Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 19011 

season dates off of Oregon in this final 

rule. 

Classification 

Regulations governing the U.S. 

fisheries for Pacific halibut are 

developed by the IPHC, the Pacific 

Fishery Management Council, the North 

Pacific Fishery Management Council, 

the Secretary of State and the Secretary 

of Commerce. Additionally, as provided 

in the Halibut Act, the Regional Fishery 

Management Councils having authority 

for the geographic area concerned may 

develop, and the Secretary of Commerce 

may implement, regulations governing 

harvesting privileges among U.S. 

fishermen in U.S. waters that are in 

addition to, and not in conflict with, 

approved IPHC regulations (16 U.S.C. 

773c(c)). The final rule is consistent 

with the Council’s authority to allocate 

halibut catches among fishery 

participants in the waters in and off 

Washington, Oregon, and California. 

NMFS prepared an EA for Area 2A 

Pacific halibut fishery management, and 

the Assistant Administrator concluded 

that there will be no significant impacts 

on the human environment as a result 

of this rule. The proposed rule (87 FR 

9021; February 17, 2022) described 

where the draft EA could be viewed and 

how to comment. The public comment 

period closed March 4, 2022. There 

were no comments received on the draft 

EA, and therefore there were no changes 

or updates resulting from the public 

comment period. A copy of the Final EA 

and associated Finding of No Significant 

Impact are available on NMFS’ website 

at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/westcoast/laws-and-policies/pacific-halibutactions-nepa-documents. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

NMFS finds good cause to waive the 

30-day delay in the date of effectiveness 

and make this rule effective on March 

31, 2022, in time for the start of 

recreational Pacific halibut fisheries on 

April 7, 2022, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3). The 2022 Catch Sharing Plan 

provides the framework for the annual 

management measures and setting 

subarea allocations based on annual 

catch limits set by the IPHC. This rule 

implements 2022 Area 2A subarea 

allocations as published in the proposed 

rule (87 FR 9021; February 17, 2022) for 

the recreational Pacific halibut fishery 

based on the formulas set in the Catch 

Sharing Plan and using the 2022 Area 

2A catch limit for Pacific halibut set by 

the IPHC and published by NMFS on 

March 7, 2022 (87 FR 12604). 

Additionally, delaying the effective 

date of this rule would be contrary to 

the public interest. The Council’s 2022 

Catch Sharing Plan approved in this 

rule includes changes that respond to 

the needs of the fisheries in each state, 

including fisheries that begin in early 

April. The Catch Sharing Plan and 

management measures were developed 

through multiple public meetings of the 

Council, and were described at the IPHC 

meeting where public comment was 

accepted. A delay in the effectiveness of 

this rule for 30 days would result in the 

fisheries not opening on their intended 

timelines and on the dates the affected 

public are expecting. The recreational 

Pacific halibut fisheries have high 

participation, and some subareas close 

months before the end of the season due 

to subarea allocation attainment. If the 

fisheries do not open on their intended 

timelines, fishing opportunity is lost, 

potentially causing economic harm to 

communities at recreational fishing 

ports. 

Therefore, a delay in effectiveness 

could cause economic harm to the 

associated fishing communities by 

reducing fishing opportunity at the start 

of the fishing year. As a result of the 

potential harm to fishing communities 

that could be caused by delaying the 

effectiveness of this final rule, NMFS 

finds good cause to waive the 30-day 

delay in the date of effectiveness and 

make this rule effective upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 

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 for purposes of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

As a result, a regulatory flexibility 

analysis was not required and none was 

prepared. 

This final rule contains no 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 300 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Antarctica, Canada, Exports, 

Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, Imports, 

Indians, Labeling, Marine resources, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Russian Federation, 

Transportation, Treaties, Wildlife. 

Dated: March 28, 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 300, subpart E, 

is amended as follows: 

PART 300—INTERNATIONAL 

FISHERIES REGULATIONS 

Subpart E—Pacific Halibut Fisheries 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 300, 

subpart E, continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 773–773k. 

■ 2. In § 300.63, revise paragraph 

(c)(1)(iii) to read as follows: 

§ 300.63 Catch sharing plan and domestic 

management measures in Area 2A. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iii) If any of the recreational fishery 

subareas north of Cape Falcon, Oregon 

are not projected to utilize their 

respective quotas, NMFS may take 

inseason action to transfer any projected 

unused quota to another Washington 

recreational subarea. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–06834 Filed 3–31–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 220328–0080] 

RIN 0648–BL00 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Dolphin 

and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic; 

Amendment 10 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to 

implement Amendment 10 to the 

Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 

Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the 

Atlantic (Dolphin and Wahoo FMP), as 

prepared and submitted by the South 

Atlantic Fishery Management Council 

(Council). This final rule revises the 

annual catch limits (ACLs), 

accountability measures (AMs), and 

additional management measures for 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
19012 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

dolphin and wahoo. The additional 

management measures address 

commercial trip limits, authorized 

fishing gear, the operator permit (card) 

requirement for dolphin and wahoo, 

and the recreational vessel limit for 

dolphin. Amendment 10 also revises the 

acceptable biological catch (ABC) and 

sector allocations for both dolphin and 

wahoo. The purpose of this final rule 

and Amendment 10 is to base 

conservation and management measures 

for dolphin and wahoo on the best 

scientific information available and 

increase net benefits to the fishery. 

DATES: This final rule is effective May 2, 

2022. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of 

Amendment 10, which includes a 

fishery impact statement and a 

regulatory impact review, may be 

obtained from the Southeast Regional 

Office website at https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/action/amendment-10- 

changes-catch-levels-sector-allocationsaccountability-measures-andmanagement. 

Written comments regarding the 

burden hour estimates or any other 

aspects of the collection of information 

requirements contained in this final rule 

may be submitted at any time by email 

to Adam Bailey, NMFS Southeast 

Regional Office, adam.bailey@noaa.gov, 

or to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nikhil Mehta, telephone: 727–824– 

5305, or email: nikhil.mehta@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

dolphin and wahoo fishery in Federal 

waters from Maine south to the Florida 

Keys in the Atlantic is managed under 

the Dolphin and Wahoo FMP. The 

Dolphin and Wahoo FMP was prepared 

by the Council and implemented 

through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act). 

On December 23, 2021, NMFS 

published a notice of availability for 

Amendment 10 and requested public 

comment (86 FR 72911). NMFS 

approved Amendment 10 on March 17, 

2022. On January 14, 2022, NMFS 

published a proposed rule for 

Amendment 10 and requested public 

comment (87 FR 2389). The proposed 

rule and Amendment 10 outline the 

rationale for the actions contained in 

this final rule. A summary of the 

management measures described in 

Amendment 10 and implemented by 

this final rule is described below. 

