67090 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

extraordinary circumstances prevented 

the presentation of evidence at the 

hearing, and that the additional 

evidence is material, the authority head 

may remand the matter to the ALJ for 

consideration of the additional 

evidence. 

§ 1149.66 How does the authority head 

dispose of an appeal? 

(a) The authority head may affirm, 

reduce, reverse, compromise, remand, 

or settle any penalty or assessment 

imposed by the ALJ in the initial 

decision or reconsideration decision. 

(b) The authority head will promptly 

serve each party to the appeal and the 

ALJ with a copy of his or her decision. 

This decision must contain a statement 

describing the right of any person, 

against whom a penalty or assessment 

has been made, to seek judicial review. 

§ 1149.67 Who represents the NEA on an 

appeal? 

The authority head will designate the 

NEA’s representative in the event of an 

appeal. 

§ 1149.68 What judicial review is 

available? 

Section 3805 of title 31, United States 

Code, authorizes Judicial review by the 

appropriate United States District Court 

of any final NEA decision by the 

authority head imposing penalties or 

assessments under this part. To obtain 

judicial review, you must file a petition 

with the appropriate court in a timely 

manner. (See paragraphs (a) through (e) 

of 31 U.S.C. 3805 for a description of 

how judicial review is authorized.) 

§ 1149.69 Can the administrative 

complaint be settled voluntarily? 

(a) Parties may make offers of 

compromise or settlement at any time. 

Any compromise or settlement must be 

in writing. 

(b) The reviewing official has the 

exclusive authority to compromise or 

settle the case anytime after the date on 

which the reviewing official is 

permitted to issue a complaint and 

before the ALJ issues an initial decision. 

(c) The authority head has exclusive 

authority to compromise or settle the 

case anytime after the date of the ALJ’s 

initial decision until the initiation of 

any judicial review or any action to 

collect the penalties and assessments. 

(d) The Attorney General has 

exclusive authority to compromise or 

settle a case once any judicial review or 

any action to recover penalties and 

assessments is initiated. 

(e) The investigating official may 

recommend settlement terms to the 

reviewing official, the authority head, or 

the Attorney General, as appropriate. 

§ 1149.70 How are civil penalties and 

assessments collected? 

(a) Civil actions to recover penalties 

or assessments must commence within 

3 years after the date of a final decision 

determining your liability. 

(b) The Attorney General is 

responsible for judicial enforcement of 

civil penalties or assessments imposed. 

He/she has exclusive authority to 

compromise or settle any penalty or 

assessment during the pendency of any 

action to collect penalties or 

assessments under 31 U.S.C. 3806. 

(c) Penalties or assessments imposed 

by a final decision may be recovered in 

a civil action brought by the Attorney 

General. 

(1) The district courts of the United 

States have jurisdiction of such civil 

actions. 

(2) The United States Court of Federal 

Claims has jurisdiction of any civil 

action to recover any penalty or 

assessment if the cause of action is 

asserted by the government as a 

counterclaim in a matter pending in 

such court. 

(3) Civil actions may be joined and 

consolidated with or asserted as a 

counterclaim, cross-claim, or set off by 

the government in any other civil action 

which includes you and the government 

as parties. 

(4) Defenses raised at the hearing, or 

that could have been raised, may not be 

raised as a defense in the civil action. 

Determination of liability and of the 

amounts of penalties and assessments 

must not be subject to review. 

§ 1149.71 Is there a right to administrative 

offset? 

The amount of any penalty or 

assessment which has become final, or 

for which a judgment has been entered, 

or any amount agreed upon in a 

compromise or settlement, may be 

collected by administrative offset, 

except that an administrative offset may 

not be made under this subsection 

against a refund of an overpayment of 

Federal taxes, then or later owing by the 

United States to you. 

§ 1149.72 What happens to collections? 

All amounts collected pursuant to this 

part must be deposited as miscellaneous 

receipts in the Treasury of the United 

States. 

§ 1149.73 What if the investigation 

indicates criminal misconduct or a violation 

of the False Claims Act? 

(a) Investigating officials may: 

(1) Refer allegations of criminal 

misconduct or a violation of the False 

Claims Act directly to the Department of 

Justice for prosecution and/or civil 

action, as appropriate; 

(2) Defer or postpone a report or 

referral to the reviewing official to avoid 

interference with a criminal or civil 

investigation, prosecution or litigation; 

or 

(3) Issue subpoenas under any other 

statutory authority. 

