102100 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

§ 635.40 Restrictions to enhance 

conservation. 

* * * * * 

(b) Proof of admissibility. For the 

purposes of paragraph (a) of this section 

and section 971d(6)(a) of ATCA, a 

shipment of fish in any form of the 

species under regulation or under 

investigation by ICCAT offered for 

entry, directly or indirectly, from a 

country named in a finding filed with 

the Office of the Federal Register for 

publication under paragraph (a) of this 

section is eligible for entry if the 

shipment is accompanied by 

Certification of Admissibility (COA) fish 

harvest record form pursuant to the 

procedures and requirements specified 

in 50 CFR part 300, subpart S, certifying 

that the fish in the shipment: 

(1) Are not of the species specified in 

the finding; 

(2) Are of the species named in the 

finding, but were not taken in the 

regulatory area; or 

(3) Are of the species named in the 

finding but are products of an American 

fishery and were lawfully taken in 

conformity with applicable conservation 

laws and regulations and landed in the 

country named in the finding solely for 

transshipment. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–29238 Filed 12–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 241210–0322] 

RIN 0648–BN22 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Fishery 

Management Plan of Puerto Rico; 

Triggerfish Management Measures 

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 

Framework Action 3 under the Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) for Puerto Rico 

(Framework Action 3). If implemented, 

this proposed rule would modify the 

annual catch limits (ACLs) for the 

triggerfish stock complex in Federal 

waters off Puerto Rico. The purpose of 

this proposed rule and Framework 

Action 3 is to update management 

reference points for the triggerfish stock 

complex under the Puerto Rico FMP 

consistent with the most recent stock 

assessment to prevent overfishing and 

achieve optimum yield (OY). 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received by January 16, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: A plain language summary 

of this proposed rule is available at 

https://www.regulations.gov/docket/ 

NOAA-NMFS-2024-0105. You may 

submit comments on this document, 

identified by ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2024– 

0105’’ by either of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit 

https://www.regulations.gov and enter 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2024–0105’’ in the 

Search box. Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ 

icon, complete the required fields, and 

enter or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit all written comments 

to Maria Lopez-Mercer, 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 https://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 Framework 

Action 3, which includes an 

environmental assessment, a regulatory 

impact review, and a Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis, may be 

obtained from the Southeast Regional 

Office website at https:// 

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

framework-action-3-puerto-rico-fisherymanagement-plan-modification-statusdetermination. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Maria Lopez-Mercer, NMFS Southeast 

Regional Office, 727–824–5305, 

maria.lopez@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

triggerfish stock complex in the Federal 

waters off Puerto Rico consists of ocean 

triggerfish, gray triggerfish and queen 

triggerfish, and is managed under the 

Puerto Rico FMP. The Puerto Rico FMP 

was prepared by the Caribbean Fishery 

Management Council (Council), 

approved by the Secretary of Commerce, 

and is implemented by NMFS 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 

NMFS and regional fishery management 

councils to prevent overfishing and to 

achieve, on a continuing basis, the OY 

from federally managed fish stocks to 

ensure that fishery resources are 

managed for the greatest overall benefit 

to the nation, particularly with respect 

to providing food production and 

recreational opportunities, and 

protecting marine ecosystems. 

The Council and NMFS manage 

fisheries in Federal waters around 

Puerto Rico under the Puerto Rico FMP. 

The Puerto Rico FMP was approved by 

the Secretary of Commerce on 

September 22, 2020, along with the St. 

Croix and St. Thomas and St. John 

FMPs, under section 304(a)(3) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. NMFS 

published the final rule in the Federal 

Register to implement the Puerto Rico 

FMP on September 13, 2022 (87 FR 

56204), which, among other measures, 

included the current ACL values for the 

triggerfish stock complex in Puerto Rico. 

The Puerto Rico FMP contains 

management measures applicable for 

Federal waters off Puerto Rico, which 

extend seaward from 9 nautical miles 

(nmi; 16.7 kilometers) from shore to the 

offshore boundary of the U.S. Caribbean 

exclusive economic zone. 

The Puerto Rico FMP established 

status determination criteria (SDC) and 

other management reference points for 

triggerfish species under Federal 

management in Federal waters off 

Puerto Rico. In the Puerto Rico FMP, the 

triggerfish stock complex contains 

queen triggerfish, ocean triggerfish, and 

gray triggerfish. Queen triggerfish is the 

indicator stock for the complex because 

of the limited information (e.g., 

landings) available for ocean and gray 

triggerfish. Thus, management 

measures, SDC, and other reference 

points are based on landings of queen 

triggerfish only, but apply to the entire 

complex. 