Background 

The current total ACLs for both 

dolphin and wahoo were added to the 

FMP in 2014 through Amendment 5 to 

the Dolphin and Wahoo FMP 

(Amendment 5), and are based on the 

Council’s Scientific and Statistical 

Committee’s (SSC) ABC 

recommendations using the third 

highest landings value during 1999– 

2008 (79 FR 32878; June 9, 2014). The 

landings data during that time period 

did not include recreational landings 

from Monroe County, Florida, and were 

based on recreational data from the 

Marine Recreational Information 

Program’s (MRIP) Coastal Household 

Telephone Survey (CHTS) method. In 

April 2020, the Council’s SSC 

recommended new ABC levels for 

dolphin and wahoo using the third 

highest annual commercial and 

recreational landings value during 

1994–2007. These landings include 

recreational landings from Monroe 

County, Florida, and used MRIP’s 

Fishing Effort Survey (FES) method, 

which is considered more reliable and 

robust compared to the CHTS survey 

method. The new ABC 

recommendations for dolphin and 

wahoo are also based on the new weight 

estimation procedure from NMFS 

Southeast Fisheries Science Center 

(SEFSC) that uses a 15 fish minimum 

sample size and represents the best 

scientific information available. This 

final rule revises the total ACLs for 

dolphin and wahoo to equal the new 

ABC values. 

The current sector allocations for 

dolphin were added to the FMP in 2016 

through Amendment 8 to the Dolphin 

and Wahoo FMP (Amendment 8), with 

10.00 percent of the total ACL to the 

commercial sector and 90.00 percent of 

the total ACL to the recreational sector 

(81 FR 3731; January 22, 2016). In 2015, 

the commercial sector was closed 

because the commercial ACL was met 

during that fishing year. In Amendment 

8, the Council set the commercial 

allocation at the average of the 

percentages of the total commercial 

catch for 2008–2012, and the resulting 

10 percent of the total ACL for the 

commercial allocation was expected to 

prevent subsequent closures of the 

commercial sector. The current sector 

allocations for wahoo were added to the 

FMP in 2014 through Amendment 5, 

with 3.93 percent of the total ACL to the 

commercial sector and 96.07 percent of 

the total ACL to the recreational sector. 

The Council decided on these wahoo 

allocations by balancing long-term catch 

history with recent catch history, and 

determined this method as the most fair 

and equitable way to allocate fishery 

resources since it considered past and 

present participation. The current 

allocations for both dolphin and wahoo 

were applied to the respective species’ 

total ACLs (equal to the ABCs) to obtain 

the sector ACLs. 

Amendment 10 specifies commercial 

and recreational allocations for dolphin 

at 7.00 percent and 93.00 percent, 

respectively. For wahoo, Amendment 10 

specifies commercial and recreational 

allocations at 2.45 percent and 97.55 

percent, respectively. These allocations 

are applied to the respective species’ 

revised total ACLs (equal to the 

proposed ABCs) using the third highest 

landings value during 1994–2007 to 

determine the new sector ACLs. The 

revised sector ACLs for dolphin and 

wahoo were derived from landings 

which include recreational landings 

from Monroe County, Florida, use 

MRIP’s FES method, and SEFSC new 

weight estimation procedure. For 

dolphin, the Council has determined 

that the revised sector allocations and 

revised sector ACLs would avoid a 

decrease in the current pounds of 

dolphin available to either sector’s ACL. 

For wahoo, the Council’s intent is to 

maintain the current commercial ACL 

and allocate the remaining revised ACL 

to the recreational sector. 

Amendment 10 and this final rule do 

not make any changes to the commercial 

AMs for dolphin or wahoo. The current 

recreational AMs for dolphin and 

wahoo were added to the FMP in 2014 

through Amendment 5, and do not 

contain an in-season AM but instead 

require monitoring for persistence in 

recreational landings during the year 

following any recreational ACL overage. 

Further, the current recreational postseason AMs state that if the combined 

commercial and recreational landings 

exceed the combined commercial and 

recreational ACLs, and dolphin and 

wahoo are overfished, the recreational 

ACL for the following year will be 

reduced by the amount of the 

recreational overage in the prior fishing 

year, and the recreational fishing season 

will be reduced by the amount 

necessary to ensure recreational 

landings do not exceed the reduced 

ACL. The Regional Administrator (RA) 

will determine, using the best scientific 

information available, if a reduction in 

the recreational ACL and a reduction in 

the length of the following fishing 

season is unnecessary. These 

recreational post-season AMs for 

dolphin and wahoo are not viable 

because the post-season AMs would not 

be triggered as there is not a peerreviewed stock assessment for dolphin 

and wahoo, and such assessment is 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 19013 

unlikely to be conducted in the near 

future. Therefore, there is no likely 

method to determine their stock status. 

This final rule establishes a trigger to 

implement post-season AMs and 

specifies the post-season AMs that may 

be triggered for dolphin and wahoo and 

that are not based on their stock status. 

In 2017, Regulatory Amendment 1 to 

the Dolphin and Wahoo FMP and the 

associated final rule implemented the 

current commercial trip limit for 

dolphin of 4,000 lb (1,814 kg), round 

weight, that is in effect once 75 percent 

of the commercial ACL is reached (82 

FR 8820; January 31, 2017). Prior to 

reaching 75 percent of the commercial 

ACL, there is no commercial trip limit 

for dolphin. In 2004, the final rule for 

the original Dolphin and Wahoo FMP 

implemented the current commercial 

trip limit for wahoo of 500 lb (227 kg); 

and a commercial trip limit of 200 lb (91 

kg) of dolphin and wahoo, combined, 

provided that all fishing on and 

landings from that trip are north of 39° 

N latitude, for a vessel that does not 

have a Federal commercial vessel 

permit for dolphin and wahoo but has 

a Federal commercial vessel permit in 

any other fishery. 

In 2004, the final rule for the original 

Dolphin and Wahoo FMP also 

implemented the currently authorized 

commercial gear types in the dolphin 

and wahoo fishery in the Atlantic 

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as 

automatic reel, bandit gear, handline, 

pelagic longline, rod and reel, and 

spearfishing gear (including 

powerheads). A person aboard a vessel 

in the Atlantic EEZ that has on board 

gear types (including trap, pot, or buoy 

gear) other than authorized gear types 

may not possess dolphin or wahoo. In 

2016, a commercial lobster association 

initially requested that the Council 

modify the fishing gear regulations to 

allow the lobster fishery’s historical 

practice of harvesting dolphin by rod 

and reel while in the possession of 

lobster pots to continue. This final rule 

allows a person aboard a vessel in the 

Atlantic EEZ that possesses both a 

Federal Atlantic Dolphin/Wahoo 

commercial permit and any valid 

Federal commercial permit(s) required 

to fish using trap, pot, or buoy gear; or 

is in compliance with permit 

requirements specified for the spiny 

lobster fishery in 50 CFR 622.400 to 

retain dolphin and wahoo caught by rod 

and reel while in possession of such 

gear types. 

In 2004, the original Dolphin and 

Wahoo FMP and associated final rule 

implemented the requirement for a 

vessel operator or a crew member to 

hold a valid operator permit (also called 

an operator card) for the Atlantic 

dolphin and wahoo commercial permit 

or a charter vessel/headboat permit for 

Atlantic dolphin and wahoo to be valid. 

