2028 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

specified in paragraph (a)(5)(i)(D) of this 

section, and the Council shall revisit the 

AM in a future action. The AM areas 

defined below are bounded by the 

following coordinates, connected in the 

order listed by rhumb lines, unless 

otherwise noted. Any vessel issued a 

limited access NE multispecies permit 

and fishing with trawl gear in the 

Atlantic Halibut Trawl Gear AM Area 

may only use a haddock separator trawl, 

as specified in § 648.85(a)(3)(iii)(A); a 

Ruhle trawl, as specified in 

§ 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(J)(3); a rope separator 

trawl, as specified in § 648.84(e); or any 

other gear approved consistent with the 

process defined in § 648.85(b)(6). When 

in effect, a limited access NE 

multispecies permitted vessel with 

gillnet or longline gear may not fish or 

be in the Atlantic Halibut Fixed Gear 

AM Areas, unless transiting with its 

gear stowed in accordance with 

§ 648.23(b), or such gear was approved 

consistent with the process defined in 

§ 648.85(b)(6). If a sub-ACL for Atlantic 

halibut is allocated to another fishery, 

consistent with the process specified at 

§ 648.90(a)(4), and there are AMs for 

that fishery, the groundfish fishery AM 

shall only be implemented if the subACL allocated to the groundfish fishery 

is exceeded (i.e., the sector and common 

pool catch for a particular stock, 

including the common pool’s share of 

any overage of the overall ACL caused 

by excessive catch by other subcomponents of the fishery pursuant to 

§ 648.90(a)(5), exceeds the common pool 

sub-ACL) and the overall ACL is also 

exceeded. 

ATLANTIC HALIBUT TRAWL GEAR AM 

AREA

Point N. Latitude W. Longitude 

1 ........... 42°00′ ............... 69°20′ 

2 ........... 42°00′ ............... 68°20′ 

3 ........... 41°30′ ............... 68°20′ 

4 ........... 41°30′ ............... 69°20′ 

ATLANTIC HALIBUT FIXED GEAR AM 

AREA 1 

Point N. Latitude W. Longitude 

1 ........... 42°30′ ............... 70°20′ 

2 ........... 42°30′ ............... 70°15′ 

3 ........... 42°20′ ............... 70°15′ 

4 ........... 42°20′ ............... 70°20′ 

ATLANTIC HALIBUT FIXED GEAR AM 

AREA 2 

Point N. Latitude W. Longitude 

1 ........... 43°10′ ............... 69°40′ 

2 ........... 43°10′ ............... 69°30′ 

ATLANTIC HALIBUT FIXED GEAR AM 

AREA 2—Continued 

Point N. Latitude W. Longitude 

3 ........... 43°00′ ............... 69°30′ 

4 ........... 43°00′ ............... 69°40′ 

(3) Atlantic wolffish. If NMFS 

determines the overall ACL for Atlantic 

wolffish is exceeded, as described in 

this paragraph (a)(5)(i)(D)(3), by any 

amount greater than the management 

uncertainty buffer, the applicable AM 

areas shall be implemented, as specified 

in paragraph (a)(5)(i)(D) of this section. 

If the overall ACL is exceeded by more 

than 20 percent, the applicable AM 

area(s) for the stock shall be 

implemented, as specified in paragraph 

(a)(5)(i)(D) of this section, and the 

Council shall revisit the AM in a future 

action. The AM areas defined below are 

bounded by the following coordinates, 

connected in the order listed by rhumb 

lines, unless otherwise noted. Any 

vessel issued a limited access NE 

multispecies permit and fishing with 

trawl gear in the Atlantic Wolffish 

Trawl Gear AM Area may only use a 

haddock separator trawl, as specified in 

§ 648.85(a)(3)(iii)(A); a Ruhle trawl, as 

specified in § 648.85(b)(6)(iv)(J)(3); a 

rope separator trawl, as specified in 

§ 648.84(e); or any other gear approved 

consistent with the process defined in 

§ 648.85(b)(6). When in effect, a limited 

access NE multispecies permitted vessel 

with gillnet or longline gear may not 

fish or be in the Atlantic Wolffish Fixed 

Gear AM Areas, unless transiting with 

its gear stowed in accordance with 

§ 648.23(b), or such gear was approved 

consistent with the process defined in 

§ 648.85(b)(6). If a sub-ACL for Atlantic 

wolffish is allocated to another fishery, 

consistent with the process specified at 

§ 648.90(a)(4), and AMs are developed 

for that fishery, the groundfish fishery 

AM shall only be implemented if the 

sub-ACL allocated to the groundfish 

fishery is exceeded (i.e., the sector and 

common pool catch for a particular 

stock, including the common pool’s 

share of any overage of the overall ACL 

caused by excessive catch by other subcomponents of the fishery pursuant to 

§ 648.90(a)(5), exceeds the common pool 

sub-ACL) and the overall ACL is also 

exceeded. 

ATLANTIC WOLFFISH TRAWL GEAR AM 

AREA

Point N. Latitude W. Longitude 

1 ........... 42°30′ ............... 70°30′ 

2 ........... 42°30′ ............... 70°15′ 

3 ........... 42°15′ ............... 70°15′ 

ATLANTIC WOLFFISH TRAWL GEAR AM 

AREA—Continued 

Point N. Latitude W. Longitude 

4 ........... 42°15′ ............... 70°10′ 

5 ........... 42°10′ ............... 70°10′ 

6 ........... 42°10′ ............... 70°20′ 

7 ........... 42°20′ ............... 70°20′ 

8 ........... 42°20′ ............... 70°30′ 

ATLANTIC WOLFFISH FIXED GEAR AM 

AREA 1 

Point N. Latitude W. Longitude 

1 ........... 41°40′ ............... 69°40′ 

2 ........... 41°40′ ............... 69°30′ 

3 ........... 41°30′ ............... 69°30′ 

4 ........... 41°30′ ............... 69°40′ 

ATLANTIC WOLFFISH FIXED GEAR AM 

AREA 2 

Point N. Latitude W. Longitude 

1 ........... 42°30′ ............... 70°20′ 

2 ........... 42°30′ ............... 70°15′ 

3 ........... 42°20′ ............... 70°15′ 

4 ........... 42°20′ ............... 70°20′ 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2015–00417 Filed 1–14–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 697 

[Docket No. 130705590–5010–03] 

RIN 0648–BD45 

Fisheries of the Northeastern United 

States; Atlantic Coastal Fisheries 

Cooperative Management Act 

Provisions; American Lobster Fishery 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: Based on Atlantic States 

Marine Fisheries Commission 

recommendations, we are issuing this 

final rule enacting Federal American 

lobster regulations for Lobster 

Conservation Management Areas 2, 3, 4, 

and 5, including trap reductions in 

Areas 2 and 3, and broodstock 

protection measures in Areas 2, 3, 4, 

and 5. These measures are intended to 

reduce fishing exploitation and reduce 

latent effort in the trap fishery to scale 

the fishery to the size of the Southern 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 2029 

New England lobster stock. This action 

is necessary to ensure fishery 

regulations for the lobster fishery in 

Federal waters remain consistent with 

the intent of the Atlantic Coastal 

Fisheries Cooperative Management Act. 

