6222 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 24 / Friday, February 5, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

and Bluefin). The harmonized tariff 

schedule numbers applicable to these 

species or species groups are listed in 

the documents referenced in paragraph 

(c) of this section. Data required to be 

reported and retained under this 

program is not required for HTS codes 

applicable to fish oil, slurry, sauces, 

sticks, balls, cakes, pudding and other 

similar highly processed fish products 

for which the species of fish comprising 

the product or the harvesting event(s) or 

aquaculture operation(s) of the 

shipment of the product cannot 

currently be feasibly identified. 

(b) In addition to data reporting 

requirements applicable pursuant to 

other authorities and requirements set 

out elsewhere in U.S. law and 

regulation (e.g., under other NMFS 

programs or CBP requirements) to the 

particular commodity offered for entry, 

the importer of record is required to 

provide the following data set in ACE at 

the time of entry for each entry 

containing the species or species groups 

listed under paragraph (a) of this 

section: 

(1) Information on the entity(ies) 

harvesting or producing the fish: Name 

and flag state of harvesting vessel(s) and 

evidence of authorization; Unique 

vessel identifier(s) (if available); Type(s) 

of fishing gear; Name(s) of farm or 

aquaculture facility. 

(2) Information on the fish that was 

harvested and processed: Species of fish 

(scientific name, acceptable market 

name, and ASFIS number); Product 

description(s); Name of product(s); 

Quantity and/or weight of the 

product(s). 

(3) Information on where and when 

the fish were harvested and landed: 

Area(s) of wild-capture or aquaculture 

location; Date(s) of harvest or trip(s); 

Location of aquaculture facility; Point(s) 

of first landing; Date(s) of first landing; 

Name of entity(ies) (processor, dealer, 

vessel) to which fish was landed. Some 

entries may comprise products from 

more than one harvest event and each 

event relevant to the shipment must be 

documented. 

(4) The NMFS-issued IFTP number for 

the importer of record. 

(c) The importer of record, either 

directly or through an entry filer, is 

required to submit the data under 

paragraph (b) of this section through 

ACE as a message set and/or image files 

in conformance with the procedures and 

formats prescribed by NMFS and 

Customs and Border Protection and 

made available at: http://www.cbp.gov/

trade/ace/catair. 

(d) Import shipments of fish or fish 

products subject to this program may be 

selected for inspection and/or the 

information or records supporting entry 

may be selected for audit, on a pre- or 

post- release basis, in order to verify the 

information submitted at entry. 

(e) In addition to the entry 

recordkeeping requirements specified at 

19 CFR part 16, the importer of record 

is required to maintain records 

containing information on the chain of 

custody of the fish or fish products 

sufficient to trace the fish or fish 

product from point of entry into U.S. 

commerce to the point of harvest, 

including information that identifies 

each custodian of the fish or fish 

product (such as any transshipper, 

processor, storage facility or distributor). 

Such records may include widely used 

commercial documents such as 

declarations by the harvesting/carrier 

vessels or bills of lading. Regardless of 

whether data is reported at entry or 

maintained by the importer, the 

importer must retain records in 

electronic or paper format under the 

recordkeeping requirements specified in 

§ 300.323. 

■ 5. Revise redesignated § 300.325, 

proposed to be added December 29, 

2015, (80 FR 81251), as § 300.324, to 

read as follows: 

§ 300.325 Prohibitions. 

In addition to the prohibitions 

specified in § 300.4, § 300.117, 

§ 300.189, § 600.725 and § 635.71 of this 

title, it is unlawful for any person 

subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

States to: 

(a) violate any provision of this 

subpart, or any permit issued under this 

subpart. 

(b) Import species listed in 

§ 300.324(a) without a valid IFTP or 

without submitting complete and 

accurate information as required under 

§ 300.324(b)–(c). 

50 CFR CHAPTER VI—FISHERY 

CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, 

NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC 

ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF 

COMMERCE 

PART 600—MAGNUSON-STEVENS 

ACT PROVISIONS 

■ 6. The authority citation for part 600 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 561 and 16 U.S.C. 

1801 et seq. 

■ 7. In § 600.725, revise paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 600.725 General prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(a) Possess, have custody or control 

of, ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, 

purchase, land, import, export or reexport, any fish or parts thereof taken or 

retained in violation of the MagnusonStevens Act or any other statute 

administered by NOAA or any 

regulation or permit issued there under, 

or import, export, transport, sell, 

receive, acquire, or purchase in 

interstate or foreign commerce any fish 

taken, possessed, transported, or sold in 

violation of any foreign law or 

regulation, or any treaty or in 

contravention of binding conservation 

measure adopted by an international 

agreement or organization to which the 

United States is a party. 

