

Figure 1 -- Example of Scallop Legal Limits (OFL, ABC, and ACL) with the NGOM 

Incorporated into Estimates of the OFL and ABC. 
1690 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

fishery (including NGOM and LAGC 

IFQ permitted vessels) in the NGOM 

Management Area at a possession limit 

of 200 lb (91 kg) per vessel per day. If 

there is additional allocation available 

above the 800,000-lb (362,874-kg) 

trigger, the allocation above the trigger 

will be shared between the NGOM SetAside (5 percent of the allocation above 

the trigger) and the NGOM APL (95 

percent of the allocation above the 

trigger). The NGOM APL will then be 

added to the overall APL to increase 

allocations for the limited access and 

LAGC IFQ fleets. If there is allocation 

above the NGOM Set-Aside trigger, the 

Council will determine the methods of 

how the NGOM APL could be harvested 

by the limited access and LAGC IFQ 

components in a subsequent 

specifications package or framework 

adjustment. 

The trip limit for LAGC vessels 

fishing the NGOM Set-Aside (i.e., 

NGOM and IFQ vessels) will be 200 lb 

(90.7 kg) per vessel per day. Landings 

from LAGC IFQ vessels fishing the 

NGOM Set-Aside will be deducted from 

their IFQ as well as from the NGOM SetAside. LAGC vessels with incidental 

catch permits (LAGC Category C) will be 

permitted to land up to 40 lb (18 kg) per 

day while fishing on non-scallop trips 

in the NGOM, if the area is open for 

LAGC vessels fishing against the NGOM 

Set-Aside. Scallop landings by vessels 

with LAGC incidental permits will not 

count against the NGOM Set-Aside. 

Incidental catch from the area will be 

tracked as part of the final year-end 

catch accounting. 

For catch accounting purposes, all 

landings from the NGOM will be 

included in the review of year-end catch 

data. 

NGOM Accountability Measures 

Any overage of NGOM Set-Aside or 

NGOM APL allocations fished inside 

the NGOM Management Area will be 

subject to a pound-for-pound payback in 

a subsequent fishing year after an 

overage is determined. If reliable data 

are available to calculate an overage 

(Year 1), NMFS may implement these 

accountability measures (AM) in the 

following fishing year (Year 2) through 

the rulemaking process for updated 

fishery specifications. If reliable data are 

not available in time for the start of the 

following fishing year, then the AMs 

will be implemented 2 years after the 

overage occurred (Year 3). Data may not 

be available by the start of the following 

fishing year because NMFS does not 

complete final catch accounting until 

June of the following fishing year. For 

example, if an overage occurred in 

fishing year 2021, NMFS would not 

have the final accounting data until June 

of fishing year 2022. The AMs could 

then be implemented at the April 1 start 

of fishing year 2023. 

Expanding the Scallop Industry-Funded 

Observer Program to the NGOM 

Amendment 21 expands the observer 

call-in requirement to all scallop vessels 

operating in the NGOM, including 

NGOM-permitted vessels. This 

expansion of the call-in requirement 

facilitates observer coverage in the 

NGOM Management Area. 

This action removes one percent of 

the NGOM ABC from the NGOM TAL to 

offset monitoring costs for vessels 

fishing in this area. This allocation will 

be removed from the NGOM TAL before 

allocating to the NGOM set-aside. This 

allocation could be used to support 

monitoring of all permit categories that 

have access to the NGOM Management 

Area. The NGOM monitoring set-aside 

will be added to the fishery-wide 

observer set-aside that is calculated as 

one percent of the ABC. 

The scallop observer program will be 

expanded to cover directed scallop trips 

in Federal waters in the NGOM 

Management Area. Scallop trips by 

LAGC vessels in the NGOM are 

currently not covered by the observer 

program. This expanded program will 

utilize the cumulative allocation of the 

NGOM observer set-aside and the 

observer set-aside to support observer 

coverage in the scallop fishery. All 

compensation allocation for all observed 

trips will come out of the same pool, 

and NMFS will administer a single 

scallop observer program. At a 

minimum, observer coverage levels for 

the NGOM Management Area will be set 

to meet Standardized Bycatch Reporting 

Methodology requirements. 

The amount of daily compensation 

available for LAGC trips in the NGOM 

may vary from the daily compensation 

rate for LAGC IFQ vessels that have a 

higher trip limit. Vessels selected to 

carry an observer will be able to land 

the full amount of the daily observer 

compensation rate in addition to the 

NGOM trip limit. For example, if the 

daily compensation rate is set at 100 lb 

(45 kg), vessels with observers would be 

able to land 300 lb (136 kg) that trip. 

NGOM Research Set-Aside 

Amendment 21 sets aside 25,000 lb 

(11,340 kg) from the NGOM TAL to 

support RSA compensation fishing in 

the NGOM management area and 

increase the overall allocation available 

for the scallop RSA program. The total 

amount of RSA available will be the 

sum of the NGOM RSA and the existing 

1.25 million-lb (566,990-kg) fisherywide RSA (i.e., 1.275 million lb 

(573,330 kg)). 

RSA compensation fishing in the 

NGOM management area will be 

allowed. Although, NGOM RSA will be 

combined with the overall RSA, RSA 

compensation fishing in the NGOM will 

be capped at the available NGOM RSA, 

i.e., 25,000 lb (11,340 kg). Any vessels 

that are awarded NGOM RSA 

compensation are required to declare 

into the area and fish exclusively within 

the NGOM Management Area. 

Compensation fishing in the NGOM 

Management Area could be done to 

support any research project awarded 

through the Scallop RSA. However, 

projects focusing on research in the 

NGOM will have the first opportunity to 

fish compensation allocation in the 

NGOM. NMFS would administer this 

process. 

This action does not mandate that 

NGOM RSA be harvested strictly in the 

NGOM Management Area. Vessels 

allocated NGOM RSA will have an 

option to fish NGOM RSA in the NGOM 

or in any other area available to RSA 

compensation fishing. 

Limited Access General Category 

Individual Fishing Quota Possession 

Limit 

Amendment 21 increases the LAGC 

IFQ possession limit to 800 lb (363 kg) 

for access area trips and maintains the 

600-lb (272-kg) possession limit for 

open area trips. The LAGC IFQ 

component has been subject to a 

possession limit since the program’s 

inception through Amendment 11. 

Interest in increasing the 600-lb (272-kg) 

trip limit through this action is based on 

the continued increase of operating 

expenses, which are principally driven 

by fuel costs associated with longer 

steam times. For LAGC IFQ vessels that 

elect to do so, transiting farther offshore 

to fish access areas with higher landings 

per unit of effort and improved meat 

yield leads to increased trip costs due to 

higher fuel expenses associated with 

longer steam times. Increasing the 

access area possession limit will reduce 

the overall number of trips and 

combined steam time needed to harvest 

quota from offshore access areas, 

thereby reducing overall trip costs (i.e., 

fuel) and operating expenses (i.e., vessel 

maintenance) relative to the current 

600-lb (272-kg) limit. Increasing the 

access area possession limit could offer 

LAGC IFQ vessels more flexibility with 

regard to timing access area trips around 

weather conditions, which could 

potentially improve safety in this 

component of the fishery. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 1691 

Observer Compensation Available for 

LAGC IFQ Vessels 

Amendment 21 will make LAGC IFQ 

vessels eligible for additional 

compensation when carrying an 

observer on board and fishing trips 

longer than 1 day (24 hours). The daily 

compensation rate, as determined by 

NMFS, will be prorated at 12-hour 

increments for trips exceeding 24 hours. 

The amount of compensation a vessel 

could receive on 1 trip would be capped 

at 2 days (48 hours) and vessels fishing 

longer than 48 hours will not receive 

additional compensation allocation. For 

example, if the observer compensation 

rate is 200 lb/day (90.7 kg/day) and an 

LAGC IFQ vessel carrying an observer 

departs on July 1 at 2200 and lands on 

July 3 at 0100, the length of the trip 

would equal 27 hours, or 1 day and 3 

hours. In this example, the LAGC IFQ 

vessel would be eligible for 1 day plus 

12 hours of compensation allocation, 

i.e., 300 lb (136 kg). An LAGC IFQ 

vessel will be able to harvest the trip 

limit and the daily compensation rate 

on the observed trip, or the vessel could 

harvest any unfished compensation on a 

subsequent trip while adhering to the 

commercial possession limit. 