The operator permit requirement was 

implemented to improve enforcement 

within the fishery, aid in data 

collection, and decrease costs to vessel 

owners from fishery violations by vessel 

operators. However, in actuality, the 

benefits of operator permits to improve 

enforcement have not occurred as they 

have not been widely used as an 

enforcement tool since implementation. 

Rather, other methods of fishery 

enforcement, such as vessel permits and 

landings, have been used by law 

enforcement within the fishery. Because 

the expected benefits from operator 

permits are not being realized, this final 

rule removes the requirement for 

operator permits in the dolphin and 

wahoo fishery. 

The current dolphin recreational bag 

limit of 10 fish per person, not to exceed 

60 fish per vessel in the Atlantic EEZ, 

was implemented by the original 

Dolphin and Wahoo FMP in 2004. Since 

then, interest in recreational harvest of 

dolphin has increased, and Council 

public testimony, especially from 

Florida and its constituents, has 

recommended a decrease in the 

recreational retention limits to further 

control recreational harvest. This final 

rule decreases the dolphin recreational 

vessel limit for charter vessels and 

private recreational vessels, excluding 

headboats. The dolphin individual 

recreational bag limit of 10 fish per 

person in the Atlantic EEZ remains 

unchanged. 

Management Measures Contained in 

This Final Rule 

Annual Catch Limits 

Dolphin 

The current total ACL for dolphin is 

15,344,846 lb (6,960,305 kg), round 

weight. This final rule revises the total 

ACL for dolphin to 24,570,764 lb 

(11,145,111 kg), round weight, based on 

the ABC recommended by the Council’s 

SSC. The revised total ACL is equal to 

the ABC as described in Amendment 10 

and is based upon best scientific 

information available. Dolphin are 

highly fecund, spawn throughout a wide 

geographical range, and have an early 

age at first maturity with a short 

generation time. Therefore, dolphin’s 

life-history could most likely support 

the increase in the total ACL. The 

Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. 

Stocks indicates dolphin is not 

overfished, and is not undergoing 

overfishing. Additionally, the Council 

noted that based on the last 20 years of 

total landings data for dolphin, it 

appears unlikely that harvest would 

consistently exceed the revised total 

ACL. Commercial landings are well 

tracked through electronic dealer 

reporting requirements, there is a 

commercial trip limit in place, and 

recreational landings for dolphin exhibit 

relatively low percent standard errors 

(PSE). The Council also noted that 

setting the ACL equal to the ABC may 

allow the dolphin portion of the 

dolphin and wahoo fishery to take 

advantage of years of exceptionally high 

abundance of dolphin. 

The current commercial and 

recreational ACLs for dolphin are 

1,534,485 lb (696,031 kg), round weight, 

and 13,810,361 lb (6,264,274 kg), round 

weight, respectively. These are based on 

the current commercial and recreational 

allocations of 10.00 percent and 90.00 

percent, respectively. The revised 

commercial and recreational ACLs for 

dolphin are 1,719,953 lb (780,158 kg), 

round weight, and 22,850,811 lb 

(10,364,954 kg), round weight, 

respectively. The revised dolphin sector 

ACLs are based on the commercial and 

recreational allocations of 7.00 percent 

and 93.00 percent, respectively. 

Wahoo 

The current total ACL for wahoo is 

1,794,960 lb (814,180 kg), round weight. 

This final rule revises the total ACL for 

wahoo to 2,885,303 lb (1,308,751 kg), 

round weight based upon the ABC 

recommended by the Council’s SSC. 

The revised total ACL is equal to the 

ABC and is based upon best scientific 

information available. Wahoo also 

exhibit rapid growth rates, are highly 

migratory, and are sexually mature at an 

early age, so their life history also 

supports an increase in the ACL. The 

overfishing and overfished status of 

wahoo is unknown. However, recent 

studies found that wahoo did not show 

a negative decline in relative abundance 

in recent years. The Council noted that 

commercial landings for wahoo are also 

well tracked through electronic dealer 

reporting requirements, there is a 

commercial trip limit of 500 lb (227 kg), 

and that recreational landings for wahoo 

exhibit relatively low PSEs. The Council 

also noted that setting the ACL equal to 

the ABC will allow the wahoo portion 

of the dolphin and wahoo fishery to take 

advantage of years with exceptionally 

high abundance of wahoo. 

The current commercial and 

recreational ACLs for wahoo are 70,542 

lb (31,997 kg), round weight, and 

1,724,418 lb (782,183 kg), round weight, 

respectively. These are based on the 

current commercial and recreational 

allocations of 3.93 percent and 96.07 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
19014 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

percent, respectively. The revised 

commercial and recreational ACLs for 

wahoo are 70,690 lb (32,064 kg), round 

weight, and 2,814,613 lb (1,276,687 kg), 

round weight, respectively. The revised 

sector ACLs are based on the 

commercial and recreational allocations 

of 2.45 percent and 97.55 percent, 

respectively. 

No biological effects are expected to 

the dolphin and wahoo stocks from 

these allocation changes because the 

revised sector ACLs would not change 

the revised total ACLs for dolphin and 

wahoo. The commercial sector for 

dolphin and wahoo has effective inseason AM already in place to help 

constrain commercial harvest, and this 

final rule contains modifications to the 

recreational post-season AMs to both 

stocks to reduce the risk that the 

recreational ACL is exceeded. In 

deciding on new sector allocations, the 

Council wanted to recognize the needs 

of the recreational sector for dolphin 

and wahoo which would exhibit higher 

landings than previously estimated, 

given the new accounting of recreational 

landings using MRIP’s FES method. At 

the same time, the Council did not want 

to reduce the commercial ACLs on a 

pound basis for dolphin and wahoo and 

noted that the revised allocations and 

sector ACLs would strike a balance 

between the needs of both sectors. 

Accountability Measures 

Dolphin 

This final rule revises the recreational 

AMs for dolphin. The current in-season 

closure and post-season AM based on 

stock status will be replaced. The 

revised recreational AM is a post-season 

AM that would be triggered in the 

following fishing year if the total ACL 

(commercial and recreational ACLs, 

combined) is exceeded. The Council’s 

intent is to avoid closing recreational 

harvest in-season and extend maximum 

fishing opportunities to the recreational 

sector without triggering the 

recreational AM, as long as the 

commercial sector is under harvesting 

its sector ACL. The revised recreational 

AM trigger will also help ensure 

sustainable harvest by preventing the 

total ACL from being exceeded 

consistently. Once triggered, the revised 

post-season recreational AM would 

reduce the length of the following 

recreational fishing season by the 

amount necessary to prevent the 

recreational ACL from being exceeded 

in the following year. However, the 

length of the recreational season would 

not be reduced if the RA determines, 

using the best available science, that the 

season reduction is not necessary to 

keep the recreational ACL from being 

exceeded in the following year. The 

Council noted that there would be a 

relatively low likelihood of the 

recreational AM for dolphin being 

triggered, because the revised 

recreational ACL is based on the 

updated ABC, which is set at a 

relatively high level of landings that is 

not often observed in the dolphin 

portion of the dolphin and wahoo 

fishery. Additionally, any determination 

that the total ACL had been exceeded 

would allow for the monitoring of 

landings during the following season to 

evaluate whether the elevated landings 

from the previous fishing year are 

continuing to persist. That information 

would inform decisions on whether a 

fishing season closure would actually 

need to occur to constrain harvest to the 

ACL. 