DATES: This rule is effective May 1, 

2015, except for the amendments to 

§ 697.19 which are effective April 30, 

2016. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the American 

Lobster Environmental Assessment/

Regulatory Impact Review/Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/

RIR/FRFA) prepared for this regulatory 

action are available upon written 

request to Peter Burns, Fishery Policy 

Analyst, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 

NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, 

Gloucester, MA 01930, telephone (978) 

281–9144. The documents also are 

available online at http://

www.nero.noaa.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Allison Murphy, Sector Policy Analyst, 

(978) 281–9122. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Statutory Authority 

These final regulations modify 

Federal lobster fishery management 

measures in the Exclusive Economic 

Zone (EEZ) under the authority of 

section 803(b) of the Atlantic Coastal 

Fisheries Cooperative Management Act 

(Atlantic Coastal Act) (16 U.S.C. 5101 et 

seq.), which states that in the absence of 

an approved and implemented Fishery 

Management Plan under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and 

Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens 

Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and after 

consultation with the appropriate 

fishery management council(s), the 

Secretary of Commerce may implement 

regulations to govern fishing in the EEZ, 

from 3 to 200 nautical miles (nm) 

offshore. The regulations must be: (1) 

Compatible with the effective 

implementation of an Interstate Fishery 

Management Plan (ISFMP) developed 

by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries 

Commission; and (2) consistent with the 

National Standards set forth in section 

301 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 

Purpose and Need for Management 

The purpose of this final action is to 

manage the American lobster fishery in 

a manner that maximizes resource 

sustainability, recognizing that Federal 

management occurs in concert with 

state management and that 

compatibility between state and Federal 

measures is crucial to the overall 

success of American lobster 

management. To achieve this purpose, 

we are responding to recently-approved 

state management measures to address 

poor stock conditions and persistent 

recruitment failure of the Southern New 

England (SNE) American lobster stock. 

Background 

The American lobster fishery is 

managed by the Commission under 

Amendment 3 to the ISFMP for 

American Lobster. Since 1997, the 

Commission has coordinated the efforts 

of the states and Federal Government 

toward sustainable management of the 

American lobster fishery. We manage 

the portion of the fishery conducted in 

Federal waters from 3 to 200 miles 

offshore, based on management 

recommendations made by the 

Commission. 

The American lobster management 

unit is divided between three lobster 

stocks and seven Lobster Conservation 

Management Areas. Recent data indicate 

that the SNE American lobster stock, 

which includes all or part of six Areas, 

is at a low level of abundance and is 

experiencing persistent recruitment 

failure, caused by a combination of 

environmental factors and continued 

fishing mortality. To address the poor 

condition of the SNE stock, the 

Commission adopted Addendum XVII 

to Amendment 3 of the ISFMP in 

February of 2012. The measures in 

Addendum XVII are intended to reduce 

fishing exploitation to the SNE lobster 

stock by 10 percent. To further address 

stock rebuilding of the SNE lobster 

stock, Addendum XVIII was adopted in 

August 2012, to reduce latent effort in 

the trap fishery and scale the fishery to 

the diminished size of the SNE stock 

through a series of annual trap 

reductions in Areas 2 and 3. Removing 

latent effort through trap reductions will 

help scale the fishery to the size of the 

resource because fishers will have a 

reduced number of traps that better 

correlates to the reduced size of the SNE 

lobster stock. This, in turn, will reduce 

fishing pressure on the SNE stock and 

reduce exploitation. It will also present 

a leaner, more accurate fishing model, 

allowing the Commission to better 

manage the stock. Copies of the 

Addenda are available on the 

Commission’s Web site at: http://

www.asmfc.org. 

We published a proposed rule (79 FR 

43379; July 25, 2014) seeking comment 

on proposed broodstock management 

measures and trap reductions and the 

timing of trap reductions with the trap 

transferability program. A full 

discussion of the proposed measures 

and need for the action are contained in 

the proposed rule and not repeated here. 

In the next section, we provide a 

summary of those measures that were 

approved by the Commission. 

Approved Measures 

To achieve a 10-percent reduction in 

fishing exploitation of the SNE 

American lobster stock under 

Addendum XVII, the Commission 

recommended several effort control 

measures for Areas 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 to 

protect broodstock and reduce the 

amount of American lobsters harvested 

from these Areas. These measures were 

reviewed by the Commission’s scientific 

Technical Committee, which found that 

these measures would likely achieve the 

desired 10-percent reduction in 

exploitation. This rule implements the 

Commission’s recommended measures, 

including: A minimum carapace length 

increase; mandatory v-notching of eggbearing female lobsters; and seasonal 

fishery closures. We did not propose 

measures recommended by the 

Commission for Area 6 (mandatory vnotching and a seasonal closure) 

because Area 6 is contained entirely 

within state waters and is, therefore, 

outside of Federal jurisdiction. Table 1 

contains the specific measures, by Area, 

adopted by the Commission and 

implemented through this action. 

TABLE 1—ADDENDUM XVII MANAGEMENT MEASURE CHANGES

Management measures Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 Area 5 

V-Notching * ....................... Mandatory for legal-sized 

egg-bearing females.

n/a ..................................... Mandatory for legal-sized 

egg-bearing females.

Mandatory for legal-sized 

egg-bearing females. 

New Minimum Size ........... n/a ..................................... 317⁄32 in (8.97 cm) ............. n/a ..................................... n/a. 

Seasonal Closure .............. n/a ..................................... n/a ..................................... February 1–March 31 ....... February 1–March 31. 

* If v-notching is deemed insufficient to meet the conservation objectives, additional seasonal closures may be adopted by the Commission. 


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2030 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

While the harvest of lobsters from 

Areas 4 and 5 is prohibited from 

February 1 through March 31 each year, 

we will allow additional time to remove 

and set gear during the closures. Permit 

holders will have a 2-week period (i.e., 

through February 14) to remove all 

lobster traps from the water. In addition, 

permit holders may begin to set lobster 

traps 1 week prior to the end of the area 

closure (i.e., March 25). 

Under Addendum XVIII, the 

Commission approved trap reductions 

for Areas 2 and 3, following separate 

trap reduction schedules. Consistent 

with the Commission’s ISFMP and in 

response to the Commission’s 

recommendations for complementary 

management measures to address the 

needs of the SNE stock, we proposed to 

reduce qualified Area 2 trap allocations 

for Federal lobster permit holders by 25 

percent on April 30, 2015, the last day 

of fishing year 2014. Area 2 allocations 

would then have been reduced by 5 

percent at the end of each subsequent 

fishing year for 5 years, as prescribed by 

the Commission. Similarly, we also 

proposed to reduce Area 3 trap 

allocations by 5 percent on April 30, 

2015. Area 3 allocations would then 

have been reduced by 5 percent at the 

end of each subsequent fishing year for 

4 years, as prescribed by the 

Commission. Based on the development 

and implementation of related actions 

and comments received, which are 

discussed in greater detail below, we are 

implementing trap reductions one year 

later, at 11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2016, 

the last day of fishing year 2015. Table 

2 includes a schedule of trap reductions, 

and the resulting trap allocations based 

on an initial trap allocation of 800 traps. 

