Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 93 / Friday, May 14, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 27219 

PART 635—ATLANTIC HIGHLY 

MIGRATORY SPECIES 

■ 6. The authority citation for part 635 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 7. In § 635.21, paragraph (a)(4)(vi) is 

removed and reserved and paragraph 

(a)(4)(vii) is added to read as follows: 

§ 635.21 Gear operation and deployment 

restrictions. 

* * * * * 

(a) * * * 

(4) * * * 

(vii) Caribbean, Gulf, and South 

Atlantic EEZ area closures related to 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Effective 

May 11, 2010, no vessel issued, or 

required to be issued, a permit under 

this part, may fish or deploy any type 

of fishing gear in the areas designated at 

§§ 622.33(c), 622.34(n), or 622.35(m) of 

this chapter. 

* * * * * 

PART 640—SPINY LOBSTER FISHERY 

OF THE GULF OF MEXICO AND 

SOUTH ATLANTIC 

■ 8. The authority citation for part 640 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 9. In § 640.7, paragraph (x) is added to 

read as follows: 

§ 640.7 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(x) Harvest a spiny lobster, effective 

May 11, 2010, in the portion of the Gulf 

or South Atlantic EEZ designated in 

§ 622.34(n) or § 622.35(m) of this 

chapter, respectively, due to the 

Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

PART 654—STONE CRAB FISHERY OF 

THE GULF OF MEXICO 

■ 10. The authority citation for part 654 

continues to read as follows: 

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

■ 11. In § 654.7, paragraph (r) is 

removed and reserved and paragraph(s) 

is added to read as follows: 

§ 654.7 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(s) Pull or tend a stone crab trap, 

effective May 11, 2010, in the portion of 

the Gulf EEZ designated in § 622.34(n) 

of this chapter, due to the Deepwater 

Horizon oil spill. 

[FR Doc. 2010–11601 Filed 5–11–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 100105009–0167–02] 

RIN 0648–AY51 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab 

Fisheries; 2010 Atlantic Deep-Sea Red 

Crab Specifications 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS issues final 

specifications for the 2010 Atlantic 

deep-sea red crab fishery, including a 

target total allowable catch (TAC) and a 

fleet-wide days-at-sea (DAS) allocation. 

The intent of this rulemaking is to 

specify the target TAC and other 

management measures in order to 

manage the red crab resource for fishing 

year (FY) 2010. 

DATES: This rule is effective on June 14, 

2010. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the specifications 

document, including the Environmental 

Assessment (EA) and the Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) 

are available from Paul Howard, 

Executive Director, New England 

Fishery Management Council, 50 Water 

Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. The 

specifications document is also 

accessible via the Internet at http:// 

www.nefmc.org. 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: 

Moira Kelly, Fishery Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9218. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Red Crab FMP includes a 

specification process that requires the 

New England Fishery Management 

Council (Council) to recommend, on a 

triennial basis, a target TAC and a fleet 

DAS allocation that is consistent with 

that target TAC. In FY 2009, NMFS 

published a temporary emergency rule 

to modify the 2009 target TAC and fleet 

DAS to be consistent with the 

recommendations of the Data Poor 

Stocks Working Group and Review 

Panel (Working Group). The Working 

Group recommended a reduction in the 

maximum sustainable yield (MSY) to 

3.75–4.19 million lb (1,700–1,900 mt). 

In keeping with the FMP in setting the 

target TAC at 95 percent of MSY, NMFS 

implemented a target TAC of 3.56 

million lb (1,615 mt), and reduced the 

fleet DAS allocation from 780 DAS to 

582 DAS. The fleet DAS allocation is 

divided equally among the vessels 

active in the fishery, which can vary 

from year to year. For FY 2009, the 

allocation was initially divided among 

four vessels; however, NMFS allowed 

one of the four vessels to opt out of the 

fishery for the FY and reallocated the 

fleet DAS to the remaining three vessels. 

It is expected that four vessels will be 

active in the red crab fishery in FY 

2010. The Council has requested 

waiving the 6–month notification 

requirement for opting out of the red 

crab fishery for FY 2010. 

In September 2009, the Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) accepted the Working Group’s 

recommendation that MSY for red crab 

should be set within the range 3.75–4.19 

million lb (1,700–1,900 mt), and 

recommended that the interim 

acceptable biological catch (ABC) be set 

commensurate with recent catch. The 

SSC determined recent catch to be the 

amount of red crab landed in FY 2007, 

which was 2.83 million lb (1,284 mt). 

The landings in FY 2007 were the 

lowest since the implementation of the 

FMP in 2002. Despite the 

recommendation from the SSC that the 

target TAC not exceed an ABC of 2.83 

million lb (1,284 mt), the Council 

recommended a target TAC and fleet 

DAS allocation equal to the 2009 

emergency rule, 3.56 million lb (1,615 

mt) and 582 DAS, respectively. The 

Council based its target TAC on the 

MSY advice from the Working Group, 

rather than that recommended by the 

SSC, because the Council considered 

the advice of the Working Group to 

provide an acceptably low risk of 

avoiding overfishing. The Council 

further requested the SSC to reconsider 

its recommendation for red crab. 

In response to this request from the 

Council to reconsider its 

recommendation, the SSC met on March 

16–17, 2010, and determined that the 

interim ABC for red crab should be 

revised. The SSC has determined that 


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27220 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 93 / Friday, May 14, 2010 / Rules and Regulations 

the model results from the Working 

Group are an underestimate of MSY, but 

could not determine by how much. The 

SSC now recommends that the ABC for 

red crab be set equal to long-term 

average landings (3.91 million lb; 1,775 

mt). The SSC considers this level of 

landings to be sustainable and 

comfortably below the actual MSY level. 

