Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 27, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 24875 

Definitions 

The following definitions apply to the 

final supplementary rules. 

Camping: The erecting of a tent or 

shelter of natural or synthetic material, 

preparing a sleeping bag or other 

bedding material for use, parking of a 

motor vehicle, motor home or trailer, or 

mooring of a vessel, for the apparent 

purpose of overnight occupancy while 

engaged in recreational activities such 

as hiking, hunting, fishing, bicycling, 

sightseeing, off-road vehicle activities, 

or other generally recognized forms of 

recreation. 

Klondike Bluffs Mountain Bike Focus 

Area: Public land located east of U.S. 

Highway 191, west of Arches National 

Park, north of the Dalton Wells Road 

and south of the block of State land near 

Interstate 70. A map of the area can be 

viewed at the Moab Field Office or in 

the Klondike Bluffs EA. 

Portable Toilet: (1) A containerized 

and reusable system; (2) A commercially 

available biodegradable system that is 

landfill disposable (e.g., Rest Stop, GoAnywhere Toilet Kit or ‘‘WAG bag’’); or 

(3) A washable, reusable toilet within a 

camper, trailer or motor home. 

The following rules apply to the 

Klondike Bluffs Mountain Bike Focus 

Area and a nearby 160-acre parcel: 

(1) You must camp at a designated 

site. 

(2) You must not dispose of human 

waste in any other container than a 

portable or constructed toilet. 

(3) You must not cut, gather, or collect 

wood. 

Penalties 

Under Section 303(a) of the Federal 

Land Policy and Management Act of 

1976, 43 U.S.C. 1733(a) and 43 CFR 

8360.0–7, any person who violates any 

of these supplementary rules on public 

lands within Utah may be tried before 

a United States Magistrate and fined no 

more than $1,000, imprisoned for no 

more than 12 months, or both. Such 

violations may also be subject to the 

enhanced fines provided for by 18 

U.S.C. 3571. 

Exemptions 

Any Federal, State, local, or military 

persons acting within the scope of their 

official duties; members of an organized 

rescue or firefighting force in 

performance of an official duty; and 

persons who are expressly authorized or 

approved by the BLM. 

Gregory Sheehan, 

Bureau of Land Management, Utah State 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08859 Filed 4–26–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–DQ–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 220421–0101: RTID 0648– 

XX078] 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Northeast Multispecies 

Fishery; 2022 Allocation of Northeast 

Multispecies Annual Catch 

Entitlements 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule allocates 

annual catch entitlements to groundfish 

sectors for the 2022 fishing year and 

approves changes to previously 

approved sector operations plans. This 

rule also denies four novel sector 

exemption requests. The action is 

necessary because sectors must receive 

allocations in order to operate in fishing 

year 2022. This action will allow 

limited access permit holders to 

continue to operate sectors, and to 

exempt sectors from certain effort 

control regulations to improve the 

efficiency and economics of sector 

vessels. 

DATES: Northeast multispecies annual 

catch entitlements for sectors are 

effective May 1, 2022, through April 30, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of each sector’s 

operations plan and contract are 

available from the NMFS Greater 

Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office: 

Contact Claire Fitz-Gerald at Claire.FitzGerald@noaa.gov, Kyle Molton at 

Kyle.Molton@noaa.gov, or Samantha 

Tolken at Samantha.Tolken@noaa.gov. 

These documents are also accessible via 

the GARFO website. To view these 

documents and the Federal Register 

documents referenced in this rule, you 

can visit: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/management-plan/northeastmultispecies-management-plan. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kyle 

Molton, Fishery Management Specialist, 

(978) 281–9236. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Northeast Multispecies Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP) defines a 

sector as ‘‘a group of persons holding 

limited access Northeast multispecies 

permits who have voluntarily entered 

into a contract and agree to certain 

fishing restrictions for a specified period 

of time, and which has been granted a 

TAC(s) [sic] in order to achieve 

objectives consistent with applicable 

FMP goals and objectives.’’ A sector 

must be comprised of at least three 

Northeast multispecies permits issued 

to at least three different persons, none 

of whom have any common ownership 

interest in the permits, vessels, or 

businesses associated with the permits 

issued [to] the other two or more 

persons in that sector. Sectors are selfselecting, meaning participation is 

voluntary, and each sector can choose 

its members. 

The Northeast multispecies sector 

management system annually allocates a 

portion of the Northeast multispecies 

stocks to each sector. These annual 

sector allocations are known as annual 

catch entitlements (ACE) and are based 

on the collective fishing history of a 

sector’s members. Sectors may receive 

allocations of large-mesh Northeast 

multispecies stocks with the exception 

of Atlantic halibut, windowpane 

flounder, Atlantic wolffish, and ocean 

pout, which are non-allocated species 

managed under separate effort controls. 

ACEs are portions of a stock’s annual 

catch limit (ACL) available to 

commercial Northeast multispecies 

vessels. A sector determines how to 

harvest its ACE. 