Temporary Transfer of IFQ From 

Limited Access Vessels With IFQ 

(Combo Vessels) to LAGC IFQ-Only 

Vessels 

Amendment 21 allows temporary 

transfers of IFQ from combo vessels to 

LAGC IFQ-only permits and maintains 

the existing prohibition on transferring 

quota to combo vessels. This action does 

not change how IFQ is allocated. Quota 

accumulation caps remain consistent 

with the limits established through 

Amendment 15 for LAGC IFQ-only 

permits, regardless of any additional 

quota that may become available 

through one-way, temporary transfers 

from combo vessels. An individual 

LAGC IFQ permit still may not hold 

more than 2.5 percent of the IFQ 

allocated to the LAGC IFQ component 

in a year and an ownership entity still 

may not hold more than 5 percent of the 

IFQ allocated to the LAGC IFQ 

component in a year. Allowing one-way, 

temporary transfers from combo vessels 

to LAGC IFQ-only permits increases the 

overall level of quota available to LAGC 

IFQ-only vessels, and it does not require 

changes to how allocations are 

estimated and distributed among the 

two fleets. 

Specifications and Framework 

Adjustment Process 

The regulations at 50 CFR part 648.55 

list management measures that may be 

changed or implemented through 

specifications or framework actions. 

During the development of Amendment 

21, the Council identified a list of 

specific issues that may be addressed 

through future specifications actions or 

framework adjustments. The existing 

scallop regulations do not need to be 

expanded to address concepts that the 

Council would like to adjust through a 

specifications package or a framework 

adjustment in the future. The Council’s 

list included: 

1. § 648.55(f)(25) Set-asides for 

funding research; 

a. Contribution of RSA percentage 

and/or assigned pounds from the NGOM 

allocation. 

2. § 648.55(f)(31) Modifications to 

provisions associated with observer setasides; observer coverage; observer 

deployment; observer service provider; 

and/or the observer certification 

regulations; 

a. Observer set-aside percentage from 

the NGOM Allocation. 

3. § 648.55(f)(35) Adjustments to the 

Northern Gulf of Maine scallop fishery 

measures; 

a. Partition the NGOM into multiple 

sub-areas with separate allocations; 

b. Partition the NGOM Set-Aside is 

multiple seasons; 

c. Modify the F rate used to set the 

NGOM TAL; and 

d. Harvest methods of the NGOM APL 

by the IFQ and limited access boats. 

4. § 648.55(f)(37) Increases or 

decreases in the LAGC possession limit; 

a. Accounting for access area trips in 

the LAGC IFQ fishery. 

5. § 648.55(f)(38) Adjustments to 

aspects of ACL management, including 

accountability measures; 

a. Modify how the NGOM is 

accounted for in the calculation of OFL, 

ABC, and ACLs. 

In addition, the Council clarified that 

it could develop options for electronic 

monitoring to replace at-sea monitors in 

a future framework based on existing 

language in these existing regulations: 

1. § 648.55(f)(31) Modifications to 

provisions associated with observer setasides; observer coverage; observer 

deployment; observer service provider; 

and/or the observer certification 

regulations; 

2. § 648.11(g) Industry-funded 

monitoring programs. FMPs managed by 

the Council, including Atlantic Herring, 

Atlantic Salmon, Atlantic Sea Scallops, 

Deep-Sea Red Crab, Northeast 

Multispecies, and Northeast Skate 

Complex, may include industry-funded 

monitoring (IFM) programs to 

supplement existing monitoring 

required by the Standard Bycatch 

Reporting Methodology (SBRM), 

Endangered Species Act, and the Marine 

Mammal Protection Act. IFM programs 

may use observers, monitors, including 

at-sea monitors and portside samplers, 

and electronic monitoring to meet 

specified IFM coverage targets. The 

ability to meet IFM coverage targets may 

be constrained by the availability of 

Federal funding to pay NMFS cost 

responsibilities associated with IFM. 

Regulatory Adjustments and Corrections 

Under Regional Administrator Authority 

NMFS is making several changes 

consistent with section 305(d) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, which provides 

that the Secretary of Commerce may 

promulgate regulations necessary to 

ensure that amendments to an FMP are 

carried out in accordance with the FMP 

and the Magnuson-Stevens Act. These 

adjustments do not make any 

substantive changes to the implications 

of the current regulations. First, NMFS 

revises § 648.14(i) to more clearly define 

the prohibitions based on the scallop 

regulations at § 648 Subpart D. As a 

result, this rule includes revisions to the 

regulatory text that reorganize and 

condense references to possession limits 

and restrictions. The specific 

regulations being revised or removed are 

specified in Table 1. 

Second, in §§ 648.2, 648.14(i), 648.52, 

648.55, and 648.59, NMFS makes 

revisions to consistently reference the 

Scallop Access Area Program 

throughout the regulations. Third, in 

§ 648.14(i)(x), NMFS clarifies the 

presumption related to where scallops 

are caught (i.e., Federal/state waters), 

not whether a vessel has a Federal 

scallop permit. Fourth, NMFS updates 

§§ 648.14(i)(x)(3)(iv)(B) and 648.52(a)(1) 

with a corrected reference to § 648.10(f). 

Fifth, in § 648.52(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), 

NMFS adds headings for consistency 

across paragraphs. Sixth, in § 648.52(f), 

NMFS removes duplicative possession 

limit language for IFQ vessels. Seventh, 

in § 648.53(h)(3)(i)(A) and (B), NMFS 

clarifies that the IFQ accumulation cap 

applies to the annual IFQ allocation, not 

the IFQ sub-ACL. Eighth, in 

§ 648.53(h)(5)(i) and (ii), NMFS clarifies 

that these regulations apply to IFQ 

permit holders regardless of whether the 

permit is in confirmation of permit 

history (CPH). Ninth, in § 648.59(b)(4), 

to promote safety at sea, at the request 

of the Council, NMFS will allow vessels 

to enter or exit a Scallop Access Area 

more than once per trip if there is a 

compelling safety reason. 

Finally, due to the extensive 

regulatory changes in this action, we are 

updating references throughout the 

scallop regulations that will change 

based on these regulatory adjustments. 


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1692 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

We have included a summary of all of the regulatory changes in this rule in 

Table 1. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF REGULATORY CHANGES TO 50 CFR PART 648 

Section Authority Summary of changes 

§§ 648.2, 648.14(i), 648.52, 648.55, 648.59 .................... 305(d) ................................. Changing to consistently reference the Scallop Access 

Area Program throughout the regulations. 

§ 648.14(i)(iii) .................................................................... 305(d) ................................. Clarifying possession limits and restrictions which are 

already described in §§ 648.52 and 648.59. 

§ 648.14(i)(x) ..................................................................... 305(d) ................................. Clarifying the presumption related to where scallops are 

caught (i.e., Federal/state waters), not whether a vessel has a Federal scallop permit. 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(3)(iii)(C) and (D) ......................................... 305(d) ................................. Clarifying possession limits and restrictions which are 

already described in § 648.52 for LAGC vessels in 

the NGOM are clearly stated later in the section specific to IFQ and NGOM vessels. Deleting to remove 

duplicative text. 

§§ 648.14(i)(x)(3)(iv)(B), 648.52(a)(1) ............................... 305(d) ................................. Updating with corrected reference to § 648.10(f). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(4)(i)(A) ......................................................... 305(d) and Amendment 21 Revising IFQ possession and landing regulations based 

on Amendment 21 measures. Clarify regulations by 

referencing IFQ possession limits for open and access areas in § 648.52(a). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(4)(i)(C) ........................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Updating NGOM landings and possession regulations 

with Amendment 21 language (i.e., NGOM SetAside). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(4)(i)(D) and (G) ........................................... 305(d) ................................. Reducing duplicative language around possession and 

landing limits that are clearly stated later in 

§ 648.52(a) and (c). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(5)(ii) ............................................................. 305(d) ................................. Clarifying by cutting duplicative landings and possession prohibition, and referencing NGOM possession 

limit that is clearly stated in § 648.52(a). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(5)(iii) ............................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Updating NGOM regulations with Amendment 21 language (i.e., NGOM Set-Aside). 

§ 648.14(i)(x)(6) ................................................................. 305(d) ................................. Clarifying regulations by removing duplicative landing 

and possession limit prohibition for incidental permits, 

and referencing incidental possession limit that is 

clearly stated in § 648.52. 

§ 648.52(a)(1) and (2) ....................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Updating regulations with LAGC IFQ possession limits 

for open and access area trips. 

§ 648.52(a)(2) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Clarifying that default access area trips in fishing year 

2022 will be subject to the 600-lb (272-kg) trip limit. 

§ 648.52(b), (c), (d), (e), (f) ............................................... 305(d) ................................. Adding headings for consistency. 

§ 648.52(a)(2) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Making in-shell possession limit consistent with increased LAGC IFQ access area trip limit. 

§ 648.52(b) ........................................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Updating NGOM regulations with Amendment 21 language (i.e., NGOM Set-Aside). 

§ 648.52(f) ......................................................................... 305(d) ................................. Removing duplicative possession limit language for IFQ 

vessels. 

§ 648.53(a)(3)(ii) ................................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Updating APL language to incorporate NGOM catch 

limit measures. 

§ 648.53(a)(8) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Adding language describing NGOM TAL and allocation 

structure. 

§ 648.53(g)(1) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Including NGOM contribution to observer set-aside. 

