35112 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 111 / Thursday, June 9, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

OHIO—2015 8-HOUR OZONE NAAQS—Continued 

[Primary and secondary] 

Designated area 1

Designation Classification 

Date 2 Type Date 2 Type 

Warren County. 

* * * * * * * 

1 Includes any Indian country in each county or area, unless otherwise specified. EPA is not determining the boundaries of any area of Indian 

country in this table, including any area of Indian country located in the larger designation area. The inclusion of any Indian country in the designation area is not a determination that the state has regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act for such Indian country. 2This date is August 3, 2018, unless otherwise noted. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2022–12318 Filed 6–8–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 220602–0129] 

RIN 0648–BL20 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Recreational Management 

Measures for the Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 

Fishing Year 2022 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces 

management measures for the 2022 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass recreational fisheries. The 

implementing regulations for these 

fisheries require NMFS to publish 

recreational measures for the fishing 

year. The intent of this action is to set 

management measures that allow the 

recreational fisheries to achieve, but not 

exceed, the recreational harvest limits 

and thereby prevent overfishing of the 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass stocks. 

DATES: This rule is effective June 9, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9116. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council and the Atlantic 

States Marine Fisheries Commission 

cooperatively manage summer flounder, 

scup, and black sea bass. The Council 

and the Commission’s Management 

Boards meet jointly each year to 

recommend recreational management 

measures. Recreational management 

measures are required to be set so that 

recreational harvest achieves, but does 

not exceed, the recreational harvest 

limit (RHL). 

In this final rule, NMFS is 

implementing conservation equivalency 

to manage the 2022 summer flounder 

and black sea bass recreational fisheries, 

as proposed on April 18, 2022 (87 FR 

22863). The approval of conservation 

equivalency means that we are waiving 

Federal summer flounder and black sea 

bass recreational measures in Federal 

waters, and for all federally permitted 

party/charter vessels, regardless of 

where they fish. States, through the 

Commission, are collectively 

implementing measures designed to 

constrain landings to the 2022 

recreational harvest limits. Vessels 

fishing in Federal waters and Federal 

party/charter vessels are subject to the 

regulations in the state in which they 

land. These measures are consistent 

with the recommendations of the 

Council and the Commission. 

Additional information on the 

development of these measures is 

provided in the proposed rule and not 

repeated here. 

For scup, we are implementing a 

1-inch (2.54-cm) increase to the 

minimum size, consistent with the 

recommendation of the Council and 

Board. We are not implementing a 

closure of the recreational scup fishery 

in Federal waters as originally 

proposed. The rationale for this change 

is provided below. 

Scup Recreational Management 

Measures 

We have decided not to close the 

Federal recreational scup fishery as 

proposed on April 18, 2022; 87 FR 

22863. Instead, we are implementing a 

1-inch (2.54-cm) increase to the scup 

recreational minimum size in Federal 

waters. In Federal waters, this results in 

a 10-inch (25.4-cm) total length 

minimum size. Combined with the 

1-inch (2.54-cm) size change being 

implemented by the states, an 

approximate 33-percent reduction in 

harvest is expected. 

Our rationale for implementing the 

size limit increase and not the Federal 

closure, is based, in part, on the 

objectives of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Per the National Standards, 

management actions need to prevent 

overfishing while minimizing social and 

economic impacts, considering equity, 

and minimizing discards, among other 

factors. Additionally, we considered 

ongoing actions by the Council and 

Commission to address the factors that 

are considered for recreational 

regulations. Many of the comments 

received on the proposed rule 

highlighted these issues, and these are 

summarized in the comment response 

section. 

The proposed closure would have 

only impacted the Federal recreational 

fishery (recreational scup fishing 

beyond 3 miles from land, or federally 

permitted party/charter scup vessels 

regardless of area fished). The majority 

(about 94 percent) of scup harvest 

comes from state waters. If a closure had 

been implemented, it was expected that 

federally permitted for-hire vessels 

would have dropped their federal 

permit for the fishing year and pursued 

scup in state waters. While this may 

have alleviated some of the anticipated 

economic impacts, it would have also 

likely resulted in increased effort in 

state waters, minimizing the impact of 

the closure on overall scup harvest. 