* * * * * 

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

RIN 0648–BE70 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery off the Southern 

Atlantic States; Amendment 35 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council (Council) has 

submitted Amendment 35 to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the SnapperGrouper Fishery of the South Atlantic 

Region (FMP) for review, approval, and 

implementation by NMFS. Amendment 

35 would remove black snapper, 

mahogany snapper, dog snapper, and 

schoolmaster from the FMP; and clarify 

the Council’s intent regarding the 

golden tilefish longline endorsement 

program. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before April 5, 2016. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

on Amendment 35 identified by 

‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2015–0076’’ by any of 

the following methods: 

• Electronic Submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=

NOAA-NMFS-2015-0076, click the 

‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the 

required fields, and enter or attach your 

comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Nikhil Mehta, Southeast Regional 

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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 24 / Friday, February 5, 2016 / Proposed Rules 6223 

Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, 

St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 

Instructions: Comments sent by any 

other method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the end of 

the comment period, may not be 

considered by NMFS. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and will generally be posted for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender will 

be publicly accessible. NMFS will 

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/ 

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to 

remain anonymous). 

Electronic copies of Amendment 35 

may be obtained from the Southeast 

Regional Office Web site at http://

sero.nmfs.noaa.gov. Amendment 35 

includes a draft environmental 

assessment, a Regulatory Flexibility Act 

analysis, a Regulatory Impact Review, 

and a Fishery Impact Statement. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Nikhil Mehta, telephone: 727–824– 

5305; email: nikhil.mehta@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

(Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each 

regional fishery management council to 

submit any FMP or amendment to 

NMFS for review and approval, partial 

approval, or disapproval. The 

Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires 

that NMFS, upon receiving a plan or 

amendment, publish an announcement 

in the Federal Register notifying the 

public that the plan or amendment is 

available for review and comment. 

The FMP being revised by 

Amendment 35 was prepared by the 

Council and implemented through 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Actions Contained in Amendment 35 

Amendment 35 includes actions to 

remove black snapper, mahogany 

snapper, dog snapper, and schoolmaster 

from the FMP, and to clarify the 

Council’s intent regarding the golden 

tilefish longline endorsement program. 

Remove Four Species From the FMP 

Black snapper, mahogany snapper, 

dog snapper, and schoolmaster are 

currently in the FMP, but have 

extremely low landings in state and 

Federal waters, and almost all harvest 

(recreational and commercial) occurs in 

waters off South Florida. Currently, 

NMFS does not manage these species in 

Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico 

(Gulf); however, these species are 

subject to regulations in Florida state 

waters. As described in Amendment 35, 

there are currently different regulations 

for recreational bag limits, size limits, 

and catch levels for these species 

between the Gulf, South Atlantic, and 

Florida. Inconsistent regulations make 

enforcement difficult and may be 

confusing to the public. Amendment 35 

would remove black snapper, mahogany 

snapper, dog snapper, and schoolmaster 

from NMFS management in Federal 

waters of the South Atlantic to ensure 

that only species requiring Federal 

management are included in the FMP 

and to provide consistent regulations for 

these species across state and Federal 

jurisdictional boundaries. 

Black snapper is part of the deepwater complex within the FMP. The 

deep-water complex currently includes 

black snapper, yellowedge grouper, silk 

snapper, misty grouper, queen snapper, 

sand tilefish, and blackfin snapper. If 

black snapper is removed from the FMP, 

the annual catch limit (ACL) for the 

deep-water complex would be reduced 

from 170,279 lb (77,237 kg), round 

weight, to 169,896 lb (77,063 kg), round 

weight, a difference of 382 lb (173 kg), 

round weight. 

Dog snapper and mahogany snapper 

are part of the other snappers complex 

within the FMP. The other snappers 

complex currently includes cubera 

snapper, gray snapper, lane snapper, 

dog snapper, and mahogany snapper. If 

dog snapper and mahogany snapper are 

removed from the FMP, the other 

snappers complex ACL would be 

reduced from 1,517,716 lb (688,424 kg), 

round weight, to 1,513,883 lb (686,688 

kg), round weight, a difference of 3,833 

lb (1,739 kg), round weight. 