(b) Nothing in this part limits the 

requirement that NEA employees report 

suspected false or fraudulent conduct, 

claims or statements, and violations of 

criminal law to the NEA Office of 

Inspector General or to the Attorney 

General. 

§ 1149.74 How does the NEA protect your 

rights? 

These procedures separate the 

functions of the investigating official, 

reviewing official, and the ALJ, each of 

whom report to a separate 

organizational authority. Except for 

purposes of settlement, or as a witness 

or a representative in public 

proceedings, no investigating official, 

reviewing official, or NEA employee or 

agent who helps investigate, prepare, or 

present a case may (in such case, or a 

factually related case) participate in the 

initial decision or the review of the 

initial decision by the authority head. 

This separation of functions and 

organization is designed to assure the 

independence and impartiality of each 

government official during every stage 

of the proceeding. The representative for 

the NEA may be employed in the offices 

of either the investigating official or the 

reviewing official. 

Dated: November 3, 2014. 

India J. Pinkney, 

General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26507 Filed 11–10–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7537–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 648 

[Docket No. 140903748–4748–01] 

RIN 0648–BE45 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act 

Provisions; Fisheries of the 

Northeastern United States; Northeast 

Groundfish Fishery; Gulf of Maine 

Haddock Annual Catch Limit Revision 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 67091 

ACTION: Temporary rule; emergency 

action. 

SUMMARY: This action implements new 

stock status determination criteria for 

Gulf of Maine (GOM) haddock and 

increases the associated GOM haddock 

catch limits for the remainder of fishing 

year 2014 based on the most recent and 

best available scientific information. 

This action is intended to provide 

additional commercial fishing 

opportunities for GOM haddock and 

other healthy groundfish stocks. 

DATES: Effective November 12, 2014, 

through May 11, 2015. Comments must 

be received by December 12, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2014–0133, 

by any of the following methods: 

• Electronic submissions: Submit all 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to 

www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2014- 

0133, click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and enter 

or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

John K. Bullard, Regional 

Administrator, National Marine 

Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic 

Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the 

outside of the envelope, ‘‘Comments on 

the Gulf of Maine Haddock Emergency 

Action.’’ 

Instructions: Supporting analysis 

documents may be obtained at 

www.regulations.gov. 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). Attachments to 

electronic comments will be accepted in 

Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF 

file formats only. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Whitmore, Fishery Policy 

Analyst, phone: 978–281–9182. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) finds 

that emergency action, under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), is 

necessary to revise the fishing year 2014 

catch limits for Gulf of Maine (GOM) 

haddock, managed by the Northeast 

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan 

(referred to as the groundfish plan). A 

recent benchmark stock assessment 

conducted by the Stock Assessment 

Review Committee (SARC 59, August 

2014) indicated that the GOM haddock 

stock status is no longer overfished and 

overfishing is not occurring. This 

emergency action increases the GOM 

haddock annual catch limit for the 

remainder of fishing year 2014 based on 

this updated stock assessment. This 

action seeks to prevent foregone 

economic yield or adverse community 

impacts and preserves an economic 

opportunity that otherwise would not be 

available. 

Background 

The New England Fishery Management 

Council Requests Assistance 

On May 3, 2013, the final rule 

implementing Framework Adjustment 

(Framework) 50 to the groundfish plan 

(78 FR 26172) implemented an 

overfishing limit of 440 mt for GOM 

haddock, with an allowable biological 

catch of 341 mt and an annual catch 

limit of 323 mt for fishing year 2014 

(Table 1). These catch limits represented 

substantial reductions of catch levels 

from prior years and were implemented 

when the stock was considered to be 

approaching an overfished condition 

and overfishing was occurring. The final 

rule implementing Framework 

Adjustment (Framework) 51 to the 

groundfish plan (79 FR 22421; April 22, 

2014) retained these limits. 