Additionally, scup is difficult to avoid 

when fishing for other popular 

recreational targets such as black sea 

bass, and because it would have been 

illegal to retain scup in Federal waters, 

we anticipated that scup discards on 

those trips would have increased 

substantially, further limiting the 

reduction in scup harvest. 

Additionally, the commercial fishery 

is not expected to harvest its entire 

quota, and, as in previous years, overall 


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harvest is not expected to result in 

overfishing. With less than a month left 

in the Winter I commercial scup fishery, 

only 45 percent of the quota has been 

harvested, trending lower than landings 

in 2021. A letter from several State 

Directors cited the repeated quota 

underutilization of the commercial 

fishery: ‘‘The commercial fishery has 

repeatedly underutilized its allocation, 

leaving an average of 34 percent of the 

coastwide quota over the last 6 years.’’ 

Preliminary commercial landings from 

2021 are 12.93 million lb (5,864 mt) and 

the 2021 quota was 20.50 million lb 

(9,298 mt). The 2022 commercial scup 

quota is 20.38 million lb (9,244 mt) and, 

as stated above, harvest to date is 

trending lower than last year. Even if 

commercial landings in 2022 eventually 

were to match the 2021 landings, the 

result would be a 7.4-million lb (3,356- 

mt) commercial quota underage, which 

would nearly cover the projected 

recreational overage of 7.8 million lb 

(3,538 mt) under status quo recreational 

regulations. The projected recreational 

overage of 7.8 million lb (3,538 mt) also 

does not account for the estimated 33- 

percent reduction in harvest that is 

expected to be achieved through the 

minimum size increase. 

Recreational Regulations 

Given the potential negative social 

and economic impacts of the closure 

and the likelihood that it is not 

necessary to prevent overfishing, we 

have determined that the 1-inch (2.54- 

cm) minimum size increase is sufficient 

action at this time. However, the 

Council and Board are considering final 

action on the Harvest Control Rule 

Framework Adjustment/Addendum at 

their joint meeting in June that, if 

approved, would change the way 

recreational management measures are 

set for summer flounder, scup, black sea 

bass, and bluefish. All of the 

alternatives being considered by the 

Council and Board place a greater 

emphasis on factors such as stock size 

and trends, fishing mortality, and 

recruitment, and rely less on Marine 

Recreational Information Program 

(MRIP) estimates to determine if, and 

how, recreational management measures 

should be changed. We agree that the 

current process for setting recreational 

management measures can be improved 

and we will continue to work with the 

Council and Board on the Harvest 

Control Rule Framework/Addendum. 

However, should the Council and Board 

fail to take action in June to change the 

factors to be considered in setting 

recreational management measures, we 

intend to pursue Secretarial action to 

address the recreational regulatory 

issues. 

The regulations at 50 CFR 648.122(b) 

require the Regional Administrator to 

propose recreational management 

measures that will achieve the 

recreational annual catch limit (ACL): 

‘‘If the Regional Administrator 

determines that additional recreational 

measures are necessary to ensure that 

the sector ACL will not be exceeded, he 

or she will publish a proposed rule in 

the Federal Register to implement 

additional management measures for the 

recreational fishery. After considering 

public comment, the Regional 

Administrator will publish a final rule 

in the Federal Register to implement 

annual measures.’’ 

If the Council and Board do not 

change the way that recreational 

measures are set, NMFS, through the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

at section 305(d), would pursue changes 

to the regulations that would authorize 

the Regional Administrator to assess the 

likelihood of the combined projected 

recreational and commercial harvest to 

exceed the acceptable biological catch 

(ABC) and, if the combined harvest is 

not likely to exceed the ABC, to 

implement a transfer of commercial 

quota to the recreational sector. This 

transfer would ensure that the 

recreational sector ACL (adjusted for the 

transfer) would not be exceeded. 

