Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 93 / Friday, May 14, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 27221 

Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

No additional reporting, 

recordkeeping, or other compliance 

requirements are included in this final 

rule. 

Description of the Steps Taken to 

Minimize Economic Impact on Small 

Entities 

Specification of the target TAC and 

corresponding fleet DAS allocation is 

constrained by the conservation 

objectives of the FMP, under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

The target TAC contained in this final 

rule is equal to the FY 2009 target TAC, 

and roughly 20 percent higher than 

actual FY 2009 commercial red crab 

landings. Whereas a limited market has 

been responsible for the shortfall in 

landings compared to the target TAC, 

red crab vessel owners have invested 

heavily in a new processing plant in 

New Bedford, MA, and have developed 

new marketing outlets with hopes to 

increase demand for their product. 

Further, the Council considered three 

alternatives, and this rule implements 

the alternative that has the highest target 

TAC and DAS allocation that is 

consistent with both the FMP and the 

best available science. 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity compliance 

guides.’’ The agency shall explain the 

actions a small entity is required to take 

to comply with a rule or group of rules. 

As part of this rulemaking process, a 

small entity compliance guide will be 

sent to all holders of Federal permits 

issued for the Atlantic red crab fishery. 

In addition, copies of this final rule and 

guide (i.e., permit holder letter) are 

available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES) 

and at the following website: http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648 

Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

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

Dated: May 10, 2010. 

Eric C. Schwaab, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

■ For the reasons stated 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 § 648.4, paragraph 

(a)(13)(i)(B)(2)(ii) is revised to read as 

follows: 

§ 648.4 Vessel permits. 

(a) * * * 

(13) * * * 

(i) * * * 

(B) * * * 

(2) * * * 

(ii) A limited-access permit holder 

may choose to declare out of the red 

crab fishery for the next fishing year by 

submitting a binding declaration on a 

form supplied by the Regional 

Administrator, which must be received 

by NMFS at least 180 days before the 

last day of the current fishing year. 

NMFS will presume that a vessel 

intends to fish during the next fishing 

year unless such binding declaration is 

received at least 180 days before the last 

day of the current fishing year. Any 

limited-access permit holder who has 

submitted a binding declaration must 

submit either a new binding declaration 

or a renewal application for the year 

after which they were declared out of 

the fishery. For the 2010 fishing year 

only, the 6–month notification 

requirement is waived, and a vessel may 

be declared out of the fishery at any 

time prior to fishing under a limited 

access red crab DAS during the 2010 

fishing year. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 648.260, paragraph (a)(1) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.260 Specifications. 

(a) * * * 

(1) Target total allowable catch. The 

target TAC for each fishing year will be 

3.56 million lb (1,615 mt), unless 

modified pursuant to this paragraph. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 648.262, paragraph (b)(2) is 

revised to read as follows: 

§ 648.262 Effort-control program for red 

crab limited access vessels. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) For fishing years 2010 and 

thereafter. Each limited access permit 

holder shall be allocated 116 DAS 

unless one or more vessels declares out 

of the fishery consistent with 

§ 648.4(a)(13)(i)(B)(2)(ii) or the TAC is 

adjusted consistent with § 648.260. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2010–11613 Filed 5–13–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 100204079–0199–02] 

RIN 0648–XQ49 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2010 

Atlantic Bluefish Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; final specifications 

for the 2010 Atlantic bluefish fishery. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues final 

specifications for the 2010 Atlantic 

bluefish fishery, including state-by-state 

commercial quotas, a recreational 

harvest limit, and recreational 

possession limits for Atlantic bluefish 

off the east coast of the U.S. The intent 

of these specifications is to establish the 

allowable 2010 harvest levels and 

possession limits to attain the target 

fishing mortality rate (F), consistent 

with the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery 

Management Plan (FMP). 

DATES: Effective June 14, 2010, through 

December 31, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the specifications 

document, including the Environmental 

Assessment (EA) and the Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) 

are available from Daniel Furlong, 

Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, Room 

2115, Federal Building, 300 South 

Street, Dover, DE 19901–6790. The 

specifications document is also 

accessible via the Internet at http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov. NMFS prepared a 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

(FRFA), which is contained in the 

Classification section of this rule. The 

FRFA consists of the IRFA, public 

comments and responses contained in 

this final rule, and a summary of 

impacts and alternatives contained in 

this final rule. The small entity 

compliance guide is available from 

Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional 

Administrator, Northeast Regional 

Office, National Marine Fisheries 

Service, 55 Great Republic Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930–2298, and on the 

Northeast Regional Office’s website at 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Heil, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281–9257. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


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27222 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 93 / Friday, May 14, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

Background 

The Atlantic bluefish fishery is 

managed cooperatively by the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council 

(Council) and the Atlantic States Marine 

Fisheries Commission (Commission). 