TABLE 2—AREA 2 AND 3 TRAP REDUCTION SCHEDULE AND EXAMPLE ALLOCATIONS

Effective year Area 2 reductions 

(percent) 

Area 2 example 

allocation * 

Area 3 reductions 

(percent) 

Area 3 example 

allocation * 

Fishing Year 2014 (present) .................................................... NA 800 NA 800 

End of Fishing Year 2015 (Year 1) ......................................... 25 600 5 760 

End of Fishing Year 2016 (Year 2) ......................................... 5 570 5 722 

End of Fishing Year 2017 (Year 3) ......................................... 5 542 5 686 

End of Fishing Year 2018 (Year 4) ......................................... 5 515 5 652 

End of Fishing Year 2019 (Year 5) ......................................... 5 490 5 620 

End of Fishing Year 2020 (Year 6) ......................................... 5 466 NA NA 

* After applying the specified reduction, resulting allocations are rounded up to the whole trap. 

Related Actions and Implementation 

Order 

Based on Commission 

recommendations, we recently 

published a final rule (79 FR 19015; 

April 7, 2014), establishing a limited 

access program in two lobster 

conservation management areas, Area 2 

and the Outer Cape Area, and 

implementing a lobster Trap Transfer 

Program in Areas 2 and 3, and the Outer 

Cape Area. That rule did not set an 

effective date for the Trap Transfer 

Program because it is dependent upon 

the completion and effectiveness of the 

Commission’s Lobster Trap Allocation 

History (LobsTAH) Database. The 

LobsTAH Database, which is a 

prerequisite to the transfer program, 

remains under development by the 

Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistic 

Program (ACCSP). The ACCSP Director 

and Project Manager informed us and 

the Commission on August 28, 2014, 

that the database will not be ready until 

some date later in 2015. Upon receiving 

that information, the Commission’s 

Lobster Board Chairman concluded that 

database delays make reducing traps in 

the 2015 fishing year impractical, and 

he ultimately recommended 

implementing trap reductions in fishing 

year 2016. 

Because the Trap Transfer Program 

may ease economic impacts of trap 

reductions and provide added 

additional business flexibility, we are 

scheduling the trap reductions 

mentioned above to become effective at 

the same time as the Trap Transfer 

Program, as recommended by the 

Commission. Specifically, the trap 

reductions will become effective at 

11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2016, just ahead 

of trap transfers that have been 

negotiated and approved during fishing 

year 2015, but which will not become 

effective until 12:01 a.m. on May 1, 

2016. Putting the trap reductions and 

trap transfers in this order will make it 

clearer that the trap transfers will be 

based upon an already reduced trap 

allocation, thus ensuring the 

Commission’s objectives set forth in 

Addendum XVIII. This updated 

schedule should also allow sufficient 

time to finish development, testing, and 

deployment of the LobsTAH Database; 

adequately inform and prepare industry 

for the implementation of these complex 

programs; negotiate trap transfers; 

reconcile and approve the proposed 

transfers; and process permits and trap 

tag orders. 

We analyzed the relationship between 

trap reductions and trap transfers in our 

EA. The analysis confirms that the 

effectiveness of the approved trap 

reductions is dependent upon and 

impacted by the availability of the Trap 

Transfer Program and that the timing of 

the trap reductions and trap transfer 

programs is critical. Specifically, both 

industry and the Commission indicated 

that a trap transfer program was a 

necessary precursor to any trap 

reduction program so that certain 

lobster fishers could potentially replace 

their reduced traps with transferred 

traps. In order to maintain lobster 

business viability, industry and the 

Commission sought to have trap 

reductions and trap transfers occur 

contemporaneously so that businesses 

did not have to fish at reduced levels for 

an extended time period while waiting 

for trap transfers to take effect. 

Comments and Responses 

The proposed rule solicited comments 

through August 25, 2014. We received 

two letters, one from the Atlantic 

Offshore Lobstermen’s Association and 

one from a member of the lobster fishing 

industry, in response to the proposed 

rule. A summary of the comments and 

our responses are provided below. 

Comment 1: The Atlantic Offshore 

Lobstermen’s Association and a member 

of the lobster fishing industry expressed 

support for the Area 3 minimum gauge 

size changes and trap reductions set 

forth in the rule. Both commenters 

reminded us that the proposed Area 3 

trap reductions represented a second 

round of trap reductions in Area 3. 

Response: The Lobster Board’s 

scientific Technical Committee 

recommended that the suite of measures 

set forth in the rule, including gauge 

restrictions and trap reductions, would 

help reduce lobster exploitation and 

better scale the fishery to the reduced 

size of the SNE lobster stock. Area 3 

previously underwent a series of trap 


rljohnson on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with RULES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 2031 

reductions beginning in 2007 (72 FR 

56935, October 2007), which is a 

primary reason why the Lobster Board 

did not recommend, and we did not 

propose, a heightened trap reduction in 

Year 1 similar to what is being proposed 

in Area 2. 

Comment 2: The Atlantic Offshore 

Lobstermen’s Association and a member 

of the lobster industry recommended 

that the trap reductions should occur at 

the same time as the Trap Transfer 

Program. The commenters suggested 

that the trap reductions, without trap 

transfers, could bring certain fishers to 

unsustainable allocation levels. Trap 

transferability, however, gives industry 

the flexibility to adjust to the trap 

reductions. 

Response: We agree to implement the 

trap reductions contemporaneously 

with the Trap Transfer Program. We 

analyzed the impact of trap reductions 

in an EA, where we discussed that the 

impacts of trap reductions are difficult 

to quantify because, although a 

business’s fishing power will increase 

with more traps, so too will the costs 

associated with maintaining, baiting, 

and tending higher trap levels. For those 

fishers who do not fish their entire 

allocation, the pending trap reductions 

may simply remove latent traps that are 

not being fished and might have little or 

no impact to the fishing operation. 

Further, if active traps are cut from a 

lobster fisher’s allocation, fishers may 

attempt to recoup the loss in fishing 

power by fishing the remaining traps 

more aggressively, i.e., baiting and 

tending them more often. Nevertheless, 

for a certain unknown group of fishers— 

particularly those fishing at maximum 

trap levels—the trap reductions will 

involve active traps that will negatively 

impact the profitability of the business. 

The Trap Transfer Program, however, 

will allow impacted lobster fishers to 

replenish their allocations by 

purchasing allocation from another 

lobster fisher. Further, the rule will have 

trap transfers take effect immediately 

after the trap reductions, thus allowing 

impacted fishers to quickly mitigate the 

reduction without having to fish at a 

reduced level for an extended period of 

time. 

Comment 3: Both the Atlantic 

Offshore Lobstermen’s Association and 

the member of the lobster fishery hoped 

the rule could take effect in 2015, 

although neither wanted the rule to take 

effect until the Trap Transfer Program 

was in place. The Atlantic Offshore 

Lobstermen’s Association thought the 

proposed rule needed more specificity 

on the implementation timeline. 