Summer Flounder Recreational 

Management Measures 

The Commission has certified that the 

2022 recreational fishing measures 

required to be implemented in state 

waters for summer flounder are, 

collectively, the conservation equivalent 

of the season, fish size, and possession 

limit prescribed in 50 CFR 648.104(b), 

648.105, and 648.106(a). According to 

§ 648.107(a)(1), vessels subject to the 

recreational fishing measures are not 

subject to Federal measures, and instead 

are subject to the recreational fishing 

measures implemented by the state in 

which they land. Section 648.107(a) is 

amended through this final rule to 

recognize state-implemented measures 

as the conservation equivalent of the 

Federal coastwide recreational 

management measures for 2022. 

In addition, this action revises the 

default summer flounder coastwide 

measures (a 18.5-inch (47-cm) minimum 

size, four-fish possession limit, and May 

15 through September 15 open fishing 

season), that become effective January 1, 

2023, upon the expiration of the 2022 

conservation equivalency program. 

Black Sea Bass Recreational 

Management Measures 

The Commission has certified that the 

2022 recreational fishing measures 

required to be implemented in state 

waters for black sea bass are, 

collectively, the conservation equivalent 

of the season, fish size, and possession 

limit prescribed in 50 CFR 648.145(a), 

648.146, and 648.147(b). According to 

§ 648.142(d)(2), vessels subject to the 

recreational fishing measures are not 

subject to Federal measures, and instead 

are subject to the recreational fishing 

measures implemented by the state in 

which they land. Section 648.151 is 

amended through this final rule to 

recognize state-implemented measures 

as the conservation equivalent of the 

Federal coastwide recreational 

management measures for 2022. 

This action also sets the following 

coastwide black sea bass measures: A 

14-inch (35.56-cm) minimum size; a 

5-fish possession limit; and an open 

season of May 15–October 8. These 

measures become effective January 1, 

2023, upon the expiration of the 2022 

conservation equivalency program. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

We proposed a closure of the Federal, 

recreational, scup fishery, but, as 

explained above, we have decided not 

to close the fishery. Instead, we are 

implementing a 1-inch (2.54-cm) 

increase to the minimum size for scup, 

as recommended by the Council and 

Board. Otherwise, this final rule is 

unchanged from the proposed rule. 

Comments and Responses 

We received 319 comments on the 

proposed rule, 296 of which were 

opposed to the Federal recreational scup 

closure, including comments from the: 

New York Fishing Tackle Trade 

Association; Regal Marine Products, 

Inc.; Rhode Island Party and Charter 

Boat Association; Stellwagen Bank 

Charter Boat Association; Connecticut 

Charter and Party Boat Association; 

Connecticut Fishermen’s Alliance; 

Freeport Hudson Anglers; and a joint 

letter from the Center for Sportfishing 

Policy, National Marine Manufacturers 

Association, Recreational Fishing 

Alliance, Coastal Conservation 

Association, American Sportfishing 

Association, and the Congressional 

Sportsmen’s Foundation. In part due to 

our consideration of these comments, 

we have decided not to close the 

Federal recreational scup fishery and 

instead implement a 1-inch (2.54-cm) 

minimum size increase. 

One comment was not relevant to the 

proposed rule and another simply 


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stated, ‘‘No.’’ These comments are not 

discussed further. 

Comment 1: A significant number of 

comments cited potential negative 

social and economic impacts (63 

comments and 152 comments, 

respectively) of a Federal recreational 

scup closure. These comments claimed 

a disproportionate and inequitable 

impact on for-hire (party and charter) 

vessels, as well as negative impacts on 

shoreside businesses and individuals 

who harvest scup for sustenance or 

recreation. Particularly in the context of 

the social and economic impacts of the 

COVID–19 pandemic and the current 

high costs of food and fuel, the 

commenters asserted that a closure of 

the Federal scup fishery at this time 

would have detrimental impacts to the 

businesses and individuals that rely on 

it. 