On July 9, 2014, the New England 

Fishery Management Council (Council) 

requested that the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) increase the 

GOM haddock annual catch limit for 

fishing year 2014, pending the final 

results of SARC 59, while the Council 

developed GOM haddock specifications 

for the next fishing year. The Council 

requested our assistance, given the 

substantially longer time it would take 

to develop and implement new catch 

limits. We can develop and implement 

an emergency action more swiftly than 

a Council action because Council 

actions are subject to procedural and 

other requirements not applicable to the 

Secretary. A delay associated with a 

Council action could result in overly 

restrictive and economically harmful 

catch limits that otherwise may have 

been avoidable. Additional information 

on emergency and interim measures can 

be found in Section 305(c) of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, available online 

at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/magact/

MSA_Amended_2007%20.pdf. 

SARC 59 

The previous benchmark assessment 

for GOM haddock used a virtual 

population analysis model that 

incorporated commercial landings and 

discards, as well as recreational 

landings, but not recreational discards. 

For SARC 59, the assessment was 

conducted using a statistical catch-atage model and the catch inputs 

included landings and discards from 

both the commercial and recreational 

fleets. Trawl gear is the primary mode 

of capture in the commercial fishery 

and, as such, commercial discards were 

assumed to suffer 100 percent mortality, 

consistent with the previous 

assessment. SARC 59 was the first time 

recreational discard-at-length data was 

available and incorporated into the 

model, and so the recreational discard 

mortality increased from zero percent to 

50 percent discard mortality. 

The SARC determined that the change 

in stock status from the 2012 update 

(not overfished but approaching an 

overfished condition and overfishing 

occurring) to the current status (not 

overfished and no overfishing) was due 

primarily to the addition of three more 

years of fishery and survey data, and to 

the very strong 2010 year class of GOM 

haddock. Additional information on 

SARC 59 can be found online at 

www.nefsc.noaa.gov/saw/reports.html. 

Two models were presented at SARC 

59: (1) A ‘‘final model’’ which utilized 

an age-structured approach; and (2) a 

‘‘sensitivity analysis’’ that was 

completed for the purposes of 

incorporating a more conservative 

population estimate of the 2012 GOM 

haddock year class because of 

uncertainty of its size. The Council’s 

Groundfish Plan Development Team 

highlighted their concern regarding the 

uncertainty with the 2012 year class and 

recommended that the Council’s 

Scientific and Statistical Committee 

(SSC) establish fishing year 2015 catch 

limits derived from the sensitivity 

analysis. Despite this concern, the SSC 

accepted the final model and 

recommended the corresponding quotas 

from this approach for fishing year 

2015. Importantly, one of the SSC’s 

justifications for selecting the final 

model was that another operational 

assessment is scheduled in 2015 that 

will provide updated information on the 

size of the 2012 year class. At the 

September 30-October 2, 2014 Council 

meeting, the Council supported 

inclusion of GOM haddock 

specifications derived from the final 

model in Framework Adjustment 53, 

which is scheduled for implementation 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
67092 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

on May 1, 2015 (the beginning of fishing 

year 2015). 

Emergency Action 

Increasing GOM Haddock Catch Limits 

Section 305(c) of the MagnusonStevens Act authorizes the Secretary to 

promulgate emergency regulations to 

address fishery emergencies. The 

emergency criteria in the policy 

guidelines (62 FR 44421; August 21, 

1997) define the existence of an 

emergency as a situation that: 

• Results from recent, unforeseen 

events or recently discovered 

circumstances; and 

• Presents serious conservation or 

management problems in the fishery; 

and 

• Can be addressed through 

emergency regulations for which the 

immediate benefits outweigh the value 

of advance notice, public comment, and 

deliberative consideration of the 

impacts on participants to the same 

extent as would be expected under the 

normal rulemaking process. 

The justifications described in the 

guidelines include the prevention of 

‘‘significant direct economic loss or to 

preserve a significant economic 

opportunity that otherwise might be 

foregone,’’ and the prevention of 

significant community impacts (62 FR 

44422). 

