Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 120 / Friday, June 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 33553 

this emergency action. Moreover, 

allowing the emergency measures to 

lapse between June 19, 2021, and a later 

effective date of this extension may lead 

to confusion in the fishing community. 

For these reasons, there is good cause to 

waive the requirement for delayed 

effectiveness. 

The December 21, 2020, final rule that 

implemented the emergency action was 

determined to be not significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. 

The Chief Counsel for Regulation of 

the Department of Commerce certified 

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the 

Small Business Administration during 

the proposed rule stage that this action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. The factual basis for the 

certification was published in the 

proposed rule and is not repeated here. 

No comments were received regarding 

this certification. 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. 

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

Dated: June 14, 2021. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13619 Filed 6–24–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No.: 210616–0130] 

RIN 0648–BH67 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral 

Amendment 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS implements the 

measures of the New England Fishery 

Management Council’s Omnibus DeepSea Coral Amendment. This action 

protects deep-sea corals from the 

impacts of commercial fishing gear on 

Georges Bank and in the Gulf of Maine. 

These management measures are 

intended to reduce, to the extent 

practicable, impacts of fishing gear on 

deep-sea corals in New England while 

balancing the continued operations of 

commercial fisheries. 

DATES: Effective July 26, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The New England Fishery 

Management Council developed an 

Environmental Assessment (EA) for this 

action that describes the measures in the 

Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral Amendment 

and other considered alternatives and 

analyzes the impacts of the measures 

and alternatives. Copies of supporting 

documents used by the New England 

Fishery Management Council, including 

the EA and Regulatory Impact Review 

(RIR)/Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (IRFA), are available from: 

Thomas A. Nies, Executive Director, 

New England Fishery Management 

Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, 

MA 01950 and accessible via the 

internet in documents available at: 

https://www.nefmc.org/library/omnibusdeep-sea-coral-amendment. 

Copies of the Final Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) and the 

small entity compliance guide are 

available from Michael Pentony, 

Regional Administrator, NMFS, Greater 

Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 

Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 

01930–2298, or available on the internet 

at: http://

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Travis Ford, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9233. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On November 20, 2019, pursuant to 

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

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act), NMFS approved the Omnibus 

Deep-Sea Coral Amendment in its 

entirety as recommended by the New 

England Fishery Management Council. 

The Council developed this action, and 

the measures described in this rule, 

under the discretionary provisions for 

deep-sea coral protection in section 

303(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

This provision gives the Regional 

Fishery Management Councils the 

authority to: 

(A) Designate zones where, and 

periods when, fishing shall be limited, 

or shall not be permitted, or shall be 

permitted only by specified types of 

fishing vessels or with specified types 

and quantities of fishing gear; and 

(B) Designate such zones in areas 

where deep-sea corals are identified 

under section 408 (this section describes 

the deep-sea coral research and 

technology program), to protect deepsea corals from physical damage from 

fishing gear or to prevent loss or damage 

to such fishing gear from interactions 

with deep-sea corals, after considering 

long-term sustainable uses of fishery 

resources in such areas. 

This final rule implements the 

Amendment, which prohibits the use of 

all bottom-tending gear (with an 

exception for red crab pots) along the 

outer continental shelf in waters no 

shallower than 600 m to the Exclusive 

Economic Zone (EEZ) and prohibits the 

use of bottom-tending mobile gear in 

two areas in the Gulf of Maine (Mount 

Desert Rock and Outer Schoodic Ridge). 

In addition, this action creates a 

dedicated habitat research area in 

Jordan Basin but does not impose any 

additional restrictions on fishing in this 

area. This action also establishes 

provisions for vessels transiting through 

these areas and adds framework 

provisions for future modifications to 

the New England Deep-Sea Coral 

Protection Area measures. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act requires NMFS 

to approve, partially approve, or 

disapprove measures proposed by the 

Council based on whether the measures 

are consistent with fishery management 

plans (FMP), the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

and its National Standards, and other 

applicable law. 

NMFS published a Notice of 

Availability (NOA) announcing its 

review of the Amendment on August 26, 

2019 (84 FR 44596). The public 

comment period on the NOA ended on 

October 25, 2019. Following the 

Amendment’s approval in November 

2019, NMFS published a proposed rule 

for this action on January 3, 2020, 

including implementing regulations (85 

FR 285). The public comment period on 

the proposed rule ended on February 

18, 2020. 

Georges Bank Deep-Sea Coral Protection 

Area 

The Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral 

Amendment establishes a deep-sea coral 

protection area on the outer continental 

shelf in New England waters. It 

complements the Frank R. Lautenberg 

Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area 

established by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council in Amendment 16 

to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and 

Butterfish FMP (81 FR 90246; December 

14, 2016) as described in § 648.372. The 

Georges Bank Deep-Sea Coral Protection 

Area runs along the outer continental 

shelf in waters no shallower than 600 

meters (m) and extends to the outer 

limit of the EEZ boundary to the east 

and north, and south to the intercouncil boundary as described in 

§ 600.105(a). 


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This area is designated with the 

landward boundary drawn between the 

600-m contour as a hard landward 

boundary and the 650-m contour as a 

hard seaward boundary. In some areas 

the boundary crosses the 650-m contour 

to draw this line as straight as possible; 

however, the boundary was constrained 

on its shallow side by the 600-m 

contour. From the landward boundary, 

the boundaries extend along the 

northern and southern boundaries of the 

New England Council’s management 

region and to the edge of the EEZ as the 

eastward boundary. 

Gear Restrictions in the Georges Bank 

Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area 

This action prohibits the use of 

bottom-tending commercial fishing gear 

within the designated Georges Bank 

Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area, 

including: Bottom-tending otter trawls; 

bottom-tending beam trawls; hydraulic 

dredges; non-hydraulic dredges; bottomtending seines; bottom longlines; pots 

and traps; and sink or anchored gillnets. 

The prohibition on these gears protects 

deep-sea corals from interaction with 

and damage from bottom-tending 

fishing gear. Red crab pot gear is exempt 

from the prohibition. 

Mount Desert Rock Coral Protection 

Area 

This action designates a coral 

protection area in an 8-square mile (mi2) 

(21-square kilometer (km2)) area 

southwest of Mount Desert Rock, a 

small, rocky island off the eastern Maine 

coast, about 20 nautical miles (nmi) 

(37 km) south of Mount Desert Island, 

encompassing depths of 100–200 m. 

Vessels are prohibited from fishing with 

bottom-tending mobile gear within the 

Mount Desert Rock Coral Protection 

Area. Bottom-tending mobile gear 

includes but is not limited to: Bottomtending otter trawls; bottom-tending 

beam trawls; hydraulic dredges; nonhydraulic dredges; and seines (with the 

exception of a purse seine). This 

protects corals in this area from fishing 

impacts from these gears. Vessels are 

still able to fish for lobster in this area 

using trap gear. 

Outer Schoodic Ridge Coral Protection 

Area 

This action designates a coral 

protection area in a 31-mi2 (79-km2) area 

on the Outer Schoodic Ridge, roughly 

25 nmi (46 km) southeast of Mount 

Desert Island, encompassing depths of 

104–248 m. Vessels are prohibited from 

fishing with bottom-tending mobile gear 

within the Outer Schoodic Ridge Coral 

Protection Area. Bottom-tending mobile 

gear includes but is not limited to: 

Bottom-tending otter trawls; bottomtending beam trawls; hydraulic dredges; 

non-hydraulic dredges; and seines (with 

the exception of a purse seine). This 

protects corals in this area from fishing 

impacts from these gears. Vessels are 

still be able to fish for lobster in this 

area using trap gear. 

Transiting Provisions 

Vessels are allowed to transit the 

Georges Bank, Mount Desert Rock, and 

Outer Schoodic Ridge Coral Protection 

Areas provided the vessels bring 

bottom-tending fishing gear onboard the 

vessel, and reel bottom-tending trawl 

gear onto the net reel. These transiting 

provisions are consistent with those 

established by the Mid-Atlantic Council 

for the Frank R. Lautenberg Deep-Sea 

Coral Protection Area. 

