50320 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

Society may apply for and obtain a 

renewal of the LOA. 

(d) In the event of projected changes 

to the activity or to mitigation and 

monitoring measures required by an 

LOA, the Society must apply for and 

obtain a modification of the LOA as 

described in § 217.207. 

(e) The LOA shall set forth: 

(1) Permissible methods of incidental 

taking; 

(2) Means of effecting the least 

practicable adverse impact (i.e., 

mitigation) on the species, its habitat, 

and on the availability of the species for 

subsistence uses; and 

(3) Requirements for monitoring and 

reporting. 

(f) Issuance of the LOA shall be based 

on a determination that the level of 

taking will be consistent with the 

findings made for the total taking 

allowable under these regulations. 

(g) Notice of issuance or denial of an 

LOA shall be published in the Federal 

Register within 30 days of a 

determination. 

§ 217.57 Renewals and modifications of 

Letters of Authorization. 

(a) An LOA issued under §§ 216.106 

of this chapter and 217.206 for the 

activity identified in § 217.200(a) shall 

be renewed or modified upon request by 

the applicant, provided that: 

(1) The proposed specified activity 

and mitigation, monitoring, and 

reporting measures, as well as the 

anticipated impacts, are the same as 

those described and analyzed for these 

regulations (excluding changes made 

pursuant to the adaptive management 

provision in paragraph (c)(1) of this 

section); and 

(2) NMFS determines that the 

mitigation, monitoring, and reporting 

measures required by the previous LOA 

under these regulations were 

implemented. 

(b) For LOA modification or renewal 

requests by the applicant that include 

changes to the activity or the mitigation, 

monitoring, or reporting (excluding 

changes made pursuant to the adaptive 

management provision in paragraph 

(c)(1) of this section) that do not change 

the findings made for the regulations or 

result in no more than a minor change 

in the total estimated number of takes 

(or distribution by species or years), 

NMFS may publish a notice of proposed 

LOA in the Federal Register, including 

the associated analysis of the change, 

and solicit public comment before 

issuing the LOA. 

(c) An LOA issued under §§ 216.106 

of this chapter and 217.206 for the 

activity identified in § 217.200(a) may 

be modified by NMFS under the 

following circumstances: 

(1) Adaptive management. NMFS may 

modify (including augment) the existing 

mitigation, monitoring, or reporting 

measures (after consulting with the 

Society regarding the practicability of 

the modifications) if doing so creates a 

reasonable likelihood of more 

effectively accomplishing the goals of 

the mitigation and monitoring set forth 

in the preamble for these regulations. 

(i) Possible sources of data that could 

contribute to the decision to modify the 

mitigation, monitoring, or reporting 

measures in an LOA: 

(A) Results from the Society’s 

monitoring from the previous year(s). 

(B) Results from other marine 

mammal and/or sound or disturbance 

research or studies. 

(C) Any information that reveals 

marine mammals may have been taken 

in a manner, extent or number not 

authorized by these regulations or 

subsequent LOAs. 

(ii) If, through adaptive management, 

the modifications to the mitigation, 

monitoring, or reporting measures are 

substantial, NMFS will publish a notice 

of proposed LOA in the Federal 

Register and solicit public comment. 

(2) Emergencies. If NMFS determines 

that an emergency exists that poses a 

significant risk to the well-being of the 

species or stocks of marine mammals 

specified in LOAs issued pursuant to 

§§ 216.106 of this chapter and 217.206, 

an LOA may be modified without prior 

notice or opportunity for public 

comment. Notice would be published in 

the Federal Register within 30 days of 

the action. 