The SARC 59 provides recent 

unforeseen or discovered circumstances 

showing that the GOM haddock stock is 

in better condition than previously 

determined. Not taking emergency 

action to align GOM haddock 

specifications with the actual stock 

condition could result in lost revenue 

and harm to communities as fishermen 

would likely have to modify or cease 

their fishing operations. For example, as 

of October 21, 2014, approximately 55 

percent of the fishing year 2014 

commercial GOM haddock fishery catch 

limit has been caught. If catches 

continue at this rate, the commercial 

fishery may reach its GOM haddock 

catch limit prior to the end of the 

fishing year, or may be forced to 

substantially modify fishing operations 

to avoid reaching its quota. Increasing 

the annual catch limit to more 

accurately reflect the improved stock 

condition will avoid potentially 

constraining catch limits and help 

fishermen achieve optimum yield of 

both GOM haddock and potentially 

other groundfish stocks for this fishing 

year. Immediate action to increase 

fishing opportunities may also prevent 

or mitigate economic loss or adverse 

community impacts from interim GOM 

cod protections. 

Emergency action to swiftly increase 

the GOM haddock annual catch limit is 

warranted. Using the normal Council 

regulatory process to complete this 

action prior to the end of the 2014 

fishing year would be extremely 

difficult, if not impossible. Even if it 

were possible to complete it before the 

end of the fishing year, the time 

required for the Council process would 

result in a rule issued so late in the 

season that it would have little, if any, 

benefit to the affected entities or 

communities. The public had a 

preliminary opportunity to comment on 

the results from SARC 59 and a 

potential Secretarial action to increase 

the GOM haddock annual catch limit in 

fishing year 2014, before the Council 

voted to recommend this action. The 

Council is using its normal process to 

consider similar or higher catch limits 

in Framework 53 for fishing year 2015. 

The public will have further 

opportunity to comment on issues 

relating to the potential continuation or 

increases of these limits in Framework 

53. These opportunities to comment, 

combined with the need for immediate 

emergency action to provide economic 

opportunities and prevent losses 

outweigh the value of advance notice, 

public comment, and deliberation 

provided by the normal regulatory 

process. 

The duration of this emergency action 

is limited by the Magnuson-Stevens Act 

to an initial period of 180 days, with a 

potential extension of an additional 186 

days. We anticipate that the Council 

will submit revised catch limits for 

GOM haddock in time for us to approve 

a catch limit increase in Framework 53 

for fishing year 2015, which begins on 

May 1, 2014. However, if the anticipated 

Council action to specify catch levels for 

fishing year 2015 is delayed, the annual 

GOM haddock catch limit implemented 

through this emergency action will be 

extended for an additional period up to 

186 days until Framework 53 is 

approved, if necessary. 

Tables 1 and 2 compare the initial and 

revised status determination criteria and 

associated catch levels for GOM 

haddock for fishing year 2014. The 

overfishing limit incorporated in this 

emergency action is based on the ‘‘final 

model’’ from SARC 59, which 

represents the biological reference 

points that result from the most recent 

assessment. The allowable biological 

catch and corresponding catch limits in 

this action are derived from the 

sensitivity model from SARC 59. Using 

this model is more conservative than the 

amount of catch that would be derived 

from the allowable biological catch 

control rule implemented in 

Amendment 16, which calculates 

allowable biological catch as the 

projected catch associated with 75 

percent of Fmsy. We have elected to 

increase GOM haddock catch limits in 

fishing year 2014 based on the 

sensitivity analysis (which was 

described above under SARC 59) 

because we consider a cautionary 

approach to increasing the quotas to be 

more appropriate for an emergency 

action. However, this cautious approach 

still supplies a large GOM haddock 

quota increase (almost 100 percent) for 

the fishing industry while limiting the 

risk of overfishing, given the Plan 

Development Team’s concern pertaining 

to the size of the 2012 year class for this 

stock. Tables 3 and 4 provide the 

increased sector specific allocations and 

common pool trimester quotas derived 

from this action. The sector specific 

allocations are preliminary estimates; 

final sector allocations will be provided 

to sector managers shortly after 

publication. Any Trimester 1 quota that 

is unused by the common pool is 

carried over into Trimester 2, and 

unused Trimester 2 quota is carried over 

to Trimester 3. We have elected not to 

modify the common pool trip limit (25 

lb per trip) at this time, but will review 

common pool catch and make any 

appropriate changes prior to Trimester 

3. 

