Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2017 / Proposed Rules 61241 

of the methods listed in ADDRESSES. To 

better help us revise the rule, your 

comments should be as specific as 

possible. For example, you should tell 

us the numbers of the sections or 

paragraphs that are unclearly written, 

which sections or sentences are too 

long, the sections where you feel lists or 

tables would be useful, etc. 

National Environmental Policy Act (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 

We have determined that 

environmental assessments and 

environmental impact statements, as 

defined under the authority of the 

National Environmental Policy Act (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), need not be 

prepared in connection with listing a 

species as an endangered or threatened 

species under the Endangered Species 

Act. We published a notice outlining 

our reasons for this determination in the 

Federal Register on October 25, 1983 

(48 FR 49244). 

References Cited 

A complete list of references cited in 

this rulemaking is available on the 

internet at http://www.regulations.gov 

and upon request from the Branch of 

Foreign Species, Ecological Services 

(see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). 

Authors 

The primary authors of this proposed 

rule are the staff members of the Branch 

of Foreign Species, Ecological Services, 

Falls Church, VA. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 17 

Endangered and threatened species, 

Exports, Imports, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, 

Transportation. 

Proposed Regulation Promulgation 

Accordingly, we propose to amend 

part 17, subchapter B of chapter I, title 

50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 

as set forth below: 

PART 17—ENDANGERED AND 

THREATENED WILDLIFE AND PLANTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 17 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1361–1407; 1531– 

1544; and 4201–4245, unless otherwise 

noted. 

■ 2. In § 17.11(h), add an entry for 

‘‘Sturgeon, Yangtze’’ to the List of 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in 

alphabetical order under FISHES to read 

as set forth below: 

§ 17.11 Endangered and threatened 

wildlife. 

* * * * * 

(h) * * * 

Common name Scientific name Where listed Status Listing citations and applicable 

rules 

*******

FISHES

* * * * * * * 

Sturgeon, Yangtze ...................... Acipenser dabryanus ................ Wherever found ........................ E [Insert Federal Register citation when published as a final 

rule]. 

* * * * * * * 

* * * * * 

Dated: November 15, 2017. 

James W. Kurth, 

Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, Exercising the Authority of the 

Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–27954 Filed 12–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 170720688–7688–01] 

RIN 0648–BH07 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Vermilion Snapper Management 

Measures; Amendment 47 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to implement 

management measures described in 

Amendment 47 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP), 

as prepared by the Gulf of Mexico 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

(Amendment 47). For vermilion 

snapper, this proposed rule would 

revise the stock annual catch limit 

(ACL). Additionally, Amendment 47 

would establish a proxy for the estimate 

of the stock maximum sustainable yield 

(MSY). The purpose of this proposed 

rule is to revise the stock ACL for 

vermilion snapper in the Gulf of Mexico 

(Gulf) consistent with the most recent 

stock assessment. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before January 26, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on the amendment identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2017–0106’’ by either 

of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=

NOAA-NMFS-2017-0106, click the 

‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the 

required fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Lauren Waters, Southeast Regional 

Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, 

St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

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). Electronic 

copies of Amendment 47, which 

includes an environmental assessment, 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS
61242 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

a fishery impact statement, a Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis, and a 

regulatory impact review, may be 

obtained from the Southeast Regional 

Office website at http://

sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_

fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/2017/ 

am47/docs/PDFs/gulf_reef_am47_

vermilion_final.pdf. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lauren Waters, Southeast Regional 

Office, NMFS, telephone: 727–824– 

5305; email: Lauren.Waters@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and 

the Council manage the Gulf reef fish 

fishery, which includes vermilion 

snapper, under the FMP. The Council 

prepared the FMP and NMFS 

implements the FMP through 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 

authority of the Magnuson Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). 

Background 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires 

the Council to specify the MSY for 

managed stocks. The National Standard 

1 Guidelines state that the Council 

should adopt a reasonable proxy for 

MSY if data are insufficient to estimate 

MSY directly. 

Status of the Vermilion Snapper Stock 

Amendment 23 to the FMP 

established MSY for vermilion snapper 

as the yield associated with FMSY when 

the stock is at equilibrium, where F is 

defined as fishing mortality (70 FR 109; 

June 8, 2005). The final rule for the 

Generic Annual Catch Limit (ACL) and 

Accountability Measures (AM) 

Amendment established the vermilion 

snapper stock ACL and set it equal to 

the ABC at 3.42 million lb (1.55 million 

kg), round weight (76 FR 82044, 

December 29, 2011). 

In 2016, a standard assessment for 

vermilion snapper was conducted 

(SEDAR 45) and the stock status was 

evaluated using several MSY proxies. 

