Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 14, 2007 / Proposed Rules 64023 

independent contractor, authorized to act on 

behalf of the organization. 

Principals means officers, directors, 

owners, partners, and, persons having 

primary management or supervisory 

responsibilities within a business entity (e.g., 

general manager; plant manager; head of a 

subsidiary, division, or business segment, 

and similar positions). 

United States means the 50 States, the 

District of Columbia, and outlying areas. 

(b) Code of business ethics and conduct. (1) 

Within 30 days after contract award, unless 

the contracting officer establishes a longer 

time period, the Contractor shall—

(i) Have a written code of business ethics 

and conduct; and 

(ii) Provide a copy of the code to each 

employee engaged in performance of the 

contract. 

(2) The Contractor shall—

(i) Exercise due diligence to prevent and 

detect criminal conduct; and 

(ii) Otherwise promote an organizational 

culture that encourages ethical conduct and 

a commitment to compliance with the law. 

(3) The Contractor shall notify, in writing, 

the agency Office of the Inspector General, 

with a copy to the Contracting Officer, 

whenever the Contractor has reasonable 

grounds to believe that a principal, 

employee, agent, or subcontractor of the 

Contractor has committed a violation of 

Federal criminal law in connection with the 

award or performance of this contract or any 

subcontract thereunder. 

(c) Business ethics awareness and 

compliance program and internal control 

system for other than small businesses. This 

paragraph (c) does not apply if the Contractor 

has represented itself as a small business 

concern pursuant to the award of this 

contract. The Contractor shall establish the 

following within 90 days after contract 

award, unless the contracting officer 

establishes a longer time period—

(1) An ongoing business ethics and 

conduct awareness and compliance program. 

(i) This program shall include reasonable 

steps to communicate periodically and in a 

practical manner the Contractor’s standards 

and procedures and other aspects of the 

Contractor’s business ethics awareness and 

compliance program and internal control 

system, by conducting effective training 

programs and otherwise disseminating 

information appropriate to an individual’s 

respective roles and responsibilities. 

(ii) The training conducted under this 

program shall be provided to the Contractor’s 

principals and employees, and as 

appropriate, the Contractor’s agents and 

subcontractors. 

(2) An internal control system. 

(i) The Contractor’s internal control system 

shall—

(A) Establish standards and procedures to 

facilitate timely discovery of improper 

conduct in connection with Government 

contracts; and 

(B) Ensure corrective measures are 

promptly instituted and carried out. 

(ii) At a minimum, the Contractor’s 

internal control system shall provide for the 

following: 

(A) Assignment of responsibility at a 

sufficiently high level of the organization and 

adequate resources to ensure effectiveness of 

the business ethics awareness and 

compliance program and internal control 

system. 

(B) Reasonable efforts not to include within 

the organization principals whom due 

diligence would have exposed as having 

engaged in conduct that is illegal or 

otherwise in conflict with the Contractor’s 

code of business ethics and conduct. 

(C) Periodic reviews of company business 

practices, procedures, policies, and internal 

controls for compliance with the Contractor’s 

code of business ethics and conduct and the 

special requirements of Government 

contracting, including—

(1) Monitoring and auditing to detect 

criminal conduct; 

(2) Periodic evaluation of the effectiveness 

of the organization’s business ethics 

awareness and compliance program and 

internal control system, especially if criminal 

conduct has been detected; and 

(3) Periodic assessment of the risk of 

criminal conduct, with appropriate steps to 

design, implement, or modify the business 

ethics awareness and compliance program 

and the internal control system as necessary 

to reduce the risk of criminal conduct 

identified through this process. 

(D) An internal reporting mechanism, such 

as a hotline, which allows for anonymity or 

confidentiality, by which employees may 

report suspected instances of improper 

conduct, and instructions that encourage 

employees to make such reports. 

(E) Disciplinary action for improper 

conduct or for failing to take reasonable steps 

to prevent or detect improper conduct. 

(F) Timely reporting, in writing, to the 

agency Office of the Inspector General, with 

a copy to the Contracting Officer, whenever 

the Contractor has reasonable grounds to 

believe that a principal, employee, agent, or 

subcontractor of the Contractor has 

committed a violation of Federal criminal 

law in connection with the award or 

performance of any Government contract 

performed by the Contractor or a subcontract 

thereunder; and 

(G) Full cooperation with any Government 

agencies responsible for audit, investigation, 

or corrective actions. 

(d) Subcontracts. (1) The Contractor shall 

include the substance of this clause, 

including this paragraph (d), in subcontracts 

that have a value in excess of $5,000,000 and 

a performance period of more than 120 days, 

except when the subcontract—

(i) Is for the acquisition of a commercial 

item; or 

(ii) Is performed outside the United States. 

(2) In altering this clause to identify the 

appropriate parties, all reports of violation of 

Federal criminal law shall be directed to the 

agency Office of the Inspector General, with 

a copy to the Contracting Officer. 

(End of clause) 

[FR Doc. 07–5670 Filed 11–9–07; 11:21 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 071030625–7626–01] 

RIN 0648–XC84 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Fisheries; 2008 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black 

Sea Bass Specifications; 2008 

Research Set-Aside Projects 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed specifications; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications 

for the 2008 summer flounder, scup, 

and black sea bass fisheries and 

provides notice of three conditionally 

approved projects that will be 

requesting Exempted Fishing Permits 

(EFPs) as part of the Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council’s 

(Council) Research Set-Aside (RSA) 

program. The implementing regulations 

for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 

Plan (FMP) require NMFS to publish 

specifications for the upcoming fishing 

year for each of these species and to 

provide an opportunity for public 

comment. Furthermore, regulations 

under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) require a notice 

to be published to provide interested 

parties the opportunity to comment on 

applications for EFPs. The intent of this 

action is to establish harvest levels that 

assure that the target fishing mortality 

rates (F) or exploitation rates specified 

for these species in the FMP are not 

exceeded and to allow for rebuilding of 

the stocks as well as to provide notice 

of EFP requests, all in accordance with 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 3, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by RIN 0648–XC84, by any 

one of the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

• Mail and hand delivery: Patricia A. 

Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 

Northeast Regional Office, One 

Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 

Mark the outside of the envelope: 


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64024 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 14, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

‘‘Comments on 2008 Summer Flounder, 

Scup, and Black Sea Bass 

Specifications.’’

• Fax: (978) 281–9135. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All Personal Identifying Information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit Confidential Business 

Information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments. Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

Copies of the specifications 

document, including the Environmental 

Assessment, Regulatory Impact Review, 

and Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) and other 

supporting documents for the 

specifications are available from Daniel 

Furlong, Executive Director, MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council, 

Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South 

Street, Dover, DE 19901–6790. These 

documents are also accessible via the 

Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Ruccio, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9104. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass fisheries are managed 

cooperatively by the Council and the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (Commission), in 

consultation with the New England and 

South Atlantic Fishery Management 

Councils. The management units 

specified in the FMP include summer 

flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in U.S. 

waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the 

southern border of North Carolina 

northward to the U.S./Canada border, 

and scup (Stenotomus chrysops) and 

black sea bass (Centropristis striata) in 

U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean from 

35°13.3′N. lat. (the latitude of Cape 

Hatteras Lighthouse, Buxton, North 

Carolina) northward to the U.S./Canada 

border. Implementing regulations for 

these fisheries are found at 50 CFR part 

648, subpart A (General Provisions), 

subpart G (summer flounder), subpart H 

(scup), and subpart I (black sea bass). 

The regulations outline the process 

for specifying the annual commercial 

quotas and recreational harvest limits 

for the summer flounder, scup, and 

black sea bass fisheries, as well as other 

management measures (e.g., mesh 

requirements, minimum fish sizes, gear 

restrictions, possession restrictions, and 

area restrictions) for these fisheries. The 

measures are intended to achieve the 

annual targets set forth for each species 

in the FMP, specified either as an F or 

an exploitation rate (the proportion of 

fish available at the beginning of the 

year that are removed by fishing during 

the year). Once the catch limits are 

established, they are divided into quotas 

based on formulas contained within the 

FMP. 

As required by the FMP, a Monitoring 

Committee for each species, made up of 

members from NMFS, the Commission, 

and both the Mid-Atlantic and New 

England Fishery Management Councils, 

reviews the best available scientific 

information and recommends catch 

limits and other management measures 

that will achieve the target F or 

exploitation rate for each fishery. 

Consistent with the implementation of 

Framework Adjustment 5 to the FMP 

(69 FR 62818, October 28, 2004), each 

Monitoring Committee meets annually 

to recommend the Total Allowable 

Landings (TAL), unless the TAL has 

already been established for the 

upcoming calendar year as part of a 

multiple-year specification process, 

provided that new information does not 

require a modification to the multipleyear quotas. Further, the TALs may be 

specified in any given year for the 

following 1, 2, or 3 years. The Council 

is not obligated to specify multi-year 

TALs, but is able to do so, depending on 

the information available and the status 

of the fisheries. 