Because sectors elect to receive an 

allocation under a quota-based system, 

the FMP grants sector vessels several 

universal exemptions from the FMP’s 

effort controls. These universal 

exemptions apply to: Trip limits on 

allocated stocks; portions of the Gulf of 

Maine (GOM) Cod Protection Closures; 

Northeast multispecies days-at-sea 

(DAS) restrictions; the requirement to 

use a 6.5-inch (16.5-cm) mesh codend 

when fishing with selective gear on 

Georges Bank (GB); and the requirement 

to use a 6.5-inch (16.5-cm) mesh codend 

when fishing under the provisions of 

the Redfish Exemption Program. The 

FMP allows the Council to add 

universal exemptions using the 

framework adjustment procedure. 

Sectors may request additional 

exemptions annually as part of their 

sector operations plans to increase 

flexibility and fishing opportunities. 

Sectors are prohibited from requesting 

exemptions from permitting restrictions, 

gear restrictions designed to minimize 

habitat impacts, and most reporting 

requirements. 

In addition to the sectors, there are 

several state-operated permit banks that 

each receive an allocation based on the 

fishing history of permits they hold. The 

final rule implementing Amendment 17 


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24876 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 27, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

to the FMP allowed a state-operated 

permit bank to receive an allocation 

without needing to comply with sector 

administrative and procedural 

requirements (77 FR 16942; March 23, 

2012). Instead, permit banks are 

required to submit a list of permits to 

NMFS, as specified in the permit bank’s 

Memorandum of Agreement between 

NMFS and the state. These permits are 

not assigned to active vessels; instead, 

the allocations associated with the 

permits may be leased to vessels 

enrolled in sectors. State-operated 

permit banks contribute to the total 

allocation under the sector system. 

We have previously approved 16 

sectors to operate in fishing years 2021 

and 2022 and also approved 19 

requested exemptions for sectors (86 FR 

22898; April 30, 2021). Because all 

approved operations plans cover two 

fishing years, approved sectors may 

continue operations and the approved 

exemptions in fishing year 2022. Copies 

of the operations plans and contracts, 

the environmental assessment (EA), and 

other supporting documents are 

available at: https://www.fisheries.

noaa.gov/species/northeast-multispecies 

and from NMFS (see ADDRESSES). This 

action makes 2022 allocations to sectors 

based on the specifications set by the 

New England Fishery Management 

Council in Framework Adjustments 59 

and 61 to the FMP. This action also 

announces default catch limits for two 

management units which do not have 

specifications in place for fishing year 

2022. This action also approves several 

changes to already approved sector 

operations plans and denies four 

requests for novel sector exemptions. 

Catch Limits for Fishing Year 2022 

Previously Established and Default 

Catch Limits 

Framework 59 (85 FR 45794; July 30, 

2020) and Framework 61 (86 FR 40353; 

July 28, 2021) to the FMP previously set 

fishing year 2022 catch limits for all 

groundfish stocks. However, neither 

Framework 59 or 61 specified 2022 

catch limits for Eastern GB cod or 

Eastern GB haddock. Eastern GB cod 

and haddock are management units of 

the GB cod and GB haddock stocks that 

NMFS manages jointly with Canada, 

and the shared quota is set annually. 

This year, in Framework 63 to the 

FMP, the Council adopted new or 

adjusted fishing year 2022 catch limits 

for: GOM cod; GB cod; GB haddock; GB 

yellowtail flounder; and white hake. 

Framework 63 would set 2022 catch 

limits for the two U.S./Canada 

management units (Eastern GB cod and 

Eastern GB haddock). We have 

published a proposed rule for 

Framework 63 (87 FR 23482; April 20, 

2022), however, we will not be able to 

implement Framework 63 measures, if 

approved, before May 1, 2022. 

As a result, the sector and common 

pool allocations in this rule are based on 

the 2022 catch limits set in Framework 

59 and 61 that will be effective on May 

1, 2022 (Table 1), default catch limits for 

Eastern GB cod and Eastern GB haddock 

(Table 2), and preliminary 2022 fishing 

year rosters. If we approve Framework 

63, the 2022 catch limits announced in 

this rule for these stocks will change 

when Framework 63 measures become 

effective. 

This rule also announces default 

catch limits for Eastern GB cod, and 

Eastern GB haddock (Table 2). These 

stocks do not already have a catch limit 

in place for fishing year 2022. The 

groundfish regulations implement 

default catch limits for any stock for 

which final specifications are not in 

place by the beginning of the fishing 

year on May 1. The FMP’s default 

specifications provision sets catch at 35 

percent of the previous year’s (2021) 

catch limits, except in instances where 

the default catch limit would exceed the 

Council’s recommendation. The default 

catch limits are effective from May 1 

through July 31, or until the final rule 

for Framework 63 is implemented if 

prior to July 31. To comply with these 

regulations and minimize impacts on 

the fishery we are announcing these 

default specifications. If Framework 63 

is not in place on or before July 31, all 

fishing for these management units will 

be prohibited beginning August 1. 