Final Specifications 

In the proposed rule, NMFS proposed 

setting the target TAC equal to the 

original SSC recommendation because 

this level would be consistent with the 

best available science, but noted that if 

the SSC revised its ABC 

recommendation prior to the 

publication of the final specifications 

for FY 2010, NMFS would consider 

revising the specifications to the levels 

recommended by the Council. However, 

the red crab regulations at § 648.260 

provided no explicit authority for NMFS 

to have proposed specifications that 

differed from the Council’s 

recommendation. Accordingly, based on 

this regulatory constraint, because the 

specifications recommended by the 

Council exceeded the ABC 

recommended by the Council’s SSC, 

had the ABC recommendation of the 

SSC not changed, NMFS would have 

had no alternative but to disapprove the 

Council’s proposed specifications in the 

final rule. But, based on the new ABC 

recommendation by the Council’s SSC, 

NMFS is able to approve the FY 2010 

specifications, which are now consistent 

with the best scientific information 

available, at the level recommended by 

the Council. 

Therefore, this final rule adopts the 

Council’s recommended target TAC of 

3.56 million lb (1,615 mt) and DAS 

allocation of 582 DAS, instead of the 

proposed target TAC of 2.83 million lb 

(1,284 mt) and 464 fleet DAS allocation. 

Although this is consistent with the 

Council’s recommendation, it remains 

less than the most recent ABC 

recommendation by the SSC because, as 

explained above, the red crab 

specification regulations do not grant 

NMFS the authority to implement a 

target TAC different than that 

recommended by the Council. As an 

alternative, the red crab regulations at 

§ 648.260(a)(3) authorize NMFS to make 

an in-season adjustment of the 

specifications, after consultation with 

the Council and an opportunity for 

additional public comment. 

Other Measures 

NMFS is also adopting the Council’s 

request to waive the 6–month 

notification requirement for vessels to 

opt out of the red crab fishery for FY 

2010. Currently, vessel owners must 

inform NMFS of their intention to opt 

out of the fishery 6 months prior to the 

start of the next fishing; i.e., by 

September 1. NMFS is adopting the 

Council’s request because the 

specification decisions were not made 

until after September. 

As described in the FMP, and 

specified at § 648.260(b)(2), if the 

effective date of a final rule falls after 

the start of the FY on March 1, fishing 

may continue under the specifications 

for the previous year. Because the 

specifications that were put in place 

under the emergency action expired on 

February 28, 2010, the target TAC and 

DAS allocation reverted to those 

previously specified in the regulations 

(5.928 million lb (2,688 mt) and 780 

DAS, respectively). However, any DAS 

used by a vessel on or after March 1 will 

be counted against the DAS allocation 

the vessel receives for FY 2010. 

Comment and Response 

One comment was received from the 

Atlantic Red Crab Company, requesting 

NMFS to adopt the SSC’s revised ABC 

recommendation of 3.91 million lb 

(1,775 mt) as the target TAC, which 

would have a positive economic impact 

on the red crab industry. As stated 

above, NMFS does not have the 

regulatory authority to implement a 

target TAC that is greater than the 

Council’s recommended level; however, 

the regulations do provide for an inseason adjustment of the specifications, 

after consultation with the Council. 

Therefore, at this time, NMFS is 

implementing the specifications 

recommended by the Council. 

Following an opportunity to consult 

with the Council, NMFS may consider 

a mid-year adjustment to the 

specifications. 

One comment was also received from 

the Council requesting NMFS to adopt 

its recommended specifications of 3.56 

million lb (1,615 mt) based on the SSC’s 

revised recommendation for ABC, and 

noting that the Council intends to 

consider recommending that the target 

TAC be adjusted according to the 

procedures laid out in the FMP at its 

earliest opportunity. This final rule 

adopts the Council’s recommended 

target TAC of 3.56 million lb. As stated 

above, NMFS may consider a mid-year 

adjustment to the specifications. 

Classification 

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

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS 

Assistant Administrator has determined 

that this rule is consistent with the 

Atlantic Deep-Sea Red Crab FMP, other 

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, and other applicable law. 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for purposes of 

Executive Order 12866. 

Included in this final rule is the FRFA 

prepared pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 604(a). 

The FRFA incorporates the IRFA, a 

summary of the significant issues raised 

by the public comments in response to 

the IRFA, and NMFS’s responses to 

those comments, and a summary of the 

analyses completed to support the 

action. A copy of the EA/Regulatory 

Impact Review/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 these 

specifications are explained in the 

preambles to the proposed rule and this 

final rule and are not repeated here. 

Summary of Significant Issues Raised in 

Public Comments 

Two comments were submitted on the 

proposed rule; while they were not 

specific to the IRFA, one did comment 

on the economic effects of the rule. 

NMFS has responded to the comments 

in the Comments and Responses section 

of the preamble to this final rule. No 

changes were made to the final rule as 

a result of the comments received. 

Description and Estimated of Number of 

Small Entities to Which the Rule will 

Apply 

There are no large entities that 

participate in this fishery, as defined in 

section 601 of the RFA; therefore, there 

are no disproportionate effects on small 

versus large entities. Information on 

costs in the fishery are not readily 

available, and individual vessel 

profitability cannot be determined 

directly; therefore, changes in gross 

revenues were used as a proxy for 

profitability. In the absence of 

quantitative data, qualitative analyses 

were conducted. 

The participants in the commercial 

sector are the owners of vessels issued 

limited access red crab vessel permits. 

There are five limited access red crab 

vessel permits, although only three 

vessels participated in the fishery in FY 

2009. 


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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: 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with RULES