Wahoo 

This final rule revises the recreational 

AMs for wahoo. The current in-season 

closure and post-season AM based on 

stock status would be replaced. The 

revised recreational AM is a post-season 

AM that would be triggered in the 

following fishing year if the recreational 

ACLs are constant and the 3-year 

geometric mean of landings exceeds the 

recreational ACL. As described in 

Amendment 10, whenever the 

recreational ACL is changed, a single 

year of landings would be used for an 

overage determination, beginning with 

the most recent available year of 

landings, then a 2-year average of 

landings from that single year and the 

subsequent year, then a 3-year average 

of landings from those 2 years and the 

subsequent year, and thereafter a 

progressive running 3-year average, 

calculated as the geometric mean, 

would be used to determine if the 

recreational AM trigger has been met. 

The Council noted this approach would 

allow the recreational AM to be 

triggered if the ACL was exceeded on a 

consistent basis. A 3-year geometric 

mean would help to smooth the data 

and potentially avoid implementing 

restrictive recreational post-season AMs 

unnecessarily if there was an anomaly 

in the recreational landings estimates 

during those 3 years that was not 

accurately reflecting an actual increase 

in the harvest of wahoo. It was also 

noted by the Council that the geometric 

mean is less sensitive to being affected 

by abnormally large variations in 

landings estimates than the arithmetic 

mean or a single year point estimate. 

Once triggered, the post-season 

recreational AM would reduce the 

length of the following recreational 

fishing season by the amount necessary 

to prevent the recreational ACL from 

being exceeded in that year. However, 

the length of the recreational season 

would not be reduced if the RA 

determines, using the best available 

science, that a fishing season reduction 

is not necessary to keep the recreational 

ACL from being exceeded in the 

following year. Additionally, any 

determination that the ACL had been 

exceeded would allow for the 

monitoring of landings for the following 

season to evaluate whether the elevated 

landings from the previous year are 

continuing to persist. That information 

would inform decisions on whether a 

late season harvest closure would 

actually need to occur. The Council also 

noted the relatively equitable 

distributed effects of a shortening of the 

recreational season, as wahoo are often 

targeted and caught late in the year in 

many areas of the Atlantic region. 

Commercial Trip Limits and Authorized 

Gear Exemption 

For vessels with a commercial permit 

for Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, under 

the current trip limits, dolphin and 

wahoo may only be harvested and 

possessed with the authorized gear 

types onboard. These gear types are 

automatic reel, bandit gear, handline, 

pelagic longline, rod and reel, and 

spearfishing gear. Possession on the 

vessel of any other gear type results in 

a prohibition of the possession of any 

dolphin or wahoo. 

American lobster fishers requested to 

the Council that they be allowed to 

possess dolphin or wahoo while they 

moved from one lobster pot to the next. 

The Council considered an authorized 

gear exemption based on a request from 

the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s 

Association to allow the historical 

practice of harvesting dolphin with rod 

and reel while in the possession of 

lobster pots to continue and decided to 

take a broader approach to allow vessels 

fishing with trap, pot, or buoy gear to 

possess dolphin or wahoo as long as the 

dolphin or wahoo were harvested with 

rod and reel gear. This final rule allows 

for a new category of commercial trip 

limits for dolphin and wahoo based on 

as authorized gear exemption for trap, 

pot, and buoy gear. This final rule will 

allow for the harvest and retention of 

500 lb (227 kg), gutted weight, of 

dolphin and 500 lb (227 kg) of wahoo, 

on board a vessel in the Atlantic EEZ 

that possesses both an Atlantic Dolphin/ 

Wahoo commercial permit and any 

valid Federal commercial permit(s) 

required that allow a vessel to fish using 

trap, pot, or buoy gear or is in 

compliance with the permitting 

requirements for the spiny lobster of the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 19015 

Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic as 

described at 50 CFR 622.400, caught by 

rod and reel while in possession of such 

gear types. The commercial trip limits 

under the authorized gear exemption 

may not be combined with the current 

commercial trip limits for commercially 

permitted dolphin and wahoo vessels. 

The Council determined that this 

additional regulatory flexibility would 

have positive economic effects within 

the fishery while also limiting the 

potential for any unforeseen significant 

increases in commercial landings 

through the specific setting of the 500 lb 

(227 kg), gutted weight, trip limit. 

Operator Permits 

Currently, an operator of a vessel with 

either a commercial permit or a charter 

vessel/headboat permit for dolphin and 

wahoo is required to have an operator 

permit. Such operator permit must be 

onboard the vessel and the vessel owner 

is required to have a permitted operator 

onboard the vessel while it is at sea or 

offloading. This operator permit 

requirement was implemented in 2004, 

through the original FMP for dolphin 

and wahoo, as a way to assist in law 

enforcement efforts within the fishery 

by holding the vessel operator 

accountable for any violation of 

regulations and to aid in data collection 

(69 FR 30235; May 27, 2004). 

This final rule removes the current 

requirements for operator permits and 

permitted operators for both the dolphin 

and wahoo commercial and charter 

vessel/headboat permitted vessels. At 

the March 2016 Council meeting, the 

NMFS Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) 

gave a presentation on operator permits, 

and stated that the operator permits are 

not used extensively by OLE or their 

law enforcement partners. The Council 

noted the potential value for operator 

permits in aiding law enforcement 

efforts, but the inconsistent 

requirements between Atlantic fisheries 

greatly diminishes this utility. Public 

testimony indicated that operator 

permits are rarely checked by 

enforcement personnel during fishing 

trips and are burdensome for fishermen 

to renew and maintain. The Council 

determined that the limited use of 

operator permits in the dolphin and 

wahoo fishery did not outweigh the cost 

to fishermen to obtain the permit, and 

removing this requirement would yield 

positive social, economic, and 

administrative benefits. 