Response: We agree with the need to 

implement this rule expeditiously, but 

not at the expense of the underlying 

program. For those measures that can be 

implemented more speedily—e.g. 

broodstock protection measures and 

area closures—this rule does so as of the 

start of the next fishing year. As noted 

above, trap reductions should be 

implemented in conjunction with the 

Trap Transfer Program, but the 

associated LobsTAH Database has yet to 

be completed. Comments from the 

ACCSP (the entity building the 

database) suggest that the database will 

not be ready in time for the 2015 fishing 

year. Given the importance of the Trap 

Transfer Program, we think it imprudent 

to rush things in the first year of the 

program. The Lobster Board’s plan is to 

test the database in the spring of 2015, 

then begin the process of allowing trap 

transfers in the summer and fall of 2015 

to be effective at the start of the 2016 

fishing year, which is when the trap 

reductions would also take effect. 

Comment 4: The Atlantic Offshore 

Lobstermen’s Association suggested that 

if the trap reductions begin in 2016 

instead of 2015, that we double the 

reduction in the first year to make up for 

the delay. 

Response: We will begin to 

implement the trap reductions set forth 

in this rule at the start of the 2016 

fishing year. Doing so does not create a 

delay. Addendum XVIII did not set forth 

a specific date for the trap reductions, 

but rather simply indicated that the 

states and NMFS should implement trap 

transfers and trap reduction rules at the 

same time. Further, the Lobster Board’s 

implementation plan does not 

contemplate doubling Area 3 trap 

reductions in Year 1 (according to a 

September 19, 2014, memorandum from 

Lobster Board Chairman, Dan 

McKiernan, to the Lobster Board) and 

the Board’s Technical Committee has 

advanced no scientific reason to do so. 

Consistency with the states is crucial, 

particularly when traps are to be 

transferred (see our Trap Transferability 

FEIS dated December 2013). As such, 

we will reduce traps at the end of 

fishing year 2015, consistent with the 

states, as set forth in this rule. 

Changes From the Proposed Rule 

We made one change from the 

proposed rule in this action. Instead of 

implementing trap reductions for Areas 

2 and 3 on April 30, 2015, for the 

reasons described in the preamble and 

in response to Comment 3, we are 

implementing trap reductions one year 

later, at 11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2016, 

the last day of fishing year 2015. 

Classification 

This final rule has been determined to 

be not significant for the purposes of 

Executive Order (E.O.) 12866. 

This final rule does not contain 

policies with federalism implications as 

defined in E.O. 13132. The approved 

measures are based upon the American 

Lobster ISFMP that was created by and 

is overseen by the states. These 

measures are a result of Addenda XVII 

and XVIII, which was approved by the 

states, recommended by the states 

through the Commission for Federal 

adoption, and is in place at the state 

level. Consequently, NMFS has 

consulted with the states in the creation 

of the ISFMP, which makes 

recommendations for Federal action. 

Additionally, these approved measures 

would not pre-empt state law and 

would do nothing to directly regulate 

the states. 

This final rule does not contain a 

collection of information requirement 

subject to review and approval by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction 

Act (PRA). 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), 

5 U.S.C. 601–612, requires agencies to 

assess the economic impacts of their 

proposed regulations on small entities. 

The objective of the RFA is to consider 

the impacts of a rulemaking on small 

entities, and the capacity of those 

affected by regulations to bear the direct 

and indirect costs of regulation. A Final 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) 

was prepared for this final rule, as 

required by section 604 of the RFA. The 

FRFA consists of the Initial Regulatory 

Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), the relevant 

portions of the proposed rule describing 

the proposed management measures, the 

corresponding analysis in the EA 

prepared for this action, and the 

responses to public comments included 

in this final rule. A copy of this analysis 

is available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES). 

The Objectives and Legal Basis for the 

Action 

The objective of this action is to 

reduce fishing exploitation and reduce 

latent effort in the trap fishery to scale 

the fishery to the size of the SNE lobster 

stock. The legal basis for the action is 

the ISFMP for American lobster and our 

statutory authority to manage coastal 

fisheries under the Atlantic Coastal 

Fisheries Cooperative Management Act 

at 16 U.S.C. 5101, et seq. 

Summary of Public Comments 

No public comments were received 

pertaining directly to the economic 

effects of this rule. 


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2032 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

Description and Estimate of the Number 

of Small Entities To Which the Rule 

Would Apply 

The recent addition of vessel owner 

information to the permit data allows us 

to better define fishing ‘‘businesses.’’ 

The vessel ownership data identify all 

the individual people who own fishing 

vessels. Vessels can be grouped together 

according to common owners, which 

can then be treated as a fishing business 

for purposes of RFA analyses. Revenues 

summed across all vessels in the group 

and the activities that generate those 

revenues form the basis for determining 

whether the entity is a large or small 

business. Ownership data are available 

for those entities potentially impacted 

by the action from 2010 onward. 

The RFA recognizes and defines three 

kinds of small entities: Small 

businesses; small organizations; and 

small governmental jurisdictions. The 

Small Business Administration (SBA) 

size standards define whether a 

business entity is small and, thus, 

eligible for Government programs and 

preferences reserved for ‘‘small 

business’’ concerns. Size standards have 

been established (and recently 

modified) for all for-profit economic 

activities or industries in the North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS). Designations of large 

and small entities were attached based 

on each entity’s 3-year average landings. 

When the IRFA was completed, the 

threshold for ‘‘large’’ was $5.0 million 

for entities landing a plurality of 

revenue in shellfish (NAICS 111412). 

For entities landing a plurality of 

revenue in finfish (NAICS 111411), the 

threshold for ‘‘large’’ was $19.0 million. 

On June 12, 2014, the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) issued an interim 

final rule (79 FR 33467; June 12, 2014) 

revising the small business size 

standards for several industries effective 

July 14, 2014. The rule increased the 

size standard from $19.0 to $20.5 

million for finfish fishing, from $5 to 

$5.5 million for shellfish fishing, and 

from $7.0 million to $7.5 million for 

other marine fishing, for-hire 

businesses, and marinas. 

The number of directly regulated 

entities for purposes of analyzing the 

economic impacts and describing those 

that are small businesses is selected 

based on permits held. Because these 

approved regulations apply only to the 

businesses which fish in the four areas 

managed by the conservation measures 

being amended, only those business 

entities are evaluated. Business entities 

that do not own vessels with directly 

regulated permits are not described. 

Based on this approach, NMFS 

determined that there are 379 distinct 

entities identified that are directly 

regulated entities under this action, 

those that fished in Areas 2, 3, 4 or 5, 

or some combination between June 1, 

2011, and May 31, 2012. 

When the IRFA was prepared, 373 of 

the 379 entities were classified as 

‘‘small,’’ while the remaining 6 were 

classified as ‘‘large.’’ All six of the large 

businesses were designated as shellfish. 