Catch Limit Changes for GB Cod 

The previously set fishing year 2022 

U.S. Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC) 

for GB cod is 1,308 mt, which will be 

in place on May 1. The Council 

recommended a fishing year 2022 US 

ABC of 343 mt for GB cod in Framework 

63. This is a 74-percent decrease, which 

will go into effect after May 1 if 

Framework 63 is approved. The 

Council’s recommendations will be 

further discussed in the Framework 63 

proposed rule. We are highlighting this 

change in this rule because the GB cod 

sector allocations approved in this rule 

are based on the previously set 2022 

catch limits. If the Council’s 

recommended catch limits become final 

with no changes, the U.S. ABC and 

resulting sector allocations for this stock 

will be reduced when Framework 63 is 

implemented, and allocations will be 

changed in accordance with that 

reduction. 

TABLE 1—NORTHEAST MULTISPECIES CATCH LIMITS FOR 2022 

Stock Total U.S. ABC 

(mt) 

Commercial 

groundfish 

sub-ACL 

(mt) 

GB Cod * ...................................................................................................................................................... 1,308 1,093.1 

GOM Cod * ................................................................................................................................................... 552 270.4 

GB Haddock * .............................................................................................................................................. 81,242 72,250.4 

GOM Haddock ............................................................................................................................................. 11,526 7,055.9 

GB Yellowtail Flounder * .............................................................................................................................. 80 63.6 

SNE/MA Yellowtail Flounder ....................................................................................................................... 22 15.6 

CC/GOM Yellowtail Flounder ...................................................................................................................... 823 691.9 

American Plaice ........................................................................................................................................... 2,825 2,630.1 

Witch Flounder ............................................................................................................................................. 1,483 1,317.3 

GB Winter Flounder ..................................................................................................................................... 608 563.2 

GOM Winter Flounder ................................................................................................................................. 497 280.9 

SNE/MA Winter Flounder ............................................................................................................................ 456 288.1 

Redfish ......................................................................................................................................................... 10,062 9,558.9 

White Hake * ................................................................................................................................................ 2,147 2,019.3 

Pollock ......................................................................................................................................................... 16,812 14,134.7 

N. Windowpane Flounder ............................................................................................................................ 160 107.9 

S. Windowpane Flounder ............................................................................................................................ 384 42.9 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 27, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 24877 

TABLE 1—NORTHEAST MULTISPECIES CATCH LIMITS FOR 2022—Continued 

Stock Total U.S. ABC 

(mt) 

Commercial 

groundfish 

sub-ACL 

(mt) 

Ocean Pout .................................................................................................................................................. 87 49.8 

Atlantic Halibut ............................................................................................................................................. 101 73.4 

Atlantic Wolffish ........................................................................................................................................... 92 85.6 

* These catch limits are based on previously set fishing year 2022 specifications and will be replaced when the final rule for Framework 63 becomes effective, if approved. 

TABLE 2—DEFAULT CATCH LIMITS FOR

2022 

Stock 

Groundfish 

sub-ACL 

(mt) 

Eastern GB Cod * ..................... 66.7 

Eastern GB Haddock * .............. 2,270.1 

* These catch limits are based on default 

specifications and will be replaced when the 

final rule for Framework 63 becomes effective, 

if approved. 

Operations Plan Submissions and 

Changes 

Annually, we solicit operations plan 

submissions for consideration for 

approval; however, sectors already 

approved to operate in fishing years 

2021 and 2022 were not required to 

submit operations plans for 2022. We 

did not receive any new operations 

plans for approval for fishing year 2022. 

As a result, there will be no additional 

sectors authorized to operate in fishing 

year 2022 beyond those previously 

approved. 

Although no new operations plans 

were submitted we did receive several 

requests to modify existing sector 

operations plans that we are approving. 

Sectors may request changes to 

operations plans as needed to 

implement administrative changes to 

their operations. Several sectors 

requested changes related to electronic 

monitoring (EM), including adding 

audit model EM plans to their existing 

operations plans, updates to methods 

used to estimate discards, and revised 

language authorizing the sharing of 

confidential data to support EM 

program operations. Additionally, 

several sectors requested modifications 

that would add NMFS-approved 

maximized retention electronic 

monitoring (MREM) program language 

to their sector operations plans. The 

addition of MREM language would 

allow for a more seamless transition to 

MREM for sectors vessels should it be 

approved for operation for all sectors in 

fishing year 2022. Several sectors also 

requested operations plan modifications 

to add a description of a gear conflict 

reduction agreement that sector 

members have agreed to in order to limit 

gear conflicts between sector groundfish 

and lobster vessels. We are approving 

these changes to existing sector 

operations plans. 

Sector Allocations for Fishing Year 

2022 

This rule makes 2022 ACE allocations 

to all sectors based on their preliminary 

2022 sector rosters. These allocations 

are based on the May 1, 2022, ACL for 

each stock. Because sectors are 

operating under 2-year operations plans 

for fishing years 2021 and 2022, these 

allocations would allow vessels enrolled 

in sectors to operate under their existing 

operations plan, as approved. 