Recreational Bag and Vessel Limits for 

Dolphin 

For Atlantic dolphin, the current bag 

and possession limits are 10 fish per 

person, not to exceed 60 fish per vessel, 

whichever is less, except onboard a 

headboat where the limit is 10 per 

paying passenger. This final rule 

decreases the recreational dolphin 

vessel limit from 60 fish per vessel to 54 

fish for charter vessels and private 

recreational vessels, excluding 

headboats, in the Atlantic EEZ. The 

recreational bag limit for private 

recreational anglers and passengers 

onboard charter vessels and headboats 

will remain at 10 fish per person in the 

Atlantic EEZ. As a result of the 

possession limit reduction in this final 

rule, the total estimated annual 

reduction in recreational landings is 

expected to be 114,051 lb (51,733 kg), 

round weight. Data analysis in 

Amendment 10 demonstrated that most 

of the recreational trips in the Atlantic 

EEZ targeting dolphin harvested less 

than 10 fish per vessel. Therefore, as a 

result of the very small proportion of 

recreational trips that might reach the 

revised vessel limit of 54 fish per vessel, 

no change in fishing activity or behavior 

is anticipated. The Council noted that 

one of the goals of the Dolphin and 

Wahoo FMP is to maintain a 

precautionary approach to management. 

While there is no Southeast Data and 

Assessment Review stock assessment for 

dolphin and the stock is listed as not 

overfished or undergoing overfishing, 

the Council heard public testimony, 

particularly from anglers in Florida, that 

dolphin abundance appears to be low 

and they are concerned over the health 

of the dolphin stock and the associated 

fishery. The Council determined that a 

coast-wide reduction in the vessel limit 

was appropriate to maintain consistency 

of regulations across the region in the 

retention limits for dolphin and noted 

that such a change in retention limits 

would lead to more substantial harvest 

reductions than a Florida-specific or 

regional approach. 

Management Measures in Amendment 

10 Not Contained in This Final Rule 

Acceptable Biological Catch 

The current ABCs for dolphin and 

wahoo were added to the FMP in 2014 

through Amendment 5, and are based 

on the Council’s SSC’s 

recommendations using the third 

highest landings value during 1999– 

2008. These landings did not include 

recreational landings from Monroe 

County, Florida, and were based on 

recreational data from the MRIP CHTS 

method. In April 2020, the Council’s 

SSC recommended new ABC levels for 

dolphin and wahoo using the third 

highest landings value during 1994– 

2007. These landings include 

recreational landings from Monroe 

County, Florida, and used MRIP’s FES 

method, which is considered more 

reliable by the Council’s SSC, the 

Council, and NMFS, and more robust 

compared to the MRIP CHTS survey 

method. The new ABC 

recommendations within Amendment 

10 for dolphin and wahoo are also based 

on the new weight estimation procedure 

from the SEFSC that uses a 15 fish 

minimum sample size and represents 

the best scientific information available. 

Sector Allocations 

As discussed, Amendment 10 revises 

the commercial and recreational 

allocations for both dolphin and wahoo. 

For dolphin, the current commercial 

and recreational allocations are 10.00 

percent and 90.00 percent, respectively. 

The new dolphin sector allocations 

result in commercial and recreational 

allocations of 7.00 percent and 93.00 

percent, respectively. For wahoo, the 

current commercial and recreational 

allocations are 3.93 percent and 96.07 

percent, respectively. The new wahoo 

sector allocations result in commercial 

and recreational allocations of 2.45 

percent and 97.55 percent, respectively. 

As discussed, in deciding on new 

sector allocations, the Council wanted 

to recognize the needs of the 

recreational sector for both dolphin and 

wahoo which would exhibit higher 

landings than previously estimated with 

the new accounting of recreational 

landings using MRIP’s FES method. At 

the same time the Council did not want 

to reduce the commercial ACLs on a 

pound basis for dolphin and wahoo and 

noted that the proposed allocations and 

sector ACLs would strike a balance 

between the needs of both sectors. 

Goals and Objectives 

The goals and objectives of the 

Dolphin and Wahoo FMP were 

implemented through the original 

fishery management plan in 2004 and 

have not been revised since then. In 

2016, the Fisheries Allocation Review 

Policy (NMFS Policy Directive 01–119) 

encouraged the use of adaptive 

management with respect to allocation 

revisions, and recommended periodic 

re-evaluation and updating of the 

management goals and objectives of any 

FMP to ensure they are relevant to 

current conditions and needs. 

Amendment 10 revises these Dolphin 

and Wahoo FMP goals and objectives in 

response to the 2016 Fisheries 

Allocation Review Policy and ensures 

the goals and objectives reflect the 

current dolphin and wahoo fishery. 

Specifically, the revised goals and 

objectives seek to manage the dolphin 

and wahoo fishery using a 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
19016 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

precautionary approach that maintains 

access, minimizes competition, 

preserves the social and economic 

importance of the fishery, as well as 

promotes research and incorporation of 

ecosystem considerations where 

practicable. 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS received 52 comment 

submissions during the public comment 

period on the notice of availability and 

proposed rule for Amendment 10. 

Comment submissions were from the 

general public, for-hire vessel owners, 

sport-fishing associations, businesses, 

and non-governmental organizations. 

The majority of the comments were 

against one or more of the proposed 

actions for dolphin. One of the 

comments was submitted jointly by 

various entities and included over 6,000 

individual signatories on a petition 

against approval of Amendment 10 and 

requested that NMFS instead implement 

more restrictive management measures 

for dolphin. NMFS acknowledges and 

agrees with the comments in favor of the 

actions in the notice of availability and 

proposed rule from the general public, 

recreational sport-fishing interests, and 

commercial fishing interests. Comments 

in opposition, and those that requested 

additional information about the actions 

contained in the notice of availability 

and proposed rule, are summarized by 

topic area below, along with NMFS’ 

responses. 

Comment 1: The final 

recommendations of the Council on 

Amendment 10, along with underlying 

conclusions and recommendations of its 

SSC for the revised ABCs, are not based 

upon the best scientific information 

available. For both dolphin and wahoo, 

the proposed ABC recommendations 

ignore the most recent 14 years of 

landings data. For dolphin specifically, 

the downward population trend in the 

fishery does not support an increase in 

the ABC, total ACL, and sector ACLs, in 

the absence of a stock assessment. 

Response: NMFS disagrees. The 

Council’s SSC recommended the ABC 

for dolphin and wahoo based on Level 

4 of their ABC Control Rule for unassessed species, which is a general 

procedure used by the SSC for species 

for which an increase (beyond current 

range of variability) in catch is not 

expected to result in a decline of the 

stock. The SSC had many robust 

discussions over the range of years to 

use for recommending the revised ABC 

to the Council and decided to use years 

that were more representative of the 

fishery’s historical tendency to harvest 

these species, without regulations such 

as ACLs in place at that time. The SSC 

then evaluated the landings within that 

time period, for any indication that 

those average landings had been 

potentially detrimental to the health of 

the stock. The SSC did not use the 2008 

fishing year in the range of years 

because of the economic recession at 

that time. The ACLs for dolphin and 

wahoo were originally implemented in 

2012 (77 FR 15916; March 16, 2012). 