Under the updated SBA size standard, 

374 of the 379 entities are classified as 

‘‘small,’’ while the remaining 5 are 

classified as ‘‘large.’’ We have reviewed 

the analyses prepared for this action in 

light of the new size standards and find 

that the number of small entities subject 

to this action increased by one. Since 

this is not a significant increase, we do 

not think that the new size standards 

affect the analyses, and therefore are 

relying on the analysis previously 

conducted for the IRFA in the FRFA. 

Until further guidance is provided, for 

RFA analyses, business entities are 

classified into the SBA defined 

categories based on which activity, in 

the most recent year, produced the 

greatest gross revenue. An advantage of 

this approach is that entities are defined 

as large or small one time for the 

duration of a year, maintaining action to 

action consistency. As far as 

determining whether a business is large 

or small, once its major activity is 

determined (based on 2012) the average 

total revenue from all activities over the 

most recent 3 years (2010–2012) is 

applied against the appropriate 

threshold. 

Of the 373 small entities determined 

to be small entities, 180 are considered 

a shellfish business, 121 are considered 

a finfish business, 3 are considered a 

for-hire business, and 69 could not be 

identified as either because even though 

they had a lobster permit (in Areas 2, 3, 

4, or 5), they had no earned revenue 

from fishing activity. Because they had 

no revenue in the last 3 years, they 

would be considered small by default, 

but would also be considered as latent 

effort. 

Many of these ownership entities 

maintain diversified harvest portfolios, 

obtaining gross sales from many 

fisheries and not dependent on any one. 

However, not all are equally diversified. 

Those that depend most heavily on sales 

from harvesting species impacted 

directly by the action are most likely to 

be affected. By defining dependence as 

deriving greater than 50-percent of gross 

sales from sales of lobster, we are able 

to identify those ownership groups most 

likely to be impacted by the approved 

regulations. Using this threshold, we 

find that of the 373 small regulated 

entities under this rule, 180 of them are 

lobster-dependent. 

While considering the number of 

affected entities, it is also worth noting 

that the vast majority of permit holders 

are either dually permitted (i.e., issued 

both a Federal and state permit) or 

otherwise subject to a state’s lobster 

regulations. Accordingly, most all 

Federal permit holders will be required 

to comply with the approved measures 

even if we did not implement them. In 

other words, these Federal permit 

holders will be obligated to comply with 

these measures and responsibilities 

attendant to their state permit regardless 

of whether these same measures are also 

required under their Federal permit. 

Reporting, Recordkeeping and Other 

Compliance Requirements 

This action contains no new 

collection-of-information, reporting, or 

recordkeeping requirements. 

Descriptions of Significant Alternatives 

Which Minimize any Significant 

Economic Impact of Proposed Action on 

Small Entities 

Due to the expected high rate of dual 

permitting and that the states are 

already compliant with broodstock 

measures, the majority of Federal 

vessels must already abide by these 

requirements, and therefore have 

already been impacted. For those 

vessels not dually permitted, broodstock 

measures are expected to have a limited 

economic impact to permit holders. 

Because the approved regulations are 

consistent with Commission 

recommendations and current state 

regulations, developing alternative 

measures would likely create 

inconsistencies and regulatory 

disconnects with the states and would, 

therefore, likely worsen potential 

economic impacts. Therefore, no 

alternatives to broodstock measures 

were considered. 

Because the Trap Transfer Program 

may ease economic impacts of trap 

reductions and provide added 

additional business flexibility, we are 

implementing trap reductions at the 

same time as the Trap Transfer Program, 

as recommended by the Commission. In 

other words, we have timed the trap 

reductions so that fishers will be able to 

activate their transferred traps moments 

after their allocation is reduced. In this 

way, fishers will not have to fish with 

reduced traps while waiting for their 

transferred traps to become allocated. 

This could mitigate the impacts of the 

trap reductions because fishers would 

be able to transfer traps based on their 

reduced allocation, prior to the 

reductions becoming effective. They 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 2033 

could buy traps before the reductions 

take effect and minimize the impacts to 

their businesses resulting from the trap 

reductions. To further mitigate trap 

reductions, a permit holder could also 

choose to tend his or her remaining 

traps more often in an attempt to harvest 

more lobsters and recover income lost 

from the trap reductions. When 

considered in conjunction with trap 

transferability, permit holders 

remaining in the fishery may be able to 

transfer in traps up to their original trap 

cap (i.e., transfer in traps to make up for 

traps lost through trap reductions). 

Though this will require capital, the 

ability to acquire additional traps may 

help another set of permit holders 

compensate for trap reductions. Finally, 

the permit holders who elect to leave 

the fishery and transfer out traps will be 

compensated immediately by those 

fishers purchasing traps. 

As discussed in greater detail in the 

EA, we considered but rejected several 

other trap reduction alternatives for 

Lobster Conservation Management 

Areas 2 and 3, the only Areas where 

trap reductions were considered. For 

these management areas, we considered 

the following approaches: (1) Where 

trap reductions are theoretically 

approved 6 months before trap transfers, 

(2) where trap reductions are 

theoretically approved 6 months after 

trap transfers, and (3) where trap 

reductions and trap transferability 

during a given fishing year, rather than 

at the start of a fishing year. Under 

either scenario where trap reductions 

and trap transfers were approved out-ofsync by 6 months, some permit holders 

would be prevented from participating 

in the Trap Transfer Program following 

trap reductions, resulting in potential 

loss of economic opportunity, until 

additional traps could be required. For 

permit holders whose business model is 

predicated on fishing at the trap cap, 

they would be forced to fish at reduced 

and presumably unprofitable levels for 

nearly half the fishing year. Under the 

scenario where trap reductions and trap 

transfers were during a given fishing 

year, a fisher’s financial investment 

would be doubled, as a second set of 

permits and trap tags would be required, 

in addition to the set that was required 

to start the fishing year. Because these 

alternatives may have increase 

economic impacts, they were rejected in 

favor of the approved measures, which 

minimize any significant economic 

impact. 

Duplication, Overlap or Conflict With 

Other Federal Rules 

This action does not duplicate, 

overlap, or conflict with any other 

Federal Laws. 

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, we will send a 

small entity compliance guide to all 

Federal permit holders affected by this 

action. In addition, copies of this final 

rule and guide (i.e., information 

bulletin) are available from NMFS (see 

ADDRESSES) and at the following Web 

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

sfdmulti.html. 

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 697 

Fisheries, Fishing. 

Dated: January 8, 2015. 

Samuel D. Rauch III, 

Deputy Assistant Administrator for 

Regulatory Programs, National Marine 

Fisheries Service. 

For the reasons set out in the 

preamble, 50 CFR part 697 is amended 

as follows: 

PART 697—ATLANTIC COASTAL 

FISHERIES COOPERATIVE 

MANAGEMENT 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 697 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq. 