For fishing year 2022, we set a 

deadline for sectors to submit 

preliminary sector rosters by February 

28, 2022, in order to determine rosters 

for final rulemaking and allocations. 

However, rosters published in this rule 

may still not reflect the final ACE 

allocation for fishing 2022 because all 

permits enrolled in a sector, and the 

vessels associated with those permits, 

have until April 30, 2022, to withdraw 

from a sector and fish in the common 

pool for fishing year 2022. As a result, 

the total permits participating in sectors 

for fishing year 2022 could change from 

the preliminary rosters included in this 

rule, but such changes are expected to 

be minimal based on past fishing years. 

We calculate the sector’s allocation 

for each stock by summing its members’ 

potential sector contributions (PSC) for 

a stock and then multiplying that total 

percentage by the available commercial 

sub-ACL for that stock. Table 3 shows 

the total PSC for each sector by stock for 

fishing year 2022. Tables 4 and 5 show 

the estimated allocations that each 

sector will receive, in pounds and 

metric tons, respectively, for fishing 

year 2022, based on their preliminary 

fishing year 2022 rosters. We provide 

the final allocations, to the nearest 

pound, to each sector based on their 

final May 1 rosters. We use these final 

allocations, along with later adjustments 

including ACE transfers, reductions for 

overages, or increases for carryover, to 

monitor sector catch. The common pool 

sub-ACLs are also included in each of 

these tables. The common pool sub-ACL 

is managed separately from sectors and 

does not contribute to available ACE for 

leasing or harvest by sector vessels. 

We do not assign separate PSCs for 

the Eastern GB cod or Eastern GB 

haddock; instead, we assign each permit 

a PSC for the GB cod stock and GB 

haddock stock. Each sector’s GB cod 

and GB haddock allocations are then 

divided into an Eastern ACE and a 

Western ACE, based on each sector’s 

percentage of the GB cod and GB 

haddock ACLs. For example, if a sector 

is allocated 4 percent of the GB cod 

ACL, the sector is allocated 4 percent of 

the commercial Eastern U.S./Canada 

Area GB cod total allowable catch (TAC) 

as its Eastern GB cod. The Eastern GB 

haddock allocations are determined in 

the same way. These amounts are then 

subtracted from the sector’s overall GB 

cod and haddock allocations to 

determine its Western GB cod and 

haddock ACEs. A sector may only 

harvest its Eastern GB cod and haddock 

ACEs in the Eastern U.S./Canada Area. 

A sector may also ‘‘convert,’’ or transfer, 

its Eastern GB cod or haddock allocation 

into Western GB allocation and fish that 

converted ACE outside the Eastern GB 

area. 

We expect to finalize 2021 catch 

information for sectors in summer 2022. 

We will allow sectors to transfer fishing 

year 2021 ACE for two weeks upon our 

completion of year-end catch 

accounting to reduce or eliminate any 

fishing year 2021 overages. If necessary, 

we will reduce any sector’s fishing year 

2022 allocation to account for a 

remaining overage in fishing year 2021. 

Each year we notify the Council and 

sector managers of this deadline and 

announce this decision on our website 

at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

species/northeast-multispecies. 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

ER27AP22.000</GPH>lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

1 

·; i 1l i = a i I § i 

! 

a u i ·i 

j i ., :;: li .: :;: 

'-' 8 :;: .. es 

es 0 ., u 0 '-' '-' '-' " 

Fixed Gear Sector 64 11.57437434 0.70089617 1.55519582 0.18102677 0.01097362 0.19081548 1.71017673 0.50290396 1.09923355 0.02017438 8.03466759 0.9909559

Maine Coast 109 2.16020889 16.02246610 3.05041844 12.27952652 1.65881234 2.43176803 6.42304059 15.55482796 12.32711923 0.75080575 7.96502545 1.8303895

Community Sector 

Maine Penn.it Bank 11 0.13420443 1.15723293 0.04447830 1.12476158 0.01383913 0.03193513 0.31910182 1.16557943 0.72761271 0.00021871 0.42712661 0.01808815 

Mooncusser Sector 48 12.01246812 6.23497319 3.84352772 3.68933703 1.22858724 0.85891785 3.02327800 0.85900641 1.81413333 0.95225711 2.85065686 2.4713602

NEFS2 114 6.42274393 24.14546365 10.59892380 20.65374023 1.63512775 1.23149902 22.86714581 9.63101617 12.97671001 3.21922867 21.78882166 4.0967609NEFS4 58 7.43563310 11.16605718 5.83717898 8.87641414 2.17153621 2.27336558 6.41190111 9.52747738 8.86565245 0.69751694 7.43888383 1.0021303

NEFS 5 22 0.47764689 0.32230808 0.81002718 0.11416074 1.26973702 18.61360666 0.95098662 0.44282304 0.62677707 0.43005854 0.84495369 1 l.43390161 

NEFS6 23 3.12782423 2.92650355 3.59851426 4.39743319 3.31836153 5.13539140 4.19995133 4.55719164 6.01292714 1.73420349 4.75759934 1.9273214