The 2015 fishing year was a year of 

unusually high landings of dolphin that 

resulted in an early closure of the 

commercial sector (80 FR 36249; June 

24, 2015). The SSC also sought to avoid 

reducing the commercial or recreational 

sectors’ harvest opportunities for 

dolphin and wahoo absent any adverse 

biological risk to the stock, especially 

given the highly migratory nature of the 

species and its life-history, including 

high fecundity. Thus, the SSC 

recommended the Council use the third 

highest landings value for the time 

series of 1994–2007. The proposed ABC 

recommendations for dolphin and 

wahoo also use MRIP FES data, 

incorporate recreational landings from 

Monroe County, Florida, updated 

commercial landings data, and SEFSC 

new weight estimation procedures. The 

ABC recommendations and resulting 

ACLs for dolphin and wahoo adhere to 

the SSC’s recommendations, and their 

biological, economic, social, and 

administrative effects were analyzed 

using the past 5 years of data and then 

reviewed by the SSC, NMFS Southeast 

Regional Office, Council, and SEFSC, 

who certified Amendment 10 is based 

on the best scientific information 

available. 

NMFS acknowledges that there is no 

peer-reviewed stock assessment for 

dolphin or wahoo (such as the 

Southeast Data, Assessment, and 

Review assessment process). However, 

dolphin are highly fecund, spawn yearround throughout a wide geographical 

range, have an early age at first maturity, 

and a short generation time. Therefore, 

dolphin’s life-history could most likely 

support the increase to the ABC (and 

ACL), even without a stock assessment. 

Further, the difference in accounting 

for recreational landings under the older 

MRIP CHTS and newer MRIP FES 

methods is a factor in the increase in the 

catch limits. When compared to the 

most recent 5-year and 3-year average 

landings, analysis in Amendment 10 

revealed the new ACLs for dolphin are 

not expected to be reached. If they are 

reached, the current in-season 

commercial AMs and revised 

recreational AMs would help to reduce 

the risk of any overages that could 

possibly occur in the future. 

Comment 2: NMFS should further 

reduce the recreational vessel limit for 

dolphin, as the proposed reduction from 

60 fish per vessel to 54 fish per vessel 

in Amendment 10 is not enough to 

protect the stock. 

Response: Despite the lack of a 

dolphin stock assessment or other 

biological information indicating a need 

to reduce dolphin harvest, the Council 

was responsive to public input 

expressing harvest related concerns. In 

Amendment 10, the Council considered 

a number of vessel limit alternatives for 

dolphin, including the current 60 

dolphin per vessel limit and reduced 

limits of 54, 48, 42, 40, and 30. Reduced 

recreational vessel limits for dolphin 

were particularly recommended by 

constituents from Florida. The Council, 

in deciding what vessel limit alternative 

to select, balanced the economic 

hardship that any reductions would 

cause the for-hire industry, especially in 

North Carolina, with the need to 

facilitate achieving optimum yield 

within the fishery. Further, no evidence 

indicates that, if dolphin were not 

harvested in North Carolina and areas 

northward, they would subsequently 

survive and make it back to Florida. To 

the contrary, peer-reviewed literature 

actually indicates movement of dolphin 

from the Florida Keys to North Carolina 

and northward. Analysis in Amendment 

10 showed that larger reductions in 

recreational harvest through vessel limit 

changes was best achieved when 

considering the entire Atlantic (Maine 

to Florida on the Atlantic side), and not 

just Florida, or even Florida, Georgia, 

and South Carolina combined. In 

Amendment 10, the Council selected 

the revised dolphin vessel limit of 54 

fish to effect a vessel limit reduction, 

while balancing the overall needs of the 

fishery throughout its full range. 

Comment 3: Recreational and 

commercial landings of dolphin have 

been in decline (especially in the past 

5 years), and reduced quantities of 

larger sized dolphin in the Florida Keys 

have been observed in past 5–10 years. 

NMFS and the Council should consider 

alternative, more proactive methods to 

conserve dolphin such as: Reducing 

private recreational bag limit; extending 

the applicability of the current 

minimum size limit of 20 inches (50.8 

cm), fork length (FL) to all applicable 

geographical areas (Maine to east coast 

of Florida), or increasing the minimum 

size; implementing a lower commercial 

trip limit; and banning the use longline 

gear for the commercial sector. 

Response: NMFS is aware of reports 

of the decline in dolphin availability, 

especially large-sized dolphin in the 

Florida Keys. This could be due to the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 19017 

highly migratory fish moving out of the 

area or going deeper in search of 

suitable temperature and food 

availability. Recent peer-reviewed 

literature supports behavioral 

thermoregulation by dolphin, and their 

northern movement in response to 

increasing sea surface temperature. 

Studies have shown that seasonal 

abundance of dolphin along the east 

coast of the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico 

is heavily influenced by sea surface 

temperature and distance to temperature 

fronts, chlorophyll-a concentration, and 

Sargassum mats. The Mid-Atlantic and 

New England Councils have not 

reported a decline in dolphin 

availability and large sized fish. In fact, 

some commenters on the notice of 

availability and proposed rule for 

Amendment 10 stated that the perceived 

paucity of dolphin availability and large 

sized individuals off Florida was related 

to warming ocean temperatures and that 

the fish are not returning as far south as 

they used to 15 years ago. 

Comment 4: NMFS should not 

approve the proposed post-season 

recreational AM for wahoo. Creating a 

shorter fishing season would incentivize 

a race by recreational fishers to meet the 

recreational ACL and would represent a 

disadvantage to fishers whose 

livelihoods depend on a full fishery 

season. 

Response: NMFS disagrees. The 

current recreational AM for wahoo 

which is in place prior to this final rule 

states that, if recreational landings 

exceed the recreational ACL, then 

during the following fishing year 

recreational landings will be monitored 

for persistence in increased landings. If 

the recreational ACL is exceeded, it will 

be reduced by the amount of the 

recreational overage in the following 

fishing year and the recreational season 

will be reduced only if the species is 

overfished and the total ACL is 

exceeded. This current AM cannot be 

triggered, because there is no stock 

assessment for wahoo and therefore its 

stock status is unknown and cannot be 

determined to be ‘‘overfished.’’ There is 

also no recreational in-season AM for 

wahoo proposed in Amendment 10. 

Therefore, a functional and effective 

post-season AM is required to prevent 

possible adverse biological effects to the 

wahoo stock if the recreational ACL is 

exceeded. The revised post-season 

recreational AM for wahoo would 

reduce the length of the following 

recreational fishing season by the 

amount necessary to prevent the 

recreational ACL from being exceeded 

in the following year. However, the 

length of the recreational season will 

not be reduced if the RA determines, 

using the best available science, that it 

is not necessary. The economic effects 

of a reduced fishing season would 

depend on the severity of any season 

reduction, the timing, and the 

availability of other species that could 

be suitable substitutes for wahoo. 

Fishers could also determine the 

subsequent trade-offs between reduced 

fishing seasons or lower recreation bag/ 

vessel limits and longer seasons. The 

possibility of a shorter fishing season 

occurring as a result of the new 

recreational AM being implemented 

could work to dis-incentivize fishers 

from exceeding the recreational ACL in 

the first place and thereby help to 

protect the stock and fishing 

opportunities. 