Jordan Basin Dedicated Habitat 

Research Area 

This action designates the area around 

Jordan Basin in the Gulf of Maine as a 

dedicated habitat research area, but it 

does not impose any additional 

restrictions on fishing in this area. The 

purpose of this designation is to 

encourage further exploration of coral 

habitats at the site, and to encourage 

research on fishing gear impacts on 

these habitats. 

Framework Adjustments 

This action adds framework 

adjustment provisions to facilitate 

future modifications to the New 

England Deep-Sea Coral Protection 

Areas. The new measures that may be 

changed using a framework adjustment 

include adding, revising, or removing 

coral areas; changing fishing restrictions 

in coral areas; and developing new, or 

changing existing, coral area fishery 

access or exploratory fishing programs. 

Letters of Acknowledgement for Vessels 

Conducting Scientific Research 

The Council requested that 

researchers seek a Letter of 

Acknowledgement (LOA) from NMFS 

before conducting research in these 

areas. Scientific research on a scientific 

research vessel is not considered fishing 

and is therefore exempt from the 

requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act, Sec. 3, 50 

CFR 600.10 and 600.512). NMFS cannot 

require that scientific research 

institutions request an LOA when 

conducting scientific research at sea on 

a scientific research vessel, but we will 

encourage researchers to do so, 

consistent with regulations 

implementing the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act provisions at 50 CFR 600.512. 

Comments and Responses 

We received six comments on the 

NOA. Five comments were in support of 

our approval of the amendment, and the 

sixth comment, from the New England 

Field Office of the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, was a statement of no 

comment on the action. We received 16 

comments on the proposed rule. 

Thirteen of these comments were in 

support of the proposed rule, and the 

remaining three comments were in 

opposition to the rule because the 

commenters did not believe it went far 

enough to protect deep-sea corals. 

The Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s 

Association, Oceana, Conservation Law 

Foundation (CLF), the Pew Charitable 

Trust (Pew), and Wild Oceans 

commented in general support of the 

action on both the NOA and the 

proposed rule. One individual 

commented on the NOA in support of 

the rule. The New England Aquarium 

(NEAq) and seven individuals 

commented in support of the proposed 

rule. CLF, Pew, and Wild Oceans 

(collectively referred to as ‘‘joint 

commenters’’ below) submitted a joint 

comment also in general support of the 

action. Supporting this joint comment 

was a comment from Pew including 

7,628 signatures. Oceana also included 

a letter with 193 signatures supporting 

the proposed rule. While all of these 

comments recommended that NMFS 

approve the amendment in full, Oceana, 

NEAq, and the joint commenters 

suggested that the amendment could 

have done more to protect deep-sea 

corals and recommended additional 

actions the Council and NMFS could 

take to support the deep-sea coral 

protection areas. 

Comment 1: Oceana, NEAq, and one 

individual commented that the 

amendment leaves some coral habitat 

vulnerable to damage from fishing gear, 

and the joint commenters noted that this 

action still allows for expansion into 

coral areas untouched by fishing. NEAq 

noted that 20 percent of the suitable 

deep-sea coral habitat is present in the 

top 50–600 m of seafloor and that the 

Council should add protections to that 

area in a future action. NEAq stated that 

the 50- to 600-m region is designated as 

essential fish habitat for several species, 

including commercially important 

species. Two additional individuals 

commented that the Council should ban 

commercial fishing in the areas and 

leave them open only for subsistence 

fishing. 

Response: We agree that this action 

does not protect all deep-sea coral 

habitat in New England waters and 

allows the possibility of future 


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expansion of fishing. We note that this 

action also allows for the possibility of 

further expansion of deep-sea coral 

protections. The Council is not 

obligated to permanently protect all 

habitat suitable for deep-sea corals. This 

amendment was developed under the 

discretionary authority granted in 

section 303(b)(2)(B) of the MagnusonStevens Act that provides for protecting 

deep-sea coral after considering longterm sustainable uses of fishery 

resources. However, the Council’s 

recommendation, which substantially 

protects deep-sea coral while allowing 

fishing to continue in a relatively small 

portion of the area, strikes a balance 

between continued operation of 

fisheries and deep-sea coral protection 

in a practical way. NMFS will 

encourage the Council to continue to 

consider further protections for areas of 

known-coral presence after considering 

the long-term sustainable uses of fishery 

resources in such areas. 

Comment 2: CLF, Pew, and Wild 

Oceans jointly requested that NMFS 

require the Council to revisit the 

management exemption provided to the 

deep-sea red crab fishery. Oceana 

commented that the Council should 

regularly review the effects of red crab 

gear on coral and sponge habitat to 

ensure that the Amendment is achieving 

its goals. If the red crab gear is found to 

be threatening coral and sponge 

habitats, they suggest that revisions to 

the exemption may be warranted. They 

also requested that NMFS require the 

Council to consider a prohibition on 

anchoring to provide full protections 

from gears that can harm corals. 

Response: NMFS does not have the 

authority to require the Council to 

consider a prohibition on anchoring of 

red crab gear to protect deep-sea corals. 

NMFS determined that the Council 

considered and complied with all the 

National Standards and the MSA’s 

requirement to consider long-term 

sustainable uses of the fishery resources. 

Should the Council consider red crab 

gear prohibitions, NMFS will support 

the Council in the development of 

subsequent actions to further protect 

deep-sea coral. 

Comment 3: The joint commenters 

also requested that NMFS require 

fishery managers to expand framework 

adjustment provisions in New England 

fishery management plans for future 

modifications to the deep-sea coral areas 

and management measures as new data 

become available. 

Response: This action adds 

framework adjustment provisions to 

facilitate future modifications to the 

New England Deep-Sea Coral Protection 

Areas. The new measures that may be 

changed using a framework adjustment 

include: Adding, revising, or removing 

coral areas; changing fishing restrictions 

in coral areas; and developing new, or 

changing existing, coral area fishery 

access or exploratory fishing programs. 

Comment 4: Oceana and NEAq 

discouraged the use of a framework to 

allow fishing in these newly protected 

areas. Oceana encouraged NMFS to 

carefully consider the suite of 

framework provisions included in the 

Amendment, only approve minor 

modifications that will strengthen 

conservation measures, and clearly state 

the qualifying actions required to 

approve framework measures. NEAq 

insisted that there be a full consultation 

with a wide variety of stakeholders, 

including scientists, fishermen, and 

non-governmental organizations, among 

others before allowing fishing within 

these areas. 

Response: While the framework 

adjustment provisions included in the 

Amendment do allow for changes to 

coral protection areas and restrictions in 

those areas, NMFS will work with the 

Council to ensure that any framework 

adjustments are consistent with the 

goals and objectives of the Amendment 

and that the public is given the ability 

to participate, as with any Council 

action. 

Comment 5: Both Oceana and the 

joint commenters requested that NMFS 

notify the Council if new information 

indicates the presence of corals outside 

of the protection area and instruct the 

Council to amend protections and 

conserve additional area. In addition, 

they encouraged NMFS to include a 

directive for the Council to review and 

revise the regulations implemented by 

the Amendment in the near future to 

ensure they are achieving the 

Amendment’s goals and objectives. 

Response: NMFS staff and members of 

the Council’s Habitat Plan Development 

Team (PDT) actively inform the PDT 

and the Council of the results of new 

studies and deep-sea explorations and 

will continue to do so moving forward. 

However, NMFS does not have the 

authority to require the Council to 

increase protections. NMFS will work 

with the Council and its PDT on future 

actions to ensure that they consider new 

information that is relevant to the 

actions, consistent with MSA 

requirements. 

Comment 6: Two individuals 

expressed concern that the vessel trip 

report (VTR) analysis used to consider 

financial impacts indicates that large 

and small businesses are facing 

substantially similar financial impacts 

overall, although the most highly 

exposed small businesses generate a 

larger fraction of their overall revenue 

from areas within the preferred 

alternative when compared to large 

businesses. 