The Council’s Demersal Species 

Committee and the Commission’s 

Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea 

Bass Management Board (Board) 

consider the Monitoring Committees’

recommendations and any public 

comment and make their own 

recommendations. While the Board 

action is final, the Council’s 

recommendations must be reviewed by 

NMFS to assure that they comply with 

FMP objectives and applicable law. The 

Council and Board made their 

recommendations at a joint meeting 

held August 7–9, 2007. 

Explanation of Research Set-Aside 

(RSA) 

Background: In 2001, regulations 

were implemented under Framework 

Adjustment 1 to the FMP to allow up to 

3 percent of the TAL for each species to 

be set aside each year for scientific 

research purposes. For the 2008 fishing 

year, a Request for Proposals was 

published to solicit research proposals 

based upon the research priorities that 

were identified by the Council (71 FR 

77726, December 27, 2006). 

NMFS has conditionally approved 

three research projects for the harvest of 

the portion of the quota that has been 

recommended by the Council to be set 

aside for research purposes. In 

anticipation of receiving applications 

for EFPs to conduct this research, the 

Assistant Regional Administrator for 

Sustainable Fisheries, Northeast Region, 

NMFS (Assistant Regional 

Administrator), has made a preliminary 

determination that the activities 

authorized under the EFPs issued in 

response to the approved RSA projects 

would be consistent with the goals and 

objectives of the FMP. However, further 

review and consultation may be 

necessary before a final determination is 

made to issue any EFP. 

For informational purposes, these 

proposed specifications include a 

statement indicating the amount of 

quota that has been preliminarily set 

aside for research purposes (a 

percentage of the TAL for each fishery, 

not to exceed 3 percent, as 

recommended by the Council and 

Board), and a brief description of the 

RSA projects, including exemptions 

requested, and the amount of RSA 

requested for each project. The RSA 

amounts may be adjusted, following 

consultation with RSA applicants, in 

the final rule establishing the 2008 

specifications for the summer flounder, 

scup, and black sea bass fisheries. If the 

total amount of RSA is not awarded, 

NMFS will publish a document in the 

Federal Register to restore the unused 

amount to the applicable TAL. 

For 2008, the conditionally approved 

projects may collectively be awarded 

the following amounts of RSA: 233,192 

lb (106 mt) of summer flounder; 214,000 

lb (97 mt) of scup; and 85,790 lb (39 mt) 

of black sea bass. The projects may also 

be collectively awarded up to 50,000 lb 

(23 mt) of both Loligo squid and 

Atlantic bluefish. 

2008 RSA Proposal Summaries: The 

University of Rhode Island submitted a 

proposal to conduct a fifth year of work 

in a fishery-independent scup survey 

that would utilize unvented fish traps 

fished on hard bottom areas in southern 

New England waters to characterize the 

size composition of the scup 

population. Survey activities would be 

conducted from May 15 through 

October 15, 2008, at 10 rocky bottom 

study sites located offshore, where there 

is a minimal scup pot fishery and no 

active trawl fishery, and at two scup 

spawning ground sites. Up to two 

vessels would conduct the research 

survey. Sampling would occur off the 

coasts of Rhode Island and southern 


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Massachusetts. Up to three vessels 

would harvest the RSA during the 

period January 1 through December 31, 

2007. The principle investigators have 

requested exemptions from trip limits, 

gear requirements (excluding marine 

mammal avoidance and/or release 

devices), and closed seasons for harvest 

of RSA species. The preliminary RSA 

requested for this project is 2,000 lb 

(907 kg) of summer flounder; 64,000 lb 

(29 mt) of scup; and 24,000 lb (11 mt) 

of black sea bass. 

The Virginia Institute of Marine 

Science (VIMS) submitted a proposal to 

conduct a near-shore trawl survey in 

Mid-Atlantic waters between Gay Head, 

Massachusetts, and Cape Hatteras, 

North Carolina, including both Block 

Island and Rhode Island Sounds. A 

stratified random sampling of 

approximately 200 stations will occur in 

depths between 18–60 feet (8–18 m). 

The function of the survey would be to 

provide stock assessment data for 

summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, 

Loligo squid, butterfish, Atlantic 

bluefish, several species managed by the 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission (Commission) such as 

weakfish and Atlantic croaker, and 

unmanaged forage species. The research 

aspects of the trawl survey will be 

conducted by one VIMS scientific 

research vessel operating under the 

control of VIMS personnel. This vessel 

will operate under a Letter of 

Authorization (LOA) as provided for by 

the specific exemption for scientific 

research activities found at 50 CFR 

600.745. Up to 35 vessels will harvest 

the RSA between January 1 through 

December 31 during commercial fishing 

operations, except that these vessels 

have requested exemptions for closed 

seasons and trip limits to harvest the 

RSA allocated to the project. The 

preliminary RSA requested by this 

project is 150,000 lb (68 mt) of both 

summer flounder and scup and 50,000 

lb (23 mt) each of black sea bass, 

Atlantic bluefish, and Loligo squid. 

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) 

has submitted a proposal to conduct an 

evaluation of discard mortality for 

summer flounder in trawl fisheries. This 

study is designed to work in concert 

with a previous summer flounder 

mortality RSA-funded study conducted 

in 2007. Combined sources of mortality 

and injury quantification that occur as 

part of trawling, tracking and tagging, 

and scuba diver observation will be 

utilized to provide an estimate of trawlrelated mortality. Research sampling 

will be conducted adjacent to Little Egg 

Inlet off the New Jersey coast in 

September and October 2008. One 

vessel will conduct the research 

activities and may simultaneously 

participate in harvesting RSA, if the 

season for summer flounder is closed or 

if more fish, above those needed for the 

research activities, are caught than are 

permitted by possession limits. The 

principle investigators have requested 

exemption from the commercial 

summer flounder minimum size so that 

fish smaller than 14 inches (35.5 cm) 

may be temporarily retained to assess 

viability and to affix tags and data 

transmitters. Up to 35 vessels will 

harvest the RSA between January 1 

through December 31 under during 

commercial fishing operations, except 

that these vessels have requested 

exemptions for closed seasons and trip 

limits to harvest the RSA allocated to 

the project. The preliminary RSA 

requested by this project is 81,192 lb (37 

mt) of summer flounder 50,000 lb (23 

mt) and 11,790 lb (5 mt) of black sea 

bass. 

Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Act require publication of this 

notification to provide interested parties 

the opportunity to comment on 

applications for proposed EFPs. 

Explanation of Quota Adjustments Due 

to Quota Overages 

This action proposes commercial 

quotas based on the proposed TALs and 

Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and the 

formulas for allocation contained in the 

FMP. In 2002, NMFS published final 

regulations to implement a regulatory 

amendment (67 FR 6877, February 14, 

2002) that revised the way in which the 

commercial quotas for summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass are 

adjusted if landings in any fishing year 

exceed the quota allocated (thus 

resulting in a quota overage). If NMFS 

approves a different TAL or TAC at the 

final specifications stage (i.e., in the 

final rule), the commercial quotas will 

be recalculated based on the formulas in 

the FMP. Likewise, if new information 

indicates that overages have occurred 

and deductions are necessary, NMFS 

will publish notice of the adjusted 

quotas in the Federal Register. NMFS 

anticipates that the information 

necessary to determine whether overage 

deductions are necessary will be 

available by the time the final 

specifications are published. The 

commercial quotas contained in these 

proposed specifications for summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass do 

not reflect any deductions for overages. 

The final specifications, however, will 

contain quotas that have been adjusted 

consistent with the procedures 

described above. 

Summer Flounder 

The Southern Demersal Working 

Group (SDWG), a technical stock 

assessment group composed of 

personnel from the Northeast Fisheries 

Science Center (NEFSC), NMFS 

Northeast Regional Office, Council, 

Commission, state marine fisheries 

agencies, academia, and an independent 

participant with stock assessment 

expertise selected by the Council, met 

June 19–20, 2007, to update the summer 

flounder assessment through 2006/2007 

based on the most recent available 

research survey and fisheries catch data. 

This was a routine annual update, as 

called for by the FMP. The update 

utilized the model and methods 

evaluated and recommended for 

continued use in the most recent peer 

review conducted by the NMFS Office 

of Science and Technology Division 

(S&T) in 2006. 

The 2007 SDWG update shows that 

summer flounder are overfished and 

that overfishing occurred in 2006, the 

year for which the most recent, 

complete fishery-dependent data are 

available. The F estimated for 2006 is 

0.35, a reduction from the estimated F 

of 0.47 for 2005, but still above the FMAX

threshold of 0.28. FMAX is the level of 

fishing mortality that produces 

maximum yield per recruit. The 

updated 2007 assessment confirms that 

summer flounder have been subject to 

overfishing each year of the rebuilding 

period that began in 2000. Spawning 

stock biomass (SSB) in 2006 was 

estimated to be 93.0 million lb (42,184 

mt), below the S&T updated biomass 

threshold of 1⁄2 SSBMSY= 98.6 million lb 

(44,724 mt). FMSY is the fishing 

mortality rate that, if applied constantly, 

would result in maximum sustainable 

yield (MSY). When F > FMAX, 

overfishing is considered to be 

occurring, and when B<1⁄2 BMSY, the 

stock is considered overfished. The 

arithmetic mean recruitment from 1982 

to 2006 is 37 million fish at age 0, with 

a median of 33 million fish. The 2006 

year class is currently estimated to be 

about 30 million fish. 