Response: We are not closing the 

Federal scup fishery, in part because of 

the negative social and economic 

impacts anticipated by the commenters. 

As discussed elsewhere in the preamble, 

our rationale for implementing the size 

limit increase instead of the Federal 

closure is to prevent overfishing while 

minimizing social and economic 

impacts, considering equity, and 

minimizing discards, among other 

factors. Additionally, we considered 

ongoing actions by the Council and 

Commission to address the way that 

recreational regulations are set. 

Comment 2: One hundred and seven 

comments cited the importance of scup 

as an accessible and affordable food 

source and the detrimental effect a 

Federal closure would have on 

individuals and families that rely on 

scup for sustenance. 

Response: We are not closing the 

Federal scup fishery, in part because of 

the negative impacts anticipated by the 

commenters. See the earlier part of this 

preamble for a full discussion of the 

rationale. 

Comment 3: Twenty-two comments 

specifically referenced Environmental 

Justice issues with the closure, 

specifically asserting it would have a 

disproportionate impact on certain 

ethnic groups or lower income 

individuals and families. 

Response: We are not closing the 

Federal scup fishery, in part because of 

the negative impacts anticipated by 

commenters. See the earlier part of this 

preamble for a full discussion of the 

rationale. 

Comment 4: Seventy commenters 

questioned the need for a closure of the 

Federal recreational scup fishery when 

the stock is so healthy, with a biomass 

of nearly two times the target level. 

Response: We are not closing the 

Federal scup fishery, in part because of 

the high biomass level and low risk of 

overfishing even if the recreational 

fishery exceeds the RHL in 2022. See 

the earlier part of this preamble for a 

full discussion of the rationale. 

Comment 5: We received five 

comments in support of the scup 

closure; these comments cited the need 

to prevent overfishing or were not 

supportive of fishing in general. 

Response: We have determined that it 

is not necessary to close the Federal 

recreational scup fishery to prevent 

overfishing. Additionally, shifted effort 

into state waters and potential increases 

in scup discards on Federal waters trips 

may have limited, or negated, the actual 

harvest reduction achieved by the 

closure. The reduction in harvest 

achieved by the increased size limit is 

expected to achieve the needed 

conservation objective to prevent 

overfishing and ensure catch does not 

exceed the ABC. It should be also be 

noted that scup is not overfished, and is 

not experiencing overfishing. 

Comment 6: We received 24 

comments that opposed the proposed 

2022 black sea bass measures because 

they are more restrictive than measures 

currently in place. Many of these 

comments also cited dissatisfaction with 

the specific state regulations that are 

being implemented to meet the 

conservationally equivalent reduction in 

recreational harvest of 20.7 percent. 

These comments also asserted that black 

sea bass is an abundant stock, with a 

biomass over two times the biomass 

target, and questioned why reductions 

are needed when the stock is healthy 

and overfishing is not occurring. 

Response: The current regulations for 

black sea bass require NMFS to 

implement recreational management 

measures that are projected to ensure 

that the sector-specific ACL for an 

upcoming fishing year or years will not 

be exceeded. The regulations do not 

provide flexibility to consider factors 

such as biomass or fishing mortality in 

the measure-setting process. Black sea 

bass is at high levels of biomass, but 

projected recreational catch and harvest 

significantly exceeds the previously 

adopted ACL and RHL. Even though 

biomass is high, and overfishing is not 

occurring, because no regulatory 

flexibility currently exists to incorporate 

these factors, we are required to 

implement reductions. NMFS will 

continue to work with the Council and 

Commission on the Recreational Reform 

Initiative to address fundamental 

problems with recreational fisheries 

management such as this lack of 

regulatory flexibility, in as timely a 

fashion as possible. 

Additionally, this rule does not 

implement state-specific measures, but 

rather waives the Federal recreational 

measures. States and regions set their 

own management measures, which are 

approved through the Commission 

process. 