§§ 217.58–217.59 [Reserved] 

[FR Doc. 2021–19124 Filed 9–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

RIN 0648–BK68 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Amendment 21 to the Atlantic 

Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Announcement of availability of 

amendment; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the 

New England Fishery Management 

Council has submitted Amendment 21 

to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 

Management Plan, incorporating the 

Environmental Assessment and the 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, for 

review by the Secretary of Commerce, 

and is requesting comments from the 

public. This action would allow for 

more controlled access to the scallop 

resource by the limited access and 

limited access general category fleets 

and increase monitoring to support a 

growing directed scallop fishery in 

Federal waters, including the Northern 

Gulf of Maine Management Area. These 

proposed management measures are 

intended to promote conservation of the 

scallop resource in the Northern Gulf of 

Maine Management Area and to manage 

total removals from the area by all 

fishery components. Amendment 21 

would also expand flexibility in the 

limited access general category 

individual fishing quota fishery to 

reduce impacts of potential decreases in 

ex-vessel price and increases in 

operating costs. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before November 8, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: The Council has prepared a 

draft Environmental Assessment (EA) 

for this action that describes the 

proposed measures in Amendment 21 to 

the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) and other 

considered alternatives and analyzes the 

impacts of the proposed measures and 

alternatives. The Council submitted a 

draft of the amendment to NMFS that 

includes the draft EA, a description of 

the Council’s preferred alternatives, the 

Council’s rationale for selecting each 

alternative, and a Regulatory Impact 

Review (RIR). Copies of supporting 

documents used by the Council, 

including the EA and RIR, 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/ 

amendment-21. 

You may submit comments, identified 

by NOAA–NMFS–2021–0065, by: 

• Electronic Submission: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA– 

NMFS–2021–0065 in the Search box. 

Click the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete 

the required fields, and enter or attach 

your comments. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method or received after the end 

of the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Proposed Rules 50321 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Travis Ford, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9233. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

requires that each Regional Fishery 

Management Council submit any 

amendment it prepares to NMFS for 

review and approval, disapproval, or 

partial approval. The Magnuson-Stevens 

Act also requires that NMFS, upon 

receiving an amendment, immediately 

publish notification in the Federal 

Register that the amendment is 

available for public review and 

comment. The Council submitted its 

final version of Amendment 21 to the 

Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP to NMFS for 

review on August 13, 2021. NMFS has 

declared a transmittal date of August 30, 

2021. The Council has reviewed the 

Amendment 21 proposed rule 

regulations as drafted by NMFS and 

deemed them to be necessary and 

appropriate as specified in section 

303(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Background 

The Atlantic sea scallop fishery is 

prosecuted along the East Coast from 

Maine to Virginia, although most fishing 

activity takes place between 

Massachusetts and New Jersey. 

Management measures were first 

adopted in 1982, but there have been 

several major revisions to the 

management program over the following 

decades. 

Development of the Limited Access 

General Category (LAGC) Fishery 

The Council established the general 

category component as an open access 

permit category in 1994 while 

developing a limited access program for 

qualifying vessels (now the limited 

access component). Through 

Amendment 11 to the Scallop FMP (73 

FR 20090; April 14, 2008), the Council 

transitioned the general category 

component from open access to limited 

access to limit fishing mortality and 

control fleet capacity. The Council’s 

vision for the LAGC component was a 

fleet made up of relatively small vessels, 

with possession limits to maintain the 

historical character of this fleet and 

provide opportunities to various 

participants, including vessels from 

smaller coastal communities. 

Amendment 11 established three LAGC 

permit categories, which allowed for 

continued participation in the general 

category fishery at varying levels. 

Vessels that met a qualifying criteria 

were issued an LAGC individual fishing 

quota (IFQ) permit and allocated quota 

based on the ‘contribution factor’ (i.e., if 

you fished longer and landed more 

during the qualification period, you 

received a higher allocation). General 

category permit holders that did not 

meet the qualifying criteria for an LAGC 

IFQ permit were eligible to receive 

either an LAGC Northern Gulf of Maine 

(NGOM) permit or LAGC incidental 

permit. Limited access vessels that 

fished under general category rules and 

qualified under the same IFQ 

qualification criteria were issued LAGC 

IFQ permits and allocated a portion of 

(0.5 percent) of the total scallop 

allocation. Unlike vessels with only 

LAGC IFQ permits, limited access 

vessels that also qualified for an LAGC 

IFQ permit were not allowed to transfer 

quota to or from other vessels. 