The Virtual Population Analysis 

(VPA) model used in the summer 

flounder assessment tends to 

underestimate F and overestimate stock 

biomass in the most recent years of the 

analysis until those data stabilize as 

new data are added in subsequent years. 

The model has also produced variable 

patterns for recruitment. Typically, the 

magnitude of the retrospective patterns 

get smaller after 5 to 7 years and 

completely stabilizes (converges) after 

10 years of data have been added to the 

model (i.e., the estimates of F, SSB, and 


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recruitment for the year 1995 have 

gradually stabilized over time and are 

now expected not to change when new 

data are added in successive years’

updates). 

Over the last 3 years, the annual 

retrospective increase in fishing 

mortality has ranged from +20 to +40 

percent. Over the last 3 years, the 

annual retrospective decrease in SSB 

has ranged from -8 to -22 percent. 

Retrospective analysis shows no 

definitive trend in estimation of the 

abundance of age 0 fish in the most 

recent years. Over the last 3 years, the 

annual retrospective change in 

recruitment has been variable and 

ranged from -7 to +13 percent. These 

patterns are likely the result of an 

underestimation of the true catch, due 

to discards and/or unreported landings. 

The impact for management, given these 

persistent retrospective patterns, is that 

the summer flounder stock is increasing 

at a lower rate and is currently at a 

smaller size than previously forecast. 

The regulations state that the Council 

shall recommend, and NMFS shall 

implement, measures (including the 

TAL) necessary to achieve, with at least 

a 50–percent probability of success, a 

fishing mortality rate that produces the 

maximum yield per recruit (FMAX). 

This requirement is also consistent with 

a 2000 Federal Court Order (Natural 

Resources Defense Council v. Daley, 

Civil No. 1:99 CV 00221 (JLG)) regarding 

the setting of the summer flounder TAL. 

Summer flounder are under a rebuilding 

program whose timeline for completion 

has been extended from January 1, 2010, 

to no later than January 1, 2013, by 

section 120(a) of the 2006 reauthorized 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

It has been evident in recent years 

that setting specifications designed to 

satisfy the minimum requirement of the 

regulations (i.e., a 50–percent 

probability of achieving FMAX) is 

insufficient to prevent overfishing and 

to ensure that rebuilding will occur 

within the required timeframe. For the 

2007 fishery, NMFS implemented a TAL 

that differed from the Council 

recommendation. The 2007 NMFS 

implemented TAL had a more 

precautionary 75–percent probability of 

achieving an F rate calculated to ensure 

that stock rebuilding will occur within 

the remaining years of the rebuilding 

time frame. This F rate, FREBUILD, was 

set at 0.203, which is lower than FMAX

(0.28). It will not be possible to estimate 

if the 2007 FREBUILD target was 

successful in constraining fishing 

mortality at or below the 0.203 level and 

in ending overfishing (i.e., F <0.28) until 

mid-year in 2008, after the final 2007 

recreational and commercial fisheries 

data have been compiled, audited, and 

are available for analysis. 

The SDWG 2007 assessment update 

analysis indicated a 2008 TAL of 17.5 

million lb (7,938 mt) at an 

FREBUILD=0.199 is forecast to rebuild the 

stock to the S&T recommended 

SSBMSY=197.2 million lb (89,450 mt) by 

Nov 1, 2012, and to a Total Stock 

Biomass (TSB) =207.3 million lb (94,031 

mt) by Jan 1, 2013. Maintaining the 

FREBUILD=0.199 rate for the remaining 

rebuilding period years of 2009–2012 is 

forecast by the SDWG’s 2007 update to 

achieve the required stock rebuilding for 

summer flounder by the January 1, 

2013, deadline, with at least a 50–

percent probability of success. As such, 

this is the 2008 TAL analytical baseline 

that satisfies the minimum requirements 

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act rebuilding 

requirements and is consistent with the 

FMP regulations and Court rulings 

regarding probabilities for success. A 

TAL at this level is more conservative 

than the regulatory requirement that 

TAL recommendations have at least 50 

percent probability of achieving FMAX

(i.e., FMAX=0.28, the SDWG baseline 

TAL is set below this at the 

FREBUILD=0.199 level). 

The Summer Flounder Monitoring 

Committee evaluated a range of options, 

derived from the SDWG’s baseline, for 

the 2008 TAL and their associated 

probabilities for constraining fishing 

mortality within the FREBUILD target. In 

addition, the Monitoring Committee 

evaluated TALs and F target 

probabilities provided by Council staff 

wherein the 2008 FREBUILD value of 

0.199 would be corrected in an attempt 

to compensate for the retrospective 

pattern which has resulted from the 

VPA analysis. Council staff applied a 1- 

year correction to the FREBUILD target by 

reducing the 2008 FREBUILD by 28–

percent from 0.199 to 0.143. Council 

staff derived the correction to FREBUILD

by using the most recent 3-year average 

underestimation of F in the model (i.e., 

28 percent). The TAL and probability 

options recommended by Council staff 

ranged from a low of 11.64 million lb 

(5,280 mt) with a 75–percent probability 

of achieving the corrected 2008 

FREBUILD=0.143, to a high of 15.77 

million lb (7,153 mt) that has a 75–

percent probability of achieving the 

uncorrected 2008 FREBUILD=0.199. 

The Monitoring Committee 

recommended a TAL within the range of 

12.90 to 11.64 million lb (5,851 mt to 

5,280 mt) to the Council. This range was 

based on the corrected FREBUILD value 

(0.143) and would achieve a 50- to 75–

percent probability of achieving the 

corrected F, respectively. Both Council 

staff and the Monitoring Committee 

assumed in their analysis of the 

adjusted FREBUILD value for 2008 that 

the resulting TAL would be sufficient to 

correct, within 1 year, the course of the 

summer flounder rebuilding program 

provided the 2008 F target is not 

exceeded. The Monitoring Committee 

projections utilized for rebuilding years 

2009–2012 assumes that the 

retrospective pattern ceases to occur. 

The TAL range proposed by the 

Monitoring Committee is more 

conservative than the regulatory 

requirements of the FMP and the 

statutory requirements of the MagnusonStevens Act. 

The Council and the Board discussed 

the Monitoring Committee 

recommendation at the August Council 

meeting. The Council discussed at 

length the feasibility of achieving the 

rebuilding biomass target within the 

rebuilding period given recent 

recruitment levels and environmental 

factors, the retrospective patterns that 

arise from the VPA modeling approach, 

and the requirements of National 

Standard 1 that mandates management 

measures shall prevent overfishing 

while achieving optimum yield on a 

continuing basis and National Standard 

8 that guides Councils to minimize, to 

the extent practicable, adverse impacts 

of conservation and management 

measures on fishing communities. The 

Council and the Board considered the 

various alternatives presented to them, 

and considered the need to rebuild the 

stock within the required timeframe, the 

needs of fishery participants, and the 

need to act with precaution in the face 

of uncertainty regarding the 

retrospective patterns. The Council 

adopted a 15.77–million-lb (7,153 mt) 

TAL that has a 75–percent probability of 

constraining mortality to the FREBUILD

target of 0.199 in 2008. As such, the 

Council’s recommended TAL exceeds 

the regulatory requirement for success 

by employing a probability greater than 

50 percent. In addition, the F target is 

the lower FREBUILD (0.199) value as 

opposed to the minimally required 

FMAX value (0.28). The Council and 

Board agreed to set aside 233,192 lb 

(106 mt) of the proposed TAL for 

research. After deducting the RSA, the 

TAL would be divided into a 

commercial quota (60 percent) and a 

recreational harvest limit (40 percent). 

All other management measures were 

recommended to remain status quo. 

The Commission is expected to 

maintain the voluntary measures 

currently in place to reduce regulatory 

discards that occur as a result of landing 

limits established by the states. The 

Commission established a system 

whereby 15 percent of each state’s quota 


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would be voluntarily set aside each year 

to enable vessels to land an incidental 

catch allowance after the directed 

fishery has been closed. The intent of 

the incidental catch set-aside is to 

reduce discards by allowing fishermen 

to land summer flounder caught 

incidentally in other fisheries during the 

year, while also ensuring that the state’s 

overall quota is not exceeded. These 

Commission set-asides are not included 

in these proposed specifications because 

these measures are not authorized by 

the FMP and NMFS does not have 

authority to implement them. 