Response: The VTR data analysis 

indicates that between $6.5–$8.5 

million in gross revenue will be 

potentially displaced under the 

preferred alternative, although analysis 

of the vessel monitoring system data 

suggests this revenue number is an 

overestimate. After Council discussions 

at the Council’s coral workshops in 

March 2017, the Council determined 

that the designation of a broad coral 

protection zone in waters no shallower 

than 600 m would cause little change in 

bottom trawl, trap/pot, and gillnet effort, 

and that the use of the VTR data was 

leading to an overestimate of the 

potential displacement of effort because 

of the lack of precision in the data. The 

VTR’s provide a single geographic 

location for a given trip. The VTR 

analysis puts uncertainty buffers around 

that point (in the form of concentric 

circles, representing the 25th, 50th, 

75th, and 90th percentile confidence 

intervals based on statistical analyses of 

the distance between self-reported VTR 

points and observed hauls based on trip 

characteristics) and attribute the 

revenue from that trip proportionally 

across the buffer. For trips that occur 

close to the closure, that circle may 

bleed into the closure area, when, based 

on industry feedback, it is likely that no 

part of the trip actually occurred inside 

the closure. The industry input from the 

NEFMC coral workshops was that, due 

to the distribution of target species, the 

trawl fishery is active out to depths of 

about 500 m, the lobster fishery to 550 

m, and the red crab fishery to 800 m. 

For those fisheries where it was 

possible, a comparison of VTR data and 

Vessel Monitoring System data, which 

provides more granular position data 

but lacks the relevant information on 

revenue and fishing effort, additionally 

suggest the values from VTR are 

overestimates in line with the workshop 

input. 

Furthermore, this is an estimate of 

gross revenue from displaced effort, and 

fishermen could relocate that displaced 

effort to an area outside the closure and 

still generate revenue. The effort and 

costs associated with obtaining the 

catch elsewhere is likely to be higher 

than the that associated with any 

displaced fishing (if it is even 

economically, biologically, or 

geographically feasible). Otherwise, 

fishermen would presumably be fishing 

these other locations. Nevertheless, the 

gross revenue displaced can be viewed 

as a likely overestimated upper bound 

on impacts to the fishery. 


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1As discussed later in the preamble, the use of 

the VTR data was leading to an overestimate of the 

potential displacement of effort because of the lack 

of precision in the data. Furthermore, the VTR 

analysis provides an estimate of gross revenue of 

displaced effort, and fishermen could relocate that 

displaced effort to an area outside the closure and 

still generate revenue. 

The commenters did not provide any 

additional information to consider. 

Comment 7: NEAq and two 

individuals commented that the 

economic benefit provided by deep-sea 

coral habitat to the ecosystem and the 

nation outweighs the economic impacts 

of prohibiting fishing in these areas. 

NEAq further commented that, ‘‘Deepsea corals may provide a number of 

other ecosystem services, including 

serving as paleoclimatic records of past 

ocean conditions, providing sources of 

material that may be used in the 

production of novel pharmaceutical 

compounds, and sequestering excess 

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If 

deep-sea corals in the proposed 

protected area provide just 1 percent of 

the value that NOAA prescribes to 

shallow-water coral ecosystems, the 

deep-sea coral ecosystems protected 

through this proposed rule may be 

valued at over $42 million annually, or 

about 6 times the revenue extracted by 

fishing. We urge NMFS to continue 

studying and exploring deep-sea coral 

communities to understand better and 

properly evaluate the contribution of 

deep-sea corals to biological diversity, 

habitat, and human health.’’ 

Response: NOAA continues to 

conduct research on deep-sea coral. For 

example, after the Council developed 

this action, in 2019 NOAA’s Office of 

Ocean Exploration and Research 

conducted surveys in both areas and 

documented many previously unknown 

high-density coral and sponge 

communities, as well as coexisting 

commercially harvested species. On one 

expedition alone, 26 of the 35 samples 

collected extended known species’ 

habitat ranges, and some may be 

previously unknown to science. Surveys 

also discovered the deepest high-density 

community known in the Northeast U.S. 

at 2,700 m (8,750 ft) deep. The NOAA 

Deep Sea Coral Research and 

Technology Program (DSCRTP) is 

supporting analysis of this new 

information to inform future decisionmaking. 

Also in 2019, NOAA’s Office of 

Science and Technology, National 

Systematics Lab, Northeast Fisheries 

Science Center, Dalhousie University, 

and Fisheries and Oceans Canada led a 

U.S.-Canada transboundary expedition. 

Compared to the deeper New England 

slope and canyons, extremely high coral 

densities were observed in the Gulf of 

Maine. Remotely operated vehicle 

surveys documented commercially 

important fish and shellfish in 

previously unknown deep-sea coral 

gardens. The DSCRTP intends to begin 

the next New England and Mid-Atlantic 

Deep-Sea Coral Initiative starting in 

2022, continuing fieldwork through 

2024, followed by analysis of this data 

in 2025. This information was 

unavailable to the Council at the time 

this rule was developed. We expect the 

Council will consider this information 

and any other newly discovered and 

available information in future deep-sea 

coral actions. 

Further, attempting to balance the 

value of all coral in areas managed 

through the Deep Sea Coral Amendment 

against the value of fishing in these 

areas does not provide an accurate view 

of the benefits of this action. The 

benefits derived from conservation 

actions undertaken in the Deep Sea 

Coral Amendment stem from the 

difference between no action (status 

quo) and the alternatives chosen. This is 

primarily the change in coral function 

and extent before and after this action. 

We expect that this action will preserve 

coral and promote its vitality, which is 

expected to provide benefits as noted by 

NEAq. However, comparing the total 

value generated from the stock of deep 

sea coral against the value of past 

fishing activity provides an inapt 

description of the benefits of this action. 

A more accurate view is a consideration 

of the net benefits due to increased 

conservation of deep sea coral along 

with the net benefits maintained by the 

fishery from its potential displacement 

of effort as compared to status quo. 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this Amendment and final rule are 

consistent with the Omnibus Deep-Sea 

Coral Amendment, other provisions of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law. 

The Office of Management and Budget 

determined this rule to be significant for 

purposes of Executive Order 12866. The 

suite of preferred alternatives in this 

action mitigate a substantial proportion 

of the negative impacts to the 

commercial fisheries compared to other 

alternatives in the document. However, 

this comes along with a trade-off with 

any conservation benefits associated 

with deep sea coral protection, the value 

of which are uncertain at this time. As 

described above, the intent of this action 

is to freeze the footprint of existing 

fishing, and this action was developed 

through the Council process with 

significant input from the fishing 

industry. The VTR data analysis 

indicates that between $10–$15 million 

in gross revenue will be potentially 

displaced under the preferred 

alternative, although analysis of the 

vessel monitoring system data suggests 

this revenue number is an 

overestimate.1 Furthermore, this is an 

estimate of gross revenue from 

displaced effort, and fishermen could 

relocate that displaced effort to an area 

outside the closure and still generate 

revenue. A description of and caveats 

associated with the impact analyses 

undertaken in support of this action can 

be found in section 7.1 of the EA. The 

discussion in section 7.1 of the EA 

includes issues associated with 

quantifying the full range of costs and 

benefits associated with the 

Amendment. The expected effects of 

each alternative relative to the status 

quo for the fishery-related businesses 

and communities are discussed in 

sections 7.2–7.4 of the EA, and a 

discussion of the benefits and costs of 

the preferred alternative can be found in 

section 1.2 of the FRFA. 

This final rule does not contain 

policies with federalism or ‘‘takings’’ 

implications, as those terms are defined 

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

respectively. 

This action does not contain any 

collection-of-information requirements 

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. 