§ 648.53(h)(3)(i)(A) and (B) .............................................. 305(d) ................................. Clarifying that the IFQ accumulation cap applies to the 

annual IFQ allocation, not the IFQ sub-ACL. 

§ 648.53(h)(5)(i) and (ii) .................................................... 305(d) ................................. Clarifying that these regulations apply to IFQ permit 

holders regardless of whether permit is in CPH. 

§ 648.53(h)(5)(i)(B) ............................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Specifying that temporary transfers from combo vessels 

to IFQ-only are allowed. 

§ 648.53(h)(5)(ii)(A) and (iii) .............................................. Amendment 21 ................... Clarifying that combo vessels are prohibited from permanently transferring or receiving IFQ. 

§ 648.55(a)(1) .................................................................... Amendment 21 ................... Updating language to reflect NGOM catch limits. 

§ 648.56(d) ........................................................................ Amendment 21 ................... Including NGOM contribution to RSA. 

§ 648.59(b)(4) .................................................................... 305(d) ................................. Adjusting to promote safety at sea. 

Comments and Responses 

We received eight comment letters on 

this action. Six individuals commented 

in support of the action. One individual 

and Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), 

which represents the significant 

majority of full-time Limited Access 

permit holders in the Atlantic scallop 

fishery, commented in opposition to 

some measures in Amendment 21. 

Comment 1: A general category 

industry member commented that the 

IFQ possession limit should be 

increased to at least 1,000 lb (454 kg) 

because vessels must travel 3 to 12 

hours to fish in open and access areas. 

He comments that increasing the trip 

limit to all areas would reduce risk to 


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vessels and reduce trip costs and the 

carbon footprint of the fleet. 

Response: Amendment 21 increases 

the IFQ possession limit to 800 lb (363 

kg) per trip for access area-only trips to 

address some of the issues raised by the 

commenter. The higher possession limit 

in access areas will reduce the number 

of trips and combined steam time 

needed to harvest quota from offshore 

access areas, thereby reducing overall 

trip costs (i.e., fuel) and operating 

expenses (i.e., vessel maintenance) 

relative to the current 600-lb (272 kg) 

limit. Increasing the access area 

possession limit to 800 lb (363 kg) could 

offer LAGC IFQ vessels more flexibility 

with regard to timing access area trips 

around weather conditions, which 

could potentially improve safety in this 

component of the fishery. In developing 

Amendment 21, the Council balanced 

the issues raised by the commenter and 

the Amendment’s vision for the LAGC 

component, ‘‘a fleet made up of 

relatively small vessels, with possession 

limits to maintain the historical 

character of this fleet and provide 

opportunities to various participants 

including vessels from smaller coastal 

communities.’’ 

Comment 2: The same general 

category industry member commented 

that the Council should close the entire 

NGOM to limited access vessels because 

they decimate the available stock for the 

general category when they fish in the 

area. 

Response: The purpose of 

Amendment 21, specific to the NGOM, 

is to allow for more controlled access by 

the limited access and LAGC 

components and increase monitoring in 

ways that support a growing directed 

scallop fishery in Federal waters. The 

800,000-lb (362,874-kg) set aside 

supports some additional participation 

in the NGOM fishery by LAGC vessels 

without impacting the current harvest 

levels of existing participants. 

Amendment 21 provides the Council 

with the tools to control removals from 

the NGOM and better conserve the 

resource in the area. Further, it provides 

the mechanism to develop more 

controlled access to the NGOM by the 

limited access fleet once the allocation 

to the area exceeds the NGOM set-aside 

trigger. The Council considered limiting 

the cumulative maximum dredge width 

that could be fished in the NGOM, but 

ultimately found that there is no 

biological benefit to the resource in 

mandating smaller dredge sizes for the 

limited access fleet in the NGOM. 

Comment 3: FSF commented that the 

NGOM set-aside amount of 800,000 lb 

(362,874 kg) developed in Amendment 

21 does not provide ‘‘orderly access’’ to 

the limited access fleet because it would 

exclude limited access participants even 

during years of abundance. FSF 

continues that the recently-utilized 

135,000-lb (61,235-kg) set-aside has 

already accommodated growth of the 

NGOM fishery, which was created to be 

a part-time dayboat fishery for vessels 

that predominately fish for other species 

(via Amendment 11). NGOM trips are 

set at 200 lb (90.7 kg); thus, under an 

800,000-lb (362,874-kg) set-aside there 

would be 4,000 trips available, a 

number disproportionate to the size of 

the part-time NGOM scallop fishery. 

Response: Using an 800,000-lb 

(362,874-kg) trigger for the NGOM setaside supports increased fishing 

opportunities for all permit categories in 

the area and addresses the Council’s 

vision of continued participation in the 

general category fishery at varying levels 

and providing opportunities to various 

participants, including vessels from 

smaller coastal communities, as stated 

in Amendment 11 and reaffirmed 

through this action. 

There are a total of 427 LAGC permits 

that potentially could fish in the NGOM 

set-aside. In addition, there are 338 IFQ 

permits that could fish the NGOM setaside (765 vessels total). In 2019, 110 

NGOM permits were issued, and 41 

vessels (a combination of NGOM and 

IFQ vessels) landed scallops from the 

area. An 800,000-lb (362,874-kg) trigger 

supports additional participation in the 

NGOM fishery by some of the remaining 

724 vessels that could access this 

fishery without impacting the current 

harvest levels of existing participants. 

Further, because the LAGC share of 

the NGOM total allowable catch has 

been harvested in about a month in 

recent years (i.e., 2018–2021), setting a 

trigger value above recent allocation 

levels has the potential to lengthen the 

season for LAGC vessels and expand 

opportunities across more of the fishing 

year. 

When the allocation to the NGOM is 

over this trigger, 5 percent will go to the 

NGOM set-aside, and 95 percent will go 

to the NGOM APL. This is intended to 

support access to the scallop resource in 

the area by limited access, LAGC IFQ, 

and LAGC NGOM vessels. Allocating 95 

percent of the allocation over the trigger 

to the NGOM APL would quickly 

increase the share for the limited access 

and LAGC IFQ as the exploitable 

biomass in the area grows. This option 

would add to the existing allocations for 

the limited access and LAGC IFQ that 

come from Georges Bank and the MidAtlantic. 

In 2017, the limited access fleet fished 

heavily in the NGOM on DAS. The 

limited access fleet landed an estimated 

1,578,020 lb (715,778 kg) of scallops 

from March 1 through March 22. This 

shows that NGOM is capable of having 

biomass above the 800,000-lb (362,874- 

kg) trigger. 

Comment 4: FSF commented that, 

since Amendment 11, set-aside has been 

set at levels that are consistent with 

NGOM vessels’ participation in the 

fishery. For many years, the set-aside 

was 70,000 lb (31,751 kg) and in 2019, 

it was increased to 135,000 lb (61,235 

kg). Amendment 21, however, would 

establish an annual set-aside of 800,000 

lb (362,874 kg) for NGOM vessels. FSF 

comments that this is not consistent 

with historic allocations, nor is a setaside of 800,000 lb (362,874 kg) 

consistent with either Amendment 21’s 

Purpose and Need or its Goals and 

Objectives. Accordingly, FSF states that 

Amendment 21’s allocation approach is 

arbitrary and capricious. Achievable 

access to the NGOM is important to the 

limited access fleet in the face of climate 

change and potential shifts in species 

abundance and distribution. 

Response: NMFS disagrees that the 

allocation approach was arbitrary and 

that the allocation method is not 

consistent with the Purpose and Need or 

the Goals and Objectives of the 

Amendment. The purpose of 

Amendment 21, specific to the NGOM, 

is to allow for more controlled access by 

the limited access and LAGC 

components and increase monitoring in 

ways that support a growing directed 

scallop fishery in Federal waters. The 

need for this action is to promote 

conservation of the scallop resource in 

the NGOM and to manage total removals 

from the area by all fishery components. 

The Goals and Objectives specific to the 

NGOM are to: 

1. Support a growing directed scallop 

fishery in Federal waters in the NGOM; 

2. Allow for orderly access to the 

scallop resource in this area by the 

LAGC and limited access components; 

and 

3. Establishing mechanisms to set 

allowable catches and accurately 

monitor catch and bycatch from the 

NGOM. 

Amendment 11 allowed limited 

access vessels to access the NGOM on 

DAS. However, at the time, there had 

not been significant limited access 

fishing in the area for many years. In 

2016, the limited access fleet began 

fishing in the area, landing 292,517 lb 

(132,683 kg) in 74 days before the area 

closed. In 2017, the limited access fleet 

returned to the NGOM landing 

1,578,020 lb (715,778 kg) of scallops in 

23 days before the area closed. It was 

this drastic increase in effort by the 

limited access fleet on DAS that led to 


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the Council’s desire to have better 

controls on limited access removals 

from the NGOM to better conserve the 

resource in the area. Amendment 21 

provides the Council with the tools to 

control removals from the NGOM and 

better conserve the resource in the area. 