NGOM Management Area 

The Council also established the 

NGOM Management Area and permit 

category through Amendment 11. The 

area was developed to enable continued 

fishing and address concerns related to 

conservation, administrative burden, 

and enforceability of scallop fishing 

within the Gulf of Maine. Amendment 

11 authorized vessels with either an 

LAGC NGOM permit or LAGC IFQ 

permit to fish within the NGOM 

Management Area at a 200 lb per day 

(91 kg per day) trip limit until the 

annual total allowable catch (TAC) for 

the area is caught. The Council did not 

recommend restrictions on limited 

access vessels fishing in the NGOM 

because the improved management and 

abundance of scallops in the major 

resource areas on Georges Bank and in 

the Mid-Atlantic region made access to 

Gulf of Maine scallops less important 

for the limited access boats and general 

category boats from other regions. From 

2008 through 2017, limited access 

vessels were able to operate in the 

NGOM management area under days-atsea (DAS) management as long as the 

LAGC TAC had not been caught. The 

initial measures were intended to allow 

directed scallop fishing in the NGOM, 

and the Council envisioned that 

management of this area would be 

reconsidered if the scallop population 

and fishery in the NGOM grew in the 

future. 

From 2009–2015 the NGOM TAC of 

70,000 lb (31,751 kg) was not caught, 

and the fishery remained open for the 

entire year. In fishing years 2016 and 

2017, there was a notable increase in 

effort in the NGOM management area by 

both LAGC and limited access vessels 

fishing the large year class of scallops 

on Stellwagen Bank, located mostly 

within the NGOM. Monitoring removals 

by the limited access component in the 

NGOM was challenging because vessels 

could fish both inside and outside 

NGOM management area while fishing 

DAS on the same trip. 

In response to the increase in effort 

and landings in the NGOM area in 2016 

and 2017, the Council developed the 

following problem statement for the 

Federal scallop fishery in the NGOM 

management area: Recent high landings 

and unknown biomass in the NGOM 

Scallop Management Area underscore 

the critical need to initiate surveys and 

develop additional tools to better 

manage the area and fully understand 

total removals. 

Recent actions have developed 

measures that allow managers to track 

fishing effort and landings by all 

components from the NGOM 

management area. The NGOM TAC is 

now based on recent survey 

information, with separate TACs for the 

limited access and LAGC components. 

These measures were intended to be a 

short-term solution to allow controlled 

fishing in the NGOM management area 

until a future action (this action) could 

be developed to address NGOM issues 

more holistically. 

LAGC IFQ Possession Limits 

The initial general category 

possession limit was set at 400 lb (181 

kg) per trip through Amendment 4 (59 

FR 2757; January 19, 1994). In 2007, 

Amendment 11 maintained the general 

category possession limit of 400 lb (181 

kg) for qualifying IFQ vessels. 

Amendment 15 (76 FR 43746; July 21, 

2011) increased the LAGC IFQ 

possession limit to 600 lb (272 kg) 

following concerns from industry 

members that the 400-lb (181-kg) 

possession limit was not economically 

feasible due to increased operating 

costs. The 200-lb (91-kg) trip limit 

increase was not expected to change the 

nature of the ‘‘day boat’’ fishery and 

would keep the LAGC IFQ component 

consistent with the vision statement laid 

out by the Council in Amendment 11. 

The Council recently completed a 

program review of the LAGC IFQ fishery 

and analyzed the impacts of changes to 

IFQ trip limits. This review found that 

increasing the possession limit for IFQ 

trips would increase flexibility in 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
50322 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

fishing decisions, which could improve 

safety. Further, a higher possession limit 

would provide increased fishing 

revenue and vessel profit. The results of 

the program review are summarized in 

the Amendment 21 scoping document, 

which can be found at this website: 

https://www.nefmc.org/library/ 

amendment-21. 