NEFS7 8 0.46511153 0.02295198 0.39870508 0.01682869 1.30597646 1.04216498 0.05141221 0.25101541 0.25426560 0.30404575 0.05435503 0.1911586

NEFS8 52 9.79065018 2.36556099 9.22601400 5.08858566 22.23228769 7.58620726 6.91185249 7.62246791 6.36740827 29.95464952 3.95680202 10.3235728

NEFS 10 30 0.53019689 2.61458523 0.17733240 1.32984406 0.00115364 0.56810314 4.45627686 1.21947025 2.12396902 0.01090896 9.43507929 0.61343625 

NEFS 11 43 0.39806922 11.57156727 0.03481596 2.78899264 0.00149043 0.01152054 2.44672751 1.59062293 1.60498045 0.00308144 2.05187740 0.02145695 

NEFS 12 21 0.63215855 3.12919672 0.09407804 1.08979160 0.00043163 0.03437315 8.61359448 0.79827496 0.62437747 0.00044212 10.30223232 0.2616071

NEFS 13 68 12.54533450 0.66418644 20.85739377 0.93004380 34.73148908 24.06494237 6.86634474 8.41818993 9.46802252 19.04059017 2.01217739 17.8483306

New Hampshire 4 0.00082581 1.14746151 0.00003417 0.03235447 0.00002035 0.00001795 0.02188704 0.02851462 0.00616587 0.00000326 0.06077592 0.0000367

Permit Bank 

Sustainable Harvest 43 7.71730833 4.89170305 10.15259191 13.79266567 6.11951078 2.26271938 4.97333175 14.07058879 12.34448379 11.83315294 3.39219724 5.8307656

Sector 1 

Sustainable Harvest 28 5.06336818 1.50908222 2.14763455 1.43830630 5.11110904 4.57576219 5.67509896 2.50453932 2.24113631 8.73243092 4.19271236 8.4608502

Sector2 

Sustainable Harvest 60 17.02657875 6.67798255 25.85930157 20.27554749 14.59688815 8.43378398 10.26983177 18.78194297 18.03593562 19.90979287 3.10984537 20.8442207

Sector3 

Common Pool 481 2.48529412 2.72982119 1.71383404 1.90063943 4.59266792 20.65310591 3.80806017 2.47354692 2.47908959 2.40643847 7.32421064 11.8336558

* This table is based on preliminary fishing year 2022 sector rosters. 

ER27AP22.001</GPH>lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

Table 4 -- Estimated ACE in 1,000 lb), by Stock, for Each Sector for Fishine: Year 2022*# 

.ail .. .. 

.... .... .ail .ail " ·; .. .. :l "' "' "O .. .. 

" .. "O " " = ::s :: .. = 

fa< = = = "O i z <:: .. = .... ] t 

u :g "O - 

"O ::s " .. 0 " .. .. = 

-

.. Sector = "O - "O 

" = .5 "O ~-g 

"O "O "O"' " -.i] I;!) = 

::s " " " .. = = = ·; = = § =~ .. = ::§ 5 u~s ::; 5 

Name u u 0 = fa< ::s >-£ .c =£ 

= = = 00 " 0~ 

= I;!) 0 = ... I;!) ... I;!) I;!) I;!) I;!) I;!) I;!) I;!) z: 00 

FGS 17 262 4 78 2,502 28 0 0 26 29 32 0 50 6 

MCCS 3 49 96 153 4,908 1,910 2 1 98 902 358 9 49 12 

MOON 18 272 37 192 6,184 574 2 0 46 50 53 12 18 16 

MPB 0 3 7 2 72 175 0 0 5 68 21 0 3 0 

NEFS2 9 145 144 530 17,053 3,213 2 0 349 558 377 40 135 26 NEFS4 11 168 67 292 9,392 1,381 3 1 98 552 257 9 46 6 NEFS5 1 11 2 41 1,303 18 2 6 15 26 18 5 5 73 NEFS6 5 71 17 180 5,790 684 5 2 64 264 175 22 29 12 NEFS7 1 11 0 20 641 3 2 0 1 15 7 4 0 1 NEFS8 14 222 14 462 14,844 792 31 3 105 442 185 372 25 66 

NEFS 

10 1 12 16 9 285 207 0 0 68 71 62 0 58 4 

NEFS 

11 1 9 69 2 56 434 0 0 37 92 47 0 13 0 

NEFS 

12 1 14 19 5 151 170 0 0 131 46 18 0 64 2 

NEFS 

13 18 284 4 1,044 33,558 145 49 8 105 488 275 236 12 113 

NHPB 0 0 7 0 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 

SHS 1 11 175 29 508 16,335 2,146 9 1 76 816 358 147 21 37 

SHS2 7 115 9 107 3,455 224 7 2 87 145 65 108 26 54 SHS3 25 385 40 1,294 41,606 3,154 20 3 157 1,089 524 247 19 132 

Common 

Pool 4 56 16 86 2,757 296 6 7 58 143 72 30 45 75 

Sector 

Total 143 2,207 580 4,919 158,137 15,260 134 27 1,467 5,655 2,832 1,212 574 560 

*This table is based on preliminary fishing year 2022 sector rosters and 2022 catch limits described in this rule. 

ilNumbers are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds. In some cases, this table shows an allocation of 0, but that sector may be allocated a small amount of that 

hundreds pounds. 
BILLING CODE 3510–22–C 


ER27AP22.002</GPH>lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1

- - - -- - - ---------- ---- ,--------- ------ 7 - ., ------7--- - ----------- --- --------- ----- ----

"CS .. 