Further, it provides the mechanism to 

develop more controlled access to the 

NGOM by the limited access fleet once 

the allocation to the area exceeds the 

NGOM set-aside trigger. 

The 800,000-lb (362,874-kg) set-aside 

was not selected by the Council to be 

allocated only to the vessels that are 

accessing the NGOM currently. As 

stated above, there are a total of 427 

LAGC permits and 338 IFQ permits that 

could fish the NGOM set-aside. In 2019, 

110 NGOM permits were issued, and 41 

vessels (NGOM and IFQ) landed 

scallops from the area. The 800,000-lb 

(362,874-kg) set aside supports some 

additional participation in the NGOM 

fishery by LAGC vessels without 

impacting the current harvest levels of 

existing participants. 

Comment 5: FSF comments that the F 

rate being used to set the NGOM scallop 

allocation has no official Council 

sanction, nor is it subject to notice and 

comment rulemaking, as it should be. 

Nothing in Amendment 21 or its 

decision-making materials established 

this F range for the NGOM annual 

harvest setting. They comment that it 

does not appear that the Council 

considered either this F range or any 

methodology to set any F range for the 

NGOM as part of its Amendment 21 

deliberations. Rather, at a meeting on 

February 27, 2020, the Scallop 

Committee passed a motion ‘‘to apply a 

range of F rates for setting the NGOM 

total allowable landings (TAL) in 

allocation alternatives being considered 

in Amendment 21 as F = 0.15 to F = 

0.25.’’ From there, FSF argues the F rate 

was impermissibly taken as a given 

throughout the remainder of the 

Amendment 21 development process 

and is included in the Amendment 21 

proposed rule as if it had Council 

sanction. 

Response: NMFS disagrees that the F 

rate was impermissibly taken as a 

‘‘given.’’ The motion in question 

specifically grants permission to apply F 

rates of F = 0.15 to F = 0.25 to the 

NGOM allocation alternatives. This 

motion carried 7–0–0 at the Scallop 

Oversight Committee. The rationale for 

this motion states, ‘‘Recent framework 

actions have analyzed F rates from F = 

0.15 up to F = 0.25. This could be a way 

to grow the biomass in the NGOM 

management area and support 

sustainable annual harvest. Modifying 

the F rate used to set the NGOM TAL 

could be adjusted in a future 

framework.’’ This rationale is consistent 

with the need to promote conservation 

of the scallop resource in the NGOM. 

Further, Amendment 21 is clear that the 

Council can adjust the F rate for the 

NGOM in a future framework action to 

set specifications annually, making it 

subject to notice and comment 

rulemaking, annually. For future 

specifications-setting actions, the 

Council is in no way bound by these F 

rates considered for the allocation 

alternatives in Amendment 21. 

Comment 6: FSF commented that the 

F rate for the NGOM was not included 

as part of the Amendment 21 analyses, 

and that Amendment 21’s resulting 

economic analyses are therefore 

incomplete. The proposed rule states 

that Amendment 21 ‘‘maximizes yields 

and economic benefits,’’ but the 

supporting analyses do not provide any 

practical indication of its relative 

impacts on the NGOM and non-NGOM 

vessels, respectively. 

FSF continues that, while the 

economic analyses compare the revenue 

generated by the LAGC and limited 

access fleets, respectively, with NGOM 

allocations of 100,000 lb (45,359 kg) to 

6,000,000 lb (2,721,554 kg), these 

analyses do not integrate the F rate limit 

contained in Amendment 21 into the 

analyses. FSF comments that the F rate 

is a material element of the equation, 

and that an agency action is arbitrary 

and capricious if it fails to consider an 

important aspect of the problem. 

Response: The NGOM is considered 

to be data poor relative to Georges Bank 

and the mid-Atlantic. The Gulf of 

Maine, and the NGOM management 

unit, have not been regularly surveyed 

for scallops. The NGOM is outside the 

areas covered by the stock assessment 

models (Georges Bank and the midAtlantic). The F rates considered in 

Amendment 21 were selected to 

promote conservation. Further, because 

the NGOM is currently considered data 

poor, during the discussion of the 

motion to include these F rates, the 

Committee agreed that being able to 

adjust fishing mortality rates in a future 

action will be important, especially if 

methods to setting harvest levels in the 

NGOM evolve/improve over time. Given 

this, and given that the F rates 

considered in the Amendment 21 

allocation alternatives are adjustable 

during any specifications-setting 

framework, it is not necessary to 

directly compare F rates as part of the 

allocation alternatives. 

The economic analysis does address 

the relative impacts on limited access 

and LAGC vessels. The economic 

impacts of this measure are likely to be 

mixed and dependent on the size of the 

NGOM allocation. When scallop 

biomass in the NGOM management area 

is relatively low, and catch rates are 

low, the impact on the limited access 

component could be negligible 

compared to No Action because these 

vessels would be unlikely to fish their 

DAS in the management area rather than 

on Georges Bank or in the mid-Atlantic. 

When the NGOM allocation is below the 

set-aside trigger, the limited access and 

LAGC IFQ components would not 

receive any additional allocation, which 

would also be the case under No Action. 

Compared to No Action, the preferred 

alternative is expected to have a direct 

positive impact when the NGOM 

allocation is above the set-aside trigger 

because the limited access and LAGC 

IFQ components would receive 95 

percent of the allocation above the 

trigger, have access to the area, and 

would not have to fish DAS when 

accessing the area. This allocation 

would be in addition to the allocations 

from Georges Bank and the mid-Atlantic 

that these permit holders receive each 

year. This is particularly important if 

the spatial extent of the scallop resource 

shifts in response to climate change. 

Further, because the preferred 

alternative would set landings limits for 

all components, there is a lower risk of 

harvest exceeding the allocation to the 

area compared to No Action. 

Comment 7: FSF comments that if the 

F for the NGOM were set close to F = 

0.39, a set-aside of 800,000 lb (362,874 

kg) would still be largely exclusionary. 

Under Amendment 21, revenues for the 

limited access fleet would not equalize 

with the NGOM vessels until 1,688,888 

lb (766,067 kg) of scallops are harvested 

from the NGOM. Conversely, under the 

95 percent/5 percent split and a 

500,000-lb (226,796-kg) NGOM setaside, revenues would equalize between 

the two fleets at roughly 1,000,000 lb 

(453,592 kg). 

Response: As stated above, in fishing 

year 2017, the limited access fleet 

harvested 1,578,020 lb (715,778 kg) from 

the NGOM in 23 days. The Council 

believes that these levels of harvest are 

possible again and developed 

Amendment 21 to account for scenarios 

where removals were more consistent 

with removals from other areas in 

Georges Bank and the mid-Atlantic (i.e., 

millions of lb instead of hundreds of 

thousands of lb). 

Comment 8: FSF commented that, the 

NGOM is part of the Atlantic sea scallop 

stock’s range that must be managed as 

a unit under National Standard 3. 

Response: The Council manages the 

scallop resource throughout its range. 

Under the Scallop FMP, target fishing 


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mortality rate and stock biomass are 

applied to the scallop resource, which 

spans from North Carolina to the U.S./ 

Canada boundary. This represents the 

entire range of scallop stocks under 

Federal jurisdiction. Amendment 21 

accounts for the scallop biomass in the 

NGOM as part of the legal limits in the 

fishery by adding biomass from the area 

into calculations of the OFL and ABC. 

Amendment 21 moves the accounting of 

the NGOM ACL from only within the 

OFL into the OFL and ABC/ACL for the 

entire fishery. The NGOM ACL will be 

set consistent with how the rest of the 

scallop fishery is managed, at the catch 

level equal to the F that has a 75-percent 

probability of remaining below the F 

associated with overfishing. 

Comment 9: FSF comments that 

prorating the daily observer 

compensation rate in 12-hour 

increments for observed LAGC IFQ trips 

longer than 1 day threatens to reopen a 

loophole where IFQ vessels modify their 

behavior and fishing patterns to extend 

their trips to purposefully benefit from 

the additional compensation. Further, 

FSF comments that there is also no 

conservation benefit to the allocation 

contained in this proposed rule change, 

which is a known and documented 

detriment. 

Response: NMFS disagrees. Aligning 

the amount that vessels can be 

compensated when carrying an observer 

with the length of a typical LAGC IFQ 

trip will reduce the risk of observer bias 

in the LAGC IFQ fishery. This is true in 

the current fishery that has a 600-lb 

(272-kg) trip limit and would hold true 

in the future with the larger 800-lb (363- 

kg) possession limit in access areas (i.e., 

areas further offshore that take longer to 

access), which could result in longer 

trips. Currently, LAGC IFQ vessels are 

allowed 1 day of compensation for 

carrying an observer regardless of the 

length of a trip, but are required to 

assume the cost of having the observer 

on board even when a trip exceeds the 

1-day limit. Prorating additional 

compensation in 12-hour increments 

over one 24-hour day and capping the 

amount of compensation that could be 

allocated on a single trip would make 

the level of compensation to a vessel 

more accurate with regard to the cost of 

carrying an observer on board for the 

full length of a trip and reduce the 

incentive for vessels to fish longer trips 

for the purpose of receiving additional 

compensation. Relieving vessels of the 

additional cost burden for trips of over 

1 day will reduce the likelihood that 

fishing behavior will be different for 

observed trips versus unobserved trips. 