Comment 7: We received a significant 

number of comments that suggested 

alternative approaches to constrain scup 

harvest: 128 comments suggested 

increasing the size limit, with a 

suggested range from 10 to 14 inches 

(25.4 to 35.6 cm); 54 comments 

suggested a reduced bag limit ranging 

from 3 to 30 fish, or specifying a percent 

reduction from 10 to 20 percent; 65 

comments suggested a seasonal closure, 

most specified closing January through 

April, while others more generally 

stated, ‘‘during the winter’’ or any 

season less than a year-round closure; 

and 4 comments suggested that the 

closure could be applied to the private 

sector only. 

Response: We appreciate the public 

comments and suggestions on 

alternative approaches to reduce scup 

harvest. As stated above, we have 

decided not to close the Federal 

recreational scup fishery. We are 

implementing a 1-inch (2.54-cm) 

increase to the Federal minimum size, 

as suggested by many commenters and 

recommended by the Council and 

Board. 

Comment 8: Twenty commenters 

cited the uncertainty in the MRIP data 

as rationale for eliminating or lowering 

the black sea bass and scup harvest 

reductions. 

Response: NMFS agrees that there is 

uncertainty in the MRIP estimates. Due 

to concerns about uncertain data points, 

the Commission’s Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass Technical 

Committee performed additional 

analyses to examine and ultimately 

remove and replace data outliers. The 

Technical Committee (TC) developed a 

modified Thompson Tau analysis for 

identifying and smoothing outlier 

harvest estimates. Based on the results 

of this analysis, the TC concluded that 

a revised coastwide harvest reduction 

target between 20.7 and 26.8 percent 

would be viable for management. The 

Council and Board ultimately adopted 

the 20.7-percent reduction at a joint 

meeting in February, 2022. This 

reduction is less than the 28-percent 

reduction that was originally proposed 

by the Council and Board. Given that 

the Technical Committee’s analysis and 

reduction ultimately adopted by the 

Board and Council removes data 

outliers, additional changes to the 


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needed reduction based on outliers may 

be redundant and inappropriate for 

management. 

For scup, we are not implementing a 

Federal closure. The minimum size 

increase being adopted is projected to 

reduce harvest by 33 percent, less than 

the 56-percent harvest reduction 

specified in the Council’s analysis. 

Comment 9: Five commenters stated 

that the scup closure would lead to 

increased discards and, thus, no 

meaningful reduction in mortality. 

Response: NMFS agrees that there 

may be some catch that would have 

been converted to discards if we had 

closed the Federal scup fishery. An 

expected increase in discards, which 

would offset the harvest reduction of the 

closure, was one of the reasons we 

decided not to close the Federal scup 

fishery. 

It should also be noted that, given all 

of the factors (weather, regulations for 

other species, fuel cost, etc.) that can 

impact recreational fishing behavior, we 

cannot reliably predict how much catch 

will change in response to the 

management changes. Compared to 

landed fish, fish that are caught and 

released have a higher rate of survival. 

The released fish that survive continue 

to contribute to the population. For 

black sea bass and scup, it is estimated 

that 85 percent of released fish that are 

caught recreationally survive. 

Comment 10: Twenty-six comments 

suggested that commercial fishing 

operations were to blame for the needed 

reductions and/or that additional 

restrictions on commercial fishing 

operations should be imposed instead of 

the recreational scup closure. Several 

comments also stated that recreational 

fishing had a minor impact, in terms of 

overall harvest, compared to the 

commercial fishery. 

Response: Recreational scup harvest 

is a significant proportion of overall 

scup harvest and mortality. In 2020, 

13.50 million lb (6,123 mt) of scup were 

landed by the commercial fishery, and 

12.91 million lb (5,855 mt) were landed 

by the recreational fishery. In 2019, 

recreational landings exceeded 

commercial landings. The commercial 

fishery has, as mentioned previously in 

this rule, repeatedly underutilizied its 

allocation. This action does not consider 

changes to commercial fishery 

regulations. Commercial fishery 

regulations were previously approved 

through the 2022–2023 specification (86 

FR 72859, Dec. 23, 2021). This action is 

intended to address the 2022 

recreational management measures. 