"' "' "' == .. i = .. = .. .. .... .. i .. 

"CS "CS 0 = .. = .. -= .. .... .. 0 ... 0 .... u .... 

"' g 0 = .. .. Sector 

i "CS ~I] " i ] "' "' "CS :] .. "CS .. "CS 

u"' u :l 0 1: = ... = 

= " "CS = " "CS .. 0 "CS " .s ; ·; ;::: = ·= = 

Name " u~g i5:: 5 "~ .§ 

" 0 - 0 z=o .s z~o 

::c: ::c: ::c: .. - 00 r.:;:: u r.:;:: 00 r.:;:: " >,la,, la,, " la,, la,, 

FGS 8 119 2 35 1,135 13 0 0 12 13 14 0 23 3 

MCCS 1 22 43 69 2,226 866 1 0 44 409 162 4 22 5 

MOON 8 123 17 87 2,805 260 1 0 21 23 24 5 8 7 

MPB 0 1 3 1 32 79 0 0 2 31 10 0 1 0 

NEFS2 4 66 65 241 7,735 1,457 1 0 158 253 171 18 61 12 NEFS4 5 76 30 133 4,260 626 1 0 44 251 117 4 21 3 NEFS5 0 5 1 18 591 8 1 3 7 12 8 2 2 33 NEFS6 2 32 8 82 2,626 310 2 1 29 120 79 10 13 6 NEFS7 0 5 0 9 291 1 1 0 0 7 3 2 0 1 NEFS8 7 100 6 209 6,733 359 14 1 48 200 84 169 11 30 

NEFS 

10 0 5 7 4 129 94 0 0 31 32 28 0 27 2 

NEFS 

11 0 4 31 1 25 197 0 0 17 42 21 0 6 0 

NEFS 

12 0 6 8 2 69 77 0 0 60 21 8 0 29 1 

NEFS 

13 8 129 2 473 15,222 66 22 4 48 221 125 107 6 51 

NHPB 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 

SHS 1 5 79 13 230 7,409 973 4 0 34 370 163 67 10 17 

SHS2 3 52 4 49 1,567 101 3 1 39 66 30 49 12 24 

SHS3 11 175 18 587 18,872 1,431 9 1 71 494 238 112 9 60 

Common 

Pool 2 26 7 39 1,251 134 3 3 26 65 33 14 21 34 

Sector 

Total 65 1,001 263 2,231 71,730 6,922 61 12 666 2,565 1,285 550 260 254 

*This table is based on preliminary fishing year 2022 sector rosters and 2022 catch limits described in this rule. 

IIN"umbers are rounded to the nearest metric ton, but allocations are made in pounds. In some cases, this table shows a sector allocation of O metric tons, bu

allocated a small amount of that stock in pounds. 
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 27, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 24881 

Exemptions Previously Granted for 

Fishing Years 2021 and 2022 

Previously Granted Exemptions for 

Fishing Years 2021 and 2022 (1–18) 

We have already granted exemptions 

from the following requirements for 

fishing years 2021 and 2022, all of 

which have been requested and granted 

in previous years: (1) 120-day block out 

of the fishery required for Day gillnet 

vessels; (2) 20-day spawning block out 

of the fishery required for all vessels; (3) 

limits on the number of gillnets for Day 

gillnet vessels outside the GOM; (4) 

prohibition on a vessel hauling another 

vessel’s gillnet gear; (5) limits on the 

number of gillnets that may be hauled 

on GB when fishing under a Northeast 

multispecies/monkfish DAS; (6) limits 

on the number of hooks that may be 

fished; (7) DAS Leasing Program length 

and horsepower restrictions; (8) 

prohibition on discarding; (9) gear 

requirements in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Management Area; (10) prohibition on a 

vessel hauling another vessel’s hook 

gear; (11) the requirement to declare an 

intent to fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada 

Special Access Program (SAP) and the 

Closed Area (CA) II Yellowtail 

Flounder/Haddock SAP prior to leaving 

the dock; (12) seasonal restrictions for 

the Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP; 

(13) seasonal restrictions for the CA II 

Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP; (14) 

sampling exemption; (15) prohibition on 

combining small-mesh exempted fishery 

and sector trips in southern New 

England (SNE); (16) extra-large mesh 

requirement to target dogfish on trips 

excluded from at-sea monitoring (ASM) 

in SNE and Inshore GB; (17) 

requirement that Handgear A vessels 

carry a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) 

unit when fishing in a single broad 

stock area; and (18) limits on the 

number of gillnets for Day gillnet 

vessels in the GOM. We also approved 

an exemption from the 6.5-inch (16.5- 

cm) minimum mesh size requirement 

for trawl nets to allow a 5.5-inch (14.0- 

cm) codend on directed redfish trips, 

however, that exemption was 

eliminated in 2021 when we approved 

a new universal sector exemption for 

redfish as part of Framework 

Adjustment 61 (86 FR 40353; July 28, 

2021). A detailed description of the 

previously granted exemptions and 

supporting rationale can be found in the 

applicable final rules identified in Table 

6 below. 