Table 1 presents the proposed 

allocations by state, with and without 

the commercial portion of the RSA 

deduction. These state quota allocations 

are preliminary and are subject to 

reductions if there are overages of states 

quotas carried over from a previous 

fishing year (using the landings 

information and procedures described 

earlier). Any commercial quota 

adjustments to account for overages will 

be included in the final rule 

implementing these specifications. 

TABLE 1. 2007 PROPOSED INITIAL SUMMER FLOUNDER STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTAS

State Percent Share 

Commercial Quota Commercial Quota less RSA1

lb kg2 lb kg2

ME 0.04756 4,500 2,041 4,434 2,011 

NH 0.00046 44 20 43 19 

MA 6.82046 645,352 292,732 635,809 288,403 

RI 15.68298 1,483,924 673,108 1,461,981 663,143 

CT 2.25708 213,565 96,873 210,407 95,441 

NY 7.64699 723,558 328,206 712,859 323,348 

NJ 16.72499 1,582,519 717,830 1,559,118 707,204 

DE 0.01779 1,683 764 1,658 752 

MD 2.03910 192,940 87,517 190,087 86,223 

VA 21.31676 2,016,992 914,892 1,987,166 901,363 

NC 27.44584 2,596,925 1,177,945 2,558,524 1,160,527 

Total3 100.00001 9,462,001 4,291,964 9,322,086 4,228,435 

1 Preliminary Research Set-Aside amount is 233,192 lb (106 mt). 2 Kilograms are as converted from pounds and do not sum to the converted total due to rounding. 3 Rounding of quotas results in totals exceeding 100 percent. 

Scup 

Scup was last formally assessed in 

June 2002 at the 35th Northeast 

Regional SAW. At that time, SARC 35 

indicated that the species was no longer 

overfished, but that stock status with 

respect to overfishing could not be 

evaluated. The stock is considered 

overfished when the 3-year average of 

scup SSB is less than the biomass 

threshold (2.77 kg/tow; the maximum 

NEFSC spring survey 3-year average of 

SSB). 

On August 18, 2005, NMFS notified 

the Council that the scup stock had been 

designated as overfished and that, 

within 1 year of that notice, an 

amendment or proposed regulations for 

the scup fishery to end overfishing and 

to rebuild the stock must be prepared in 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act. In response, the Council developed 

and submitted for Secretarial review, 

Amendment 14 to the FMP 

(Amendment 14) to rebuild, during a 7- 

year period, the scup stock from an 

overfished condition to a biomass level 

(B) associated with MSY or (BMSY), as 

required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

The Secretary approved Amendment 14 

on July 3, 2007. The final rule 

implementing the amendment 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 23, 2007 (72 FR 40077). The 

rebuilding program begins on January 1, 

2008 (i.e., year one of the 7-year plan). 

The Amendment 14 rebuilding plan 

applies a constant F of 0.10 in each year 

of the 7-year rebuilding period. 

The 2006 NEFSC Spring SSB 3-year 

average (2005–2007) index value of 0.76 

kg/tow remains below the minimum 

biomass threshold of 2.77 kg/tow. The 

scup stock is considered overfished. The 

NEFSC spring survey index increased 

significantly in 2004 to 1.85 kg/tow 

relative to the low value of 0.15 kg/tow 

derived in 2003. In 2005, the spring 

index dropped to 0.10 kg/tow; however, 

in 2006 this value increased to 2.04 kg/ 

tow. The 2006 index was the highest 

value in the spring survey since 1978, 

excluding the high value in 2002. In 

2007, this value dropped to 0.14 kg/tow. 

The FMP specifies that the TAC 

associated with a given exploitation rate 

be allocated 78 percent to the 

commercial sector and 22 percent to the 

recreational sector. Scup discard 

estimates are deducted from both 

sectors’ TACs to establish TALs for each 

sector, i.e., TAC minus discards equals 

TAL. The commercial TAC, discards, 

and TAL (commercial quota) are then 

allocated on a percentage basis to three 

quota periods, as specified in the FMP: 

Winter I (January-April)--45.11 percent; 

Summer (May-October)--38.95 percent; 

and Winter II (November-December)-- 

15.94 percent. 

The Monitoring Committee 

recommended a 2008 TAL of 7.34 

million lb (3,329 mt) to achieve the 

target exploitation rate of 9 percent 

(F=0.10). The discard estimates used by 

the Monitoring Committee in the 2008 

TAC calculations were based on the 

average discards of 2005 and 2006 for 

the commercial and recreational 

fisheries. This discard estimate is 2.56 

million lb (1,161 mt), resulting in a TAC 


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of 9.90 million lb (4,491 mt). The 

Council and the Board accepted the 

Monitoring Committee’s 

recommendations for 2008. NMFS is 

proposing to implement the Council and 

Board recommendation as it complies 

with the provisions of the Amendment 

14 rebuilding program. This TAL is a 

38.8–percent decrease from the 2007 

TAL of 12.0 million lb (5,443 mt). 

The commercial TAC would be 7.72 

million lb (3,502 mt) and the 

recreational TAC would be 2.18 million 

lb (989 mt). After deducting estimated 

discards (2.26 million lb (1,025 mt) for 

the commercial sector and 0.30 million 

lb (136 mt) for the recreational sector), 

the initial commercial quota would be 

5.46 million lb (2,477 mt) and the 

recreational harvest limit would be 1.88 

million lb (853 mt). The Council and 

Board agreed to set aside 214,000 lb (97 

mt) of the TAL for research activities. 

Deducting this RSA would result in a 

commercial quota of 5.30 million lb 

(2,404 mt) and a recreational harvest 

limit of 1.82 million lb (826 mt). 

The proposed 2008 specifications 

would maintain the status quo base 

scup possession limits, i.e., 30,000 lb 

(13,608 kg) for Winter I, to be reduced 

to 1,000 lb (454 kg) when 80 percent of 

the quota is projected to be reached, and 

2,000 lb (907 kg) for Winter II). 

Table 2 presents the 2008 commercial 

allocation recommended by the Council, 

with and without the preliminary 

214,000–lb (97–mt) RSA deduction. 

These 2008 allocations are preliminary 

and may be subject to downward 

adjustment due to 2006 overages in the 

final rule implementing these 

specifications, based on the procedures 

for calculating overages described 

earlier. 

TABLE 2. 2008 PROPOSED INITIAL TAC, COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA, AND POSSESSION LIMITS

Period Percent TAC in lb (mt) Discards in lb (mt) Commercial Quota 

in lb (mt) 

Commercial Quota 

less RSA in lb (mt) 

Possession Limits 

in lb (kg) 

Winter I 45.11 3,483,394(1,580) 1,019,486(462) 2,463,908(1,118) 2,367,373(1,074) 30,0001(13,608) 

Summer 38.95 3,007,719(1,364) 880,270(399) 2,127,449(965) 2,044,096(927) n/a 

Winter II 15.94 1,230,887(558) 360,244(163) 870,643(395) 836,531(379) 2,000(907) 

Total2 100.00 7,722,000(3,503) 2,260,000(1,025) 5,462,000(2,478) 5,248,000(2,380) 

1The Winter I landing limit would drop to 1,000 lb (454 kg) upon attainment of 80 percent of the seasonal allocation. 

2Totals subject to rounding error. 

n/a-Not applicable 

The final rule to implement 

Framework 3 to the FMP (68 FR 62250, 

November 3, 2003) implemented a 

process, for years in which the full 

Winter I commercial scup quota is not 

harvested, to allow unused quota from 

the Winter I period to be rolled over to 

the quota for the Winter II period. As 

shown in Table 3, the proposed 

specifications would maintain the status 

quo Winter II possession limit-torollover amount ratios (i.e., 1,500 lb 

(680 kg) per 500,000 lb (227 mt) of 

unused Winter I period quota). 

TABLE 3. POTENTIAL INCREASE IN WINTER II POSSESSION LIMITS BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF SCUP ROLLED OVER FROM

WINTER I TO WINTER II PERIOD

Initial Winter II Possession Limit Rollover from Winter I to Winter II Increase in Initial Winter II Possession Limit Final Winter II Possession Limit 

after Rollover from Winter I to Winter II 

lb kg lb kg lb kg lb kg 

2,000 907 0-499,999 0-227 0 0 2,000 907 

2,000 907 500,000-999,999 227-454 1,500 680 3,500 1,588 

2,000 907 1,000,000-1,499,999 454-680 3,000 1,361 5,000 2,268 

2,000 907 1,500,000-1,999,999 680-907 4,500 2,041 6,500 2,948 

2,000 907 2,000,000-2,500,000 907-1,134 6,000 2,722 8,000 3,629 

Black Sea Bass 

Amendment 12 to the FMP indicated 

that the black sea bass stock, which was 

determined by SARC 27 to be overfished 

in 1998, could be rebuilt to the target 

biomass within a 10-year period, i.e., by 

2010. The current target exploitation 

rate is based on the current estimate of 

FMAX, or 0.33 (25.6 percent). The 

northern stock of black sea bass was last 

assessed at the 43rd SAW in June 2006. 