The management unit for bluefish 

specified in the FMP is U.S. waters of 

the western Atlantic Ocean. Regulations 

implementing the FMP appear at 50 

CFR part 648, subparts A and J. 

Regulations requiring annual 

specifications are found at § 648.160. 

The FMP requires the Council to 

recommend, on an annual basis, a total 

allowable catch (TAC) and total 

allowable landings (TAL) that will 

control fishing mortality. Estimates of 

stock size, coupled with the target F, 

allow for a calculation of the TAC. 

Projected bluefish discards are 

subtracted from the TAC to calculate the 

TAL that can be made during the year 

by the commercial and recreational 

fishing sectors combined. The TAL is 

composed of a commercial quota 

(allocated to the states from Maine to 

Florida in specified shares) and a 

coastwide recreational harvest limit 

(RHL). The Council may also specify a 

research set-aside (RSA) quota, which is 

deducted from the bluefish TAL (after 

any applicable transfer) in an amount 

proportional to the percentage of the 

overall TAL as allocated to the 

commercial and recreational sectors. 

The annual review process for 

bluefish requires that the Council’s 

Bluefish Monitoring Committee 

(Monitoring Committee) and Scientific 

and Statistical Committee (SSC) review 

and make recommendations based on 

the best available data, including, but 

not limited to, commercial and 

recreational catch/landing statistics, 

current estimates of fishing mortality, 

stock abundance, discards for the 

recreational fishery, and juvenile 

recruitment. Based on the 

recommendations of the Monitoring 

Committee and SSC, the Council makes 

a recommendation to the Northeast 

Regional Administrator (RA). Because 

this FMP is a joint plan, the 

Commission also meets during the 

annual specification process to adopt 

complementary measures. 

The Council’s recommendations must 

include supporting documentation 

concerning the environmental, 

economic, and social impacts of the 

recommendations. NMFS is responsible 

for reviewing these recommendations to 

assure they achieve the FMP objectives, 

and may modify them if they do not. 

NMFS then publishes proposed 

specifications in the Federal Register. 

After considering public comment, 

NMFS will publish final specifications 

in the Federal Register. 

In July 2009, the Monitoring 

Committee and the SSC met to discuss 

the updated estimates of bluefish stock 

biomass and project fishery yields for 

2010. Based on the updated 2008 

estimate of bluefish stock biomass, the 

bluefish stock is not considered 

overfished: B2008 = 360.957 million lb 

(163,727 mt) is greater than the 

minimum biomass threshold, 1⁄2 BMSY = 

162 million lb (73,526 mt), and is 

actually above the long-term biomass 

target (BMSY). Biomass has been above 

the target since 2007, and the stock was 

declared rebuilt in 2009, satisfying the 

rebuilding program requirement to 

achieve rebuilding by 2010 that was 

established in Amendment 1 to the 

FMP. Estimates of F have declined from 

0.41 in 1991 to 0.12 in 2008. The 

updated model results also conclude 

that the Atlantic bluefish stock is not 

experiencing overfishing; i.e., the most 

recent F (F2008 = 0.12) is less than the 

maximum F overfishing threshold 

specified by the 41st Stock Assessment 

Review Committee (FMSY = 0.19). 

Detailed background information 

regarding the stock assessment process 

for bluefish and the development of the 

2010 specifications for this fishery was 

provided in the proposed specifications 

(75 FR 10450, March 8, 2010), and will 

not be repeated here. 

Final Specifications 

2010 TAL 

During the rebuilding period, the 

Council was required to set a TAC 

consistent with the prescribed F for a 

given phase in the rebuilding period, or 

the status quo F, whichever was less. 