Comment 11: Four people commented 

on specific state regulations for summer 

flounder, including the suggestion of 

implementing a slot limit. 

Response: This action does not 

implement state-specific measures for 

summer flounder. States and/or regions 

develop their recreational summer 

flounder management measures through 

the Commission process. This action 

only considers the need to implement 

coastwide measures or the ability to 

waive Federal measures through the 

conservation equivalency process. In 

this action, we have approved 

conservation equivalency and thus are 

waiving Federal summer flounder 

recreational management measures. 

Comment 12: Three comments 

supported the summer flounder 

regulations, including the RI Charter 

Boat Association. 

Response: We agree, and have 

implemented conservation equivalency 

for summer flounder as proposed. 

Comment 13: One comment did not 

support the liberalization of the 

recreational summer flounder 

regulations, citing concerns about the 

stock health. 

Response: The Council, Board, and 

technical bodies considered the stock 

status of summer flounder when 

developing the recommended summer 

flounder liberalization. In accordance 

with the regulations, a liberalization of 

up to 33 percent could have been 

applied but, given that the stock is still 

below the target and general concerns 

regarding stock health, a lower 

liberalization of 16.5 percent was 

selected. It should also be noted that 

states and/or regions do not have to 

liberalize measures by 16.5 percent. A 

16.5-percent increase in recreational 

harvest is a ceiling, or maximum 

liberalization, allowed under 

conservation equivalency. 

Comment 14: One comment discussed 

the timing of the proposed rule and that 

it is difficult to run a business when 

regulations are unknown even after the 

recreational fishing season has started. 

Response: We acknowledge the 

concerns about the timing of this, and 

previous, recreational rulemaking and 

the difficulty the timing creates for 

businesses and individuals to plan for 

the season. Unfortunately, getting 

recreational management measures in 

place was not possible any earlier this 

year because of the timing of the 

Council and Board meetings, the time 

required for states and regions to 

develop management measures, and the 

time required for the regulatory process. 

We are working with the Council and 

Board on the Harvest Control Rule 

Framework/Addendum that considers 

options to set measures every other year 

and that may allow for measures to be 

set earlier, so they are available before 

the start of the fishing year (January 1). 

Classification 

The Administrator, Greater Atlantic 

Region, NMFS, determined that these 

management measures are necessary for 

the conservation and management of the 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass fisheries and are consistent with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other 

applicable laws. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 

30-day delay of effectiveness period for 

this rule, to ensure that the final 

management measures are in place as 

soon as possible. 

The Federal coastwide regulatory 

measures for recreational summer 

flounder and black sea bass fishing that 

were effective last year remain in place 

until the decision to waive Federal 

measures for 2022 is made effective by 

this final rule. Many states have already 

implemented their conservationally 

equivalent 2022 measures; a delay in 

implementing the measures of this rule 

will be contrary to the public interest 

because it would increase confusion on 

what measures are in place in Federal 

waters. Inconsistencies between the 

states’ measures and the Federal 

measures could lead to 

misunderstanding of the applicable 

regulations and could increase the 

likelihood of noncompliant landings. 

Additionally, the Federal measures 

currently in place are more restrictive 

than many of the measures in state 

waters, which unnecessarily 

disadvantages federally permitted 

vessels who are subject to these more 

restrictive measures until this final rule 

is effective. 

The measures currently in place for 

scup and black sea bass are more liberal 

than the measures this action will 

implement. Further delay of the 

implementation of the 2022 measures 

will increase the likelihood that the 

2022 RHLs and recreational ACLs will 

be exceeded. We are required to 

implement measures to constrain 

recreational harvest to prevent 

overfishing. 