Additional NMFS Public Comment 

Feedback 

NMFS notes that in March 2022, 

Florida approved a final rule for the 

state with the following actions for 

dolphin that will be effective May 1, 

2022, in state waters only: A 

recreational harvester may not harvest, 

land, or possess per day more than 5 

dolphin; recreational harvesters aboard 

a private recreational vessel may not 

collectively possess or land more than 

30 dolphin, regardless of the number of 

licensed or license-exempt persons 

onboard; and the daily bag and 

possession limit for captains and crew 

on for-hire vessels is zero.’’ 

NMFS also notes that size limits, 

commercial trip limits, and longline 

gear changes were outside the scope of 

actions considered by the Council in 

Amendment 10. NMFS has decided to 

respond in a general manner to these 

comments in this final rule given the 

volume of comments received and 

interest concerning these issues, even 

though Amendment 10 does not contain 

that information. This serves to better 

inform the public of some of the 

dolphin regulations. 

While a number of commenters 

requested that a commercial trip limit 

be put in place, current Federal 

regulations do in fact already include a 

dolphin commercial trip limit. The 

commercial trip limit of 4,000 lb (1,814 

kg), round weight, comes into effect 

when 75 percent of the commercial ACL 

is reached. With respect to comments 

requesting changes to the recreational 

bag limits for dolphin, prohibiting the 

retention of dolphin by captain and 

crew, extending the current minimum 

size limit to all geographical applicable 

areas (Maine to east coast of Florida), as 

well as the comments regarding 

additional changes to the vessel limit, 

the Council is considering the 

development of a subsequent 

amendment for dolphin. The possible 

new amendment could consider these 

items for changes by the Council. The 

commenters’ range of suggestions for 

recreational bag limits (8, 5, or 3 per 

person), vessel trip limits (54, 40, or 30 

fish), minimum size limits (extending 

range of current limit applicability and 

increasing the limit to 24 inches (61 

cm), FL, could be used as alternatives 

for these actions if they were to be 

included in an amendment. The 

continued use of longline gear by the 

commercial sector for dolphin may also 

be considered by the Council in a future 

amendment. 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this final rule is consistent with 

Amendment 10, the FMP, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides 

the statutory basis for this final rule. No 

duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting 

Federal rules have been identified. A 

description of this final rule, why it is 

being implemented, and the purposes of 

this final rule are contained in the 

SUMMARY and SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION sections of this preamble. 

The objectives of this final rule are to 

base conservation and management 

measures on the best scientific 

information available and increase net 

benefits to the Nation, consistent with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act and its 

National Standards. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

during the proposed rule stage that this 

final rule, if adopted, would not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

NMFS did not receive any comments 

from SBA’s Office of Advocacy on the 

certification in the proposed rule. NMFS 

did receive three comments from the 

public on the economic analysis in 

Amendment 10. Two comments 

suggested that Amendment 10 would 

adversely affect the economy. NMFS 

disagrees with these comments and 

believes that Amendment 10 would 

result in net economic benefits to the 

Nation. Based on NMFS’s analysis, 

NMFS expects that Amendment 10 

would result in net economic benefits of 

between $9.16 and $10.17 million (in 

2019 dollars) per year, on average, over 

the next 5 years. The comments 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
19018 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

provided no specific information that 

would provide a basis to alter the 

estimated net benefits. 

One comment suggested that 

Amendment 10 would 

disproportionately benefit the 

commercial sector relative to the 

recreational sector. NMFS disagrees 

with this comment because the analysis 

conducted by NMFS indicates that 

nearly 89 percent of the increase in net 

economic benefits to the Nation 

associated with Amendment 10 is 

expected to accrue to the recreational 

sector, while about 11 percent of the 

increase is expected to accrue to the 

commercial sector. The comment 

provided no specific information that 

would provide a basis to alter these 

estimates, and therefore NMFS 

continues to believe that the commercial 

sector would not disproportionally 

benefit from this final rule. 

No changes to this final rule were 

made in response to public comments. 

The factual basis for the certification 

was published in the proposed rule and 

is not repeated here. Because this final 

rule is not expected to have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities, a final 

regulatory flexibility analysis is not 

required and none has been prepared. 

This final rule contains a revision to 

existing collection-of-information 

requirements subject to review and 

approval by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA). This final rule 

revises existing requirements for the 

collection of information approved 

under OMB Control Number 0648–0205, 

Southeast Region Permit Family of 

Forms. NMFS is removing the 

requirements for an operator permit in 

the commercial and for-hire portions of 

the Atlantic dolphin and wahoo fishery 

as specified by 50 CFR 622.270(c). For 

the Federal Permit Application for 

Southeast Region Issued Operator Card, 

NMFS estimates this final rule will 

decrease the annual number of 

respondents to 74 and decrease the 

annual number of responses to 74. 

Further, NMFS estimates the annual 

burden hours will decrease to 37 hours, 

and the annual burden cost will 

decrease to $3,774. Public reporting 

burden for the Federal Permit 

Application for Southeast Region Issued 

Operator Card is estimated to average 30 

minutes per response, including the 

time for reviewing instructions, 

searching existing data sources, 

gathering and maintaining the data 

needed, and completing and reviewing 

the collection of information. 

NMFS invites the public and other 

Federal agencies to comment on any 

proposed and continuing information 

collections, which helps NMFS assess 

the impact of information collection 

requirements and minimize the public’s 

reporting burden. Written comments 

and recommendations for this 

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 the title of the collection or 

the OMB Control Number 0648–0205. 

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 622 

Accountability measures, Annual 

catch limits, Atlantic, Commercial, 

Dolphin, Fisheries, Fishing, 

Recreational, Wahoo. 

Dated: March 28, 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 622 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE 

CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND 

SOUTH ATLANTIC 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 622 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 622.270; 

■ a. Revise paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) 

■ b. Revise paragraph (b)(1); and 

■ c. Remove and reserve paragraph (c). 

The revisions read as follows: 

§ 622.270 Permits. 

(a) * * * 

(1) For a person aboard a vessel to be 

eligible for exemption from the bag and 

possession limits for dolphin or wahoo 

in or from the Atlantic EEZ or to sell 

such dolphin or wahoo, a commercial 

vessel permit for Atlantic dolphin and 

wahoo must be issued to the vessel and 

must be on board, except as provided in 

paragraph (a)(2) of this section. 

(2) The provisions of paragraph (a)(1) 

of this section notwithstanding, a 

fishing vessel, except a vessel operating 

as a charter vessel or headboat, that does 

not have a commercial vessel permit for 

Atlantic dolphin and wahoo but has a 

Federal commercial vessel permit in any 

other fishery, is exempt from the bag 

and possession limits for dolphin and 

wahoo and may sell dolphin and 

wahoo, subject to the trip and 

geographical limits specified in 

§ 622.278(a)(3). (A charter vessel/ 

headboat permit is not a commercial 

vessel permit.) 