Pursuant to section 604 of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), NMFS 

has completed a FRFA in support of this 

action. The FRFA incorporates the 

IRFA, a summary of the significant 

issues raised by public comments in 

response to the IRFA (see below), NMFS 

responses to those comments (as 

described above in the Comments and 

Responses section of this final rule), and 

a summary of the analyses completed in 

the Omnibus Deep-Sea Coral 

Amendment EA in section 11.3. In 

addition, because of the unusual delay 

between the Council’s adoption of the 

Amendment and this final rule, NMFS 

prepared a standalone FRFA to recast 

analyses from 2014 constant dollars to 

2020 constant dollars to be more 

accessible to the general public. A 

summary of the IRFA was published in 

the proposed rule for this action and is 

not repeated here. A description of why 

this action was considered, the 

objectives of, and the legal basis for this 

rule is contained in the Amendment and 

in the preambles to the proposed rule 

and this final rule, and is not repeated 

here. All of the documents that 

constitute the FRFA are available from 

NMFS and/or the Council, and a copy 


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of the IRFA, RIR, the FRFA, and the EA 

are available upon request (see 

ADDRESSES). Following are additional 

elements of the FRFA. 

A Summary of the Significant Issues 

Raised by the Public in Response to the 

IRFA, a Summary of the Agency’s 

Assessment of Such Issues, and a 

Statement of Any Changes Made in the 

Final Rule as a Result of Such 

Comments 

The proposed rule solicited public 

comment on whether the VTR analysis 

indicates that large and small businesses 

are facing substantially similar impact 

levels overall, although the most highly 

exposed small businesses generate a 

larger fraction of their overall revenue 

from areas within the preferred 

alternative when compared to large 

businesses. Two individuals expressed 

concern regarding this issue but did not 

provide any additional information to 

consider. See Comment 6 above. 

The proposed rule also solicited 

public comment on value estimates for 

the benefits associated with deep-sea 

coral conservation. The NEAq and two 

individuals commented that the 

economic benefit of the ecosystem 

services that deep-sea coral habitat 

provides outweighs the economic 

impacts of prohibiting fishing in these 

areas. NEAq further commented that, 

‘‘Deep-sea corals may provide a number 

of other ecosystem services, including 

serving as paleoclimatic records of past 

ocean conditions, providing sources of 

material that may be used in the 

production of novel pharmaceutical 

compounds, and sequestering excess 

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If 

deep-sea corals in the proposed 

protected area provide just 1 percent of 

the value that NOAA prescribes to 

shallow-water coral ecosystems, the 

deep-sea coral ecosystems protected 

through this proposed rule may be 

valued at over $42 million annually, or 

about 6 times the revenue extracted by 

fishing.’’ See Comment 7 above. As 

explained above, NMFS did not make 

any changes to the proposed rule as a 

result of these comments. 

Description and Estimate of the Number 

of Small Entities to Which This Rule 

Would Apply 

The description and estimate of the 

number of small entities that is available 

in the proposed rule was presented in 

2014 constant dollars. However, because 

of the unusual delay between the 

Council’s completion of the 

Amendment and this final rule, NMFS 

recast this analysis from 2014 constant 

dollars to 2020 constant dollars to be 

more accessible to the general public. 

The RFA recognizes three kinds of 

small entities: Small businesses, small 

organizations, and small governmental 

jurisdictions. Small organizations and 

small governmental jurisdictions are not 

directly regulated by this action. For 

RFA purposes only, 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 engaged in 

commercial fishing (NAICS 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 has 

combined annual receipts not in excess 

of $11 million for all its affiliated 

operations worldwide. Throughout this 

section, revenue is presented in 2020 

dollars, for consistency with the 

remainder of the document, although 

classification was made using 2017 

dollars, consistent with SBA guidelines. 

Further, SBA rules of affiliation are used 

to define a business entity. Thus, the 

following analysis is conducted upon 

unique business interests, which can 

represent multiple vessel-level permits. 

The Deep-Sea Coral Amendment 

regulates all fishermen with federal 

permits allowing the holder to fish in 

the federal waters off Southern New 

England, Georges Bank, and the Gulf of 

Maine. In 2017, this represents 10 large 

commercial fishing businesses, 3,832 

small commercial fishing businesses 

and 351 recreational for-hire businesses. 

However, based on VTR data, only ∼200 

of these small businesses had any 

documented fishing activity in the coral 

protection zone from 2015 to 2017, 

annually. Total revenue from estimates 

used in entity classification can be 

found in Table 1. 

TABLE 1—TOTALS FOR REVENUE ESTIMATES USED FOR ENTITY CLASSIFICATION, IN $2020 

Year Size Entity type Total revenue Commercial 

revenue 

For-hire 

revenue 

2015 ............... Large Business ................................ Commercial Fishing ......................... $201,865,333 $201,865,333 $0 

2016 ............... Large Business ................................ Commercial Fishing ......................... 214,552,827 214,548,464 4,363 

2017 ............... Large Business ................................ Commercial Fishing ......................... 224,672,712 224,672,712 0 

2015 ............... Small Business ................................. Commercial Fishing ......................... 1,073,834,819 1,072,683,887 1,150,932 

2016 ............... Small Business ................................. Commercial Fishing ......................... 1,177,052,910 1,176,007,530 1,045,380 

2017 ............... Small Business ................................. Commercial Fishing ......................... 1,103,842,263 1,102,971,802 870,461 

2015 ............... Small Business ................................. Recreational For-hire ....................... 111,023,269 55,709,178 55,314,091 

2016 ............... Small Business ................................. Recreational For-hire ....................... 116,426,502 58,483,088 57,943,414 

2017 ............... Small Business ................................. Recreational For-hire ....................... 109,749,129 55,131,243 54,617,886 

Taking the recast analysis in 2020 

constant dollars and public comments 

into consideration, NMFS has identified 

no additional significant alternatives 

that accomplish statutory objectives and 

minimize any significant economic 

impacts of the rule on these small 

entities. This is because the recreational 

for-hire sector is not active in the 

management regions identified in this 

action, and the alternatives considered 

were developed to take into account 

impacts on entities fishing in these 

areas. Further, the new size standards 

for for-hire vessels do not affect the 

decision to prepare a final regulatory 

flexibility analysis as opposed to a 

certification for this action. This is 

because all for-hire entities in the region 

are already classified as small 

businesses. 

Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements of the Final Rule 

This action contains no new 

collection-of-information, reporting, or 

recordkeeping requirements. There are 

potential economic impacts to small 

entities associated with this rule. Those 

impacts are described in detail in the 

Final Omnibus Deep Sea Coral 

Amendment, specifically, in the FRFA 

section 1.2.4.2 and in the analysis of the 

impacts on human communities in 

section 7.1.3 of the EA, which is still 

applicable. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
33558 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 120 / Friday, June 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

Description of the Steps the Agency Has 

Taken To Minimize the Significant 

Economic Impact on Small Entities 

Consistent With the Stated Objectives of 

Applicable Statutes 

Throughout the development of this 

action the Council considered public 

comments on how fisherman would be 

impacted. On March 13 and 15, 2017, 

the Council held workshops in New 

Bedford, MA, and Portsmouth, NH, 

respectively, to discuss the coral zone 

boundaries, considering the canyon and 

slope zones on Georges Bank (broad 

zone) at the first meeting, and the 

offshore Gulf of Maine zones at the 

second. Based on these discussions at 

the Council’s coral workshops, it was 

determined that the designation of a 

broad coral protection zone in waters no 

shallower than 600 m causes little 

change in bottom trawl, trap/pot, and 

gillnet effort, and that the use of the 

VTR data was leading to an overestimate 

of the potential displacement of effort 

because of the lack of precision in the 

data. Furthermore, the VTR analysis 

provides an estimate of gross revenue of 

displaced effort, and fishermen could 

relocate that displaced effort to an area 

outside the closure and still generate 

revenue. The preferred alternative that 

this action implements is a direct result 

of input gathered at these workshops. In 

addition, the Council exempted the red 

crab fishery from these restrictions in 

the Georges Bank Deep-Sea Coral 

Protection Area because it is a small 

fishery that takes place entirely within 

the protection area, and prohibiting the 

red crab effort from the area would 

essentially end the red crab fishery. 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

will publish one or more guides to assist 

small entities in complying with the 

rule, and will designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity 

compliance guides.’’ The agency will 

explain the actions a small entity is 

required to take to comply with a rule 

or group of rules. As part of this 

rulemaking process, a bulletin to permit 

holders that also serves as a small entity 

compliance guide was prepared. This 

final rule and the guide (i.e., bulletin) 

will be sent via email to the Greater 

Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office 

scallop email list and are available on 

the website at: http://

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/. 