In response to this action, unlike 

actions that require an adjustment 

period to comply with new rules, 

recreational and charter/party operators 

will not have to purchase new 

equipment or otherwise expend time or 

money to comply with these 

management measures. Rather, 

complying with this final rule simply 


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35116 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 111 / Thursday, June 9, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

means adhering to the published state 

management measures for size, bag 

limit, and season of summer flounder, 

scup, and black sea bass while the 

recreational and charter/party operators 

are engaged in fishing activities. 

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. 

While we received no comments 

specifically regarding this certification, 

we did receive a number of comments 

citing economic impacts from the 

proposed closure of the scup fishery in 

Federal waters. However, in this final 

rule, we are not taking an action to close 

the scup fishery, which mitigates those 

potential economic impacts. Therefore, 

as a result, a final 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. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Dated: June 6, 2022. 

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 § 648.104, revise paragraph (b) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.104 Summer flounder size 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(b) Party/charter permitted vessels 

and recreational fishery participants. 

The minimum size for summer flounder 

is 18.5-inches (47 cm) total length for all 

vessels that do not qualify for a summer 

flounder moratorium permit under 

§ 648.4(a)(3), and charter boats holding 

a summer flounder moratorium permit 

if fishing with more than three crew 

members, or party boats holding a 

summer flounder moratorium permit if 

fishing with passengers for hire or 

carrying more than five crew members, 

unless otherwise specified in the 

conservation equivalency regulations at 

§ 648.107. If conservation equivalency is 

not in effect in any given year, 

possession of smaller (or larger, if 

applicable) summer flounder harvested 

from state waters is allowed for stateonly permitted vessels when transiting 

Federal waters within the Block Island 

Sound Transit Area provided they 

follow the provisions at § 648.111 and 

abide by state regulations. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 648.107, revise paragraph (a) 

introductory text to read as follows: 

§ 648.107 Conservation equivalent 

measures for the summer flounder fishery. 

(a) The Regional Administrator has 

determined that the recreational fishing 

measures proposed to be implemented 

by the states of Maine through North 

Carolina for 2022 are the conservation 

equivalent of the season, size limits, and 

possession limit prescribed in 

§§ 648.104(b), 648.105, and 648.106. 

This determination is based on a 

recommendation from the Summer 

Flounder Board of the Atlantic States 

Marine Fisheries Commission. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 648.126, revise paragraph (b) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.126 Scup minimum fish sizes. 

* * * * * 

(b) Party/Charter permitted vessels 

and recreational fishery participants. 

The minimum size for scup is 10 inches 

(25.4 cm) total length for all vessels that 

do not have a scup moratorium permit, 

or for party and charter vessels that are 

issued a scup moratorium permit but are 

fishing with passengers for hire, or 

carrying more than three crew members 

if a charter boat, or more than five crew 

members if a party boat. However, 

possession of smaller scup harvested 

from state waters is allowed for stateonly permitted vessels when transiting 

Federal waters within the Block Island 

Sound Transit Area provided they 

follow the provisions at § 648.131 and 

abide by state regulations. 

* * * * * 

■ 5. In § 648.145, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.145 Black sea bass possession limit. 

(a) During the recreational fishing 

season specified at § 648.146, no person 

shall possess more than 5 black sea bass 

in, or harvested from, the EEZ per trip 

unless that person is the owner or 

operator of a fishing vessel issued a 

black sea bass moratorium permit, or is 

issued a black sea bass dealer permit, 

unless otherwise specified in the 

conservation equivalent measures 

described in § 648.151. Persons aboard a 

commercial vessel that is not eligible for 

a black sea bass moratorium permit may 

not retain more than 5 black sea bass 

during the recreational fishing season 

specified at § 648.146. The owner, 

operator, and crew of a charter or party 

boat issued a black sea bass moratorium 

permit are subject to the possession 

limit when carrying passengers for hire 

or when carrying more than five crew 

members for a party boat, or more than 

three crew members for a charter boat. 

This possession limit may be adjusted 

pursuant to the procedures in § 648.142. 