The Puerto Rico FMP applies a fourtiered acceptable biological catch (ABC) 

control rule depending on differing 

levels of data availability. Each tier 

specifies SDC, such as the maximum 

fishing mortality threshold (MFMT), 

minimum stock size threshold (MSST), 

and overfishing limit (OFL), or OFL 

proxy, and other reference points such 

as the maximum sustainable yield 

(MSY), or MSY proxy, and ABC. Under 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Proposed Rules 102101 

the ABC control rule, tier 1 applies to 

stocks with the most data available, and 

each subsequent tier operates with less 

available data than the preceding tier. 

Tier 4, the final tier, is the most data 

limited and applies when no accepted 

quantitative assessment is available. 

Tier 4 contains two sub-tiers, tier 4a and 

tier 4b, which are based on an 

understanding of the stock’s 

vulnerability to fishing pressure. Tier 4a 

applies when the stock’s vulnerability to 

fishing pressure is relatively low or 

moderate, while tier 4b applies to stocks 

with a high vulnerability to fishing 

pressure. 

In the Puerto Rico FMP, the triggerfish 

stock complex is considered a tier 4a 

stock and the MSY proxy, MFMT, and 

MSST were defined, but as a result of 

data limitations, were not quantified. 

Similarly, the OFL for the triggerfish 

stock complex could not be quantified 

in the Puerto Rico FMP and a new 

reference point, the sustainable yield 

level (SYL), was quantified and used as 

the OFL proxy. The SYL is a level of 

landings that can be sustained by a 

stock over the long-term. For the 

triggerfish stock complex, the Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) derived the ABC from the SYL, 

and the Council set the ACL for the 

triggerfish stock complex equal to 95 

percent of the recommended ABC. The 

total ACL was set equal to OY. Under 

the Puerto Rico FMP, commercial and 

recreational data were available to 

establish sector-specific ACLs for the 

triggerfish stock complex, which were 

equal to 91.77 percent and 8.23 percent 

of the total ACL, respectively. 

All weights described in this 

proposed rule are in round weight. 

For the triggerfish stock complex, the 

total ACL is 90,552 pounds (lb; 41,073.6 

kilograms [kg]), the commercial ACL is 

83,099 lb (37,693 kg), and the 

recreational ACL is 7,453 lb (3,380.6 kg). 

In 2022, the Southeast Data, 

Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) stock 

assessment was completed for queen 

triggerfish in Puerto Rico (SEDAR 80). 

SEDAR 80 was reviewed by the 

Council’s SSC and determined to be 

suitable for short-term (i.e., <5 years) 

management advice. The SSC in 

consultation with NMFS’ Southeast 

Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) 

determined that SEDAR 80 represented 

the best scientific information available 

and recommended queen triggerfish 

(i.e., the triggerfish stock complex) be 

reclassified from a tier 4a stock to a tier 

3 stock (data limited, accepted 

assessment available) under the Puerto 

Rico FMP ABC control rule. Under tier 

3, if the biomass of the stock goes below 

MSST, the stock would be determined 

to be overfished and the Council would 

then need to develop a rebuilding plan 

capable of returning the stock to a level 

that allows the stock to achieve MSY on 

a continuing basis. Additionally, under 

tier 3, in years when there is a stock 

assessment, the stock would be 

considered to be undergoing overfishing 

if fishing mortality exceeds the MFMT. 

This level of fishing mortality, if 

continued, would reduce the stock 

biomass to an overfished condition. In 

years in which there is no assessment, 

the stock complex would be considered 

to be undergoing overfishing if landings 

exceed the OFL. 

Under tier 3, the ABC is derived by 

reducing the OFL by the SSC’s scientific 

uncertainty buffer and reflecting the 

acceptable probability of overfishing 

determined by the Council (defined as 

P*). The SSC coordinated with the 

SEFSC to provide OFLs and ABCs for 

the triggerfish stock complex. At the 

December 2022 Council meeting, the 

SSC recommended both variable and 

constant OFLs and ABCs for years 2024 

to 2026 for the triggerfish stock 

complex, with the ABCs across a range 

of P* values. The Council recommended 

a P* value of 0.4 and the constant value 

OFL and ABC, which are equal to the 

3-year average OFLs and ABCs from 

years 2024 to 2026. The total ACL for 

the triggerfish stock complex is then 

derived by reducing the ABC by the 

Council’s management uncertainty 

buffer. 