In addition, considering that observer 

data is a critical need for accurately 

characterizing the behavior of the LAGC 

IFQ component and for documenting 

interactions with protected species, 

non-target species, and discards, it is 

likely that reducing any potential 

observer bias would reduce uncertainty 

around the impacts of these interactions 

and improve observer data when 

analyzed by the Council in future 

specifications actions. Having less 

uncertainty in the data streams used to 

inform impacts of the scallop fishery 

would likely have conservation benefits 

to the fishery as a whole in the future. 

Comment 10: FSF strongly supports 

the 95/5 percent split above the set 

aside. 

Response: NMFS thanks FSF for the 

comment. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this Amendment and final rule are 

consistent with the Amendment 21, 

other provisions of the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order (E.O.) 12866. 

This final rule does not contain 

policies with federalism or ‘‘takings’’ 

implications, as those terms are defined 

in E.O. 13132 and E.O. 12630, 

respectively. 

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. 

During the development of preferred 

alternatives in Amendment 21, NMFS 

and the Council considered ways to 

reduce the regulatory burden and 

provide flexibility to the regulated 

community. The measures implemented 

by Amendment 21 related to NGOM 

allocations and the LAGC IFQ 

possession limit in access areas, along 

with other Amendment 21 actions, 

increase the economic benefits on small 

entities both in the short- and long-term. 

The action for the NGOM allocation 

adjusts landing limits and related 

research and observer set-asides based 

on annual scallop surveys in the NGOM 

area, leading to increased harvest and 

wider fishery participation in the future. 

However, there would be no change to 

the LAGC IFQ allocation when 

increasing the LAGC IFQ possession 

limit in access areas. 

Overall, the preferred alternatives in 

Amendment 21 ensure that catch levels 

are sustainable, reduce the risk of 

overfishing, and maximize yield and 

economic benefits. The establishment of 

the NGOM Set-Aside and the increase to 

the LAGC IFQ access area possession 

limit are expected to have an immediate 

positive economic gain with potential 

for increased fishing participants/ 

participation or effort, particularly in 

the NGOM area when there are more 

scallop fishing opportunities. The 

preferred alternatives in other actions of 

Amendment 21 also have overall 

positive economic effects benefitting 

both small and large entities. 

As a result, a regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required and none has 

been prepared. 

This final rule contains a collectionof-information requirement subject to 

review and approval by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) under 

the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). 

This rule revises the existing 

requirements for the collection of 

information OMB Control No. 0648– 

0546 by expanding the number of 

vessels required to carry observers and 

call-in to the observer program. Prior to 

Amendment 21, NGOM-permitted 

vessels were not required to carry 

observers. Amendment 21 would 

require that NGOM vessels call in to the 

observer program and, when selected, 

procure and carry an observer. 

Expanding the observer call-in 

requirement to directed scallop fishing 

in the NGOM means that monitoring 

requirements will be consistent for all 

scallop permit types across the entirety 

of the Atlantic sea scallop resource 

within the U.S. Exclusive Economic 

Zone. This change increases the number 

of respondents by 110 (512 respondents 

to 622 respondents). This results in an 

additional 933 burden hours (5,252 

hours to 6,185 hours) and an additional 

$5,608 ($44,937 to $50,545) in total 

annual cost burden to the respondents. 

Public reporting burden for calling into 

the observer program is estimated to 

average 10 minutes, including the time 

for reviewing instructions, searching 

existing data sources, gathering and 

maintaining the data needed, and 

completing and reviewing the collection 

of information. 

We invite the general public and other 

Federal agencies to comment on 

proposed and continuing information 

collections, which helps us assess the 

impact of our information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. Written comments 

and recommendations for this 


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1696 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

information collection should be 

submitted on the following website: 

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. 

Find this particular information 

collection by using the search function 

and entering either the title of the 

collection or the OMB Control Number 

0648–0546. 

Notwithstanding any other provision 

of the law, no person is required to 

respond to, nor shall any person be 

subject to a penalty for failure to comply 

with, a collection of information subject 

to the requirements of the PRA, unless 

that collection of information displays a 

currently valid OMB Control Number. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: January 6, 2022. 

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 § 648.2, revise the definition of 

‘‘Open areas’’ to read as follows: 

§ 648.2 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Open areas, with respect to the 

Atlantic sea scallop fishery, means any 

area that is not subject to restrictions of 

the Scallop Access Area Program 

specified in §§ 648.59 and 648.60, the 

Northern Gulf of Maine Management 

Area specified in § 648.62, Habitat 

Management Areas specified in 

§ 648.370, Dedicated Habitat Research 

areas specified in § 648.371, the Frank 

R. Lautenberg Deep-Sea Coral Protection 

Area described in § 648.372, or the New 

England Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area 

in § 648.373. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 648.14: 

■ a. Revise paragraphs (i)(1)(iii) and (x), 

the paragraph (i)(2)(vi) subject heading, 

and paragraphs (i)(2)(vi)(C), (D), and (E); 

■ b. Remove paragraphs (i)(3)(iii)(C) and 

(D); 

■ c. Revise paragraph (i)(3)(iv)(B), 

(i)(3)(v)(C) and (D), and (i)(4)(i)(A); 

■ d. Remove and reserve paragraph 

(i)(4)(i)(B); 

■ e. Revise paragraph (i)(4)(i)(C); 

■ f. Remove and reserve paragraph 

(i)(4)(i)(D); 

■ g. Remove paragraphs (i)(4)(i)(G) and 

(H); 

■ h. Revise paragraphs (i)(4)(ii)(A) and 

(B); 

■ i. Remove and reserve paragraph 

(i)(5)(ii); 

■ j. Revise paragraph (i)(5)(iii); and 

■ l. Remove paragraph (i)(6). 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 648.14 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(i) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iii) Possession and landing. Fish for, 

land, or possess on board a vessel per 

trip, or possess at any time prior to a 

transfer to another person for a 

commercial purpose, other than solely 

for transport on land in excess of any of 

the possession and/or landing limits 

described in §§ 648.52 and 648.59. 

* * * * * 

(x) Presumption. For purposes of this 

section, the following presumption 

applies: Scallops that are possessed or 

landed at or prior to the time when the 

scallops are received by a dealer, or 

scallops that are possessed by a dealer, 

are deemed to be harvested from the 

EEZ, unless the preponderance of 

evidence demonstrates that such 

scallops were harvested by a vessel 

fishing exclusively for scallops in state 

waters. 

* * * * * 

(2) * * * 

(vi) Scallop Rotational Area 

Management Program and Scallop 

Access Area Program requirements. 

* * * * * 

(C) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from a Scallop Access Area in 

excess of the vessel’s remaining specific 

allocation for that area as specified in 

§ 648.59(b)(3) or the amount permitted 

to be landed from that area. 

(D) Possess more than 50 bu (17.6 hL) 

of in-shell scallops outside the 

boundaries of a Scallop Access Area by 

a vessel that is declared into the Scallop 

Access Area Program as specified in 

§ 648.59. 

(E) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from any Scallop Access Area 

without an observer on board, unless 

the vessel owner, operator, or manager 

has received a waiver to carry an 

observer for the specified trip and area 

fished. 

* * * * * 

(3) * * * 

(iv) * * * 

(B) Fail to comply with any 

requirement for declaring in or out of 

the LAGC scallop fishery or other 

notification requirements specified in 

§ 648.10(f). 

* * * * * 

(v) * * * 

(C) Fish for or land per trip, or possess 

in excess of 40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked 

scallops at any time in or from any 

Scallop Access Area specified at 

§ 648.60, unless declared into the 

Scallop Access Area Program. 

(D) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in or from any Scallop Access Area 

without an observer on board, unless 

the vessel owner, operator, or manager 

has received a waiver to carry an 

observer for the specified trip and area 

fished. 

* * * * * 

(4) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(A) Fish for or land per trip, or 

possess at any time, in excess of the 

possession and landing limits described 

in § 648.52(a). 

* * * * * 

(C) Declare into the NGOM scallop 

management area and fish against the 

NGOM Set-Aside after the effective date 

of a notification published in the 

Federal Register stating that after the 

NGOM Set-Aside has been harvested as 

specified in § 648.62, unless the vessel 

is fishing exclusively in state waters, 

declared a state-waters only NGOM trip, 

and is participating in an approved state 

waters exemption program as specified 

in § 648.54, or unless the vessel is 

participating in the scallop RSA 

program as specified in § 648.56. 

* * * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(A) Have an ownership interest in 

vessels that collectively are allocated 

more than 5 percent of the total IFQ 

scallop APL as specified in 

§ 648.53(a)(9). 

(B) Have an IFQ allocation on an IFQ 

scallop vessel of more than 2.5 percent 

of the total IFQ scallop APL as specified 

in § 648.53(a)(9). 

* * * * * 

(5) * * * 

(iii) Fish for, possess, or land scallops 

in state or Federal waters of the NGOM 

management area after the effective date 

of notification in the Federal Register 

that the LAGC share of the NGOM SetAside has been harvested as specified in 

§ 648.62, unless the vessel is fishing 

exclusively in state waters, declared a 

state-waters only NGOM trip, and is 

participating in an approved state 

waters exemption program as specified 

in § 648.54, or unless the vessel is 

participating in the scallop RSA 

program as specified in § 648.56. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 648.52, revise paragraphs (a) 

through (f) to read as follows: 


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§ 648.52 Possession and landing limits. 

(a) IFQ trips—(1) Open area trips. A 

vessel issued an IFQ scallop permit that 

is declared into the IFQ scallop fishery 

in the open area, as specified in 

§ 648.10(f), or on a properly declared NE 

multispecies, surfclam, or ocean quahog 

trip (or other fishery requiring a VMS 

declaration) and not fishing in a scallop 

access area, unless as specified in 

paragraph (g) of this section or 

exempted under the state waters 

exemption program described in 

§ 648.54, may not possess or land, per 

trip, more than 600 lb (272 kg) of 

shucked scallops, or possess more than 

75 bu (26.4 hL) of in-shell scallops 

shoreward of the VMS Demarcation 

Line. Such a vessel may land scallops 

only once in any calendar day. Such a 

vessel may possess up to 100 bu (35.2 

hL) of in-shell scallops seaward of the 

VMS Demarcation Line on a properly 

declared IFQ scallop trip, or on a 

properly declared NE multispecies, 

surfclam, or ocean quahog trip, or other 

fishery requiring a VMS declaration, 

and not fishing in a scallop access area. 

(2) Access areas trips. A vessel issued 

an IFQ scallop permit that is declared 

into the IFQ Scallop Access Area 

Program, as specified in § 648.10(f), may 

not possess or land, per trip, more than 

800 lb (363 kg) of shucked scallops, or 

possess more than 100 bu (35.2 hL) of 

in-shell scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may 

land scallops only once in any calendar 

day. Such a vessel may possess up to 

100 bu (35.2 hL) of in-shell scallops 

seaward of the VMS Demarcation Line 

on a properly declared IFQ scallop 

access area trip. Vessels fishing the 2022 

default access area trips shall be subject 

to a 600-lb (272-kg) possession limit, as 

described in § 648.59(g)(3)(v). 

(b) NGOM trips. A vessel issued an 

NGOM scallop permit, or an IFQ scallop 

permit that is declared into the NGOM 

scallop fishery and fishing against the 

NGOM Set-Aside as described in 

§ 648.62, unless exempted under the 

state waters exemption program 

described under § 648.54, may not 

possess or land, per trip, more than 200 

lb (90.7 kg) of shucked scallops, or 

possess more than 25 bu (8.81 hL) of inshell scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may 

land scallops only once in any calendar 

day. Such a vessel may possess up to 50 

bu (17.6 hL) of in-shell scallops seaward 

of the VMS demarcation line on a 

properly declared NGOM scallop fishery 

trip. 

(c) Incidental trips. A vessel issued an 

Incidental scallop permit, or an IFQ 

scallop permit that is not declared into 

the IFQ scallop fishery or on a properly 

declared NE multispecies, surfclam, or 

ocean quahog trip or other fishery 

requiring a VMS declaration as required 

under § 648.10(f), unless exempted 

under the state waters exemption 

program described under § 648.54, may 

not possess or land, per trip, more than 

40 lb (18.1 kg) of shucked scallops, or 

possess more than 5 bu (1.76 hL) of inshell scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line. Such a vessel may 

land scallops only once in any calendar 

day. Such a vessel may possess up to 10 

bu (3.52 hL) of in-shell scallops seaward 

of the VMS Demarcation Line. 

(d) Limited access vessel access area 

trips. Owners or operators of vessels 

with a limited access scallop permit that 

have properly declared into the Scallop 

Access Area Program as described in 

§ 648.59 are prohibited from fishing for 

or landing per trip, or possessing at any 

time, scallops in excess of any sea 

scallop possession and landing limit set 

by the Regional Administrator in 

accordance with § 648.59(b)(5). 

(e) Limited access vessel open area inshell scallop possession limit. Owners 

or operators of vessels issued limited 

access permits are prohibited from 

fishing for, possessing, or landing per 

trip more than 50 bu (17.6 hl) of in-shell 

scallops shoreward of the VMS 

Demarcation Line, unless when fishing 

under the state waters exemption 

specified under § 648.54. 

(f) Limited access vessel access area 

in-shell scallop possession limit. A 

limited access vessel that is declared 

into the Scallop Area Access Program as 

described in § 648.59, may not possess 

more than 50 bu (17.6 hL) of in-shell 

scallops outside of the Access Areas 

described in § 648.60. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 648.53: 

■ a. Revise paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) and 

(a)(8); 

■ b. Add paragraph (a)(9); and 

■ c. Revise paragraphs (g)(1), (h)(3)(i)(A) 

and (B), (h)(5)(i), (h)(5)(ii)(A), and 

(h)(5)(iii). 

The revisions and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 648.53 Overfishing limit (OFL), 

acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual 

catch limits (ACL), annual catch targets 

(ACT), annual projected landings (APL), 

DAS allocations, individual fishing quotas 

(IFQ). 

(a) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(ii) APL. The APL shall be equal to the 

combined projected landings by the 

limited access and LAGC IFQ, in open 

areas, access areas, and Northern Gulf of 

Maine management area after set-asides 

(RSA, NGOM, and observer) and 

incidental landings are accounted for, 

for a given fishing year. Projected 

scallop landings are calculated by 

estimating the landings that will come 

from open area, access area, and 

Northern Gulf of Maine effort combined 

for both limited access and LAGC IFQ 

fleets. These projected landings shall 

not exceed the overall ABC/ACL and 

ACT, as described in paragraph (a) of 

this section. 

* * * * * 

(8) Northern Gulf of Maine Total 

Allowable Landings (TAL). The NGOM 

TAL is the landings available for harvest 

from the NGOM Management Area. The 

TAL shall be set by applying a fishing 

mortality rate of F = 0.15 to F = 0.25 to 

exploitable biomass estimated from 

open areas of the NGOM. 

(i) NGOM Observer Set-Aside. The 

NGOM TAL shall be reduced by 1 

percent to off-set monitoring costs for 

vessels fishing in this area. The NGOM 

monitoring set-aside would be added to 

the fishery-wide observer set-aside, as 

described in paragraph (g) of this 

section. 

(ii) NGOM Research Set-Aside. The 

NGOM TAL shall be reduced by 25,000 

lb (11,340 kg) to be added to the fisherywide research set-aside, as described in 

§ 648.56(d). 

(iii) Northern Gulf of Maine Set-Aside. 

The NGOM Set-Aside shall be the 

portion of the NGOM TAL that is 

available for harvest by the LAGC IFQ 

and NGOM fleets at 200 lb (90.7 kg) per 

trip per day as set through 

specifications. After the observer and 

research set-asides are removed, the first 

800,000 lb (362,874 kg) of the NGOM 

TAL shall be allocated to the NGOM 

Set-Aside. For all allocation above 

800,000 lb (362,874 kg), 5 percent shall 

go to the NGOM Set-Aside, and 95 

percent shall go to the NGOM Annual 

Projected Landings. 

(iv) NGOM APL. The NGOM APL 

shall be the portion of the NGOM TAL 

that is available for harvest for the 

limited access and LAGC IFQ fleets set 

through specifications after the observer 

and research set-asides are removed and 

the first 800,000 lb (362,874 kg) of the 

NGOM TAL are allocated to the NGOM 

Set-Aside. For all allocation above 

800,000 lb (362,874 kg), 5 percent shall 

go to the NGOM set-aside, and 95 

percent shall go to the NGOM APL. The 

method in which the limited access and 

LAGC IFQ components will access the 

NGOM APL will be determined in 

future specifications. 