Under all proxies evaluated in SEDAR 

45, overfishing was not occurring and 

the stock was not overfished. The 

Council’s Scientific and Statistical 

Committee (SSC) determined that the 

most appropriate proxy for MSY is the 

yield when fishing at a mortality rate 

corresponding to 30 percent spawning 

potential ratio (F30% SPR). 

SEDAR 45 also included projections 

for the overfishing limit and the ABC. 

The SSC provided the Council two 

recommendations for ABC: one that is 

derived from fishing at 75 percent of the 

MSY proxy (F30% SPR) and results in a 

declining ABC from 2017 through 2021, 

and one that is derived using the 

average of 2017–2021 ABCs and results 

in a constant ABC. The two ABC 

recommendations are equivalent in 

terms of maintaining the stock status 

and the Council selected the constant 

catch scenario that yielded an ABC of of 

3.11 million lb (1.41 million kg). 

Management Measure Contained in 

This Proposed Rule 

This proposed rule would revise the 

stock ACL for Gulf vermilion snapper 

consistent with the results of SEDAR 45 

and the SSC’s new ABC 

recommendation. The current ACL of 

3.42 million lb (1.55 million kg), round 

weight, exceeds the ABCs recommended 

by the Council’s SSC. Therefore, the 

Council determined that the ACL for 

vermilion snapper should be decreased 

to equal the constant catch ABC and this 

proposed rule would set the stock ACL 

at 3.11 million lb (1.41 million kg), 

round weight. 

The current accountability measures 

for vermilion snapper require NMFS to 

close the commercial and recreational 

fishing seasons if the combined 

commercial and recreational landings 

reach or are projected to reach the stock 

ACL. Since 2013, combined landings 

have been less than 3.00 million lb (1.36 

million kg), round weight, every year. 

Therefore, NMFS does not expect the 

combined landings of vermilion snapper 

to reach the proposed stock ACL and 

result in a closure before the end of the 

fishing year. 

Measures in Amendment 47 Not 

Codified Through This Proposed Rule 

In addition to the measure proposed 

to be implemented through this 

proposed rule, Amendment 47 would 

establish a proxy for vermilion snapper 

MSY. 

For vermilion snapper, the Council’s 

SSC recommended that a proxy be used 

for MSY. The Council’s SSC 

recommended F30% SPR as the MSY 

proxy for SEDAR 45, and the Council 

agreed. Under this proxy, the stock is 

not overfished or undergoing 

overfishing. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with Amendment 47, the FMP, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

This proposed rule has been 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides 

the statutory basis for this proposed 

rule. No duplicative, overlapping, or 

conflicting Federal rules have been 

identified. A description of this 

proposed rule and its purpose and need 

are contained in the SUMMARY section of 

the preamble. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

that this proposed rule, if adopted, 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for this 

certification is as follows. 

This proposed rule would directly 

affect commercial and recreational 

fishing for vermilion snapper in the Gulf 

exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Anglers 

(recreational fishers) are not considered 

small entities as that term is defined in 

5 U.S.C. 601(6). Consequently, estimates 

of the number of anglers directly 

affected by the rule and the impacts on 

them are not provided here. 

Any commercial fishing business that 

operates a commercial fishing vessel 

that harvests vermilion snapper in the 

Gulf EEZ must have a valid Federal 

commercial Gulf reef fish permit that is 

specifically assigned to that vessel. The 

Gulf reef fish permit is a limited access 

permit. As of February 21, 2017, 848 

vessels had a Federal Gulf reef fish 

permit and 795 of the permits were 

valid. NMFS estimates that 631 

businesses own the 848 vessels with a 

Federal permit, and the size of their 

individual Gulf reef fish fleets vary from 

1 to 17 vessels. 

The number of federally permitted 

vessels that land vermilion snapper is 

substantially less than the number of 

vessels with a Gulf reef fish permit. 

From 2011 through 2015, approximately 

35 percent to 40 percent of the vessels 

with a Federal permit landed vermilion 

snapper in any given year. During that 

same 5-year period, an annual average 

of 342 federally permitted vessels 

landed vermilion snapper. NMFS 

estimates these 342 vessels are operated 

by 252 businesses. 

The 342 vessels landed an average of 

4,914 lb (2,229 kg), gutted weight, of 

vermilion snapper with a dockside 

value of $15,293 (2015 dollars) 

annually. This average annual dockside 

revenue from landings of vermilion 

snapper represents approximately 12 

percent of the average vessel’s annual 

dockside revenue from all species. 

However, there are considerable 

differences in average annual landings 

of vermilion snapper by gear type from 

2011 through 2015. For example, the 

average longline vessel annually landed 

72 to 73 lb (32 to 33 kg), gutted weight, 

of the species, whereas the average 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2017 / Proposed Rules 61243 

hook-and-line vessel landed over 7,000 

lb, (3,175 kg) gutted weight, annually. 