Hard copies of the guide and this final 

rule will be available upon request (see 

ADDRESSES). 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and 

reporting requirements. 

Dated: June 17, 2021. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE 

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 648 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 2. In § 648.14, add paragraphs (b)(13) 

through (15) to read as follows: 

§ 648.14 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(13) Fish with bottom-tending gear 

within the Georges Bank Deep-Sea Coral 

Protection Area described at 

§ 648.373(a)(2), unless transiting 

pursuant to § 648.373(d) or fishing red 

crab trap gear in accordance with 

§ 648.264. Bottom-tending gear 

includes, but is not limited to, bottomtending otter trawls, bottom-tending 

beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, nonhydraulic dredges, bottom-tending 

seines, bottom longlines, pots and traps, 

and sink or anchored gill nets. 

(14) Fish with bottom-tending mobile 

gear within the Mount Desert Rock 

Coral Protection Area described at 

§ 648.373(b), unless transiting pursuant 

to § 648.373(d). Bottom-tending mobile 

gear includes, but is not limited, to otter 

trawls, beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, 

non-hydraulic dredges, and seines (with 

the exception of a purse seine). 

(15) Fish with bottom-tending mobile 

gear within the Outer Schoodic Ridge 

Coral Protection Area described at 

§ 648.373(c), unless transiting pursuant 

to § 648.373(d). Bottom-tending mobile 

gear includes, but is not limited to, otter 

trawls, beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, 

non-hydraulic dredges, and seines (with 

the exception of a purse seine). 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 648.371 revise paragraph (d) 

and add paragraph (f) to read as follows: 

§ 648.371 Dedicated Habitat Research 

Areas. 

* * * * * 

(d) Transiting. Unless otherwise 

restricted or specified in this paragraph 

(d), a vessel may transit the Dedicated 

Habitat Research Areas of this section 

provided that its prohibited gear is 

stowed and not available for immediate 

use as defined in § 648.2. 

* * * * * 

(f) Jordan Basin Dedicated Habitat 

Research Area. (1) The Jordan Basin 

DHRA is defined by the following 

coordinates, connected in the order 

listed by straight lines: 

TABLE 3 TO PARAGRAPH (f)(1) 

Point Longitude Latitude 

DHRA1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°51.38′ 43°27.47′ 

DHRA2 ..................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°47.38′ 43°27.46′ 

DHRA3 ..................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°47.18′ 43°16.92′ 

DHRA4 ..................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°51.05′ 43°17.05′ 

DHRA1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°51.38′ 43°27.47′ 

(2) Fishing vessels, regardless of gear 

type, may fish within the Jordan Basin 

DHRA. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. Add § 648.373 to read as follows: 

§ 648.373 New England Deep-Sea Coral 

Protection Areas 

(a) Georges Bank Deep-Sea Coral 

Protection Area. (1) No vessel may fish 

with bottom-tending gear within the 

Georges Bank Deep-Sea Coral Protection 

Area described in this section, unless 

transiting pursuant to paragraph (d) of 

this section or fishing red crab trap gear 

in accordance with § 648.264. Bottomtending gear includes, but is not limited 

to, bottom-tending otter trawls, bottomtending beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, 

non-hydraulic dredges, bottom-tending 

seines, bottom longlines, pots and traps, 

and sink or anchored gillnets. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 120 / Friday, June 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 33559 

(2) The Georges Bank Deep-Sea Coral 

Protection Area is bound on the west by 

the New England/Mid-Atlantic Intercouncil Boundary line (detailed in 

paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section); 

bound on the north by a simplified line 

(detailed in paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this 

section) following the 600m depth 

contour along the southern flank of 

Georges Bank; and bound on the east 

and south by the U.S.-Canada Maritime 

Boundary and the outer limit of the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone (detailed in 

paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section). 

(i) The western boundary is defined 

by the following coordinates, connected 

in the order listed, south to north, by 

straight lines: 

TABLE 1 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2)(i) 

Point Longitude Latitude Note 

1 ................................................................................................................................................... ¥68°47.62′ 38°2.21′ (1) 

2 ................................................................................................................................................... ¥68°49.99′ 38°4.84′ 

3 ................................................................................................................................................... ¥68°57.35′ 38°13.00′ 

4 ................................................................................................................................................... ¥69°4.73′ 38°21.15′ 

5 ................................................................................................................................................... ¥69°12.13′ 38°29.29′ 

6 ................................................................................................................................................... ¥69°19.57′ 38°37.42′ 

7 ................................................................................................................................................... ¥69°27.03′ 38°45.54′ 

8 ................................................................................................................................................... ¥69°34.53′ 38°53.66′ 

9 ................................................................................................................................................... ¥69°42.05′ 39°1.77′ 

10 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°49.60′ 39°9.86′ 

11 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°57.18′ 39°17.96′ 

12 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°4.78′ 39°26.04′ 

13 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°12.42′ 39°34.11′ 

14 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°20.09′ 39°42.18′ 

15 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°27.78′ 39°50.24′ 

16 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°31.64′ 39°54.26′ 

17 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°32.09′ 39°54.72′ (2) 

Notes: 

(1) POINT 1 represents the outer limit of the US EEZ. 

(2) POINT 17 represents where the western and northern boundaries meet. 

(ii) The northern (nearshore) 

boundary is defined by the following 

coordinates, connected in the order 

listed, west to east, by straight lines. 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2)(ii) 

Point Longitude Latitude Note 

17 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°32.09′ 39°54.72′ (3) 

18 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°29.83′ 39°59.78′ 

19 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°28.72′ 39°54.41′ 

20 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°27.52′ 39°53.44′ 

21 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°26.05′ 39°53.13′ 

22 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°23.81′ 39°53.13′ 

23 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°22.44′ 39°53.72′ 

24 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°21.97′ 39°54.94′ 

25 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°20.12′ 39°53.97′ 

26 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°16.98′ 39°53.60′ 

27 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°17.35′ 39°54.55′ 

28 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°16.99′ 39°54.77′ 

29 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°17.55′ 39°57.01′ 

30 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°16.69′ 39°57.06′ 

31 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°14.54′ 39°57.75′ 

32 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°13.64′ 39°58.44′ 

33 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°12.58′ 39°58.82′ 

34 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°12.16′ 39°58.32′ 

35 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°13.85′ 39°56.68′ 

36 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°14.29′ 39°56.56′ 

37 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°12.51′ 39°55.18′ 

38 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°11.17′ 39°55.2′ 

39 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°11.19′ 39°54.34′ 

40 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°10.33′ 39°53.64′ 

41 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°7.98′ 39°54.17′ 

42 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°6.99′ 39°54.94′ 

43 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°6.56′ 39°53.85′ 

44 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°4.99′ 39°53.24′ 

45 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°02.97′ 39°52.62′ 

46 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°02.70′ 39°53.66′ 

47 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°01.24′ 39°54.69′ 

48 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥70°00.34′ 39°53.26′ 

49 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°59.41′ 39°52.49′ 

50 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°57.88′ 39°52.61′ 

51 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°57.05′ 39°53.05′ 


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TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2)(ii)—Continued 