(9) Scallop fishery catch limits. The 

following catch limits will be effective 

for the 2021 and 2022 fishing years: 


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TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(9)—SCALLOP FISHERY CATCH LIMITS

Catch limits 2021 

(mt) 

2022 

(mt) 1

OFL .......................................................................................................................................................................... 45,392 41,926 

ABC/ACL (discards removed) ................................................................................................................................. 30,517 28,074 

Incidental Catch ....................................................................................................................................................... 23 23 

RSA .......................................................................................................................................................................... 567 567 

Observer Set-Aside ................................................................................................................................................. 305 281 

ACL for fishery ......................................................................................................................................................... 29,622 27,203 

Limited Access ACL ................................................................................................................................................ 27,993 25,707 

LAGC Total ACL ...................................................................................................................................................... 1,629 1,496 

LAGC IFQ ACL (5 percent of ACL) ......................................................................................................................... 1,481 1,360 

Limited Access with LAGC IFQ ACL (0.5 percent of ACL) .................................................................................... 148 136 

Limited Access ACT ................................................................................................................................................ 24,260 22,279 

APL (after set-asides removed) ............................................................................................................................... 17,269 (1) 

Limited Access APL (94.5 percent of APL) ............................................................................................................. 16,319 (1) 

Total IFQ Annual Allocation (5.5 percent of APL) 2 ................................................................................................ 950 712 

LAGC IFQ Annual Allocation (5 percent of APL) 2 .................................................................................................. 863 648 

Limited Access with LAGC IFQ Annual Allocation (0.5 percent of APL) 2 ............................................................. 86 65 

1The catch limits for the 2022 fishing year are subject to change through a future specifications action or framework adjustment. This includes 

the setting of an APL for 2022 that will be based on the 2021 annual scallop surveys. The 2022 default allocations for the limited access component are defined for DAS in paragraph (b)(3) of this section and for access areas in § 648.59(b)(3)(i)(B). 2As specified in paragraph (a)(6)(iii)(B) of this section, the 2022 IFQ annual allocations are set at 75 percent of the 2021 IFQ Annual 

Allocations. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(1) To help defray the cost of carrying 

an observer, 1 percent of the ABC/ACL 

defined in paragraph (a)(3) of this 

section and 1 percent of the NGOM 

ABC/ACL shall be set aside to be used 

by vessels that are assigned to take an 

at-sea observer on a trip. This observer 

set-aside is specified through the 

specifications or framework adjustment 

process defined in § 648.55. 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(A) Unless otherwise specified in 

paragraphs (h)(3)(i)(B) and (C) of this 

section, a vessel issued an IFQ scallop 

permit or confirmation of permit history 

shall not be issued more than 2.5 

percent of the IFQ-only annual 

allocation to the IFQ scallop vessels as 

described in paragraph (a)(6) of this 

section. 

(B) A vessel may be initially issued 

more than 2.5 percent of the IFQ-only 

annual allocation allocated to the IFQ 

scallop vessels as described in 

paragraph (a)(6) of this section, if the 

initial determination of its contribution 

factor specified in accordance with 

§ 648.4(a)(2)(ii)(E) and paragraph 

(h)(2)(ii) of this section, results in an 

IFQ that exceeds 2.5 percent of the IFQonly annual allocation to the IFQ 

scallop vessels as described in 

paragraph (a)(6) of this section. A vessel 

that is allocated an IFQ that exceeds 2.5 

percent of the IFQ-only annual 

allocation to the IFQ scallop vessels as 

described in paragraph (a)(6) of this 

section, in accordance with this 

paragraph (h)(3)(i)(B), may not receive 

IFQ through an IFQ transfer, as 

specified in paragraph (h)(5) of this 

section. All scallops that have been 

allocated as part of the original IFQ 

allocation or transferred to a vessel 

during a given fishing year shall be 

counted towards the vessel cap. 

* * * * * 

(5) * * * 

(i) Temporary IFQ transfers—(A) IFQonly vessels. Subject to the restrictions 

in paragraph (h)(5)(iii) of this section, 

the owner of an IFQ scallop vessel (and/ 

or IFQ scallop permit in confirmation of 

permit history) not issued a limited 

access scallop permit may temporarily 

transfer (e.g., lease) its entire IFQ 

allocation, or a portion of its IFQ 

allocation, to another IFQ scallop vessel 

(and/or IFQ scallop permit in 

confirmation of permit history) not 

issued a limited access scallop permit. 

Temporary IFQ transfers shall be 

effective only for the fishing year in 

which the temporary transfer is 

requested and processed. IFQ can be 

temporarily transferred more than once 

(i.e., re-transferred). For example, if a 

vessel temporarily transfers IFQ to a 

vessel, the transferee vessel may retransfer any portion of that IFQ to 

another vessel. There is no limit on how 

many times IFQ can be re-transferred in 

a fishing year. The Regional 

Administrator has final approval 

authority for all temporary IFQ transfer 

requests. 

(B) Limited access vessels with LAGC 

IFQ. Subject to the restrictions in 

paragraph (h)(5)(iii) of this section, the 

owner of a limited access vessel with 

LAGC IFQ (and/or a limited access 

permit with LAGC IFQ in confirmation 

of permit history) may temporarily 

transfer (e.g., lease) its entire IFQ 

allocation, or a portion of its IFQ 

allocation, to an IFQ-only scallop vessel 

that does not have a limited access 

permit. Temporary IFQ transfers shall 

be effective only for the fishing year in 

which the temporary transfer is 

requested and processed. IFQ can be 

temporarily transferred more than once 

(i.e., re-transferred). The Regional 

Administrator has final approval 

authority for all temporary IFQ transfer 

requests. 

* * * * * 

(ii) * * * 

(A) Subject to the restrictions in 

paragraph (h)(5)(iii) of this section, the 

owner of an IFQ scallop vessel (and/or 

IFQ scallop permit in confirmation of 

permit history) not issued a limited 

access scallop permit may transfer IFQ 

permanently to or from another IFQ 

scallop vessel (and/or IFQ scallop 

permit in confirmation of permit 

history) not issued a limited access 

scallop permit. Any such transfer 

cannot be limited in duration and is 

permanent as to the transferee, unless 

the IFQ is subsequently permanently 

transferred to another IFQ scallop 

vessel. IFQ may be permanently 

transferred to a vessel and then be retransferred (temporarily transferred (i.e., 

leased) or permanently transferred) by 

such vessel to another vessel in the 

same fishing year. There is no limit on 

how many times IFQ can be retransferred in a fishing year. Limited 

access vessels with LAGC IFQ permits 


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are prohibited from permanently 

transferring or receiving IFQ. 

* * * * * 

(iii) IFQ transfer restrictions. The 

owner of an IFQ scallop vessel (and/or 

IFQ scallop permit in confirmation of 

permit history) not issued a limited 

access scallop permit may transfer that 

vessel’s IFQ to another IFQ scallop 

vessel, regardless of whether or not the 

vessel has fished under its IFQ in the 

same fishing year. Requests for IFQ 

transfers cannot be less than 100 lb (46.4 

kg), unless that the transfer reflects the 

total IFQ amount remaining on the 

transferor’s vessel, or the entire IFQ 

allocation. IFQ may be temporarily or 

permanently transferred to a vessel and 

then temporarily re-transferred (i.e., 

leased) or permanently re-transferred by 

such vessel to another vessel in the 

same fishing year. There is no 

restriction on how many times IFQ can 

be re-transferred. A transfer of an IFQ 

may not result in the sum of the IFQs 

on the receiving vessel exceeding 2.5 

percent of the allocation to IFQ-only 

scallop vessels. A transfer of an IFQ, 

whether temporary or permanent, may 

not result in the transferee having a total 

ownership of, or interest in, general 

category scallop allocation that exceeds 

5 percent of the allocation to IFQ-only 

scallop vessels. Limited access scallop 

vessels that are also issued an IFQ 

scallop permit may not permanently 

transfer or receive IFQ. Further, they 

may not temporarily receive IFQ. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. In § 648.55, revise paragraph (a)(1) 

and paragraph (f) introductory text to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.55 Specifications and framework 

adjustments to management measures. 

(a) * * * 

(1) The Scallop Plan Development 

Team (PDT) shall meet at least every 2 

years to assess the status of the scallop 

resource and to develop and 

recommend the following specifications 

for a period of up to 2 years, as well as 

second or third-year default measures, 

for consideration by the New England 

Fishery Management Council’s Atlantic 

Sea Scallop Oversight Committee and 

Advisory Panel: OFL, overall ABC/ACL, 

sub-ACLs, sub-ACTs, DAS open area 

allocations, possession limits, 

modifications to rotational area 

management (e.g., schedule, rotational 

closures and openings, seasonal 

restrictions, modifications to 

boundaries, etc.), access area limited 

access poundage allocations and LAGC 

IFQ fleet-wide trip allocations, annual 

incidental catch target TAC, and NGOM 

TAL. 

* * * * * 

(f) Framework adjustments. The 

Council may at any time initiate a 

framework adjustment to add or adjust 

management measures within the 

Scallop FMP if it finds that action is 

necessary to meet or be consistent with 

the goals and objectives of the FMP. The 

Council shall develop and analyze 

appropriate management actions over 

the span of at least two Council 

meetings. To address interactions 

between the scallop fishery and sea 

turtles and other protected species, such 

adjustments may include proactive 

measures including, but not limited to, 

the timing of Sea Scallop Access Area 

openings, seasonal closures, gear 

modifications, increased observer 

coverage, and additional research. The 

Council shall provide the public with 

advance notice of the availability of 

both the proposals and the analyses, and 

opportunity to comment on them prior 

to and at the second Council meeting. 