TABLE 1—INITIAL AND REVISED GOM HADDOCK STATUS DETERMINATION CRITERIA AND POTENTIAL CATCH LEVELS FOR

FISHING YEAR 2014 

Catch level 

Initial fishing year 

2014 levels 

(mt) 

Revised fishing 

year 2014 levels 

(mt) 

Overfishing Limit of Catch ....................................................................................................................... 440 1085 

Acceptable Biological Catch .................................................................................................................... 341 677 

Total Annual Catch Limit (ACL) ............................................................................................................... 323 641 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 67093 

TABLE 1—INITIAL AND REVISED GOM HADDOCK STATUS DETERMINATION CRITERIA AND POTENTIAL CATCH LEVELS FOR

FISHING YEAR 2014—Continued 

Catch level 

Initial fishing year 

2014 levels 

(mt) 

Revised fishing 

year 2014 levels 

(mt) 

Groundfish sub-ACL ................................................................................................................................ 307 610 

Sector sub-ACL ....................................................................................................................................... 218 432 

Common Pool sub-ACL ........................................................................................................................... 2 4 

Recreational sub-ACL .............................................................................................................................. 87 173 

State Waters ACL subcomponent ........................................................................................................... 5 10 

Other ACL subcomponent ....................................................................................................................... 7 15 

Mid-Water Trawl sub-ACL ....................................................................................................................... 3 6 

TABLE 2—STATUS DETERMINATION CRITERIA AND NUMERICAL ESTIMATES FOR GOM HADDOCK

Parameter 2012 update 

operational assessment 

August 2014 

SARC 59 

Model ....................................................................................................... Virtual Population Analysis (VPA) Age Structured 

Assessment Program (ASAP). 

Status Determination Criteria: Bmsy (biomass associated with maximum sustainable yield).SSBmsy = 4,904 .............................

MSY = 1,117 .................................

SSBmsy = 4,108 

MSY = 955. 

Status Determination Criteria: Fmsy (fishing mortality associated with 

maximum sustainable yield).

Fmsy proxy = 0.46 .......................... Fmsy proxy = 0.46. 

Fishing Mortality ...................................................................................... F2010 = 0.82 ................................... F2013 = 0.39. 

Biomass ................................................................................................... B2010 = 2,868 mt ............................ B2013 = 4,153 mt. 

TABLE 3—INITIAL AND PRELIMINARY REVISED GOM HADDOCK ANNUAL CATCH ENTITLEMENT BY SECTOR FOR FISHING

YEAR 2014 (lb) 

Sector name 

Initial fishing year 

2014 

allocation 

Revised 

fishing year 2014 

allocation 

Fixed Gear Sector ................................................................................................................................... 8,922.32 17,682.41 

Maine Coast Community Sector .............................................................................................................. 12,375.78 25,526.55 

Maine Permit Bank .................................................................................................................................. 5,431.97 10,765.18 

NEFS 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 12,03 23.85 

NEFS 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 79,343.13 157,243.67 

NEFS 3 .................................................................................................................................................... 45,030.20 89,241.68 

NEFS 4 .................................................................................................................................................... 40,511.81 80,287.05 

NEFS 5 .................................................................................................................................................... 1,406.55 2,787.53 

NEFS 6 .................................................................................................................................................... 18,669.52 36,981.77 

NEFS 7 .................................................................................................................................................... 2,275.42 4,509.48 

NEFS 8 .................................................................................................................................................... 974.47 1,931.22 

NEFS 9 .................................................................................................................................................... 23,256.90 46,090.95 

NEFS 10 .................................................................................................................................................. 12,284.38 24,345.41 

NEFS 11 .................................................................................................................................................. 15,567.10 30,851.16 

NEFS 13 .................................................................................................................................................. 4,793.20 9,499.25 

NCCS ....................................................................................................................................................... 1,774.68 3,457.64 

New Hamsphire Permit Bank .................................................................................................................. 150.95 299.15 

Sustainable Harvest Sector 1 .................................................................................................................. 207,161.20 410,555.83 

Sustainable Harvest Sector 3 .................................................................................................................. 316.08 626.41 

Sector Total ...................................................................................................................................... 480,218.71 951,706.18 

NEFS = Northeast Fishery Sector, NCCS = Northeast Coastal Communities Sector. 