Following the SEDAR 80 stock 

assessment and recommendations from 

the Council’s SSC, the Council 

developed Framework Action 3 to 

update management reference points to 

prevent overfishing of the triggerfish 

stock complex and achieve OY, 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. In Framework 

Action 3, the Council decided to 

recommend a 5 percent management 

uncertainty buffer and set the total ACL 

for the stock complex equal to 95 

percent of the ABC. The Council 

specified commercial and recreational 

ACLs for the triggerfish stock complex 

using the same sector allocation 

percentages used under the Puerto Rico 

FMP (91.77 percent of the total ACL for 

the commercial sector and 8.23 percent 

of the total ACL for the recreational 

sector). Currently, recreational landings 

in Puerto Rico are not being collected by 

the NMFS’ Marine Recreational 

Information Program, which was 

disrupted by Hurricane Maria in 2017, 

and has not yet resumed operations in 

Puerto Rico. Therefore, at this time it is 

not possible to revise the sector 

allocations for the triggerfish complex. 

Management Measures Contained in 

This Proposed Rule 

If implemented, this proposed rule 

would revise the total, commercial, and 

recreational ACLs for the triggerfish 

stock complex in Federal waters around 

Puerto Rico. The total ACL for the 

triggerfish stock complex would 

decrease from 90,552 lb (41,073.6 kg) to 

87,220 lb (39,562 kg). The commercial 

ACL for the complex would decrease 

from 83,099 lb (37,693 kg) to 80,041 lb 

(36,306 kg). The recreational ACL for 

the complex would decrease from 7,453 

lb (3,380.6 kg) to 7,178 lb (3,256 kg). 

The updated ACLs are expected to 

better protect against the risk of 

overfishing of the stock complex in 

relation to the current ACLs, thus 

ensuring, to the greatest extent 

practicable, continued access to the 

resource in future years. 

Measures in Framework Action 3 Not 

Codified in This Proposed Rule 

In addition to the ACL revisions 

described in this proposed rule and 

consistent with SEDAR 80, Framework 

Action 3 revises the MFMT, OFL, and 

ABC for the triggerfish stock complex 

under the Puerto Rico FMP. The MFMT, 

previously not quantified, would be 

0.215. The OFL would decrease from 

the SYL (OFL proxy) of 190,636 lb 

(86,471 kg) to 118,283 lb (53,652 kg), 

and the ABC would decrease from 

95,318 lb (45,236 kg) to 91,810 lb 

(41,644 kg). Because estimates of the 

long-term recruitment for queen 

triggerfish assessed in SEDAR 80 are 

unknown, values for the MSY and 

MSST were not quantified and remain 

as defined under tier 3 of the ABC 

control rule. The MSY proxy is equal to 

30 percent of the spawning potential 

ratio, and MSST is equal to 75 percent 

of the spawning stock biomass produced 

when fishing at MSY or MSY proxy. 

The updated management reference 

points are expected to better protect 

against the risk of overfishing of the 

stock complex in relation to the current 

reference points, thus ensuring, to the 

greatest extent practicable, continued 

access to the resource in future years. 

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 Framework Action 3, the Puerto 

Rico FMP, other provisions of 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 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
102102 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

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. In addition, no new reporting 

and record-keeping requirements are 

introduced by this proposed rule. This 

proposed rule contains no information 

collection requirements under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration that this 

proposed rule, if adopted, would not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

The factual basis for this certification is 

as follows. A copy of the full analysis 

is available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). 

A description of the action, why it is 

being considered, and the objectives of 

this proposed rule are contained in the 

SUMMARY section of this proposed rule. 

This proposed action directly impacts 

commercial and recreational fishing for 

queen triggerfish in Federal waters off 

Puerto Rico. Recreational fishers 

(anglers) are not considered small 

entities as that term is defined in 5 

U.S.C. 601(6), whether fishing from 

charter vessels (for-hire), private or 

leased vessels. Therefore, estimates of 

the number of anglers directly affected 

by the proposed action and any impacts 

on them are neither required nor 

assessed here. 

For-hire fishing businesses sell 

services to recreational fishers (anglers). 

