39002 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 125 / Thursday, June 30, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[RTID 0648–XB846] 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; 

Amendment 8 to the Northeast Skate 

Complex Fishery Management Plan 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Agency decision. 

SUMMARY: NMFS approves Amendment 

8 to the Northeast Skate Complex 

Fishery Management Plan, as submitted 

by the New England Fishery 

Management Council. This amendment 

updates the management objectives of 

the skate fishery management plan, 

which have not been changed since the 

original plan was adopted in 2003. The 

purpose of this action is to ensure that 

the skate management continues to 

reflect and address the current needs 

and condition of the skate fishery. 

DATES: The amendment was approved 

on June 24, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: The New England Fishery 

Management Council prepared a 

supporting document for this action that 

describes the proposed revisions to the 

Northeast Skate management objectives 

and consistency with applicable law. 

NMFS prepared a Categorical Exclusion 

(CE) for this action in compliance with 

the National Environmental Policy Act, 

detailing why this action is 

administrative in nature and may be 

categorically excluded from 

requirements to prepare either an 

Environmental Impact Statement or 

Environmental Assessment. Copies of 

the Council document for Amendment 

8, the CE, and other supporting 

documents for this action, are available 

upon request from Thomas A. Nies, 

Executive Director, New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. These 

documents are also accessible via the 

internet at https://www.nefmc.org/ 

management-plans/skates. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9180. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The New England Fishery 

Management Council manages a 

complex of seven skate species 

(barndoor, clearnose, little, rosette, 

smooth, thorny, and winter skate) off 

the New England and mid-Atlantic 

coasts under the Northeast Skate 

Complex Fishery Management Plan 

(FMP). This FMP was originally adopted 

in 2003, and the FMP management goal 

and objectives have been unchanged 

since that time. This action updates two 

of the seven management objectives of 

the Northeast Skate FMP, with the 

intent to ensure that skate management 

continues to reflect and address the 

current needs and condition of the skate 

fishery. 

Over the course of several meetings 

throughout 2021, the Council 

determined that a few aspects within 

the existing FMP objectives are out of 

date and should be revised. These 

updates were originally included in 

Amendment 5 to the Northeast Skate 

FMP (85 FR 84304), and subsequently 

Framework Adjustment 9 to the FMP 

(86 FR 64186), before both actions were 

discontinued. On February 1, 2022, the 

Council voted to submit the revisions to 

the Northeast Skate FMP objectives as 

Amendment 8. Although FMP 

objectives guide management decisions 

for the skate fishery, they are not 

formally codified within the regulatory 

text, and the changes within this action 

are administrative in nature with no 

immediate or direct impact on the 

fishery and/or the skate regulations. 

NMFS published a Notification of 

Availability (NOA) for Amendment 8 in 

the Federal Register on April 1, 2022 

(87 FR 19063), with a comment period 

ending on May 31, 2022. See the 

Comments and Responses section for 

additional detail. 

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) allows NMFS 

as the implementing agency to approve, 

partially approve, or disapprove 

measures recommended by the Council 

in an amendment based on whether the 

action is consistent with the FMP, the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and its National 

Standards, and other applicable law. 

After considering public comment on 

the NOA, NMFS approved Amendment 

8 in its entirety on June 24, 2022. This 

notice announces the Agency’s decision 

to approve Amendment 8. 

Approved Action 

NMFS is approving Amendment 8 in 

its entirety as adopted by the Council. 

This action revises two of the seven 

objectives of the Northeast Skate 

Complex FMP, to update guidance for 

regulatory decisions and to ensure that 

skate management continues to reflect 

and address the current needs and 

condition of the fishery. Prior to 

revision, these objectives referenced 

some rebuilt species of skate as 

overfished, and future goals for the 

fishery that have already been 

accomplished. Amendment 8 updates 

skate management objectives 2 and 5 to 

read as follows: 

• Objective 2: Implement measures to: 

protect any overfished species of skates 

and increase their biomass to target 

levels and prevent overfishing of the 

species in the Northeast skate 

complex—this may be accomplished 

through management measures in other 

FMPs (groundfish, monkfish, scallops), 

skate-specific management measures, or 

a combination, as necessary. 

• Objective 5: Promote and encourage 

skate research for critical biological, 

ecological, and fishery information 

based on the research needs identified 

and updated by the Council. 

Additional information on this action 

can be found in the Council document 

and CE for this amendment (See 

ADDRESSES). 

Comments and Responses 

NMFS received one comment during 

the public comment period for this 

action. The comment was not directly 

responsive to the action, but concerned 

the overall preservation of skate species. 

NMFS agrees that conservation of the 

skate resource is important, and the 

revision of management goals and 

objectives in this action will help 

achieve this purpose. After careful 

consideration of the received comment, 

NMFS is approving Amendment 8 in its 

entirety. 

Changes From the Proposed Action 

There are no changes to the action 

recommended by the Council and 

described in the Notification of 

Availability for Amendment 8 to the 

Northeast Skate Complex FMP. 

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

Dated: June 24, 2022. 

Samuel D. Rauch, III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–13970 Filed 6–29–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with RULES1