Point Longitude Latitude Note 

52 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°56.35′ 39°53.59′ 

53 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°56.11′ 39°54.94′ 

54 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°55.76′ 39°55.08′ 

55 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°54.62′ 39°53.23′ 

56 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°53.02′ 39°54.29′ 

57 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°52.21′ 39°54.39′ 

58 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°52.34′ 39°53.64′ 

59 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°50.97′ 39°53.36′ 

60 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°50.65′ 39°53.73′ 

61 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°49.45′ 39°52.85′ 

62 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°49.63′ 39°52.32′ 

63 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°48.88′ 39°52.96′ 

64 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°47.91′ 39°52.54′ 

65 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°48.06′ 39°51.85′ 

66 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°42.35′ 39°52.03′ 

67 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°42.19′ 39°52.68′ 

68 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°41.32′ 39°52.27′ 

69 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°39.66′ 39°52.33′ 

70 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°40.03′ 39°53.03′ 

71 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°39.34′ 39°53.81′ 

72 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°38.51′ 39°53.04′ 

73 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°38.11′ 39°53.27′ 

74 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°37.59′ 39°52.38′ 

75 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°36.93′ 39°51.89′ 

76 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°36.99′ 39°53.42′ 

77 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°37.44′ 39°53.85′ 

78 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°37.02′ 39°54.34′ 

79 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°37.52′ 39°55.59′ 

80 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°37.01′ 39°57.70′ 

81 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°36.71′ 39°56.34′ 

82 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°36.27′ 39°55.53′ 

83 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°34.57′ 39°54.60′ 

84 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°33.63′ 39°52.98′ 

85 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°32.47′ 39°52.93′ 

86 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°31.87′ 39°53.95′ 

87 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°30.29′ 39°53.10′ 

88 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°29.48′ 39°53.43′ 

89 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°28.95′ 39°54.14′ 

90 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°27.35′ 39°54.43′ 

91 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°27.56′ 39°53.86′ 

92 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°26.77′ 39°53.38′ 

93 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°26.07′ 39°53.97′ 

94 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°25.88′ 39°53.50′ 

95 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°24.94′ 39°53.79′ 

96 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°24.47′ 39°53.50′ 

97 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°23.95′ 39°54.81′ 

98 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°23.32′ 39°54.05′ 

99 ................................................................................................................................................. ¥69°21.95′ 39°54.09′ 

100 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°21.07′ 39°54.38′ 

101 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°20.72′ 39°54.97′ 

102 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°19.83′ 39°54.78′ 

103 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°19.16′ 39°55.00′ 

104 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°18.60′ 39°56.03′ 

105 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°18.28′ 39°55.46′ 

106 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°17.12′ 39°55.53′ 

107 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°16.92′ 39°56.20′ 

108 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°16.27′ 39°55.87′ 

109 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°15.58′ 39°56.29′ 

110 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°14.44′ 39°57.54′ 

111 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°13.82′ 39°57.37′ 

112 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°13.47′ 39°58.01′ 

113 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°12.44′ 39°56.95′ 

114 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°12.06′ 39°57.69′ 

115 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°11.10′ 39°56.69′ 

116 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°10.92′ 39°57.04′ 

117 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°10.86′ 39°58.26′ 

118 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°10.40′ 39°58.14′ 

119 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°10.07′ 39°59.85′ 

120 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°08.70′ 39°59.01′ 

121 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°07.72′ 39°59.00′ 

122 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°07.97′ 39°58.50′ 

123 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°07.00′ 39°57.74′ 


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TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2)(ii)—Continued 

Point Longitude Latitude Note 

124 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°06.31′ 39°57.59′ 

125 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°05.31′ 39°58.82′ 

126 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°04.61′ 39°58.14′ 

127 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°04.44′ 39°58.88′ 

128 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°03.89′ 39°58.95′ 

129 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°04.27′ 40°00.04′ 

130 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°03.33′ 40°00.15′ 

131 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°03.04′ 40°00.45′ 

132 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°03.43′ 40°02.96′ 

133 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°02.67′ 40°04.10′ 

134 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°03.34′ 40°05.17′ 

135 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°02.91′ 40°05.86′ 

136 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°02.12′ 40°04.15′ 

137 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°01.85′ 40°02.32′ 

138 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°01.28′ 40°01.87′ 

139 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥69°00.75′ 40°01.92′ 

140 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°59.76′ 40°00.83′ 

141 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°59.08′ 40°01.51′ 

142 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°58.63′ 40°00.89′ 

143 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°57.67′ 40°00.45′ 

144 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°56.65′ 40°00.44′ 

145 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°56.3′ 40°00.92′ 

146 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°55.27′ 40°00.56′ 

147 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°55.34′ 40°01.22′ 

148 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°53.97′ 40°01.40′ 

149 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°53.58′ 40°00.82′ 

150 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°53.14′ 40°01.24′ 

151 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°52.73′ 40°00.99′ 

152 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°51.53′ 40°02.81′ 

153 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°50.76′ 40°03.08′ 

154 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°50.10′ 40°03.77′ 

155 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°50.40′ 40°04.73′ 

156 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°48.94′ 40°04.35′ 

157 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°49.05′ 40°05.84′ 

158 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°48.11′ 40°05.05′ 

159 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°47.58′ 40°03.99′ 

160 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°47.90′ 40°03.25′ 

161 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°47.71′ 40°02.93′ 

162 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°46.96′ 40°03.36′ 

163 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°46.51′ 40°04.02′ 

164 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°46.21′ 40°03.41′ 

165 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°45.61′ 40°03.36′ 

166 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°45.44′ 40°03.86′ 

167 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°45.08′ 40°03.60′ 

168 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°45.11′ 40°04.24′ 

169 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°44.63′ 40°04.06′ 

170 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°44.12′ 40°04.58′ 

171 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°43.78′ 40°02.68′ 

172 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°42.97′ 40°03.02′ 

173 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°42.28′ 40°01.90′ 

174 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°41.01′ 40°02.72′ 

175 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°41.16′ 40°03.54′ 

176 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°41.50′ 40°04.04′ 

177 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°41.06′ 40°04.02′ 

178 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°40.15′ 40°05.30′ 

179 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°39.31′ 40°04.19′ 

180 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°38.69′ 40°04.57′ 

181 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°37.78′ 40°03.47′ 

182 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°37.07′ 40°04.08′ 

183 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°36.76′ 40°03.68′ 

184 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°36.36′ 40°04.02′ 

185 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°36.55′ 40°04.82′ 

186 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°35.91′ 40°05.56′ 

187 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°35.16′ 40°04.83′ 

188 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°33.63′ 40°04.04′ 

189 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°32.76′ 40°04.76′ 

190 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°32.44′ 40°05.91′ 

191 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°31.58′ 40°05.48′ 

192 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°30.88′ 40°05.81′ 

193 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°30.89′ 40°06.29′ 

194 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°30.29′ 40°06.40′ 

195 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°31.11′ 40°06.95′ 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
33562 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 120 / Friday, June 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2)(ii)—Continued 