The proposed changes to the total ACL 

and corresponding recreational ACL for 

queen triggerfish in Puerto Rico would 

not directly alter the services sold by 

for-hire fishing businesses. Any change 

in demand for these fishing services, 

and associated economic effects, as a 

result of this action would be a 

consequence of a change in anglers’ 

behavior, secondary to any direct effect 

on anglers. Therefore, the impact on forhire fishing businesses would be an 

indirect effect of the proposed action. 

The proposed action would directly 

apply to commercial fishing businesses 

that operate in Federal waters off Puerto 

Rico. For RFA purposes, NMFS has 

established a small business size 

standard for businesses, including their 

affiliates, whose primary industry is 

commercial fishing. A business 

primarily involved in the commercial 

fishing industry (North American 

Industrial Classification Code 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 no more 

than $11 million for all of its affiliated 

operations worldwide. None of Puerto 

Rico’s commercial fishermen had or 

have annual revenues that reach that 

figure. As each fisherman is assumed to 

represent a unique business, NMFS 

concludes that all commercial fishing 

businesses in Puerto Rico are small. 

At the time Framework Action 3 was 

prepared, the most recent 5-year 

commercial landings data considered to 

be the best available science are from 

2015 through 2019. Consequently, 

estimates of the number of small 

commercial fishing businesses directly 

affected by the action and any impacts 

on them are based on landings from 

2015 through 2019. From 2015 through 

2019, an annual average of 80 (10.2 

percent) of Puerto Rico’s 785 small 

commercial fishing businesses 

harvested queen triggerfish from Federal 

and unknown waters. For this proposed 

rule, ‘‘unknown waters’’ represent an 

area around Puerto Rico for which the 

jurisdiction, Federal or territorial, was 

not reported on the commercial catch 

report form. 

Queen triggerfish is part of the 

triggerfish stock complex, and the 

proposed action would reduce the total 

ACL for the triggerfish stock complex in 

Puerto Rico from 90,552 lb (41,073.6 

kg), to 87,220 lb (39,562 kg). This rule 

would correspondingly reduce the 

commercial ACL for the triggerfish stock 

complex from 83,099 lb (37,693 kg), to 

80,041 lb (36,306 kg). From 2015 

through 2019, annual commercial 

landings of queen triggerfish ranged 

from 40,437 lb (18,342 kg) to 71,407 lb 

(32,390 kg). From those landings, there 

is no future expectation that any single 

year or average of multiple years of 

commercial landings of queen 

triggerfish would reach or exceed the 

current commercial ACL (83,009 lb, 

(37,693 kg)) or proposed commercial 

ACL (80,041 lb, (36,306 kg)). Moreover, 

although preliminary, the most recent 

monitoring of total triggerfish landings 

indicates those landings are 

substantially below the current and 

proposed total ACL. As such, the 

proposed action would not affect small 

businesses’ commercial landings of 

triggerfish in Puerto Rico. Therefore, the 

proposed rule would have no significant 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622 

Caribbean, Fisheries, Fishing, Reef 

fish, Triggerfish. 

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

Dated: December 11, 2024. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, NMFS proposes to amend 50 

CFR part 622 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 § 622.440, amend paragraphs 

(a)(1) through (3) by revising the table 

headings and the entries for 

Triggerfishes for Table 1 to 

§ 622.440(a)(1), Table 2 to 

§ 622.440(a)(2), and Table 3 to 

§ 622.440(a)(3). The revisions read as 

follows: 

§ 622.440 Annual catch limits (ACLs), 

annual catch targets (ACTs), and 

accountability measures (AMs). 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 242 / Tuesday, December 17, 2024 / Proposed Rules 102103 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(1) 

Family Stock or stock complex and species composition Commercial ACL 

*******

Triggerfishes .................................. Triggerfish—gray triggerfish, ocean triggerfish, queen triggerfish 1 ....... 80,041 lb (36,306 kg). 

* * * * * * * 

* * * * * (2) * * * 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2) 

Family Stock or stock complex and species composition Recreational ACL 

*******

Triggerfishes .................................. Triggerfish—gray triggerfish, ocean triggerfish, queen triggerfish 1 ....... 7,178 lb (3,256 kg). 

* * * * * * * 

* * * * * (3) * * * 

TABLE 3 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(3) 

Family Stock or stock complex and species composition Total ACL 

*******

Triggerfishes .................................. Triggerfish—gray triggerfish, ocean triggerfish, queen triggerfish 1 ....... 87,220 lb (39,562 kg). 

* * * * * * * 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2024–29569 Filed 12–16–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1