TABLE 6—EXEMPTIONS PREVIOUSLY GRANTED FOR FISHING YEARS 2020 AND 2021 

Exemptions Rulemaking Date of publication Citation 

1–2, 4–9 ................ Fishing Year 2011 Sector Operations Final Rule ..................................................... April 25, 2011 ....... 76 FR 23076 

10–11 .................... Fishing Year 2012 Sector Operations Final Rule ..................................................... May 2, 2012 .......... 77 FR 26129 

12–14 .................... Fishing Year 2013 Sector Operations Interim Final Rule ......................................... May 2, 2013 .......... 78 FR 25591 

3, 15 ...................... Fishing Years 2015–2016 Sector Operations Final Rule .......................................... May 1, 2015 .......... 80 FR 25143 

16 .......................... Framework 55 Final Rule .......................................................................................... May 2, 2016 .......... 81 FR 26412 

17 .......................... Amendment 18 Final Rule ......................................................................................... April 21, 2017 ....... 82 FR 18706 

18 .......................... Fishing Year 2018 Sector Operations Final Rule ..................................................... May 1, 2018 .......... 83 FR 18965 

Northeast Multispecies Federal Register documents can be found at http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/sustainable/species/multispecies/. 

Exemption Requests Not Approved in 

Fishing Year 2022 

For fishing year 2022, sectors 

requested a total of four new 

exemptions, two related to extra-large 

mesh gillnets and EM, and two related 

to MREM and existing universal 

exemptions. We are denying all new 

sector exemption requests for fishing 

year 2022. A detailed summary of the 

exemption requests and rationale for our 

denial of their approval is included in 

the preamble for the proposed rule for 

this action (87 FR 12416; March 4, 

2022), and is not repeated here. 

Comments and Responses 

We received no comments on the 

proposed rule. As a result, this rule 

contains no comment summary or 

response to comments. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

The allocations published in the 

proposed rule were based on final 

fishing year 2021 sector rosters because 

we had not yet received preliminary 

rosters for the 2022 fishing year. The 

deadline for preliminary sector roster 

submissions for fishing year 2022 was 

February 28, 2022. The ACE allocated to 

each sector has been updated in the 

final rule to reflect preliminary sector 

enrollment for the 2022 fishing year. 

The allocations outlined in the 

proposed rule were based on fishing 

year 2022 catch limits expected under 

Framework 63. Because Framework 63 

will not be in place before May 1, 2022, 

this rule announces default 

specifications for two stocks that did not 

previously have fishing year 2022 catch 

limits, and bases 2022 allocations to 

sectors on previously established fishing 

year 2022 catch limits and those 

defaults. The ACE allocated to each 

sector has been updated in the final rule 

to reflect the previously established 

2022 catch limits and default 

specifications. 

There are no other changes from the 

proposed measures. 

Classification 

The NMFS Assistant Administrator 

has determined that this final rule is 

consistent with the Northeast 

Multispecies FMP, other provisions of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law. 

There is good cause pursuant to 5 

U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day 

delay in effective date for this final rule. 

This action allocates ACE for fishing 

year 2022 to 16 groundfish sectors in the 

Northeast multispecies fishery. This 

rule could not be completed earlier 

because required deadlines for sectors to 

submit rosters, sector exemption 

requests, and other necessary 

information to NMFS do not allow for 

the development of a rule earlier in the 

year. We must have preliminary sector 

rosters for the upcoming fishing year in 

order to allocate preliminary ACE to 

sectors. Sectors are prohibited from 

fishing without ACE allocations, as 

such, timely implementation is 

necessary to ensure that sectors may fish 

at the start of the 2022 fishing year on 

May 1, 2022. If sectors were prohibited 

from fishing while waiting for the rule 

to take effect, there would be significant 

disruption to the fishery along with 

negative economic impacts and a 

reduced ability to achieve optimum 

yield, thus undermining the intent of 

the rule. Industry members and other 

stakeholders are aware of and familiar 

with this annual process and had an 

opportunity to comment on these 

procedures during the development and 

approval of Amendment 16. 

Stakeholders also expect this process to 

ensure these actions occur in a timely 

manner. 


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24882 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 81 / Wednesday, April 27, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

This action is exempt from the 

procedures of Executive Order (E.O.) 

12866. 

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. 

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. 

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

Dated: April 21, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–08901 Filed 4–26–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 210505–0101; RTID 0648– 

XB912] 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Modification of the West Coast Salmon 

Fisheries; Inseason Actions #1 and #2 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Inseason modification of 2022 

management measures. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces two 

inseason actions in the 2022 ocean 

salmon fisheries. These inseason actions 

modify the commercial and recreational 

ocean salmon fisheries in the area from 

Cape Falcon, OR, to Point Arena, CA. 