The SARC 43 Panel did not consider the 

stock assessment to provide an adequate 

basis to evaluate stock status against the 

biological reference points, but did not 

recommend any other reference points 

to replace them. 

The most recent Center spring survey 

results indicate that the exploitable 

biomass of black sea bass decreased in 

2006. The 2006 biomass index, i.e., the 

3-year average exploitable biomass for 

2005 through 2007, is estimated to be 

0.6 kg/tow, below the threshold biomass 

value of 0.976 kg/tow. Based on these 

results, if the biological reference points 

in the FMP are applied, black sea bass 

once again would be considered to be 

overfished. 

Because the estimate of exploitable 

biomass is based on a 3-year average, 

the actual estimate for 2007 will not be 

derived until the spring 2008 survey 

results are available; if it is 0.263 (3-year 

moving average for 2006), and assuming 

an exploitation rate of 21 percent in 

2003, the TAL associated with the target 

exploitation rate would be 3.75 million 


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lb (1,701 mt). However, if the 2008 

estimate is 0.328 (3-year moving average 

for 2005), the TAL associated with the 

target exploitation rate would be 4.68 

million lb (2,123 mt). Given the 

uncertainty in the black sea bass survey 

estimates and the potential 

underestimation of the 2003 

exploitation rate (21 percent), the 

Monitoring Committee agreed with the 

Council staff recommendation to set a 1- 

year TAL of 4.22 million lb (1,914 mt). 

The Council and Board accepted the 

Monitoring Committee 

recommendation. This TAL would 

represent a 15.6–percent decrease from 

2007. 

NMFS proposes to implement a 2008 

black sea bass TAL of 4.22 million lb 

(1,194 mt), consistent with the Council 

and Board recommendations. The FMP 

specifies that the TAL associated with a 

given exploitation rate be allocated 49 

percent to the commercial sector and 51 

percent to the recreational sector; 

therefore, the initial TAL would be 

allocated 2.07 million lb (939 mt) to the 

commercial sector and 2.15 million lb 

(975 mt) to the recreational sector. The 

Council and Board also agreed to set 

aside 85,790 lb (39 mt) of the black sea 

bass TAL for research activities. After 

deducting the RSA the TAL would be 

divided into a commercial quota of 

2,025,763 lb (919 mt) and a recreational 

harvest limit of 2,108,447 lb (956 mt), as 

specified in the FMP. 

Classification 

Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this proposed rule is consistent 

with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 

Black Sea Bass FMP, other provisions of 

the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other 

applicable law, subject to further 

consideration after public comment. 

These proposed specifications are 

exempt from review under Executive 

Order 12866. 

An IRFA was prepared, as required by 

section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (RFA). The IRFA describes the 

economic impact these proposed 

specifications, if adopted, would have 

on small entities. A description of the 

action, why it is being considered, and 

the legal basis for this action are 

contained in the preamble to this 

proposed rule. A copy of this analysis 

is available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). A summary of the analysis 

follows. 

The economic analysis assessed the 

impacts of the various management 

alternatives. The no action alternative is 

defined as follows: (1) No proposed 

specifications for the 2008 summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass 

fisheries would be published; (2) the 

indefinite management measures 

(minimum mesh sizes, minimum sizes, 

possession limits, permit and reporting 

requirements, etc.) would remain 

unchanged; (3) there would be no quota 

set-aside allocated to research in 2008; 

(4) the existing gear restrictive areas 

would remain in place for 2008; and (5) 

there would be no specific cap on the 

allowable annual landings in these 

fisheries (i.e., there would be no quotas). 

Implementation of the no action 

alternative would be inconsistent with 

the goals and objectives of the FMP, its 

implementing regulations, and the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act. In addition, the 

no action alternative would 

substantially complicate the approved 

management program for these fisheries, 

and would very likely result in 

overfishing of the resources. Under the 

no action alternative, the fisheries 

would operate without an identified cap 

on allowable landings because the 

quotas implemented for 2007 expire on 

December 31, 2007, and there are no 

provisions to roll-over those quota 

provisions into 2008 if specifications are 

not published for the year. Therefore, 

the no action alternative is not 

considered to be a reasonable alternative 

to the preferred action. 

The Council prepared economic 

analyses for Alternatives 1 through 3. 

Alternative 1 consists of the harvest 

limits proposed by the Council and the 

Board for all three species. Alternative 

1 contains the Monitoring Committee’s 

recommended harvest limits for scup 

and black sea bass. Alternative 2 

consists of the most restrictive quotas 

(i.e., lowest landings) considered by the 

Council and the Board for all of the 

species. Alternative 2 contains the 

harvest limit recommended by the 

Monitoring Committee for summer 

flounder. Alternative 3 consists of the 

status quo quotas, which were the least 

restrictive quotas (i.e., highest landings) 

considered by the Council and Board for 

all three species. 

Table 4 presents the 2008 initial 

TALs, RSA, commercial quotas adjusted 

for RSA, and preliminary recreational 

harvests for the fisheries under these 

three quota alternatives. 

TABLE 4. COMPARISON, IN LB (MT), OF THE 2008 SUMMER FLOUNDER, SCUP, AND BLACK SEA BASS QUOTA

ALTERNATIVES

Initial TAL RSA 2 Preliminary Adjusted Commercial Quota1

Preliminary Recreational 

Harvest Limit 

Quota Alternative 1 (Council’s Preferred) 

Summer Flounder 15.77 million(7,150) 233,192(106) 9.32 million(4,230) 6.21 million(2,820) 

Scup 7.34 million(3,330) 214,000(97) 5.30 million(2,400) 1.82 million(830) 

Black Sea Bass 4.22 million(1,910) 85,790(39) 2.03 million(920) 2.11 million(960) 

Quota Alternative 2 (Most Restrictive) 

Summer Flounder 11.64 million(5,280) 233,192(106) 6.84 million(3,100) 4.56 million(2,070) 

Scup 5.02 million(2,280) 151,000(68) 3.54 million(1,610) 1.33 million(600) 

Black Sea Bass 3.75 million(1,700) 85,790(39) 1.80 million(820) 1.87 million(850) 

Quota Alternative 3 (Status Quo-Least Restrictive) 

Summer Flounder 17.112 million(7,760) 233,192(106) 10.13 million(4,590) 6.75 million(3,060) 

Scup 12.00 million(5,440) 214,000(97) 8.94 million(4,060) 2.85 million(1,290) 


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TABLE 4. COMPARISON, IN LB (MT), OF THE 2008 SUMMER FLOUNDER, SCUP, AND BLACK SEA BASS QUOTA

ALTERNATIVES—Continued 

Initial TAL RSA 2 Preliminary Adjusted Commercial Quota1

Preliminary Recreational 

Harvest Limit 

Black Sea Bass 5.00 million(2,270) 85,790(39) 2.41 million(1,090) 2.51 million(1,140) 

1 Note that preliminary quotas are provisional and may change to account for overages of the 2007 quotas. 2 Conditionally approved RSA amount or 3 percent of the alternative’s TAL, whichever is less. 

Note: Metric tons are as converted from pounds as shown and are subject to rounding error. 

Table 5 presents the percent change 

associated with each of these 

commercial quota alternatives (adjusted 

for RSA) compared to the final adjusted 

quotas for 2007. 

TABLE 5. PERCENT CHANGE ASSOCIATED WITH 2008 ADJUSTED COMMERCIAL QUOTA ALTERNATIVES COMPARED TO 2007 

COMMERCIAL ADJUSTED QUOTAS

Total Aggregate Changes Including RSA 

Species Quota Alternative 1 (Council Preferred) Alternative 2 (Most Restrictive) Quota Alternative 3 (Least Restrictive/Status Quo) 

Summer Flounder -7.8% -32.0% + 1.3% 

Scup -38.8% -58.2% + 1.3% 

Black Sea Bass -15.6% -25.0% + less than 1.0% 

The total gross revenue for the 

individual vessels that would be 

directly regulated by this action is less 

than $ 4.0 million each. All vessels that 

would be impacted by this proposed 

rulemaking are therefore considered to 

be small entities and, thus, there would 

be no disproportionate impacts between 

large and small entities as a result. The 

categories of small entities likely to be 

affected by this action include 

commercial and charter/party vessel 

owners holding an active Federal permit 

for summer flounder, scup, or black sea 

bass, as well as owners of vessels that 

fish for any of these species in state 

waters. The Council estimates that the 

proposed 2007 quotas could affect 2,253 

vessels that held a Federal summer 

flounder, scup, and/or black sea bass 

permit in 2006. However, the more 

immediate impact of this rule will likely 

be felt by the 903 vessels that actively 

participated in these fisheries (i.e., 

landed these species) in 2006. 