The Council’s recommendation on 

adjustments or additions to management 

measures may include specifications 

measures specified in paragraph (a) of 

this section, which must satisfy the 

criteria set forth § 648.53(a) in order to 

prevent overfishing of the available 

biomass of scallops and ensure that OY 

is achieved on a continuing basis. Other 

measures that may be changed or 

implemented through framework action 

include: 

* * * * * 

■ 7. In § 648.56, revise paragraph (d) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.56 Scallop research. 

* * * * * 

(d) Available RSA allocation shall be 

1.275 million lb (578 mt) annually, 

which shall be deducted from the ABC/ 

ACL specified in § 648.53(a) prior to 

setting ACLs for the limited access and 

LAGC fleets, as specified in 

§ 648.53(a)(3) and (4), respectively. 

Approved RSA projects shall be 

allocated an amount of scallop 

allocation that can be harvested in open 

areas, available access areas, and the 

NGOM. The specific access areas that 

are open to RSA harvest and the amount 

of NGOM allocation to be landed 

through RSA harvest shall be specified 

through the framework process as 

identified in § 648.59(e)(1). In a year in 

which a framework adjustment is under 

review by the Council and/or NMFS, 

NMFS shall make RSA awards prior to 

approval of the framework, if 

practicable, based on total scallop 

allocation needed to fund each research 

project. Recipients may begin 

compensation fishing in open areas 

prior to approval of the framework, or 

wait until NMFS approval of the 

framework to begin compensation 

fishing within approved access areas. 

* * * * * 

■ 8. In § 648.59, revise the section 

heading and paragraphs (a) introductory 

text, (a)(3), (b)(4), (g)(3)(i), and (g)(4)(ii) 

to read as follows: 

§ 648.59 Scallop Rotational Area 

Management Program and Scallop Access 

Area Program requirements. 

(a) The Scallop Rotational Area 

Management Program consists of 

Scallop Rotational Areas, as defined in 

§ 648.2. Guidelines for this area rotation 

program (i.e., when to close an area and 

reopen it to scallop fishing) are 

provided in § 648.55(a)(6). Whether a 

rotational area is open or closed to 

scallop fishing in a given year, and the 

appropriate level of access by limited 

access and LAGC IFQ vessels, are 

specified through the specifications or 

framework adjustment processes 

defined in § 648.55. When a rotational 

area is open to the scallop fishery, it is 

called an Access Area and scallop 

vessels fishing in the area are subject to 

the Scallop Access Area Program 

Requirements specified in this section. 

Areas not defined as Scallop Rotational 

Areas specified in § 648.60, Habitat 

Management Areas specified in 

§ 648.370, or areas closed to scallop 

fishing under other FMPs, are governed 

by other management measures and 

restrictions in this part and are referred 

to as Open Areas. 

* * * * * 

(3) Transiting a Scallop Access Area. 

Any sea scallop vessel that has not 

declared a trip into the Scallop Access 

Area Program may enter a Scallop 

Access Area, and possess scallops not 

caught in the Scallop Access Areas, for 

transiting purposes only, provided the 

vessel’s fishing gear is stowed and not 

available for immediate use as defined 

in § 648.2. Any scallop vessel that has 

declared a trip into the Scallop Area 

Access Program may not enter or be in 

another Scallop Access Area on the 

same trip except such vessel may transit 

another Scallop Access Area provided 

its gear is stowed and not available for 

immediate use as defined in § 648.2, or 

there is a compelling safety reason to be 

in such areas without such gear being 

stowed. A vessel may only transit the 

Closed Area II Scallop Rotational Area, 

as defined in § 648.60(d), if there is a 

compelling safety reason for transiting 

the area and the vessel’s fishing gear is 


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stowed and not available for immediate 

use as defined in § 648.2. 

(b) * * * 

(4) Area fished. While on a Scallop 

Access Area trip, a vessel may not fish 

for, possess, or land scallops in or from 

areas outside the Scallop Access Area in 

which the vessel operator has declared 

the vessel will fish during that trip, and 

may not enter or exit the specific 

declared Scallop Access Area more than 

once per trip unless there is a 

compelling safety reason. A vessel on a 

Scallop Access Area trip may not enter 

or be in another Scallop Access Area on 

the same trip except such vessel may 

transit another Scallop Access Area as 

provided for under paragraph (a)(3) of 

this section. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(i) An LAGC scallop vessel authorized 

to fish in the Scallop Rotational Areas 

specified in § 648.60 or in paragraph 

(g)(3)(iv) of this section may land 

scallops, subject to the possession limit 

specified in § 648.52(a)(2), unless the 

Regional Administrator has issued a 

notice that the number of LAGC IFQ 

access area trips have been or are 

projected to be taken. All LAGC IFQ 

access area trips must be taken in the 

fishing year that they are allocated (i.e., 

there are no carryover trips). The total 

number of LAGC IFQ trips in an Access 

Area is specified in the specifications or 

framework adjustment processes 

defined in § 648.55. 

* * * * * 

(4) * * * 

(ii) Other species. Unless issued an 

LAGC IFQ scallop permit and fishing 

under an approved NE multispecies 

SAP under NE multispecies DAS, an 

LAGC IFQ vessel fishing in the Closed 

Area I, Closed Area II, Closed Area II 

Extension, and Nantucket Lightship 

Rotational Areas specified in § 648.60, 

and the Nantucket Lightship North 

Scallop Access Area specified in 

paragraph (g)(3)(iv) of this section is 

prohibited from possessing any species 

of fish other than scallops and 

monkfish, as specified in 

§ 648.94(c)(8)(i). Such a vessel may fish 

in an approved SAP under § 648.85 and 

under multispecies DAS in the scallop 

access area, provided that it has not 

declared into the Scallop Access Area 

Program. Such a vessel is prohibited 

from fishing for, possessing, or landing 

scallops. 

[FR Doc. 2022–00367 Filed 1–11–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 220105–0003] 

RIN 0648–BL05 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Mackerel; 2022 Interim 

Action 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; interim 

measures; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This temporary rule 

implements interim specifications for 

the 2022 fishing year to address new 

assessment information regarding the 

status of the Atlantic mackerel stock. 

This action is intended to reduce 

potential Atlantic mackerel overfishing 

based on new 2021 assessment findings 

while a rebuilding plan is being 

developed. 

DATES: Effective January 7, 2022, 

through July 11, 2022. Comments must 

be received by February 11, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2021–0137 by either of the 

following methods: 

Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

NOAA–NMFS–2021–0137 in the Search 

box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and 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). 

The supporting documents for the 

action are available upon request 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 https://www.mafmc.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aly 

Pitts, Fishery Management Specialist, 

(978) 281–9352. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) manages 

the Atlantic mackerel fishery under the 

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (MSB) 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP). 

Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act allows the Secretary to implement 

interim measures to reduce or address 

overfishing. In situations such as this, in 

which the Mid-Atlantic Council has 

begun the development of a rebuilding 

plan, section 304(e)(6) allows the 

Council to request the Secretary to 

implement interim measures to reduce 

overfishing, even if such measures are 

not sufficient themselves to stop 

overfishing, until such measures can be 

replaced by the rebuilding plan. As 

further described below, NMFS 

implements this action to adjust the 

domestic annual harvest (DAH, or 

commercial quota) from the previously 

implemented amount of 17,312 metric 

tons (mt) to 4,963 mt in order to 

minimize overfishing while the Council 

responds to the most recent stock 

assessment information and completes 

work on a revised rebuilding plan. This 

revised DAH takes into account new 

information on Canadian harvest and 

U.S. recreational landings. 

The 2017 stock assessment indicated 

that Atlantic mackerel was overfished 

and subject to overfishing. To end 

overfishing and rebuild the species, the 

Council adopted a rebuilding plan 

under Framework Adjustment 13 to the 

Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish FMP 

(84 FR 58053; October 30, 2019). The 

rebuilding plan became effective in 

November 2019 and set Atlantic 

mackerel catch levels to prevent 

overfishing and rebuild the stock by 

2023 based on the strength of a larger 

than average year class from 2015. 

However, shortly after the rebuilding 

program was implemented, updated 

information, including a Canadian stock 

assessment, suggested that more recent 

recruitment was lower than expected 

when specifications were set in the 

original rebuilding plan. In response, 

the Council maintained, and we 

implemented, the overall 2019 

acceptable biological catch (ABC) 

(29,184 mt) and DAH (17,312 mt) 

through 2023 instead of increasing catch 

levels based on expected rebuilding 

progress as a precautionary measure to 

help the species continue to rebuild as 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1