Quota Transfers by Limited Access/ 

LAGC IFQ Vessels 

Amendment 15 allowed LAGC IFQ 

permit holders to permanently transfer 

some or all of their quota allocation to 

another LAGC IFQ permit holder while 

retaining the permit itself. During 

development of Amendment 15, the 

Council considered an option that 

would have included limited access 

permit holders that also have LAGC IFQ 

permits (combo vessels) in this 

allowance; however, the Council opted 

against this option because it would 

change the overall 5-percent and 0.5- 

percent allocations specified in 

Amendment 11. For example, the 5- 

percent allocation would be expected to 

increase if a combo vessel permanently 

transferred quota to an LAGC IFQ-only 

vessel and, therefore, would have 

implications on quota accumulation 

caps that apply to LAGC IFQ-only 

permit holders (i.e., 5-percent maximum 

for owners, 2.5-percent maximum for 

individual vessels). 

The Council initiated Amendment 21 

to consider adjusting the management of 

the NGOM to allow for more controlled 

access by the limited access and LAGC 

components, to increase monitoring to 

support a growing directed scallop 

fishery in Federal waters, and to 

consider adjusting the LAGC IFQ 

program to support overall economic 

performance while allowing for 

continued participation in the general 

category fishery at varying levels. To 

address these issues the Council 

approved Amendment 21 at its 

September 2020 meeting. Amendment 

21 would: 

• Change the Annual Catch Limit 

flow chart to account for biomass in the 

NGOM as part of the Overfishing Limit 

and the Acceptable Biological Catch to 

be consistent with other portions of 

scallop resource management; 

• Develop landing limits for all 

permit categories in the NGOM and 

establish an 800,000-lb (362,874 kg) 

NGOM Set-Aside trigger for the NGOM 

directed fishery, with a sharing 

agreement for access by all permit 

categories for allocation above the 

trigger. Allocation above the trigger 

would be split 5 percent for the NGOM 

fleet and 95 percent for limited access 

and LAGC IFQ fleets; 

• Expand the scallop observer 

program to monitor directed scallop 

fishing in the NGOM by using a portion 

of the NGOM allocation to off-set 

monitoring costs; 

• Allocate 25,000 lb (11,340 kg) of the 

NGOM allocation to increase the overall 

Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) and 

support Scallop RSA compensation 

fishing; 

• Increase the LAGC IFQ possession 

limit to 800 lb (363 kg) per trip only for 

access area trips; 

• Prorate the daily observer 

compensation rate in 12-hour 

increments for observed LAGC IFQ trips 

longer than 1 day; and 

• Allow for temporary transfers of 

IFQ from limited access vessels with 

IFQ to LAGC IFQ-only vessels. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Act allows us 

to approve, partially approve, or 

disapprove measures recommended by 

the Council in an amendment based on 

whether the measures are consistent 

with the FMPs, plan amendment, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and its National 

Standards, and other applicable law. 

The Council develops policy for its 

fisheries and we defer to the Council on 

policy decisions unless those policies 

are inconsistent with the MagnusonSteven Act or other applicable law. As 

such, we are seeking comment on 

whether measures in Amendment 21 are 

consistent with the FMP, the MagnusonStevens Act and its National Standards, 

and other applicable law. Through this 

notice, NMFS seeks comments on 

Amendment 21 and its incorporated 

documents through the end of the 

comment period stated in the DATES

section of this notice of availability 

(NOA). Following the publication of this 

NOA a rule proposing the 

implementation of measures in this 

amendment is anticipated to be 

published in the Federal Register for 

public comment. Public comments must 

be received by the end of the comment 

period provided in this NOA of 

Amendment 21 to be considered in the 

approval/disapproval decision. All 

comments received by the end of the 

comment period on the NOA, whether 

specifically directed to the NOA or the 

proposed rule, will be considered in the 

approval/disapproval decision. 

Comments received after the end of the 

comment period for the NOA will not be 

considered in the approval/disapproval 

decision of Amendment 21. 

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

Dated: September 2, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19367 Filed 9–2–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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