■ 2. In § 697.2, in paragraph (a), add the 

definitions of ‘‘Federal Area 1 Limited 

Access Program,’’ ‘‘Federal Area 2 

Limited Access Program,’’ ‘‘Federal 

Area 3 Limited Access Program,’’ 

‘‘Federal Area 4 Limited Access 

Program,’’ ‘‘Federal Area 5 Limited 

Access Program,’’ and ‘‘Federal Outer 

Cape Area Limited Access Program’’ in 

alphabetical order to read as follows: 

§ 697.2 Definitions. 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * 

Federal Area 1 Limited Access 

Program means the limited access 

program restricts trap fishing in Area 1 

to those Federal lobster permits with 

qualified and allocated Area 1 traps, as 

identified in these regulations at 

§ 697.4(a)(7)(ii). 

Federal Area 2 Limited Access 

Program means the limited access 

program restricts trap fishing in Area 2 

to those Federal lobster permits with 

qualified and allocated Area 2 traps, as 

identified in these regulations at 

§ 697.4(a)(7)(ii). 

Federal Area 3 Limited Access 

Program means the limited access 

program restricts trap fishing in Area 3 

to those Federal lobster permits with 

qualified and allocated Area 3 traps, as 

identified in these regulations at 

§ 697.4(a)(7)(ii). 

Federal Area 4 Limited Access 

Program means the limited access 

program restricts trap fishing in Area 4 

to those Federal lobster permits with 

qualified and allocated Area 4 traps, as 

identified in these regulations at 

§ 697.4(a)(7)(ii). 

Federal Area 5 Limited Access 

Program means the limited access 

program restricts trap fishing in Area 5 

to those Federal lobster permits with 

qualified and allocated Area 5 traps, as 

identified in these regulations at 

§ 697.4(a)(7)(ii). 

Federal Outer Cape Area Limited 

Access Program means the limited 

access program restricts trap fishing in 

the Outer Cape Area to those Federal 

lobster permits with qualified and 

allocated Outer Cape Area traps, as 

identified in these regulations at 

§ 697.4(a)(7)(ii). 

* * * * * 

■ 3. In § 697.7, revise paragraphs 

(c)(1)(xxx) and (c)(3)(iii) to read as 

follows: 

§ 697.7 Prohibitions. 

* * * * * 

(c) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(xxx) Seasonal closures. The 

following areas are closed seasonally to 

lobster fishing. 

(A) Outer Cape Area seasonal closure. 

The Federal waters of the Outer Cape 

Area shall be closed to lobster fishing 

with traps by Federal lobster permit 

holders from February 1 through March 

31. 

(1) Lobster fishing with traps is 

prohibited in the Outer Cape Area 

during this seasonal closure. Federal 

trap fishers are prohibited from 

possessing or landing lobster taken from 

the Outer Cape Area during the seasonal 

closure. 

(2) All lobster traps must be removed 

from Outer Cape Area waters before the 

start of the seasonal closure and may not 

be re-deployed into Outer Cape Area 

waters until after the seasonal closure 


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2034 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

ends. Federal trap fishers are prohibited 

from setting, hauling, storing, 

abandoning, or in any way leaving their 

traps in Outer Cape Area waters during 

this seasonal closure. Federal lobster 

permit holders are prohibited from 

possessing or carrying lobster traps 

aboard a vessel in Outer Cape Area 

waters during this seasonal closure 

unless the vessel is transiting through 

the Outer Cape Area pursuant to 

paragraph (c)(1)(xxx)(A)(4) of this 

section. 

(3) The Outer Cape Area seasonal 

closure relates only to the Outer Cape 

Area. The restrictive provisions of 

§§ 697.3 and 697.4(a)(7)(v) do not apply 

to this closure. Federal lobster permit 

holders with an Outer Cape Area 

designation and another Lobster 

Management Area designation on their 

Federal lobster permits would not have 

to similarly remove their lobster gear 

from the other designated management 

areas. 

(4) Transiting Outer Cape Area. 

Federal lobster permit holders may 

possess lobster traps on their vessels in 

the Outer Cape Area during the seasonal 

closure only if: 

(i) The trap gear is stowed; and 

(ii) The vessel is transiting the Outer 

Cape Area. For the purposes of this 

section, transiting shall mean passing 

through the Outer Cape Area without 

stopping to reach a destination outside 

the Outer Cape Area. 

(5) The Regional Administrator may 

authorize a permit holder or vessel 

owner to haul ashore lobster traps from 

the Outer Cape Area during the seasonal 

closure without having to engage in the 

exempted fishing process in § 697.22, if 

the permit holder or vessel owner can 

establish the following: 

(i) That the lobster traps were not able 

to be hauled ashore before the seasonal 

closure due to incapacity, vessel/

mechanical inoperability, and/or poor 

weather; and 

(ii) That all lobsters caught in the 

subject traps will be immediately 

returned to the sea. 

(iii) The Regional Administrator may 

condition this authorization as 

appropriate in order to maintain the 

overall integrity of the closure. 

(B) Area 4 seasonal closure. The 

Federal waters of Area 4 shall be closed 

to lobster fishing from February 1 

through March 31. 

(1) Lobster fishing is prohibited in 

Area 4 during this seasonal closure. 

Federal lobster permit holders are 

prohibited from possessing or landing 

lobster taken from Area 4 during the 

seasonal closure. 

(2) All lobster traps must be removed 

from Area 4 waters before the start of 

the seasonal closure and may not be redeployed into Area 4 waters until after 

the seasonal closure ends. Federal trap 

fishers are prohibited from setting, 

hauling, storing, abandoning, or in any 

way leaving their traps in Area 4 waters 

during this seasonal closure. The 

following exceptions apply to the Area 

4 seasonal closure: 

(i) Lobster fishers will have a 2-week 

grace period from February 1 to 

February 14 to remove all lobster gear 

from the closed area. During this grace 

period, any hauled trap must not be reset and must be removed from the area. 

Any lobsters taken from traps during 

this grace period must be returned to the 

sea immediately and any Federal lobster 

permit holder retrieving Area 4 traps 

during this grace period is prohibited 

from possessing on board any lobster 

regardless of the area from which the 

lobster may have been harvested. 

(ii) Lobster fishers have a 1-week 

grace period from March 24 to March 31 

to re-set gear in the closed area. During 

this grace period, re-set traps may not be 

re-hauled and any Federal lobster 

permit holder re-setting Area 4 traps 

during this grace period is prohibited 

from possessing on board any lobster 

regardless of the area from which the 

lobster may have been harvested. 

(3) Federal lobster permit holders are 

prohibited from possessing or carrying 

lobster traps aboard a vessel in Area 4 

waters during this seasonal closure 

unless the vessel is operating subject to 

the grace period identified in paragraph 

(c)(1)(xxx)(B)(2)(ii) of this section or is 

transiting through Area 4 pursuant to 

paragraph (c)(1)(xxx)(B)(5) of this 

section. 

(4) The Area 4 seasonal closure relates 

only to Area 4. The restrictive 

provisions of §§ 697.3 and 697.4(a)(7)(v) 

do not apply to this closure. Federal 

lobster permit holders with an Area 4 

designation and another Lobster 

Management Area designation on their 

Federal lobster permits would not have 

to similarly remove their lobster gear 

from the other designated management 

areas. 