Point Longitude Latitude Note 

196 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°30.46′ 40°07.60′ 

197 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°30.46′ 40°08.19′ 

198 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°29.29′ 40°08.05′ 

199 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°29.48′ 40°09.55′ 

200 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°30.08′ 40°11.48′ 

201 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°28.16′ 40°10.69′ 

202 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°27.41′ 40°10.95′ 

203 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°27.66′ 40°10.26′ 

204 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°26.67′ 40°09.09′ 

205 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°26.81′ 40°07.63′ 

206 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°25.20′ 40°06.46′ 

207 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°24.46′ 40°06.12′ 

208 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°24.07′ 40°07.70′ 

209 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°23.39′ 40°07.29′ 

210 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°22.17′ 40°07.15′ 

211 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°21.86′ 40°08.26′ 

212 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°22.03′ 40°08.77′ 

213 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°21.58′ 40°08.86′ 

214 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°20.52′ 40°09.57′ 

215 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°19.88′ 40°09.36′ 

216 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°19.14′ 40°10.44′ 

217 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°18.51′ 40°10.02′ 

218 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°17.72′ 40°09.64′ 

219 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°17.76′ 40°10.66′ 

220 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°16.86′ 40°10.68′ 

221 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°16.78′ 40°11.65′ 

222 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°16.70′ 40°12.27′ 

223 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°16.81′ 40°13.24′ 

224 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°16.29′ 40°14.68′ 

225 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°14.75′ 40°13.04′ 

226 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°14.00′ 40°12.79′ 

227 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°13.88′ 40°12.21′ 

228 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°13.14′ 40°11.49′ 

229 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°13.30′ 40°12.07′ 

230 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°12.84′ 40°12.48′ 

231 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°12.54′ 40°13.08′ 

232 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°12.20′ 40°12.80′ 

233 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°11.51′ 40°13.48′ 

234 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°10.65′ 40°12.05′ 

235 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°10.05′ 40°13.00′ 

236 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°08.65′ 40°12.16′ 

237 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°08.33′ 40°13.06′ 

238 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°08.60′ 40°14.17′ 

239 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°08.15′ 40°15.30′ 

240 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°08.33′ 40°15.56′ 

241 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°09.02′ 40°16.17′ 

242 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°08.73′ 40°16.56′ 

243 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°09.02′ 40°17.94′ 

244 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°08.82′ 40°18.63′ 

245 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°09.14′ 40°21.96′ 

246 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°09.19′ 40°22.96′ 

247 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°07.89′ 40°24.16′ 

248 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°08.53′ 40°22.91′ 

249 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°08.36′ 40°21.85′ 

250 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°07.94′ 40°20.88′ 

251 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°07.22′ 40°19.75′ 

252 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°06.28′ 40°17.81′ 

253 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°05.00′ 40°16.41′ 

254 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°03.61′ 40°17.70′ 

255 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°03.27′ 40°15.88′ 

256 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°02.93′ 40°15.07′ 

257 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°01.95′ 40°14.69′ 

258 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°00.78′ 40°15.22′ 

259 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥68°00.67′ 40°15.85′ 

260 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°59.14′ 40°14.75′ 

261 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°58.80′ 40°15.83′ 

262 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°58.28′ 40°15.58′ 

263 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°57.85′ 40°16.63′ 

264 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°57.58′ 40°17.38′ 

265 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°56.51′ 40°16.19′ 

266 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°55.99′ 40°16.45′ 

267 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°55.23′ 40°14.90′ 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 120 / Friday, June 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 33563 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2)(ii)—Continued 

Point Longitude Latitude Note 

268 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°54.31′ 40°16.24′ 

269 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°53.88′ 40°17.41′ 

270 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°52.96′ 40°16.95′ 

271 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°52.29′ 40°17.18′ 

272 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°52.46′ 40°19.25′ 

273 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°52.26′ 40°19.59′ 

274 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°52.88′ 40°20.05′ 

275 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°52.54′ 40°20.86′ 

276 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°53.31′ 40°21.24′ 

277 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°53.07′ 40°22.08′ 

278 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°51.62′ 40°21.24′ 

279 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°51.26′ 40°20.48′ 

280 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°49.97′ 40°18.81′ 

281 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°49.29′ 40°18.78′ 

282 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°49.49′ 40°18.49′ 

283 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°49.40′ 40°18.13′ 

284 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°49.12′ 40°18.09′ 

285 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°47.94′ 40°15.79′ 

286 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°46.47′ 40°16.00′ 

287 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°46.23′ 40°16.37′ 

288 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°45.61′ 40°16.18′ 

289 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°45.80′ 40°16.54′ 

290 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°45.66′ 40°17.53′ 

291 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°45.34′ 40°18.75′ 

292 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°44.52′ 40°18.25′ 

293 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°44.13′ 40°18.39′ 

294 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°43.50′ 40°18.84′ 

295 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°43.42′ 40°18.00′ 

296 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°42.81′ 40°18.27′ 

297 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°42.61′ 40°17.62′ 

298 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°41.69′ 40°17.88′ 

299 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°41.81′ 40°19.20′ 

300 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°42.61′ 40°20.29′ 

301 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°39.96′ 40°22.27′ 

302 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°40.38′ 40°24.07′ 

303 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°39.92′ 40°25.32′ 

304 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°39.77′ 40°24.13′ 

305 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°39.64′ 40°23.12′ 

306 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°39.20′ 40°21.31′ 

307 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°39.88′ 40°20.41′ 

308 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°39.06′ 40°19.39′ 

309 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°37.75′ 40°18.86′ 

310 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°37.54′ 40°19.41′ 

311 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°36.18′ 40°19.12′ 

312 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°35.49′ 40°20.23′ 

313 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°34.74′ 40°19.65′ 

314 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°34.16′ 40°21.13′ 

315 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°33.06′ 40°20.46′ 

316 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°32.36′ 40°21.41′ 

317 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°31.99′ 40°20.77′ 

318 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°30.93′ 40°20.91′ 

319 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°30.69′ 40°20.52′ 

320 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°30.02′ 40°21.66′ 

321 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°29.38′ 40°21.09′ 

322 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°28.94′ 40°21.57′ 

323 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°28.35′ 40°22.81′ 

324 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°27.79′ 40°22.19′ 

325 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°26.75′ 40°21.57′ 

326 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°25.66′ 40°22.31′ 

327 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°25.43′ 40°22.61′ 

328 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°25.30′ 40°23.42′ 

329 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°25.36′ 40°24.34′ 

330 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°25.16′ 40°24.64′ 

331 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°25.53′ 40°24.93′ 

332 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°24.73′ 40°25.43′ 

333 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°24.13′ 40°27.58′ 

334 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°23.69′ 40°24.23′ 

335 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°22.74′ 40°23.27′ 

336 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°21.70′ 40°23.12′ 

337 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°21.33′ 40°23.77′ 

338 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°20.68′ 40°23.40′ 

339 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°20.05′ 40°24.39′ 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
33564 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 120 / Friday, June 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2)(ii)—Continued 

Point Longitude Latitude Note 

340 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°19.11′ 40°23.85′ 

341 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°18.75′ 40°25.17′ 

342 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°18.09′ 40°24.77′ 

343 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°17.32′ 40°25.14′ 

344 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°17.33′ 40°25.59′ 

345 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°16.37′ 40°25.50′ 

346 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°15.62′ 40°25.40′ 

347 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°15.19′ 40°25.64′ 

348 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°14.76′ 40°26.24′ 

349 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°14.99′ 40°26.93′ 

350 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°13.99′ 40°26.63′ 

351 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°13.29′ 40°27.31′ 

352 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°12.58′ 40°26.87′ 

353 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°12.77′ 40°27.74′ 

354 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°12.23′ 40°28.01′ 

355 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°12.05′ 40°27.56′ 

356 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°11.37′ 40°27.75′ 

357 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°10.84′ 40°27.12′ 

358 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°10.19′ 40°27.14′ 

359 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°09.05′ 40°28.84′ 

360 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°07.83′ 40°28.25′ 

361 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°07.55′ 40°28.65′ 

362 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°07.58′ 40°29.49′ 

363 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°05.80′ 40°28.71′ 

364 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°04.83′ 40°29.41′ 

365 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°04.52′ 40°29.86′ 

366 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°03.56′ 40°29.83′ 

367 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°03.27′ 40°31.27′ 

368 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°01.67′ 40°30.25′ 

369 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°00.06′ 40°31.03′ 

370 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°59.48′ 40°31.63′ 

371 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°00.01′ 40°32.61′ 

372 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°59.56′ 40°32.78′ 

373 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°00.34′ 40°34.03′ 

374 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°01.15′ 40°34.92′ 

375 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥67°01.25′ 40°36.83′ 

376 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°59.94′ 40°35.55′ 

377 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°59.40′ 40°35.40′ 

378 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°58.89′ 40°35.52′ 

379 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°58.73′ 40°34.91′ 

380 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°58.44′ 40°34.94′ 

381 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°58.13′ 40°35.50′ 

382 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°57.52′ 40°34.93′ 

383 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°57.43′ 40°35.42′ 

384 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°56.72′ 40°35.16′ 

385 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°56.44′ 40°35.81′ 

386 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°56.09′ 40°35.36′ 

387 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°55.56′ 40°35.65′ 

388 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°55.61′ 40°34.90′ 

389 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°54.85′ 40°34.42′ 

390 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°54.68′ 40°35.40′ 

391 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°52.45′ 40°36.18′ 

392 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°52.51′ 40°36.80′ 

393 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°51.93′ 40°36.82′ 

394 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°51.88′ 40°37.40′ 

395 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°51.38′ 40°37.30′ 

396 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°51.44′ 40°37.81′ 

397 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°50.36′ 40°37.77′ 

398 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°50.78′ 40°38.81′ 

399 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°49.27′ 40°38.41′ 

400 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°48.84′ 40°38.70′ 

401 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°49.25′ 40°39.85′ 

402 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°47.92′ 40°39.57′ 

403 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°47.83′ 40°39.82′ 

404 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°47.79′ 40°40.82′ 

405 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°46.91′ 40°40.33′ 

406 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°46.02′ 40°40.07′ 

407 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°45.89′ 40°41.47′ 

408 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°44.79′ 40°41.19′ 

409 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°44.30′ 40°41.37′ 

410 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°44.17′ 40°42.32′ 

411 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°43.43′ 40°42.42′ 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 120 / Friday, June 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 33565 