Hook-and-line is the primary gear type 

used by the commercial sector. The 

average federally permitted hook-andline vessel landed 7,078 lb (3,211 kg), 

gutted weight, of vermilion snapper 

annually with a dockside value of 

$22,276 (2015 dollars), and those 

vermilion snapper landings represent 

approximately 17 percent of that 

average vessel’s annual dockside 

revenue from all landings. 

For RFA purposes, NMFS has 

established a small business size 

standard for businesses, including their 

affiliates, whose primary industry is 

commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2). 

A business primarily involved in 

commercial fishing (NAICS 11411) is 

classified as a small business if it is 

independently owned and operated, is 

not dominant in its field of operation 

(including its affiliates), and its 

combined annual receipts are not in 

excess of $11 million for all of its 

affiliated operations worldwide. Based 

on the average annual revenue for a 

federally permitted vessel that lands 

vermilion snapper, regardless of gear 

used, it is concluded that most to all of 

the businesses that harvest vermilion 

snapper from the Gulf EEZ are small. 

Amendment 47 would establish an 

MSY proxy for vermilion snapper and 

that has no direct impact on any small 

business. 

This proposed rule would decrease 

the stock ACL of vermilion snapper. The 

stock ACL is currently 3.42 million lb 

(1.55 million kg), round weight, and has 

been in place since 2012. This proposed 

rule would decrease the stock ACL to 

3.11 million lb (1.41 million kg), round 

weight. 

If combined landings reach or are 

projected to reach the stock ACL, the 

commercial and recreational fishing 

seasons are closed early as a result of 

accountability measures being triggered. 

Since 2012, there have been no early 

closures because combined commercial 

and recreational landings of vermilion 

snapper have been less than the stock 

ACL. From 2012 through 2015, 

combined landings varied from 

approximately 2.54 million lb (1.15 

million kg) to 3.17 million lb (1.44 

million kg), round weight, annually and 

averaged approximately 2.73 million lb 

(1.24 million kg). Since 2013, combined 

landings have been less than 3.00 

million lb (1.36 million kg), round 

weight, every year, and preliminary data 

for 2016 indicate combined landings of 

approximately 2.63 million lb (1.19 

million kg), round weight. Preliminary 

landings data for 2016 indicate 

combined landings of approximately 2.6 

million lb (1.18 million kg), round 

weight. Moreover, as of November 27, 

2017, for commercial landings and 

through the third wave for recreational 

landings, combined landings for 2017 

are approximately 2.4 million lb (1.09 

million kg), round weight. Based on 

recent landings data, it is expected that 

combined landings of vermilion snapper 

would be less than the proposed stock 

ACL of 3.11 million lb (1.41 million kg), 

round weight, and there would be no 

early closures. Therefore, NMFS expects 

the reduction of the stock ACL would 

have no economic impact on small 

businesses that harvest vermilion 

snapper from the Gulf EEZ. 

No new reporting, record-keeping, or 

other compliance requirements are 

introduced by this proposed rule. 

Accordingly, this proposed rule does 

not implicate the Paperwork Reduction 

Act. 

In conclusion, NMFS expects this 

proposed rule would not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, 

and an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis is not required and none has 

been prepared. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Commercial, Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf, 

Recreational, Vermilion snapper. 

Dated: December 21, 2017. 

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 proposed 

to be 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 § 622.41, revise the last sentence 

of paragraph (j) to read as follows: 

§ 622.41 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

* * * * * 

(j) * * * The stock ACL for vermilion 

snapper is 3.11 million lb (1.41 million 

kg), round weight. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2017–27934 Filed 12–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 170621579–7579–01] 

RIN 0648–BG96 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Nontrawl Lead Level 

2 Observers 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to 

modify specific provisions of the North 

Pacific Observer Program. The first two 

elements of this proposed rule would 

modify the requirements for an observer 

to obtain a nontrawl lead level 2 (LL2) 

deployment endorsement and 

implement a pre-cruise meeting 

requirement for vessels required to carry 

an observer with a nontrawl LL2 

deployment endorsement. These 

elements are intended to increase the 

number of observers that qualify for a 

nontrawl LL2 deployment endorsement 

and maintain observer safety and data 

quality. The third element of this 

proposed rule would make editorial 

changes, and modify observer coverage 

and reporting requirements for vessels 

when participating in the Western 

Alaska Community Development Quota 

(CDQ) Program. This element is 

intended to promote operational 

efficiency, and remove unnecessary 

requirements for specific vessels 

participating in the CDQ Program. This 

action is intended to promote the goals 

and objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act, the Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP) for Groundfish of the Gulf of 

Alaska, and the FMP for Groundfish of 

the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands 

Management Area, and other applicable 

law. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than January 26, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on this document, identified by NOAA– 

NMFS–2017–0071 by either of the 

following methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017- 

0071, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with PROPOSALS