Commercial Fishery Impacts 

The Council estimated the total 

revenues derived from all species 

landed by each vessel during calendar 

year 2007 to determine a vessel’s 

dependence and revenue derived from a 

particular species. This estimate 

provided the base from which to 

compare the effects of the proposed 

quota changes from 2007 to 2008. 

Alternative 1 (Council’s Preferred 

Measures): The analysis of the harvest 

limits in Alternative 1 indicated that 

these harvest levels would result in 

2008 revenue losses, relative to 2007, of 

less than 5 percent for 115 vessels and 

greater than or equal to 5 percent for 733 

vessels. More specifically, vessels are 

projected to incur revenue reductions as 

follows: Change of 5–9 percent, 374 

vessels; 10–19 percent, 249 vessels; 20–

29 percent, 29 vessels; 30–39 percent, 

29; 40–49 percent, 19 vessels, and 

greater than or equal to 50 percent, 2 

vessels. Most commercial vessels 

showing revenue reduction of greater 

than 5 percent are concentrated in NJ, 

RI, NC, NY and MA. 

The Council also examined the level 

of ex-vessel revenues for the impacted 

vessels to assess further impacts the 

impacts of Alternative 1 (Table 6). 

TABLE 6. COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE 1 IMPACTS TO VESSEL TOTAL GROSS SALES BY REVENUE REDUCTION

CATEGORY

2007 Total Gross Sales (Ex-Vessel Revenues) 

Revenue Reduction 

Range No. of Vessels in 

Range 

$1,000 or Less $10,000 or Less 

(Percent) No. of Vessels Percent in Range No. of Vessels Percent in Range 

5 to 9 374 149 40 63 17 

10 to 19 249 82 33 138 55 

20 to 29 60 8 13 17 28 

30 to 39 29 8 28 16 55 

40 to 49 19 10 53 17 89 


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TABLE 6. COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE 1 IMPACTS TO VESSEL TOTAL GROSS SALES BY REVENUE REDUCTION

CATEGORY—Continued 

2007 Total Gross Sales (Ex-Vessel Revenues) 

Revenue Reduction 

Range No. of Vessels in 

Range 

$1,000 or Less $10,000 or Less 

(Percent) No. of Vessels Percent in Range No. of Vessels Percent in Range 

Greater than or 

equal to 50 

2 2 100 0 0 

Total 733 259 35 424 58 

Based on the information in Table 6, 

the dependence on fishing for some of 

these vessels is likely small as 35 

percent of vessels incurring revenue 

reductions of gross sales equal to or less 

than $1,000 and 58 percent of impacted 

vessels had gross sales of less than or 

equal to $10,000 for 2006. 

The Council also analyzed changes in 

total gross revenues that would occur as 

a result of the quota alternatives. 

Alternative 1 would decrease total 

revenues for summer flounder by 

approximately $0.84 million, scup by 

$3.20 million, and black sea bass $0.88 

million, relative to expected revenues 

earned from the 2007 quotas. 

The overall reduction in ex-vessel 

gross revenue associated with the 

potential changes in quotas in 2008 

relative to the quotas implemented in 

2007 is approximately $4.92 million 

(using 2006 ex-vessel prices) under 

Alternative 1. Assuming that the 

decrease in total ex-vessel gross revenue 

associated with the proposed rule for 

each fishery is distributed equally 

among the vessels that landed those 

species in 2006 (the last full year of data 

availability), the average decrease in 

gross revenue per vessel associated with 

the preferred quota would be $1,143 for 

summer flounder and $3,197, $7,637 for 

scup, and $1,642 for black sea bass. The 

number of vessels landing summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass in 

2006 was 735, 419, and 536, 

respectively. 

The predicted changes in ex-vessel 

gross revenues associated with the 

potential changes in quotas in 2008 

versus 2007 assumed static 2006 prices 

(summer flounder--$1.79/lb; scup-- 

$0.89/lb; and black sea bass--$2.50/lb). 

However, if prices for these species 

change as a consequence of changes in 

landings, then the associated revenue 

changes could be different than those 

estimated above, and could mitigate 

some of the revenue reductions 

associated with lower quantities of 

quota available under this alternative. 

Alternative 2 (Most Restrictive 

Measures): The analysis of the harvest 

limits of Alternative 2 indicated that all 

vessels would incur revenue losses 

equal to or greater than 5 percent. More 

specifically, vessels are projected to 

incur revenue reductions as follows: 10–

19 percent, 45 vessels; 20–29 percent, 

292 vessels; 30–39 percent, 456 vessels; 

40–49 percent, 61 vessels; and greater or 

equal to 50 percent, 41 vessels. Further 

examination shows that 314 of the 

impacted vessels (35 percent) had gross 

sales of $1,000 or less and 547 of the 

impacted vessels (61 percent) had gross 

sales of $10,000 or less, thus likely 

indicating that the dependence on these 

fisheries for some of these vessels is 

very small. Table 7 contains additional 

information on the specific impacts on 

gross sales under this alternative. 

TABLE 7. COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE 2 IMPACTS TO VESSEL TOTAL GROSS SALES BY REVENUE REDUCTION

CATEGORY

2007 Total Gross Sales (Ex-Vessel Revenues) 

Revenue Reduction 

Range No. of Vessels in 

Range 

$1,000 or Less $10,000 or Less 

(Percent) No. of Vessels Percent in Range No. of Vessels Percent in Range 

10 to 19 45 17 38 33 73 

20 to 29 292 115 39 208 71 

30 to 39 456 157 34 258 57 

40 to 49 69 10 14 20 29 

Greater than or 

equal to 50 

41 15 37 28 68 

Total 903 314 35 547 61 

As in Alternative 1, most commercial 

vessels showing revenue reduction are 

concentrated in MA, RI, NY, NJ, and 

NC. 

Alternative 2 was estimated to 

decrease total summer flounder, scup, 

and black sea bass revenues by 

approximately $5.28 million, $4.77 

million and $1.45 million respectively, 

relative to expected revenues earned 

from the 2007 quotas. The overall 

reduction in ex-vessel gross revenue 

associated with the potential changes in 

quotas in 2008 versus 2007 is 

approximately $11.50 million (in 2006 

dollars) under Alternative 2. Assuming 

that the decrease in total ex-vessel gross 

revenue associated with the proposed 


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rule for each fishery is distributed 

equally among the vessels that landed 

those species in 2006 (the last full year 

of data availability), the average 

decrease in gross revenue per vessel 

associated with the Alternative 2 quota 

would be $7,184 for summer flounder, 

$11,384 for scup and $2,706 for black 

sea bass. The total average gross revenue 

reduction for vessels that land summer 

flounder, scup and black sea bass would 

then be $12,735. 

Alternative 3 (Status Quo/Least 

Restrictive Measures): Alternative 3 was 

estimated to increase total summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass 

revenues by approximately $0.61, $0.04, 

and $0.08 million respectively, relative 

to expected revenues earned from the 

2007 quotas (assuming the entire quotas 

are landed and ex-vessel prices 

previously outlined remain effective). 

The overall increase in ex-vessel gross 

revenue associated with the potential 

changes in quotas in 2008 versus 2007 

is approximately $0.73 million (in 2006 

dollars) under Alternative 3. Assuming 

that the increase in total ex-vessel gross 

revenue associated with the proposed 

rule for each fishery is distributed 

equally among the vessels that landed 

those species in 2006 (the last full year 

of data availability), the average increase 

in gross revenue per vessel associated 

with the Alternative 3 quota would be 

$829 for summer flounder, $95 for scup 

and $149 for black sea bass. The total 

average gross revenue reduction for 

vessels that land all three species would 

then be $808. 

Recreational Fishery Impacts 

For the analysis of the alternative 

recreational harvest limits, the 2008 

recreational harvest limits were 

compared with the 2007 recreational 

harvest limits and landings through 

2006, the most recent year with 

complete recreational data. The 2008 

specifications setting analysis 

conducted by Council staff is 

principally for commercial fisheries. As 

such, only general information related 

to the changes in recreational harvest 

limits are analyzed as part of the quota 

specification rulemaking. The effects of 

specific recreational management 

measures, including minimum fish 

sizes, possession limits, and fishing 

seasons for all three species will be 

analyzed by the Council when the 

Council and Board submit 

recommendations for the 2008 

recreational fisheries following the 

December 2007 Council meeting. At that 

time, more complete 2007 recreational 

fishery information will be available. 

Summer Flounder: The Alternative 1 

recreational harvest limit (adjusted for 

RSA) of 6.21 million lb (2,817 mt), 

would be a 7–percent decrease from the 

2007 recreational harvest limit of 6.84 

million lb (3,104 mt) and a 46–percent 

reduction from the 2006 landings of 

11.51 million lb (5,221 mt). The 

Alternative 2 recreational harvest limit 

of 4.56 million lb (2,068 mt) would be 

32 percent lower than the 2007 

recreational harvest limit, and would 

represent a 60–percent decrease from 

2006 recreational landings. The 

Alternative 3 (status quo) recreational 

harvest limit of 6.75 million lb (3,062 

mt) would be a less than a 1–percent 

decrease from the 2007 recreational 

harvest limit (due to differences in the 

preliminary summer flounder RSA for 

the two years) and would represent a 

41–percent decrease from 2006 

recreational landings. 