According to Amendment 1, once the 

stock is recovered, the TAC could be set 

to achieve an Ftarget defined as 90 

percent of FMSY (0.19). At its July 2009 

meeting, the SSC noted that sparse age 

composition data, the lack of sampling 

by fishery independent trawl and seine 

surveys, and the uncertainty behind 

recreational catch estimates were 

sources of scientific uncertainty 

associated with the bluefish stock 

assessment. Therefore, the Monitoring 

Committee and the SSC recommended a 

TAC for 2010 at a level consistent with 

the maximum allowable rebuilding F 

(0.15), rather than increasing Ftarget to 

the FMP-prescribed level for a recovered 

stock (F = 0.17). The Council 

subsequently approved the Monitoring 

Committee and SSC’s recommendations 

at its August 2009 meeting. Therefore, 

the Council recommended a coastwide 

TAC of 34.376 million lb (15,593 mt) to 

achieve the target F (0.15) in 2010 and 

to ensure that the bluefish stock 

continues to remain above BMSY). 

The TAL for 2010 is derived by 

subtracting an estimate of discards of 

5.112 million lb (2,319 mt), the average 

discard level from 2006–2008, from the 

TAC. After subtracting estimated 

discards, the 2010 TAL would be 29.264 

million lb (13,274 mt), which is slightly 

less than the 2009 TAL of 29.356 

million lb (13,316 mt) due to an increase 

in discard estimates in recent years. 

Based strictly on the percentages 

specified in the FMP (17 percent 

commercial, 83 percent recreational), 

the commercial quota for 2010 would be 

4.975 million lb (2,257 mt), and the RHL 

would be 24.289 million lb (11,017 mt) 

in 2010. In addition, up to 3 percent of 

the TAL may be allocated as an RSA 

quota. The discussion below describes 

the recommended allocation of TAL 

between the commercial and 

recreational sectors, and the 

proportional adjustments to account for 

the recommended bluefish RSA quota. 

Final Commercial Quota, RHL, and RSA 

Quota 

The FMP stipulates that in any year 

in which 17 percent of the TAL is less 

than 10.500 million lb (4,763 mt) the 

commercial quota may be increased up 

to 10.500 million lb (4,763 mt) as long 

as the recreational fishery is not 

projected to land more than 83 percent 

of the TAL in the upcoming fishing 

year, and the combined projected 

recreational landings and commercial 

quota would not exceed the TAL. At the 

Monitoring Committee meeting in July 

2009, Council staff attempted to 

estimate projected recreational landings 

for the 2010 fishing year by using a 

simple linear regression of the recent 

(2002–2008) temporal trends in 

recreational landings. However, at that 

time, only 2009 Marine Recreational 

Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS) 

data through Wave 2 were available for 

2009, and a reliable estimate of 2009 

recreational catch could not be 

generated. Therefore, the Council 

postponed this type of projection until 

more landings data for the 2009 fishing 

year became available. Recreational 

landings for 2008 (18.9 million lb, 8,573 

mt) were applied to 2010 for an initial 

calculation of the RHL. As such, it was 

expected that a transfer of up to 5.387 

million lb (2,444 mt) to the commercial 

sector could be approved. This 

represents the preferred alternative 

recommended by the Council in its 

specifications document. 

Northeast Regional Office (NERO) 

staff recently updated the recreational 

harvest projection using 2009 MRFSS 

data from Waves 1 through 4 and 6. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 93 / Friday, May 14, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 27223 

Wave 5 estimates for 2009 are not 

available at this time. Using the best 

available data, the 2009 recreational 

harvest was estimated to be 15.391 

million lb (6,981 mt), or 53 percent of 

the TAL. Consistent with the Council’s 

recommendation, this would allow for a 

transfer of 5.387 million lb (2,444 mt) 

from the recreational sector to the 

commercial fishery, increasing the 

commercial quota from 4.975 million lb 

(2,257 mt) to 10.362 million lb (4,700 

mt). This commercial quota is 5 percent 

greater than the 2009 commercial quota 

and 71 percent greater than actual 2009 

commercial landings. 

A request for research proposals for 

the 2010 Mid-Atlantic RSA Program was 

published on January 2, 2009 (74 FR 

72). Two research projects that would 

utilize bluefish RSA quota have been 

approved and forwarded to NOAA’s 

Grants Management Division. A 

419,750–lb (190,395–kg) RSA quota is 

approved for use by these projects 

during 2010. This final rule does not 

represent NOAA’s approval of any RSA 

quota-related grant award, which will be 

included in a separate action. Consistent 

with the allocation of the bluefish RSA 

quota, the final commercial quota for 

2010 is 10,213,222 lb (4,633 mt), the 

final RHL is 18,630,842 lb (8,451 mt), 

and the RSA quota is 419,750 lb 

(190,395 kg). 