TABLE 4—INITIAL AND REVISED GOM HADDOCK COMMON POOL TRIMESTER TACS FOR FISHING YEAR 2014 (mt) 

Trimester 

Trimester 

allocations 

(percent) 

Initial fishing year 

2014 allocation Revised allocation 

Trimester 1 ................................................................................................................. 27 .51 1.17 

Trimester 2 ................................................................................................................. 26 .49 1.12 

Trimester 3 ................................................................................................................. 47 .88 2.03 

An environmental assessment that 

analyzes the impact of the revised GOM 

haddock catch limits for the remainder 

of fishing year 2014 and compares the 

impact to the current catch limits 

specified for fishing year 2014 was 


wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
67094 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 

prepared and is available for review at 

www.regulations.gov. The revision to 

the status determination criteria and 

annual catch limit align current 

management measures with the best 

available scientific information. The 

revised level of GOM haddock catch for 

fishing year 2014 is consistent with 

sustaining the biomass over the longterm at the level associated with 

maximum sustainable yield and fishing 

at a sustainable level of mortality. Both 

scientific and management uncertainty 

are accounted for in this catch level, so 

the risks of negative biological impacts 

on GOM haddock have been minimized. 

A larger catch limit for GOM haddock 

may result in greater fishing effort and 

catch of other groundfish and nongroundfish stocks in addition to GOM 

haddock, as compared to the status quo, 

because GOM haddock is less likely to 

serve as a constraining or ‘‘choke stock.’’ 

While this increase would reduce the 

constraint from GOM haddock, there are 

several other stocks that may constrain 

the fishery even more than GOM 

haddock, particularly GOM cod (see 

next section, GOM Cod Interim Action). 

While there could be an effort increase 

for GOM haddock as a result, a 

substantial increase is unlikely. 

Compared to the status quo, the impact 

of the emergency action on protected 

resources and essential fish habitat 

would likely be negligible. 

The increased GOM haddock catch 

limits under this emergency action 

would represent an increase in 

operational flexibility and likely a small 

increase in revenue. After the 

substantial reduction in groundfish 

catch limits from previous years, 

combined with further restrictions that 

will prevent vessels from targeting GOM 

cod this year, this operational flexibility 

and potential increase in revenue is 

important. Further, the economic 

analyses may undervalue the revenue 

increase that could happen because 

GOM haddock are more prevalent than 

in the years during which the data were 

gathered to incorporate into the model. 

While Framework 51 did not assume 

that GOM haddock would be a 

constraining stock, as of October 21, 

2014, more of the GOM haddock quota 

has been caught than any other 

allocated stock. Without an emergency 

action raising this year’s catch limits, it 

is likely that the limits will be reached 

and many fishermen will lose the ability 

to fish for other stocks within the GOM 

haddock stock area (sector vessels are 

required to stop fishing in a specific 

stock area when they no longer have 

quota for a given species). Increasing the 

quota for this stock will provide an 

opportunity for operational flexibility 

that may provide additional catch and 

revenue from not only GOM haddock, 

but other healthy stocks that are caught 

in the GOM, such as pollock and 

Acadian redfish. This is especially 

important given the substantial 

restrictions on opportunities to fish for 

GOM cod. 

Gulf of Maine Cod Interim Action 

An August 2014 stock assessment 

update on GOM cod (available online at 

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

mediacenter/ongoing/gomcod/ 

index.html) indicated that the overall 

stock health continues to decline and 

that the stock is in very poor condition. 

The Council has requested that we 

implement interim management 

measures to protect GOM cod and help 

the stock rebuild. Because GOM cod and 

haddock comingle, we are concerned 

with how increased fishing effort on 

GOM haddock from this action could 

potentially increase catch of GOM cod. 

To address these concerns, we are 

concurrently implementing interim 

measures for GOM cod that include 

mortality and spawning area closures, 

and other effort restrictions, to further 

protect GOM cod. These GOM cod 

management measures will reduce the 

impact that increased the GOM haddock 

catch limits could have on GOM cod. 

On the other hand, efforts to reduce 

GOM cod catch could also limit the 

ability for fishermen to harvest GOM 

haddock. Still, we believe that 

fishermen should be provided with the 

opportunity to target healthy groundfish 

stocks, such as GOM haddock, pollock, 

and redfish, if they are able to 

successfully target these stocks while 

avoiding GOM cod. It is critical for 

fishermen to have operational flexibility 

that could mitigate economic loss and 

adverse community impacts that could 

result from the GOM cod interim 

measures. 