DATES: The effective dates for the 

inseason actions are set out in this 

document under the heading Inseason 

Actions and the actions remain in effect 

until superseded or modified. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shannon Penna at 562–676–2148, 

Email: shannon.penna@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The 2021 annual management 

measures for ocean salmon fisheries (86 

FR 26425, May 14, 2021), announced 

management measures for the 

commercial and recreational fisheries in 

the area from the U.S./Canada border to 

the U.S./Mexico border, effective from 

0001 hours Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), 

May 16, 2021, until the effective date of 

the 2022 management measures, as 

published in the Federal Register. 

NMFS is authorized to implement 

inseason management actions to modify 

fishing seasons and quotas as necessary 

to provide fishing opportunity while 

meeting management objectives for the 

affected species (50 CFR 660.409). 

Inseason actions in the salmon fishery 

may be taken directly by NMFS (50 CFR 

660.409(a)—Fixed inseason 

management provisions) or upon 

consultation with the Chairman of the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council), and the appropriate State 

Directors (50 CFR 660.409(b)—Flexible 

inseason management provisions). 

Management of the salmon fisheries is 

divided into two geographic areas: 

North of Cape Falcon (NOF) (U.S./ 

Canada border to Cape Falcon, OR), and 

south of Cape Falcon (SOF) (Cape 

Falcon, OR, to the U.S./Mexico border). 

The actions described in this document 

affect only the SOF recreational salmon 

fishery, as set out under the heading 

Inseason Action below. 

Consultation on these inseason 

actions occurred on March 11, 2022, 

and March 14, 2022. Representatives 

from NMFS, Oregon Department of Fish 

and Wildlife (ODFW), California 

Department of Fish and Wildlife 

(CDFW), and Council staff participated 

in the consultations. The Council may 

consider further inseason action at its 

April 6–13, 2022, meeting. 

These inseason actions were 

announced on NMFS’ telephone hotline 

and U.S. Coast Guard radio broadcast on 

the date of the consultations (50 CFR 

660.411(a)(2)). 

Inseason Actions 

At its March 8–14, 2022, meeting, the 

Council’s Salmon Technical Team (STT) 

presented updated stock abundance 

forecasts for salmon stocks managed 

under the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP). Based on the 

STT’s report, SOF ocean salmon 

fisheries will be constrained in 2022 by 

the abundance forecast for Klamath 

River fall-run Chinook salmon (KRFC), 

which was determined to be overfished 

under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(MSA) in 2018. The forecast of potential 

spawner abundance is derived from the 

ocean abundance forecasts, ocean 

natural mortality rates, age-specific 

maturation rates, stray rates, and the 

proportion of escapement expected to 

spawn in natural areas. 

Inseason Action #1 

Description of the action: Inseason 

action #1 modifies the SOF commercial 

salmon fishery from the Heceta Bank 

Line (latitude 43°58′00′′ N), OR, to 

Humbug Mountain, OR, previously 

scheduled to open on March 15. This 

fishery is closed through April 30, 2022. 

This area is scheduled to re-open to 

commercial troll fishing on May 1, 2022. 

Effective date: Inseason action #1 took 

effect on March 15, 2021, and remains 

in effect until superseded. 

Reason and authorization for the 

action: NMFS is taking inseason action 

in the commercial salmon fisheries to 

manage and conserve SOF ocean salmon 

fishery impacts on KRFC and to provide 

additional fishing opportunity in 

adjacent areas. In Oregon, this inseason 

action takes place in the area from Cape 

Falcon to Humbug Mountain at the 

Heceta Bank Line, which is the port area 

analysis boundary used by the STT. 

This allows for finer-scale management 

of fisheries in the Northern Oregon (NO) 

(Cape Falcon to Heceta Bank Line) and 

Central Oregon (CO) (Heceta Bank Line 

to Humbug Mountain) port areas. The 

NO and CO port area impacts are 

analyzed separately by the STT and the 

environmental assessment prepared 

under the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) Final Environmental 

Assessment for 2021 Ocean Salmon 

Fisheries Management Measures 

(https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

fisheries-west-coast-states-west-coastsalmon-fisheries-2021-managementmeasures) and have different impacts on 

salmon stocks; e.g., the NO port area has 

lower impacts on KRFC than the CO 

port area. 

The West Coast Region Regional 

Administer (RA) considered the 

landings of Chinook salmon to date, 

fishery catch and effort to date, and the 

timing of the action relative to the 

length of the season, and determined 

that this inseason action was necessary 

to meet management goals set 

preseason. Inseason action to modify 

quotas and/or fishing seasons is 

authorized by 50 CFR 660.409(b)(1)(i). 

Consultation date and participants: 

Consultation on inseason action #1 

occurred on March 11, 2022. 

Representatives from NMFS, CDFW, 

ODFW, and the Council participated in 

this consultation. 


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