[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 120 (Friday, June 25, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33552-33553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13619]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 201214-0337]
RIN 0648-BJ98


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Golden Tilefish 
Fishery; Extension of Emergency Action

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Temporary rule; emergency action extension.

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SUMMARY: This temporary rule extends emergency measures that allow a 
limited one-time carryover of up to 5 percent of unharvested fishing 
quota from the 2020 fishing year into the 2021 fishing year. This 
action is necessary to allow the golden tilefish individual fishing 
quota shareholders that were eligible for carryover under the emergency 
measures, but have not yet fully harvested that carryover, an 
opportunity to use it. This action is intended to provide additional 
time for quota shareholders to fully harvest their allocations.

DATES: The expiration date of the emergency rule published December 21, 
2020 (85 FR 82944) is extended to November 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Supplemental Information Report prepared for 
the 2021-2022 Golden Tilefish Specifications and emergency action are 
available from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 North State Street, Dover, 
Suite 201, DE 19901. These documents are also accessible via the 
internet at http://www.mafmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Potts, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9341.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    At the request of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, NMFS 
published a final rule on December 21, 2020 (85 FR 82944) that 
implemented emergency action for the Tilefish Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP) to allow a one-time carryover of unharvested Individual Fishing 
Quota (IFQ) from fishing year 2020 to 2021, up to 5 percent of the 
original 2020 allocation. A proposed rule for this action was published 
on November 13, 2020 (85 FR 72616) with a comment period through 
November 30, 2020. No comments were received on the emergency action.
    The tilefish IFQ program does not normally allow any carryover of 
unharvested allocation from one fishing year into the next. Unforeseen 
changes in the market for seafood resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, 
particularly the loss of restaurant sales due to local closure orders, 
substantially reduced demand for golden tilefish during the 2020 
fishing year. Because of this unprecedented impact on the fishery, we 
implemented this one-time carry over under our emergency rulemaking 
authority specified in section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act.
    This action extends this emergency action past the current 
expiration date of June 19, 2021, until the start of the next golden 
tilefish fishing year on November 1, 2021. This will allow tilefish IFQ 
quota shareholders who have not yet had an opportunity to harvest the 
IFQ pounds they carried over additional time to take full advantage of 
this opportunity.
    Each IFQ quota shareholder was eligible to carry over 2020 golden 
tilefish quota pounds that were not harvested before the end of the 
2020 fishing year, up to a maximum amount of 5 percent of their initial 
2020 quota pounds. Of the 10 entities that hold quota share in the 
golden tilefish IFQ program, 5 had unharvested quota pounds at the end 
of the 2020 fishing year and were able to carry over some of those 
quota pounds into the 2021 fishing year. Some quota shareholders have 
already harvested their carryover while others have not yet taken full 
advantage of this opportunity. Extending this emergency action ensures 
that all those who received carryover are able to fully benefit from 
these measures.
    NMFS's policy guidelines for the use of emergency rules (62 FR 
44421; August 21, 1997) specify the following three criteria that 
define what an emergency situation is, and justification for final 
rulemaking: (1) The emergency results from recent, unforeseen events or 
recently discovered circumstances; (2) the emergency presents serious 
conservation or management problems in the fishery; and (3) the 
emergency can be addressed through emergency regulations for which the 
immediate benefits outweigh the value of advance notice, public 
comment, and deliberative consideration of the impacts on participants 
to the same extent as would be expected under the normal rulemaking 
process. NMFS's policy guidelines further provide that emergency action 
is justified for certain situations where emergency action would 
prevent significant direct economic loss, or to preserve a significant 
economic opportunity that otherwise might be foregone. As noted in the 
December 21, 2020, final rule, NMFS has determined that allowing the 
carryover of unharvested tilefish IFQ quota pounds as described above 
meets the three criteria for emergency action.
    Section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act specifies that emergency 
regulations may only remain in effect for 180 days from the date of 
publication and may be extended for one additional period of not more 
than 186 days. Extending this action until the start of the next 
fishing year on November 1, 2021, would only be 135 days.

Classification

    NMFS is issuing this temporary rule pursuant to section 305(c) of 
the Magnuson Stevens Act, which authorizes NMFS to implement 
regulations at the request of the Council to address an emergency in 
the fishery. The Acting Assistant Administrator Fisheries, NOAA has 
determined that this rule is consistent with the Tilefish FMP, other 
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
    Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Acting Assistant Administrator 
Fisheries, NOAA finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in 
effectiveness for this rule. This rule extends some measures of the 
rule currently in place through the end of the current fishing year. 
The need for this extension was fully anticipated and announced to the 
public in the initial emergency rule which published on December 21, 
2020. Accordingly, the entities affected by this rule and the public 
have no need to be made aware of or adjust to this rule by delaying its 
effectiveness for 30 days. The primary reason for delaying the 
effectiveness of Federal regulations is not present, and, therefore, 
such a delay would serve no public purpose. It would be contrary to the 
public interest if the emergency measures are allowed to expire on June 
19, 2021, because tilefish IFQ quota shareholders could lose any 
remaining carryover granted by

[[Page 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]
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