TABLE 2 TO PARAGRAPH (a)(2)(ii)—Continued 

Point Longitude Latitude Note 

412 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°42.39′ 40°42.67′ 

413 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°42.87′ 40°44.75′ 

414 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°42.49′ 40°45.21′ 

415 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°42.67′ 40°45.83′ 

416 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°43.02′ 40°46.23′ 

417 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°41.12′ 40°45.96′ 

418 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°40.98′ 40°45.61′ 

419 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°40.63′ 40°45.35′ 

420 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°39.37′ 40°45.98′ 

421 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°39.74′ 40°46.65′ 

422 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°39.99′ 40°46.93′ 

423 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°39.23′ 40°46.97′ 

424 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°38.17′ 40°47.99′ 

425 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°37.69′ 40°47.13′ 

426 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°36.94′ 40°47.36′ 

427 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°37.05′ 40°47.83′ 

428 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°36.49′ 40°47.87′ 

429 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°36.12′ 40°48.59′ 

430 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°35.63′ 40°48.13′ 

431 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°35.30′ 40°48.35′ 

432 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°35.35′ 40°49.96′ 

433 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°34.96′ 40°50.30′ 

434 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°34.50′ 40°50.33′ 

435 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°34.26′ 40°50.91′ 

436 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°34.76′ 40°51.34′ 

437 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°33.57′ 40°51.38′ 

438 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°34.29′ 40°52.10′ 

439 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°33.55′ 40°52.16′ 

440 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°33.32′ 40°52.70′ 

441 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°32.88′ 40°52.69′ 

442 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°32.62′ 40°51.96′ 

443 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°32.01′ 40°51.53′ 

444 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°30.28′ 40°53.07′ 

445 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°30.69′ 40°53.61′ 

446 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°30.15′ 40°53.84′ 

447 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°30.14′ 40°54.17′ 

448 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°30.67′ 40°54.62′ 

449 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°28.81′ 40°54.47′ 

450 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°28.84′ 40°55.04′ 

451 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°28.16′ 40°55.03′ 

452 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°27.30′ 40°55.99′ 

453 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°25.16′ 40°58.14′ 

454 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°24.11′ 40°59.64′ 

455 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°24.37′ 41°00.32′ 

456 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°23.57′ 41°00.33′ 

457 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°22.61′ 41°01.68′ 

458 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°23.05′ 41°02.64′ 

459 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°24.77′ 41°03.86′ 

460 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°24.03′ 41°04.11′ 

461 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°24.60′ 41°04.95′ 

462 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°22.60′ 41°04.23′ 

463 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°21.17′ 41°04.35′ 

464 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°21.11′ 41°05.02′ 

465 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°19.77′ 41°04.45′ 

466 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°18.07′ 41°06.00′ 

467 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°18.24′ 41°07.82′ 

468 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°17.07′ 41°08.68′ 

469 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°16.90′ 41°08.93′ 

470 ............................................................................................................................................... ¥66°16.86′ 41°08.98′ (4) 

Notes: 

(3) POINT 17 represents where the western and northern boundaries meet. 

(4) POINT 470 represents the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary. 

(iii) The eastern and southern 

boundary (from Point 470) follows the 

U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary 

southeasterly to its intersection with the 

outer limit of the U.S. Exclusive 

Economic Zone. The boundary then 

follows the outer limit of the U.S. 

Exclusive Economic Zone southwesterly 

back to its origin at POINT 01. 

(b) Mount Desert Rock Coral 

Protection Area. (1) No vessel may fish 

with bottom-tending mobile gear, as 

defined in § 648.2, within the Mount 

Desert Rock Coral Protection Area 

described in this section, unless 

transiting pursuant to paragraph (d) of 

this section. Bottom-tending mobile gear 

includes, but is not limited to, otter 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
33566 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 120 / Friday, June 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

trawls, beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, 

non-hydraulic dredges, and seines (with 

the exception of a purse seine). 

(2) The Mount Desert Rock Coral 

Protection Area is defined by the 

following coordinates, connected in the 

order listed by straight lines: 

TABLE 3 TO PARAGRAPH (b)(2) 

Point Longitude Latitude 

MDR1 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥68°13.16′ 43°56.99′ 

MDR2 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥68°12.00′ 43°57.00′ 

MDR3 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥68°11.45′ 43°56.17′ 

MDR4 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥68°12.21′ 43°52.62′ 

MDR5 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥68°14.32′ 43°52.11′ 

MDR1 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥68°13.16′ 43°56.99′ 

(c) Outer Schoodic Ridge Coral 

Protection Area. (1) No vessel may fish 

with bottom-tending mobile gear, as 

defined in § 648.2, within the Outer 

Schoodic Ridge Coral Protection Area 

described in this section, unless 

transiting pursuant to paragraph (d) of 

this section. Bottom-tending mobile gear 

includes, but is not limited to, otter 

trawls, beam trawls, hydraulic dredges, 

non-hydraulic dredges, and seines (with 

the exception of a purse seine). 

(2) The Outer Schoodic Ridge Coral 

Protection Area is defined by the 

following coordinates, connected in the 

order listed by straight lines: 

TABLE 4 TO PARAGRAPH (c)(2) 

Point Longitude Latitude 

OSR1 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°35.60′ 44°13.49′ 

OSR2 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°33.10′ 44°12.56′ 

OSR3 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°39.70′ 44°02.48′ 

OSR4 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°42.29′ 44°03.48′ 

OSR1 ....................................................................................................................................................................... ¥67°35.60′ 44°13.49′ 

(d) Transiting. Vessels may transit the 

New England Deep-Sea Coral 

Management Areas defined in this 

section, provided bottom-tending trawl 

nets are out of the water and stowed on 

the reel and any other fishing gear that 

is prohibited in these areas is onboard, 

out of the water, and not deployed. 

Fishing gear is not required to meet the 

definition of ‘‘not available for 

immediate use’’ in § 648.2, when a 

vessel transits the New England DeepSea Coral Management Areas. 

(e) Framework adjustments. The 

Council may at any time initiate a 

framework adjustment to add or adjust 

management measures within the New 

England Deep-Sea Coral Management 

Areas if it finds that action is necessary 

to meet or be consistent with the goals 

and objectives of those areas. The 

Council shall develop and analyze 

appropriate management actions over 

the span of at least two Council 

meetings. The Council shall provide the 

public with advance notice of the 

availability of both the proposals and 

the analyses, and opportunity to 

comment on them prior to and at the 

second Council meeting. Measures that 

may be changed or implemented 

through framework action include: 

(1) Adding, revising, or removing 

coral areas; 

(2) Changing fishing restrictions in 

coral areas; and 

(3) Developing new, or changing 

existing, coral area fishery access or 

exploratory fishing programs. 

[FR Doc. 2021–13293 Filed 6–24–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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