(b) * * * (1) For a person aboard a 

vessel that is operating as a charter 

vessel or headboat to fish for or possess 

Atlantic dolphin or wahoo, in or from 

the Atlantic EEZ, a valid charter vessel/ 

headboat permit for Atlantic dolphin 

and wahoo must have been issued to the 

vessel and must be on board. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 622.272, revise paragraph (a)(1) 

and add paragraph (a)(2) to read as 

follows: 

§ 622.272 Authorized gear. 

(a) * * * (1) Authorized gear. Except 

as allowed in paragraph (a)(2) of this 

section, the following are the only 

authorized gear types in the fishery for 

dolphin and wahoo in the Atlantic EEZ: 

Automatic reel, bandit gear, handline, 

pelagic longline, rod and reel, and 

spearfishing gear (including 

powerheads). A person aboard a vessel 

in the Atlantic EEZ that has on board 

gear types other than authorized gear 

types may not possess a dolphin or 

wahoo. 

(2) Trap, pot, and buoy gear 

authorization. A vessel in the Atlantic 

EEZ that possesses both a valid Federal 

commercial permit for Atlantic dolphin 

and wahoo and any Federal commercial 

permit(s) required that allow a vessel to 

fish using trap, pot, or buoy gear or that 

is in compliance with the permitting 

requirements for the spiny lobster 

fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and South 

Atlantic as described at § 622.400, is 

authorized to retain both dolphin and 

wahoo harvested by rod and reel while 

in possession of trap, pot, or buoy gear. 

See § 622.278(a)(2)(ii) for the amount of 

dolphin that may be retained under the 

commercial trip limits as described in 

this paragraph (a)(2). See 

§ 622.278(a)(1)(ii) for the amount of 

wahoo that may be retained under the 

commercial trip limits as described in 

this paragraph (a)(2). 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 622.277, revise paragraph 

(a)(1)(i) to read as follows: 

§ 622.277 Bag and possession limits. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) In the Atlantic EEZ—10, not to 

exceed 54 per vessel, whichever is less, 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 63 / Friday, April 1, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 19019 

except on board a headboat, 10 per 

paying passenger. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 622.278, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 622.278 Commercial trip limits. 

* * * * * 

(a) Trip-limited permits—(1) Atlantic 

wahoo. (i) When using the fishing gear 

for wahoo and as authorized under 

§ 622.272(a)(1), the trip limit for wahoo 

in or from the Atlantic EEZ is 500 lb 

(227 kg). This trip limit applies to a 

vessel that has a Federal commercial 

permit for Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, 

provided that the vessel is not operating 

as a charter vessel or headboat. 

(ii) When using the fishing gear for 

wahoo and as authorized and permitted 

as described under § 622.272(a)(2), the 

trip limit for wahoo in or from the 

Atlantic EEZ is 500 lb (227 kg). The trip 

limit in this paragraph (a)(1)(ii) may not 

be combined with the trip limit 

specified in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this 

section. 

(iii) See § 622.280(b)(1) for the 

limitations regarding wahoo after the 

ACL is reached. 

(2) Atlantic dolphin. (i) Once 75 

percent of the ACL specified in 

§ 622.280(a)(1)(i) is reached, the trip 

limit is 4,000 lb (1,814 kg), round 

weight. When the conditions in this 

paragraph (a)(3)(i) have been met, the 

Assistant Administrator will implement 

this trip limit by filing a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register. 

This trip limit applies to a vessel that 

has a Federal commercial permit for 

Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, provided 

that the vessel is not operating as a 

charter vessel or headboat. 

(ii) When using the fishing gear for 

dolphin and as authorized and 

permitted as described under 

§ 622.272(a)(2), the trip limit for dolphin 

in or from the Atlantic EEZ is 500 lb 

(227 kg), gutted weight. The trip limit in 

this paragraph (a)(2)(ii) may not be 

combined with the trip limit specified 

in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section. 

(iii) See § 622.280(a)(1) for the 

limitations regarding dolphin after the 

ACL is reached. 

(3) Vessels without a Federal dolphin 

and wahoo commercial permit. The trip 

limit for a vessel that does not have a 

Federal commercial vessel permit for 

Atlantic dolphin and wahoo but has a 

Federal commercial vessel permit in any 

other fishery is 200 lb (91 kg) of dolphin 

and wahoo, combined, provided that all 

fishing on and landings from that trip 

are north of 39° N lat. (A charter vessel/ 

headboat permit is not a commercial 

vessel permit.) 

* * * * * 

■ 6. In § 622.280; 

■ a. Revise the first sentence of 

paragraph (a)(1)(i); 

■ b. Revise paragraph (a)(2); 

■ c. Add paragraph (a)(3); 

■ d. Revise the first sentence of 

paragraph (b)(1)(i); and 

■ e. Revise paragraph (b)(2). 

The revisions and additions read as 

follows: 

§ 622.280 Annual catch limits (ACLs) and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) If commercial landings for Atlantic 

dolphin, as estimated by the SRD, reach 

or are projected to reach the commercial 

ACL of 1,719,953 lb (780,158 kg), round 

weight, the AA will file a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register 

to close the commercial sector for the 

remainder of the fishing year. * * * 

* * * * * 

(2) Recreational sector. If the total 

ACL specified in paragraph (a)(3) of this 

section is exceeded in a fishing year, 

then during the following fishing year, 

the AA will file a notification with the 

Office of the Federal Register to reduce 

the length of the recreational fishing 

season by the amount necessary to 

ensure that the recreational ACL is not 

exceeded during the fishing year 

following the total ACL overage. 

However, the recreational fishing season 

will not be reduced in the following 

fishing year if NMFS determines, based 

on the best scientific information 

available, that the reduction in the 

recreational fishing season is 

unnecessary. The recreational ACL is 

22,850,811 lb (10,364,954 kg), round 

weight. 

(3) Total ACL. The total ACL, 

commercial and recreation ACLs 

combined, for Atlantic dolphin, is 

24,570,764 lb (11,145,111 kg), round 

weight. 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(i) If commercial landings for Atlantic 

wahoo, as estimated by the SRD, reach 

or are projected to reach the commercial 

ACL of 70,690 lb (32,064 kg), round 

weight, the AA will file a notification 

with the Office of the Federal Register 

to close the commercial sector for the 

remainder of the fishing year. * * * 

* * * * * 

(2) Recreational sector. As described 

in the FMP, if average annual 

recreational landings, when determined 

using 3-year geometric mean, exceed the 

recreational ACL of 2,814,613 lb 

(1,276,687 kg), round weight, then in 

the following fishing year, the AA will 

file a notification with the Office of the 

Federal Register to reduce the length of 

the recreational fishing season by the 

amount necessary to ensure that the 

recreational ACL is not exceeded during 

the fishing year following the 

recreational ACL overage determination. 

However, the length of the recreational 

fishing season will not be reduced in the 

following fishing year if NMFS 

determines, based on the best scientific 

information available, that the reduction 

in the recreational fishing season is 

unnecessary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–06842 Filed 3–31–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1