However, possession of black sea bass 

harvested from state waters above this 

possession limit is allowed for stateonly permitted vessels when transiting 

Federal waters within the Block Island 

Sound Transit Area provided they 

follow the provisions at § 648.150 and 

abide by state regulations. 

* * * * * 

■ 6. Revise § 648.146 as follows: 

§ 648.146 Black sea bass recreational 

fishing season. 

Vessels that are not eligible for a black 

sea bass moratorium permit under 

§ 648.4(a)(7), and fishermen subject to 

the possession limit specified in 

§ 648.145(a), may only possess black sea 

bass from May 15 through October 8, 

unless otherwise specified in the 

conservation equivalent measures 

described in § 648.151 or unless this 

time period is adjusted pursuant to the 

procedures in § 648.142. However, 

possession of black sea bass harvested 

from state waters outside of this season 

is allowed for state-only permitted 

vessels when transiting Federal waters 

within the Block Island Sound Transit 

Area provided they follow the 

provisions at § 648.151 and abide by 

state regulations. 

■ 7. In § 648.147, revise paragraph (b) to 

read as follows: 

§ 648.147 Black sea bass size 

requirements. 

* * * * * 

(b) Party/Charter permitted vessels 

and recreational fishery participants. 

The minimum fish size for black sea 

bass is 14 inches (35.56 cm) total length 

for all vessels that do not qualify for a 

black sea bass moratorium permit, and 

for party boats holding a black sea bass 

moratorium permit, if fishing with 

passengers for hire or carrying more 

than five crew members, and for charter 

boats holding a black sea bass 

moratorium permit, if fishing with more 

than three crew members, unless 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 111 / Thursday, June 9, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 35117 

otherwise specified in the conservation 

equivalent measures as described in 

§ 648.151. However, possession of 

smaller black sea bass harvested from 

state waters is allowed for state-only 

permitted vessels when transiting 

Federal waters within the Block Island 

Sound Transit Area provided they 

follow the provisions at § 648.151 and 

abide by state regulations. 

* * * * * 

■ 8. Add § 648.151 to subpart I to read 

as follows: 

§ 648.151 Black sea bass conservation 

equivalency. 

(a) The Regional Administrator has 

determined that the recreational fishing 

measures proposed to be implemented 

by the states of Maine through North 

Carolina for 2022 are the conservation 

equivalent of the season, size limits, and 

possession limit prescribed in 

§§ 648.146, 648.147(b), and 648.145(a). 

This determination is based on a 

recommendation from the Black Sea 

Bass Board of the Atlantic States Marine 

Fisheries Commission. 

(1) Federally permitted vessels subject 

to the recreational fishing measures of 

this part, and other recreational fishing 

vessels harvesting black sea bass in or 

from the EEZ and subject to the 

recreational fishing measures of this 

part, landing black sea bass in a state 

whose fishery management measures 

are determined by the Regional 

Administrator to be conservation 

equivalent shall not be subject to the 

more restrictive Federal measures, 

pursuant to the provisions of § 648.4(b). 

Those vessels shall be subject to the 

recreational fishing measures 

implemented by the state in which they 

land. 

(2) [Reserved] 

(b) Federally permitted vessels subject 

to the recreational fishing measures of 

this part, and other recreational fishing 

vessels registered in states and subject 

to the recreational fishing measures of 

this part, whose fishery management 

measures are not determined by the 

Regional Administrator to be the 

conservation equivalent of the season, 

size limits and possession limit 

prescribed in §§ 648.146, 648.147(b), 

and 648.145(a), respectively, due to the 

lack of, or the reversal of, a 

conservation-equivalent 

recommendation from the Black Sea 

Bass Board of the Atlantic States Marine 

Fisheries Commission shall be subject to 

the following precautionary default 

measures: Season—June 24 through 

December 31; minimum size—16 inches 

(40.64 cm); and possession limit—3 fish. 

[FR Doc. 2022–12450 Filed 6–8–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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