(5) Transiting Area 4. Federal lobster 

permit holders may possess lobster traps 

on their vessels in Area 4 during the 

seasonal closure only if: 

(i) The trap gear is stowed; and 

(ii) The vessel is transiting the Area 4. 

For the purposes of this section, 

transiting shall mean passing through 

Area 4 without stopping, to reach a 

destination outside Area 4. 

(6) The Regional Administrator may 

authorize a permit holder or vessel 

owner to haul ashore lobster traps from 

Area 4 during the seasonal closure 

without having to engage in the 

exempted fishing process in § 697.22, if 

the permit holder or vessel owner can 

establish the following: 

(i) That the lobster traps were not able 

to be hauled ashore before the seasonal 

closure due to incapacity, vessel/

mechanical inoperability, and/or poor 

weather; and 

(ii) That all lobsters caught in the 

subject traps will be immediately 

returned to the sea. 

(iii) The Regional Administrator may 

condition this authorization as 

appropriate in order to maintain the 

overall integrity of the closure. 

(C) Area 5 seasonal closure. The 

Federal waters of Area 5 shall be closed 

to lobster fishing from February 1 

through March 31. 

(1) Lobster fishing is prohibited in 

Area 5 during this seasonal closure. 

Federal lobster permit holders are 

prohibited from possessing or landing 

lobster taken from Area 5 during the 

seasonal closure. 

(2) All lobster traps must be removed 

from Area 5 waters before the start of 

the seasonal closure and may not be redeployed into Area 5 waters until after 

the seasonal closure ends. Federal trap 

fishers are prohibited from setting, 

hauling, storing, abandoning, or in any 

way leaving their traps in Area 5 waters 

during this seasonal closure. The 

following exceptions apply to the Area 

5 seasonal closure: 

(i) Lobster fishers will have a 2-week 

grace period from February 1 to 

February 14 to remove all lobster gear 

from the closed area. During this grace 

period, any hauled trap must not be reset and must be removed from the area. 

Any lobsters taken from traps during 

this grace period must be returned to the 

sea immediately and any Federal lobster 

permit holder retrieving Area 5 traps 

during this grace period is prohibited 

from possessing on board any lobster 

regardless of the area from which the 

lobster may have been harvested. 

(ii) Lobster fishers have a 1-week 

grace period from March 24 to March 31 

to re-set gear in the closed area. During 

this grace period, re-set traps may not be 

re-hauled and any Federal lobster 

permit holder re-setting Area 5 traps 

during this grace period is prohibited 

from possessing on board any lobster 

regardless of the area from which the 

lobster may have been harvested. 

(3) Federal lobster permit holders are 

prohibited from possessing or carrying 

lobster traps aboard a vessel in Area 5 

waters during this seasonal closure 

unless the vessel operating subject to 

the grace period identified in paragraph 

(c)(1)(xxx)(C)(2)(ii) of this section (ii) or 

is transiting through Area 5 pursuant to 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 2035 

paragraph (c)(1)(xxx)(C)(5) of this 

section. 

(4) The Area 5 seasonal closure relates 

only to Area 5. The restrictive 

provisions of §§ 697.3 and 697.4(a)(7)(v) 

do not apply to this closure. Federal 

lobster permit holders with an Area 5 

designation and another Lobster 

Management Area designation on their 

Federal lobster permits would not have 

to similarly remove their lobster gear 

from the other designated management 

areas. 

(5) Transiting Area 5. Federal lobster 

permit holders may possess lobster traps 

on their vessels in Area 5 during the 

seasonal closure only if: 

(i) The trap gear is stowed; and 

(ii) The vessel is transiting the Area 5. 

For the purposes of this section, 

transiting shall mean passing through 

Area 5 without stopping, to reach a 

destination outside Area 5. 

(6) The Regional Administrator may 

authorize a permit holder or vessel 

owner to haul ashore lobster traps from 

Area 5 during the seasonal closure 

without having to engage in the 

exempted fishing process in § 697.22, if 

the permit holder or vessel owner can 

establish the following: 

(i) That the lobster traps were not able 

to be hauled ashore before the seasonal 

closure due to incapacity, vessel/

mechanical inoperability, and/or poor 

weather; and 

(ii) That all lobsters caught in the 

subject traps will be immediately 

returned to the sea. 

(iii) The Regional Administrator may 

condition this authorization as 

appropriate in order to maintain the 

overall integrity of the closure. 

* * * * * 

(3) * * * 

(iii) The possession of egg-bearing 

female lobsters in violation of the 

requirements set forth in § 697.20(d), vnotched female American lobsters in 

violation of the v-notch requirements set 

forth in § 697.20(g), American lobsters 

that are smaller than the minimum sizes 

set forth in § 697.20(a), American 

lobsters that are larger than the 

maximum carapace sizes set forth in 

§ 697.20(b), or lobster parts, possessed at 

or prior to the time when the 

aforementioned lobsters or parts are 

received by a dealer, will be prima facie 

evidence that such American lobsters or 

parts were taken or imported in 

violation of these regulations. A 

preponderance of all submitted 

evidence that such American lobsters 

were harvested by a vessel not holding 

a permit under this part and fishing 

exclusively within state or foreign 

waters will be sufficient to rebut the 

presumption. 

* * * * * 

■ 4. In § 697.19, revise paragraphs (b) 

through (k) and add paragraph (l) to 

read as follows: 

§ 697.19 Trap limits and trap tag 

requirements for vessels fishing with 

lobster traps. 

* * * * * 

(b) Area 2 trap limits. The Area 2 trap 

limit is 800 traps. Federally permitted 

lobster fishing vessels may only fish 

with traps that have been previously 

qualified and allocated into Area 2 by 

the Regional Administrator, as part of 

the Federal Area 2 Limited Access 

Program. This allocation may be 

modified by trap cuts and/or trap 

transfers, but in no case shall the 

allocation exceed the trap limit. 

(c) Area 3 trap limits. The Area 3 trap 

limit is 1,945 traps. Federally permitted 

lobster fishing vessels may only fish 

with traps that have been previously 

qualified and allocated into Area 3 by 

the Regional Administrator, as part of 

the Federal Area 3 Limited Access 

Program. This allocation may be 

modified by trap cuts and/or trap 

transfers, but in no case shall the 

allocation exceed the trap limit. 

(d) Area 4 trap limits. The Area 4 trap 

limit is 1,440 traps. Federally permitted 

lobster fishing vessels may only fish 

with traps that have been previously 

qualified and allocated into Area 4 by 

the Regional Administrator, as part of 

the Federal Area 4 Limited Access 

Program. This allocation may be 

modified by trap cuts and/or trap 

transfers, but in no case shall the 

allocation exceed the trap limit. 

(e) Area 5 trap limits. The Area 5 trap 

limit is 1,440 traps, unless the vessel is 

operating under an Area 5 Trap Waiver 

permit issued under § 697.26. Federally 

permitted lobster fishing vessels may 

only fish with traps that have been 

previously qualified and allocated into 

Area 5 by the Regional Administrator, as 

part of the Federal Area 5 Limited 

Access Program. This allocation may be 

modified by trap cuts and/or trap 

transfers, but in no case shall the 

allocation exceed the trap limit. 