Recreational Possession Limit 

NMFS has approved the Council’s 

recommendation to maintain the current 

recreational possession limit of 15 fish 

per person to achieve the RHL. 

Final State Commercial Allocations 

The final state commercial allocations 

for the 2010 commercial quota are 

shown in Table 1, based on the 

percentages specified in the FMP. In 

accordance with the regulations at ’ 

648.160(e)(2), NMFS shall deduct any 

overages of the commercial quota 

landed in any state from that state’s 

annual quota for the following year. 

Updated landings information for 

fishing year 2009, through December 31, 

2009, indicate no commercial bluefish 

quota overages. 

TABLE 1. FINAL BLUEFISH COMMERCIAL STATE-BY-STATE ALLOCATIONS FOR 2010 (INCLUDING RSA DEDUCTIONS). 

State Percent Share Final State Quotas (lb)(including RSA deductions) 

Final State Quotas (kg)(including RSA deductions) 

ME 0.6685 68,275 30,969 

NH 0.4145 42,334 19,202 

MA 6.7167 685,991 311,161 

RI 6.8081 695,326 315,395 

CT 1.2663 129,330 58,663 

NY 10.3851 1,060,653 481,104 

NJ 14.8162 1,513,211 686,381 

DE 1.8782 191,825 87,010 

MD 3.0018 306,580 139,063 

VA 11.8795 1,213,280 550,334 

NC 32.0608 3,274,441 1,485,261 

SC 0.0352 3,595 1,631 

GA 0.0095 970 440 

FL 10.0597 1,027,419 466,030 

Total 100.0001 10,213,222 4,632,644 

Comments and Responses 

The public comment period for the 

proposed rule ended on March 23, 2010. 

One comment was received from a 

private citizen. A summary and 

response to the concerns raised by the 

commenter are included below. 

Comment 1: The commenter 

suggested that quotas should be cut, 

based on the notion that commercial 

fisheries are causing bluefish, and other 

species, to become extinct. 

Response: The commenter provided 

no scientific basis for the suggestion that 

bluefish are at risk of extinction. The 

reasons presented by the Council and 

NMFS for recommending the final 2010 

bluefish specifications are based on the 

best scientific information available, 

and are discussed in the preambles to 

both the proposed and final rule. 

Bluefish are not considered overfished 

or subject to overfishing, and biomass 

appears to be at its highest level in 20 

years. Sufficient analysis and scientific 

justification for NMFS’s action in this 

final rule are contained within the 

supporting documents. 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Assistant 

Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, has 

determined that this rule is consistent 

with the Atlantic Bluefish FMP, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law. 

This final rule is exempt from review 

under Executive Order 12866. 

This final rule does not duplicate, 

conflict, or overlap with any existing 

Federal rules. 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with RULES
27224 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 93 / Friday, May 14, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

The FRFA included in this final rule 

was prepared pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 

604(a), and incorporates the IRFA and a 

summary of the analyses completed to 

support the action. No significant issues 

were raised by the public comment in 

response to the IRFA. A copy of the EA/ 

RIR/IRFA is available from the Council 

(see ADDRESSES). 

The preamble to the proposed rule 

included a detailed summary of the 

analyses contained in the IRFA, and that 

discussion is not repeated here. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Statement of Objective and Need 

A description of the reasons why this 

action is being taken, and the objectives 

of and legal basis for this final rule are 

contained in the preambles to the 

proposed rule and this final rule and are 

not repeated here. 

Summary of Significant Issues Raised in 

Public Comments 

One comment was submitted on the 

proposed rule but did not raise specific 

issues regarding the economic analyses 

summarized in the IRFA or the 

economic impacts of the rule more 

generally. No changes were made to the 

final rule as a result of the comment 

received. For a summary of the 

comment received, and the response to 

that comment, refer to the ‘‘Comments 

and Responses’’ section of this 

preamble. 

Description and Estimate of Number of 

Small Entities to Which the Rule will 

Apply 

The Small Business Administration 

(SBA) defines small businesses in the 

commercial fishing and recreational 

fishing sectors as firms with receipts 

(gross revenues) of up to $4.0 million 

and $6.5 million, respectively. No large 

entities participate in this fishery, as 

defined in section 601 of the RFA. 

