15146 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

* * * * * 

Martha Williams, 

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05526 Filed 3–16–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 220311–0070; RTID 0648– 

XX075] 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Northeast Skate Complex; 2022 

and 2023 Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues final Northeast 

skate specifications for the 2022 fishing 

year, and projects specifications for 

fishing year 2023, as recommended by 

the New England Fishery Management 

Council. This action is necessary to 

establish annual allowable harvest 

levels for the skate fishery that prevent 

overfishing while enabling optimum 

yield, using the best scientific 

information available. 

DATES: Effective on May 1, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: The New England Fishery 

Management Council prepared a 

Supplemental Information Report (SIR) 

for these specifications that describes 

the action and any changes from the 

original environmental assessment (EA) 

and analyses for this 2022–2023 

specifications action. Copies of the SIR, 

original EA, and other supporting 

documents for this action, are available 

upon request from Thomas A. Nies, 

Executive Director, New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. These 

documents are also accessible via the 

internet at https://www.nefmc.org/ 

management-plans/skates. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9180. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The New England Fishery 

Management Council manages a 

complex of seven skate species 

(barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette, 

smooth, thorny, and winter skate) in the 

New England and Mid-Atlantic regions 

under the Northeast Skate Complex 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Skates 

are harvested and managed in two 

different fishery sectors, one for food 

(the wing fishery) and one for bait used 

in other fisheries (the bait fishery). The 

FMP requires the review and 

specification of an acceptable biological 

catch (ABC), annual catch limit (ACL), 

annual catch target (ACT), fishery-level 

total allowable landings (TAL) limit, 

separate TALs for the wing and bait 

fisheries, and other management 

measures, as needed, for up to two 

fishing years at a time. This action 

implements skate specifications for the 

2022 fishing year, and projects 

specifications for 2023, as 

recommended by the Council. 

The proposed rule for this action 

published in the Federal Register on 

January 18, 2022 (87 FR 2587), and 

comments were accepted through 

February 17, 2022. NMFS did not 

receive any comments from the public 

during this period. Additional 

background information regarding the 

development of these specifications was 

provided in the proposed rule and is not 

repeated here. 

Specifications 

This action implements the Council’s 

recommended 2022 and projected 2023 

skate catch specifications (Table 1), as 

outlined in the proposed rule. These 

specifications increase the ABC by 14 

percent and annual quotas for both the 

wing and bait fisheries by 18 percent in 

fishing year 2022. Specifications for 

fishing year 2023 are projected to be 

unchanged from 2022. 

TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF FINAL 2022 AND PROJECTED 2023 SKATE FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS

Metric tons Million lb 

ABC = ACL .............................................................................................................................................................. 37,236 82.091 

ACT .......................................................................................................................................................................... 33,513 73.883 

Overall Fishery TAL ................................................................................................................................................. 21,142 46.610 

Wing TAL (66.5% of Overall TAL) ........................................................................................................................... 14,059 30.995 

Wing Season 1 TAL (57% of Wing TAL) ................................................................................................................ 8,014 17.668 

Wing Season 2 TAL ................................................................................................................................................ 6,045 13.327 

Bait TAL (33.5% of Overall TAL) ............................................................................................................................. 7,082 15.613 

Bait Season 1 TAL (30.8% of Bait TAL) ................................................................................................................. 2,181 4.808 

Bait Season 2 TAL (37.1% of Bait TAL) ................................................................................................................. 2,627 5.792 

Bait Season 3 TAL .................................................................................................................................................. 2,274 5.013 

All other fishery management 

measures, such as trip limits, remain 

unchanged under this action. The 

Council will review the projected 

specifications for fishing year 2023 in 

light of any new information to 

determine if any changes need to be 

made prior to their implementation. 

NMFS will publish a notice prior to the 

2023 fishing year to confirm these limits 

as projected or propose any necessary 

changes. 

Comments and Responses 

The public comment period for the 

proposed rule ended on February 17, 

2022. NMFS received no comments 

from the public during this period. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

There are no changes from the 

proposed rule. 

Classification 

The NMFS Administrator, Greater 

Atlantic Region, has determined that 

these specifications are necessary for the 

conservation and management of the 

Northeast skate fishery, and that it is 

consistent with the Northeast Skate 

Complex FMP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable laws. 

This final rule is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866 because 

the action contains no implementing 

regulations. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration 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. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 52 / Thursday, March 17, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 15147 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification, and the initial 

certification remains unchanged. As a 

result, a final regulatory flexibility 

analysis was not required and none was 

prepared. 

This final rule does not duplicate, 

conflict, or overlap with any existing 

Federal rules. 

This action contains no information 

collection requirements under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

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

Dated: March 11, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–05649 Filed 3–16–22; 8:45 am] 

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