The Recreational Groundfish Fishery 

While this action increases both the 

commercial and recreational GOM 

haddock catch limits, it does not modify 

current recreational management 

measures as requested by the Council in 

their July 9, 2014 letter to us. 

Recreational catch models suggest that 

the fishery has likely already exceeded 

the 173 mt allocation specified for 

recreational vessels in this emergency 

action. Because of this, and the 

increased concerns for GOM cod 

bycatch when recreational fishermen 

target GOM haddock, we are not 

liberalizing recreational management 

measures in this action. 

Classification 

NMFS has determined that this rule is 

necessary to respond to an emergency 

situation and is consistent with the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act and other 

applicable law. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds it impracticable 

and contrary to the public interest to 

provide for prior notice and opportunity 

for the public to comment under the 

provisions of section 553(b)(B) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act. As 

explained above, the reasons justifying 

promulgation of this rule on an 

emergency basis make solicitation of 

public comment contrary to the public 

interest. Implementation delays would 

result in negative consequences 

inconsistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 

Act and groundfish plan mandates. The 

immediate benefit of an emergency 

action outweighs the value that would 

be derived from the normal regulatory 

process. This action was initiated as a 

result of a new benchmark stock 

assessment that revised the stock status 

for GOM haddock (SARC 59). As a 

result of the new assessment, the SSC 

recommended, and the Council voted in 

support of, higher fishing year 2015 

specifications for GOM haddock. 

Although the Council could have 

initiated a management action to modify 

the GOM haddock catch limits for the 

remainder of fishing year 2014, such an 

action was unlikely to have been 

completed before the end of fishing year 

2014, potentially resulting in status quo 

restrictive catch limits that otherwise 

could have been avoided. The 

regulations require that when the catch 

limit of a single allocated groundfish 

stock, such as GOM haddock, is 

projected to be achieved, a reduction or 

cessation of fishing effort is required. As 

a result, catches of healthy groundfish 

stocks that are caught concurrently with 

GOM haddock could also be reduced. 

Thus, the time necessary to provide for 

prior notice, opportunity for public 

comment, and delayed effectiveness for 

this action could severely curtail fishing 

operations if the current catch limits are 

reached prior to implementation of the 

increased catch limits. 

An emergency action can be 

developed and implemented by NMFS 

much more swiftly than a Council 

action which is subject to procedural 

and other requirements not applicable 

to the Secretary. Thus, we initiated this 

temporary rule at the request of the 

Council, to revise the GOM haddock 

catch limits as soon as possible in 

fishing year 2014. This action will 

benefit fishermen and fishing 

communities by increasing revenues 


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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 218 / Wednesday, November 12, 2014 / Rules and Regulations 67095 

associated with larger GOM haddock 

catches, as well as other healthy 

groundfish stocks such as pollock and 

Acadian redfish, that would likely have 

been foregone due to the lower catch 

limit of GOM haddock. 

The Assistant Administrator for 

Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause to 

waive the requirement for a 30-day 

delay in effectiveness under the 

provisions of section 553(d) of the 

Administrative Procedure Act. As stated 

above, this action would benefit the 

affected fishermen and fishing 

communities by increasing revenues 

due to larger GOM haddock catch limits, 

and provide more opportunity for 

commercial groundfish vessels to 

harvest their allocations of other stocks 

caught concurrently. This rule relieves a 

restriction by increasing the catch limit 

for GOM haddock and, consequently, 

extends fishing opportunity for 

fishermen that would otherwise be 

constrained under the current catch 

limits, which are based on outdated 

biological information and therefore, 

needlessly restrictive. If implementation 

of this rulemaking were delayed to 

allow for a 30-day delay in 

effectiveness, the fishery would likely 

forego some amount of the increase in 

catch level and the resulting additional 

fishing opportunity and could suffer an 

early end to the fishing season. Without 

immediate effectiveness of this action, if 

the common pool is projected to catch 

its current catch limit, an in-season 

action would be needed to implement a 

more restrictive trip limit to ensure the 

common pool did not exceed its current 

catch limit. Similarly, sector vessels 

would still be required to end fishing 

effort in the GOM if they reached their 

allocations under the current GOM 

haddock catch limit. While these 

restrictions would be alleviated after 

this rule becomes effective, the lost 

economic opportunity of foregone 

catches that would result from a delay 

in the effectiveness of this action may 

not be recouped in the time remaining 

before the end of fishing year 2014. For 

these reasons, the AA finds good cause 

to implement this rule immediately. 