Therefore, there are no disproportionate 

effects on small versus large entities. 

The categories of small entities likely to 

be affected by this action include 

commercial and party/charter vessel 

owners holding an active Federal permit 

for Atlantic bluefish, as well as owners 

of vessels that fish for Atlantic bluefish 

in state waters. 

The Council estimates that the 

proposed 2010 specifications could 

affect those vessels that were actively 

involved (landed more than 1 lb (0.45 

kg) of bluefish) in the bluefish fishery in 

2008. Northeast dealer reports identified 

624 vessels that landed bluefish in 

states from Maine to North Carolina. 

South Atlantic Trip Ticket reports 

identified 908 vessels that landed 

bluefish in North Carolina and 685 

vessels that landed bluefish on Floridas 

east coast (double counting is possible 

because some of these vessels were also 

identified in the Northeast dealer data). 

Bluefish landings in South Carolina and 

Georgia were near zero in 2008, 

representing a negligible proportion of 

the total bluefish landings along the 

Atlantic Coast in 2008. The Council also 

estimates that approximately 2,063 

party/charter vessels may have been 

active in the bluefish fishery and/or 

have caught bluefish in recent years. 

Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements 

No additional reporting, 

recordkeeping, or other compliance 

requirements are included in this final 

rule. 

Description of the Steps Taken to 

Minimize Economic Impact on Small 

Entities 

Specification of commercial quota, 

recreational harvest levels, and 

possession limits is constrained by the 

conservation objectives of the FMP, 

under the authority of the MagnusonStevens Act. The commercial quota 

contained in this final rule is 5 percent 

higher than the 2009 commercial quota, 

and 71 percent higher than actual 2009 

commercial bluefish landings. All 

affected states will receive increases in 

their individual commercial quota 

allocations in comparison to their 

respective 2009 individual state 

allocations, which is expected to result 

in positive economic impacts for 

commercial bluefish fishery 

participants. 

The RHL contained in this final rule 

is approximately 5 percent lower than 

the RHL in 2009. The small reduction in 

RHL is a reflection of a declining trend 

in recreational bluefish harvest in recent 

years. Since the 2010 RHL is greater 

than the total projected recreational 

bluefish harvest for 2009, it does not 

constrain recreational bluefish harvest 

below a level that the fishery is 

anticipated to achieve. The possession 

limit for bluefish will remain at 15 fish 

per person, so there should be no 

impact on demand for party/charter 

vessel fishing and, therefore, no impact 

on revenues earned by party/charter 

vessels. No negative economic impacts 

on the recreational fishery are 

anticipated. 

The impacts on revenues associated 

with the proposed RSA quota were 

analyzed and are expected to be 

minimal. Assuming that the full RSA 

quota of 419,750 lb (190,395 kg) is 

landed and sold to support the proposed 

research projects (a supplemental finfish 

survey in the Mid-Atlantic region and a 

study to reduce butterfish bycatch in the 

offshore Loligo squid fishery), then all 

of the participants in the fishery would 

benefit from the improved fisheries data 

yielded from each project. 

Because the 2010 commercial quota 

being implemented in this final rule is 

greater than the 2009 commercial quota, 

the 2010 RHL is greater than the 

projected 2009 recreational bluefish 

harvest and consistent with recent 

trends in recreational landings, and the 

impacts of the RSA quota will be 

minimal, no negative economic impacts 

are expected as a result of this final rule. 

Small Entity Compliance Guide 

Section 212 of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 

1996 states that, for each rule or group 

of related rules for which an agency is 

required to prepare a FRFA, the agency 

shall publish one or more guides to 

assist small entities in complying with 

the rule, and shall designate such 

publications as ‘‘small entity compliance 

guides.’’ The agency shall explain the 

actions a small entity is required to take 

to comply with a rule or group of rules. 

As part of this rulemaking process, a 

small entity compliance guide will be 

sent to all holders of Federal permits 

issued for the Atlantic bluefish fishery. 

In addition, copies of this final rule 

and guide (i.e., permit holder letter) are 

available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES) 

and at the following website: http:// 

www.nero.noaa.gov. 

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

Dated: May 10, 2010. 

Eric C. Schwaab, 

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–11611 Filed 5–13–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–S 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with RULES