(f) Outer Cape Area. The Outer Cape 

Area trap limit is 800 traps. Federally 

permitted lobster fishing vessels may 

only fish with traps that have been 

previously qualified and allocated into 

the Outer Cape Area by the Regional 

Administrator, as part of the Federal 

Outer Cape Cod Area Limited Access 

Program. This allocation may be 

modified by trap cuts and/or trap 

transfers, but in no case shall the 

allocation exceed the trap limit. 

(g) Trap cuts. Trap allocations shall be 

reduced in the following Areas as set 

forth below: 

(1) Area 2 allocations shall be reduced 

according to the following schedule: 

Effective year of 

trap reduction 

Area 2 

reductions 

(percent) 

April 30, 2016, 11:59 p.m. .... 25 

April 30, 2017, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

April 30, 2018, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

April 30, 2019, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

April 30, 2020, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

April 30, 2021, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

(2) Area 3 allocations shall be reduced 

according to the following schedule: 

Effective year of 

trap reduction 

Area 3 

reductions 

(percent) 

April 30, 2016, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

April 30, 2017, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

April 30, 2018, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

April 30, 2019, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

April 30, 2020, 11:59 p.m. .... 5 

(h) Lobster trap limits for vessels 

fishing or authorized to fish in more 

than one EEZ management area. A 

vessel owner who elects to fish in more 

than one EEZ Management Area is 

restricted to the lowest trap cap and/or 

trap allocation of all the areas 

designated on the permit and may not 

fish with, deploy in, possess in, or haul 

back from any of those elected 

management areas more lobster traps 

than the lowest number of lobster traps 

allocated to that vessel for any one 

elected management area. 

(i) Conservation equivalent trap limits 

in New Hampshire state waters. 

Notwithstanding any other provision, 

any vessel with a Federal lobster permit 

and a New Hampshire Full Commercial 

Lobster license may fish up to a 

maximum of 1,200 lobster traps in New 

Hampshire state waters, to the extent 

authorized by New Hampshire lobster 

fishery regulations. However, such 

vessel may not fish, possess, deploy, or 

haul back more than 800 lobster traps in 

the Federal waters of EEZ Nearshore 

Management Area 1, and may not fish 

more than a combined total of 1,200 

lobster traps in the Federal and New 

Hampshire state waters portions of EEZ 

Nearshore Management Area 1. 

(j) Trap Tag Requirements for vessels 

fishing with lobster traps. All lobster 

traps in Federal waters must have a 

valid Federal lobster trap tag 

permanently attached to the trap bridge 

or central cross-member. Federal lobster 

permit holders are eligible to receive 

Area 1 trap tags only if the Regional 

Administrator has qualified the permit 


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2036 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 10 / Thursday, January 15, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

to fish in Area 1 as part of the Federal 

Area 1 Limited Entry Program. Federal 

lobster permit holders are eligible to 

receive Area 2, 3, 4, 5, and/or Outer 

Cape Area trap tags only if the Regional 

Administrator has allocated those traps 

as part of the Federal Area 2, 3, 4, 5, 

and/or Outer Cape Area Limited Access 

Program. Any vessel with a Federal 

lobster permit may not possess, deploy, 

or haul back lobster traps in any portion 

of any lobster management area that do 

not have a valid, federally recognized 

trap tag permanently attached to the 

trap bridge or central cross-member. 

(k) Maximum lobster trap tags 

authorized for direct purchase. In any 

fishing year, the maximum number of 

tags authorized for direct purchase by 

each permit holder is the applicable trap 

limit specified in paragraphs (a) through 

(f) of this section plus an additional 10 

percent to cover trap loss. 

(l) EEZ Management Area 5 trap 

waiver exemption. Any vessel issued an 

Area 5 Trap Waiver permit under 

§ 697.4(p) is exempt from the provisions 

of this section. 

■ 5. In § 697.20, revise paragraphs (a)(5) 

through (8), (b)(5) and (6), (d)(1) and (2), 

(g)(3) and (4) and remove paragraphs 

(b)(7) and (8) and (g)(5) through (8) to 

read as follows: 

§ 697.20 Size, harvesting and landing 

requirements. 

(a) * * * 

(5) Through April 30, 2015, the 

minimum carapace length for all 

American lobsters harvested in or from 

the Offshore Management Area 3 is 31⁄2

inches (8.89 cm). 

(6) Through April 30, 2015, the 

minimum carapace length for all 

American lobsters landed, harvested or 

possessed by vessels issued a Federal 

limited access American lobster permit 

fishing in or electing to fish in EEZ 

Offshore Management Area 3 is 31⁄2

inches (8.89 cm). 

(7) Effective May 1, 2015, the 

minimum carapace length for all 

American lobsters harvested in or from 

the Offshore Management Area 3 is 

317⁄32 inches (8.97 cm). 

(8) Effective May 1, 2015, the 

minimum carapace length for all 

American lobsters landed, harvested, or 

possessed by vessels issued a Federal 

limited access American lobster permit 

fishing in or electing to fish in EEZ 

Offshore Management Area 3 is 317⁄32

inches (8.97 cm). 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(5) The maximum carapace length for 

all American lobster harvested in or 

from EEZ Offshore Management Area 3 

or the Outer Cape Lobster Management 

Area is 63⁄4 inches (17.15 cm). 

(6) The maximum carapace length for 

all American lobster landed, harvested, 

or possessed by vessels issued a Federal 

limited access American lobster permit 

fishing in or electing to fish in EEZ 

Offshore Management Area 3 or the 

Outer Cape Lobster Management Area is 

63⁄4 inches (17.15 cm). 

(d) * * * 

(1) Any berried female lobster 

harvested in or from the EEZ must be 

returned to the sea immediately. If any 

berried female lobster is harvested in or 

from the EEZ Nearshore Management 

Areas 1, 2, 4, or 5, or in or from the EEZ 

Offshore Management Area 3, north of 

42° 30′ North latitude, it must be vnotched before being returned to sea 

immediately. 

(2) Any berried female lobster 

harvested or possessed by a vessel 

issued a Federal limited access lobster 

permit must be returned to the sea 

immediately. If any berried female 

lobster is harvested in or from the EEZ 

Nearshore Management Areas 1, 2, 4, or 

5, or in or from the EEZ Offshore 

Management Area 3, north of 42° 30′ 

North latitude, it must be v-notched 

before being returned to sea 

immediately. 

* * * * * 

(g) * * * 

(3) No person may possess any female 

lobster possessing a standard v-shaped 

notch harvested in or from the EEZ 

Nearshore Management Area 2, 4, 5, 6, 

Outer Cape Area, or the EEZ Offshore 

Management Area 3. 

(4) No vessel, owner, or operator 

issued a Federal limited access 

American lobster permit fishing in or 

electing to fish in the EEZ Nearshore 

Management Area 2, 4, 5, 6, Outer Cape 

Area, or the EEZ Offshore Management 

Area 3 may land, harvest or possess any 

female lobster possessing a standard vshaped notch. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00421 Filed 1–14–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 


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