NMFS has consulted with the Office 

of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(OIRA) and due to the circumstances 

described above this action is exempt 

from review under Executive Order 

12866. 

This rule is exempt from the 

procedures of the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act to prepare a regulatory flexibility 

analysis because the rule is issued 

without opportunity for prior public 

comment. 

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

Dated: November 6, 2014. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26748 Filed 11–10–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 660 

[Docket No. 120814338–2711–02] 

RIN 0648–BE59 

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; 

Fisheries Off West Coast States; 

Biennial Specifications and 

Management Measures; Inseason 

Adjustments 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; inseason adjustments 

to biennial groundfish management 

measures. 

SUMMARY: This final rule announces 

inseason changes to management 

measures in the Pacific Coast groundfish 

fisheries. This action, which is 

authorized by the Pacific Coast 

Groundfish Fishery Management Plan 

(PCGFMP), is intended to allow 

fisheries to access more abundant 

groundfish stocks while protecting 

overfished and depleted stocks. 

DATES: Effective 0001 hours (local time) 

November 12, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Gretchen Hanshew (West Coast Region, 

NMFS), phone: 206–526–6147, fax: 206– 

526–6736, gretchen.hanshew@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Electronic Access 

This final rule is accessible via the 

Internet at the Office of the Federal 

Register’s Web site at http://

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/home.action, 

or http://federalregister.gov. Background 

information and documents are 

available at the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council’s Web site at 

http://www.pcouncil.org/. Copies of the 

final environmental impact statement 

(FEIS) for the 2013–2014 Groundfish 

Specifications and Management 

Measures are available from Donald 

McIsaac, Executive Director, Pacific 

Fishery Management Council (Council), 

7700 NE Ambassador Place, Portland, 

OR 97220, phone: 503–820–2280. 

Background 

The PCGFMP and its implementing 

regulations at title 50 in the Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR), part 660, 

subparts C through G, regulate fishing 

for over 90 species of groundfish off the 

coasts of Washington, Oregon, and 

California. Groundfish specifications 

and management measures are 

developed by the Pacific Fishery 

Management Council (Council), and are 

implemented by NMFS. 

On November 14, 2012, NMFS 

published a proposed rule to implement 

the 2013–2014 harvest specifications 

and management measures for most 

species of the Pacific Coast groundfish 

fishery (77 FR 67974). The final rule to 

implement the 2013–2014 harvest 

specifications and management 

measures for most species of the Pacific 

Coast Groundfish Fishery was published 

on January 3, 2013 (78 FR 580). 

The Council, in coordination with 

Pacific Coast Treaty Indian Tribes and 

the States of Washington, Oregon, and 

California, recommended changes to 

current groundfish management 

measures at its October 17, 2014 

meeting. Specifically, the Council 

recommended changing the amount of 

darkblotched rockfish initially deducted 

from the annual catch limit (ACL) to 

account for mortality in the incidental 

open access sector from 18.4 metric tons 

(mt) to 15.4 mt. The Council also 

recommended that the corresponding 3 

mt of darkblotched rockfish previously 

deducted from the ACL be made 

available to the catcher/processor (C/P) 

sector of the at-sea Pacific whiting 

fishery. This rule implements the 

Council’s recommended changes. 

As part of the biennial harvest 

specifications and management 

measures, ACLs are set for non-whiting 

groundfish species, deductions are 

made from the ACL for various sources 

of mortality (including non-groundfish 

fisheries that catch groundfish 

incidentally, also called incidental open 

access fisheries) and the remainder, the 

fishery harvest guideline, is allocated 

amongst the various groundfish 

fisheries. The limited availability of 

overfished species that can be taken as 

incidental catch in the Pacific whiting 

fisheries, particularly darkblotched 

rockfish, Pacific ocean perch, and 

canary rockfish, led NMFS to 

implement sector-specific allocations 

for these species to the Pacific whiting 

fisheries. If the sector-specific allocation 

for a non-whiting species is reached, 

NMFS may close one or more of the atsea sectors automatically, per 

regulations at § 660.60(d). At the start of 

2014, the C/P and Mothership (MS) 


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