Dog snapper, mahogany snapper, and 

black snapper are not typically targeted 

by commercial or recreational 

fishermen; therefore, bycatch associated 

with harvest of these species is 

extremely low. Schoolmaster is 

currently designated as an ecosystem 

component (EC) species. The Council is 

not considering retaining dog snapper, 

mahogany snapper, and black snapper 

in the FMP as Ecosystem Component 

(EC) species, because the objective of 

the amendment is to establish a 

consistent regulatory environment 

across the jurisdictional boundaries of 

Gulf and South Atlantic Federal waters 

and Florida state waters. NMFS does not 

manage these species in Gulf Federal 

waters; therefore, retaining them as EC 

species would not create consistent 

regulations across jurisdictional 

boundaries. Additionally, if these 

species are designated as EC species, the 

state of Florida would not be able to 

extend management authority for them 

into Federal waters. 

A stock assessment has not been 

performed for any of these species; 

however, there is no indication these 

stocks are depleted. Therefore, removing 

these stocks from the FMP is not 

expected to result in any adverse 

biological effects. 

Clarify Regulations for Golden Tilefish 

Endorsement Holders 

The final rule for Amendment 18B to 

the FMP (78 FR 23858, April 23, 2013) 

established a longline endorsement 

program for the commercial golden 

tilefish component of the snappergrouper fishery. An endorsement is 

required to fish for golden tilefish with 

longline gear. Amendment 18B also 

established a golden tilefish hook-andline quota and modified the golden 

tilefish commercial trip limits. The 

golden tilefish longline endorsement, 

sector quotas, and trip limits were 

implemented because the commercial 

ACL was being harvested rapidly with 

longline gear, and fishermen who had 

historically used hook-and-line gear to 

target golden tilefish were not able to 

participate in the golden tilefish portion 

of the snapper-grouper fishery. 

Establishing gear specific commercial 

quotas was intended to help ensure that 

fishermen fishing with each gear type 

have a fair and equitable allocation of 

the commercial quota. 

At the time the golden tilefish 

longline endorsement and gear-specific 

quotas were established, the Council did 

not intend for longline endorsement 

holders to fish on the 500-lb (227-kg) 

gutted weight hook-and-line quota, or 

for non-endorsement holders to fish on 

the longline quota. NMFS and the 

Council are aware that, since 

Amendment 18B was implemented, 

some longline endorsement holders are 

transferring their golden tilefish 

longline endorsement to another vessel 

to then fish for golden tilefish using 

hook-and-line gear. Other longline 

endorsement holders are renewing their 

Federal commercial snapper-grouper 

vessel permit but waiting to renew their 

golden tilefish longline endorsement so 

that they are able to fish for golden 

tilefish using hook-and-line gear while 

their longline endorsement is not valid. 

Neither scenario is consistent with the 

intent of the Council in Amendment 

18B. Therefore, the Council determined 

that they should clarify their intent and 

request NMFS modify the regulations 

for golden tilefish endorsement holders. 

Currently, the regulations state, ‘‘vessels 

with a golden tilefish longline 

endorsement are not eligible to fish for 

golden tilefish using hook-and-line gear 

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6224 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 24 / Friday, February 5, 2016 / Proposed Rules 

under this 500-lb (227-kg), gutted 

weight, trip limit.’’ (50 CFR 

622.191(a)(2)(ii)). Amendment 35 and 

implementing regulations would clarify 

that ‘‘vessels that have valid or 

renewable golden tilefish longline 

endorsements anytime during the 

fishing year, are not eligible to fish for 

golden tilefish using hook-and-line gear 

under this 500-lb (227-kg) trip limit.’’ 

Thus, a fisherman who owns a vessel 

with a valid or renewable golden tilefish 

longline endorsement would not be 

eligible to fish for golden tilefish using 

hook-and-line gear under the 500-lb 

(227-kg), gutted weight, hook-and-line 

trip limit, during that fishing year. 

A proposed rule that would 

implement measures outlined in 

Amendment 35 has been drafted. In 

accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act, NMFS is evaluating the proposed 

rule to determine whether it is 

consistent with the FMP, the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law. 

If that determination is affirmative, 

NMFS will publish the proposed rule in 

the Federal Register for public review 

and comment. 

Consideration of Public Comments 

The Council has submitted 

Amendment 35 for Secretarial review, 

approval, and implementation. 

Comments received by April 5, 2016, 

whether specifically directed to the 

amendment or the proposed rule, will 

be considered by NMFS in its decision 

to approve, disapprove, or partially 

approve the amendment. Comments 

received after that date will not be 

considered by NMFS in this decision. 

All comments received by NMFS on the 

amendment or the proposed rule during 

their respective comment periods will 

be addressed in the final rule. 

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

Dated: February 2, 2016. 

Emily H. Menashes, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

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