If recreational landings are the same 

in 2008 as in 2007, the Alternative 1 

(Council Preferred) recreational harvest 

limits will not constrain recreational 

landings in 2008. As such, it is likely 

that more restrictive limits (i.e., lower 

possession limits, greater minimum size 

limits, and/or shorter seasons) would be 

required to prevent anglers from 

exceeding the recreational harvest limit 

in 2008. It is expected that this 

alternative would likely decrease 

recreational satisfaction for the summer 

flounder recreational fishery, relative to 

the status quo alternative. At the present 

time, there is neither behavioral nor 

demand data available to estimate how 

sensitive party/charter boat anglers 

might be to proposed fishing 

regulations. In the summer flounder 

fishery, there is no mechanism to 

deduct overages directly from the 

recreational harvest limit. Any overages 

must be addressed by way of 

adjustments to the management 

measures. While it is likely that 

proposed management measures may 

restrict the recreational fishery for 2008, 

and these measures may cause some 

decrease in recreational satisfaction (i.e., 

low bag limit, larger fish size or closed 

season), there is no indication that any 

of these measures may lead to a decline 

in the demand for party/charter boat 

trips. Currently, the market demand for 

this sector is relatively stable. Summer 

flounder recreational trips averaged 5.1 

million for the 1991 to 2006 period, 

ranging from 3.8 million in 1992 to 6.1 

million in 2001. For the years 2004 

through 2006, summer flounder 

recreational fishing trips were estimated 

at 5.1, 5.7, and 5.4 per year, 

respectively. 

Scup: Under Alternative 1, the scup 

recreational harvest limit would be 1.82 

million lb (825 mt)), 34 percent below 

the 2007 recreational harvest limit of 

2.47 million lb (1,120 mt), and 38 

percent below the 2006 recreational 

landings of 2.95 million lb (1,338 mt). 

The Alternative 2 scup recreational 

harvest limit of 1.33 million lb (603 mt) 

would be 52 percent less than the 2007 

recreational harvest limit, and 55 

percent below 2006 recreational 

landings. The Alternative 3 scup 

recreational harvest limit of 2.85 million 

lb (1,293 mt) would be a 4–percent 

increase from the 2007 recreational 

harvest limit and would represent a 3–

percent decrease from 2006 recreational 

landings. 

It is likely that more restrictive limits 

(i.e., lower possession limits, greater 

minimum size limits, and/or shorter 

seasons) with varying degrees of 

restrictions would be required under 

any scup alternative to prevent anglers 

from exceeding the recreational harvest 

limit in 2008. It is likely to decrease 

recreational satisfaction for the scup 

recreational fishery, relative to the 

status quo alternative. However, it is not 

expected that this will result in any 

substantive decreases in the demand for 

party/charter boat trips. 

Scup recreational trips have shown a 

slight upward trend from the early 

1990s to the early 2000s, ranging from 

approximately 199,000 trips in 1997 to 

972,000 trips in 2003, with an average 

of approximately 454,000 trips per year 

for the 1991 through 2005 period. For 

2004 and 2005, scup recreational fishing 

trips were estimated at approximately 

568,000 and 458,000, respectively. 

Black Sea Bass: Under Alternative 1, 

the black sea bass recreational harvest 

limit would be 2.11 million lb (957 mt)), 

15 percent below the 2007 recreational 

harvest limit of 2.47 million lb (1,120 

mt), and less than 1 percent above the 

2006 recreational landings of 2.10 

million lb (953 mt). The Alternative 2 

recreational harvest limit of 1.87 million 

lb (848 mt) would be 24 percent less 

than the 2007 recreational harvest limit, 

and 11 percent below the 2006 

recreational landings. The Alternative 3 

black sea bass recreational harvest limit 

of 2.51 million lb (1,139 mt) would be 

a 2–percent decrease from the 2007 

recreational harvest limit and would 

represent a 20–percent increase over 

2006 recreational landings. 

Under Alternative 1, the black sea 

bass 2008 recreational harvest limit 

(adjusted for RSA) is 2.11 million lb 

(957 mt). However, if recreational 

landings are the same in 2007 as in 2006 

(2.10 million lb; 953 mt), the adjusted 

recreational harvest limit is expected to 

constrain recreational landings in 2008. 

As such, more restrictive limits (i.e., 

lower possession limits, greater 

minimum size limits, and/or shorter 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 14, 2007 / Proposed Rules 64033 

seasons) may not be necessary to 

prevent anglers from exceeding this 

recreational harvest limit in 2008. 

Black sea bass recreational fishing 

trips have averaged approximately 

247,000 per year for the 1991 through 

2005 period, ranging from 

approximately 136,000 trips in 1999, to 

311,000 trips in 1997. In 2005, 

recreational trips for black sea bass 

numbered approximately 166,000, the 

third lowest value in the 1991 through 

2005 time series. 

In summary, it is unlikely that the any 

of the measures proposed would result 

in any substantive decreases in the 

demand for party/charter boat trips. It is 

likely that party/charter anglers would 

target other species when faced with 

potential reductions in the amount of 

summer flounder, scup, and black sea 

bass that they are allowed to catch. The 

Council intends to recommend specific 

measures to attain the 2008 summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass 

recreational harvest limit in December 

2007, and will provide additional 

analysis of the measures upon 

submission of its recommendations in 

early 2008. 

Research Set-Aside Impacts 

The Council analysis for 2008 RSA 

contains two alternatives: Alternative 1 

(non-preferred) wherein no RSA would 

occur and Alternative 2 (Council 

preferred/status quo) wherein the 

Council specifies RSA for 2008. The 

Council has recommended a maximum 

of 3 percent of the TALs for summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass may 

be set aside for research. Details on the 

three projects conditionally approved by 

NMFS are contained in the preamble to 

this rule. For analysis of the impacts of 

the two RSA alternatives, the RSA 

amounts are either the specific amounts 

requested by the conditionally approved 

2008 projects or 3 percent of the TAL, 

whichever is less. 

Under Alternative 1, no RSA would 

be deducted from the overall TAL and, 

as such, no downward adjustment to the 

TALs would occur. There would be no 

direct economic or social costs under 

the non-preferred Alternative 1, 

however collaborative efforts among the 

public, research institutions, and 

government aimed at broadening 

scientific knowledge of Mid-Atlantic 

species would cease under the RSA 

program. The nation would not receive 

the benefit of data or information that 

would otherwise be derived through the 

RSA program. 

Under the Council-preferred 

Alternative 2, RSA would be specified 

for each species. The effects of doing so 

are summarized, as follows: 

Summer Flounder: The commercial 

portion of the summer flounder RSA 

preliminary allocation in the proposed 

specifications, if made available to the 

commercial fishery, could be worth as 

much as $250,448 dockside, based on a 

2006 ex-vessel price of $1.79/lb. 

Assuming an equal reduction in fishing 

opportunity among all active vessels, 

this could result in a per-vessel 

potential revenue loss of approximately 

$341. Changes in the summer flounder 

recreational harvest limit as a result of 

the RSA are not expected to be 

significant as the deduction of RSA from 

the TAL. Under Alternative 3 (most 

restrictive TAL), a relatively marginal 

decrease in the recreational harvest 

limit from 4.66 million lb (2,114 mt) to 

4.56 million lb (2,068 mt) would occur 

(approximately 2 percent decrease). 

TAL Alternatives 1 and 3, would be 

decreased by slightly less than 2 percent 

and slightly more than 1 percent, 

respectively. Because this is a marginal 

change, it is unlikely that the 

recreational possession, size, or seasonal 

limits would change as the result of the 

RSA allocation. 

Scup: The commercial scup RSA 

allocation, if made available to the 

commercial fishery, could be worth as 

much as $141,635 dockside for TAL 

Alternatives 1 and 3 which would 

permit the full amount requested 

(214,000 lb; 97 mt) because it is less 

than 3 percent of the respective 

alternatives TAL and $97,519 under 

Alternative 2 which is the most 

restrictive and, as such, would only 

permit 3 percent of the TAL (150,600 lb; 

68 mt). These values are based on a 

2006 ex-vessel price of $0.75/lb. 

Assuming an equal reduction in fishing 

opportunity for all active commercial 

vessels, this could result in a loss of 

potential revenue of approximately $338 

per vessel under Alternatives 1 and 3 

and $233 under Alternative 2. For the 

analyzed scup TAL alternatives, the 

changes in the recreational harvest 

limits are from 1.88 to 1.82 million lb 

(852 to 826 mt; a 3.2–percent decrease) 

under Alternative 1, from 1.37 (621 mt) 

to 1.33 million lb (603 mt) (a 2.9–

percent decrease) under Alternative 2, 

and from 2.90 (1,315 mt) to 2.85 million 

lb (1,293 mt) (a 1.7–percent decrease) 

under Alternative 3. It is unlikely that 

scup recreational possession, size, or 

seasonal limits would change as the 

result of the RSA allocation. 

Black Sea Bass: The commercial 

portion of the black sea bass RSA, if 

made available to the commercial 

fishery, could be worth as much as 

$105,093 dockside, based on a 2006 exvessel price of $2.50/lb. Assuming an 

equal reduction in fishing opportunity 

for all active commercial vessels, this 

could result in a loss of approximately 

$196 per vessel. For the analyzed back 

sea bass alternatives, the changes in the 

recreational harvest limits are from 2.15 

(975 mt) to 2.11 million lb (957 mt) (a 

1.9–percent decrease) under Alternative 

1, from 1.91 (866 mt) to 1.87 million lb 

(848 mt) (a 2.1–percent decrease) under 

Alternative 2, and from 2.55 (1,157 mt) 

to 2.51 million lb (1,139 mt) (a 1.6–

percent decrease) under Alternative 3. It 

is unlikely that the black sea bass 

possession, size, or seasonal limits 

would change as the result of this RSA 

allocation. 

Overall, long-term benefits are 

expected as a result of the RSA program. 

The results of these projects will 

provide needed information on highpriority fisheries management issues 

related to Mid-Atlantic fisheries 

management. If the total amount of 

quota set-aside is not awarded for any 

of the three fisheries, the unused setaside amount will be restored to the 

appropriate fishery’s TAL. It should also 

be noted that fish harvested under the 

RSAs would be sold, and the profits 

would be used to offset the costs of 

research. As such, total gross revenue to 

the industry would not decrease if the 

RSAs are utilized. 

Summary 

The proposed specifications represent 

lower 2008 TALs for summer flounder, 

scup, and black sea bass. The proposed 

specifications were chosen because they 

allow for the maximum level of 

commercial and recreational landings, 

while allowing the NMFS to meet its 

legal requirements under the MagnusonStevens Act while achieving the 

objectives of the FMP. The summer 

flounder TAL was chosen to allow for 

rebuilding of the stock by 2013 and was 

selected as a means to balance the social 

and economic concerns for the 2008 

fishery with the need to select a 

measure that is more precautionary than 

the minimum requirements (i.e., at least 

50–percent probability for success) to 

ensure that overfishing does not occur 

and that the effects of the retrospective 

patterns are mitigated. The scup TAL 

was selected as it complies with the 

fishing mortality objective outlined in 

the scup rebuilding plan of Amendment 

14 to the FMP. Due to the level of 

uncertainty in the black sea bass stock 

assessment and to the recent stock 

indices, the black sea bass TAL was 

selected as a risk-averse management 

approach to ensure continued stock 

rebuilding. The proposed 2008 adjusted 

commercial quotas for summer 

flounder, scup, and black sea bass are 

4.8 percent, 40.4 percent, and 14.7 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS
64034 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 219 / Wednesday, November 14, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

percent lower, respectively, relative to 

the adjusted quotas for year 2007. The 

proposed recreational harvest limits 

(adjusted for RSA) would be 7.2-, 33.6- 

, and 14.6–percent lower than the 

adjusted recreational harvest limits for 

year 2007. 

There are no new reporting or 

recordkeeping requirements contained 

in any of the alternatives considered for 

this action. 

Dated: November 8, 2007. 

John Oliver, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Operations, National Marine Fisheries 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 07–5647 Filed 11–8–07; 1:58 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 071029545–7545–01] 

RIN 0648–AU85 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Individual Fishing 

Quota Program; Community 

Development Quota Program 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to 

modify the Individual Fishing Quota 

(IFQ) Program for the fixed-gear 

commercial Pacific halibut fishery and 

sablefish fishery by revising regulations 

governing use of commercial halibut 

quota share (QS) and processing of nonIFQ species when processed halibut is 

onboard a vessel. This action would 

amend current regulations to allow 

persons holding category A halibut QS 

to process IFQ regardless of whether a 

QS holder with unused category B, C, or 

D halibut QS is onboard the vessel. This 

action also would allow catcher/ 

processor vessels to process non-IFQ 

species regardless of whether any 

processed IFQ species is onboard the 

vessel. This action is necessary to 

improve the efficiency of fishermen 

fishing on catcher/processor vessels. 

The intended effect of this action is to 

allow halibut QS holders greater 

flexibility in using their QS, allow use 

of crew who hold unused category B, C, 

or D halibut QS while onboard a 

category A halibut QS vessel, and 

increase the product quality of non-IFQ 

species harvested incidentally to IFQ 

halibut. 

DATES: Comments must be received no 

later than December 14, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Sue 

Salveson, Assistant Regional 

Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries 

Division, Alaska Region, NMFS, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian. Comments may be 

submitted by: 

• Mail: P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 

99802; 

• Hand Delivery to the Federal 

Building: 709 West 9th Street, Room 

420A, Juneau, AK; 

• Fax: 907–586–7557; 

• E-mail: OMNIV-PR–0648–

AU85@noaa.gov. Include in the subject 

line of the e-mail the following 

document identifier: IFQ Halibut 

Sablefish 0648–AU85. E-mail 

comments, with or without attachments, 

are limited to 5 megabytes; or 

• Webform at the Federal eRulemaking 

Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Follow the instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. 

Instructions: All comments received 

are a part of the public record and will 

generally be posted to http:// 

www.regulations.gov without change. 

All personal identifying information (for 

example, name, address, etc.) 

voluntarily submitted by the commenter 

may be publicly accessible. Do not 

submit confidential business 

information or otherwise sensitive or 

protected information. 

NMFS will accept anonymous 

comments. Attachments to electronic 

comments will be accepted in Microsoft 

Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe 

PDF file formats only. 

Copies of the Categorical Exclusion 

(CE), Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), 

and Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (IRFA) prepared for this action 

may be obtained from the North Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

at 605 West 4th, Suite 306, Anchorage, 

Alaska 99501–2252, 907–271–2809, or 

the NMFS Alaska Region, P.O. Box 

21668, Juneau, Alaska 99802, Attn: 

Ellen Sebastian, and on the NMFS 

Alaska Region website at http:// 

www.noaa.fakr.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jay 

Ginter, 907–586–7228 or 

jay.ginter@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC) and NMFS manage 

fishing for Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus 

stenolepis) through regulations 

established under the authority of the 

Convention between the United States 

and Canada for the Preservation of the 

Halibut Fishery of the Northern Pacific 

Ocean and Bering Sea (Convention) and 

the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 

(Halibut Act). The IPHC promulgates 

regulations pursuant to the Convention. 

The IPHC’s regulations are subject to 

approval by the Secretary of State with 

concurrence from the Secretary of 

Commerce (Secretary). After approval 

by the Secretary of State and the 

Secretary, the IPHC regulations are 

published in the Federal Register as 

annual management measures pursuant 

to 50 CFR 300.62 (72 FR 11792; March 

14, 2007). 

The Halibut Act also authorizes the 

Council to develop and submit 

regulations to the Secretary to allocate 

harvesting privileges among U.S. 

fishermen. Regulations developed by 

the Council are implemented only with 

the approval of the Secretary. Like the 

original IFQ Program regulations and 

subsequent amendments to them, this 

action was developed by the Council 

under authority of the Halibut Act. 

The Council, under the authority of 

the Halibut Act (with respect to Pacific 

halibut) and the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (with respect to sablefish), adopted 

the IFQ Program in 1991. The Halibut 

and Sablefish IFQ Program established a 

limited access system for managing the 

fixed gear Pacific halibut fishery in 

Convention waters in and off Alaska 

and sablefish fisheries in waters of the 

Exclusive Economic Zone, located 

between 3 and 200 miles off Alaska. The 

IFQ Program was approved by NMFS in 

January 1993, and promulgated in 

Federal regulation on November 9, 1993 

(58 FR 59375). Fishing under the 

Halibut and Sablefish IFQ Program 

began on March 15, 1995, ending the 

open access fishery which preceded its 

implementation. Regulations 

implementing the Halibut and Sablefish 

IFQ Program are at 50 CFR part 679. In 

addition, Federal regulations at 50 CFR 

part 300, subpart E, also govern the 

halibut IFQ fishery. 

The Halibut and Sablefish IFQ 

Program was developed to reduce 

fishing capacity that had increased 

during years of management as an open 

access fishery, while maintaining the 

social and economic character of the 

fixed gear fishery that is relied on as a 

source of revenue for coastal 

communities in Alaska. The Council 

and the Secretary concluded that the 

Halibut and Sablefish IFQ Program 

would provide economic stability for 

the commercial hook-and-line fishery 

while reducing many of the 

conservation and management problems 

commonly associated with open access 


pwalker on PROD1PC71 with PROPOSALS