Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Approval of Modifications to a Regulatory Exemption for Groundfish Sectors, 39363-39366 [2017-17522]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 159 (Friday, August 18, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 39363-39366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17522]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE



National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration



50 CFR Part 648



[Docket No. 170104016-7732-02]

RIN 0648-XF138




Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern 

United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Approval of 

Modifications to a Regulatory Exemption for Groundfish Sectors



AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.



ACTION: Final rule.



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SUMMARY: Through this action, NMFS approves a change to a regulatory 

exemption for sector vessels in the Northeast multispecies fishery for 

fishing years 2017 and 2018. This action is necessary to respond to a 

request from sectors to change a previously approved exemption. The 

change is intended to increase the use of the sector exemption, which 

allows sector vessels to combine small-mesh exempted fishing trips and



[[Page 39364]]



groundfish trips, and to provide sector vessels with additional fishing 

opportunities.



DATES: The modified regulatory exemption is effective August 17, 2017, 

through April 30, 2019.



ADDRESSES: Copies of each sector's final operations plan are available 

from the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office: John K. 

Bullard, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 

Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kyle Molton, Fishery Management 

Specialist, (978) 281-9236. To review Federal Register documents 

referenced in this rule, you can visit: https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/sustainable/species/multispecies.



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:



Background



    A sector is a group of persons (three or more persons, none of whom 

have an ownership interest in the other two persons in the sector) 

holding limited access groundfish permits who have voluntarily entered 

into a contract and agree to certain fishing restrictions for a 

specified period of time. Sectors are self-selecting, meaning each 

sector can choose its members. The Northeast multispecies sector 

management system allocates a portion of the NE multispecies stocks to 

each sector. These annual sector allocations are known as annual catch 

entitlements (ACEs) and are based on the collective fishing history of 

a sector's members. Sectors may receive allocations of large-mesh NE 

multispecies stocks with the exception of Atlantic halibut, windowpane 

flounder, Atlantic wolffish, and ocean pout, which are non-allocated 

species. The ACEs are a portion of a stock's annual catch limit (ACL) 

available to commercial NE multispecies vessels within a sector. A 

sector determines how to harvest its ACEs and may decide to limit 

operations to fewer vessels.

    Sectors submit operations plans and contracts to us for approval. 

We must approve a sector's operations plan in order to allocate ACE to 

the sector and for the sectors to operate. Because sectors elect to 

receive an allocation under a quota-based system, the Northeast 

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP) grants sector vessels 

several ``universal'' exemptions from the FMP's effort controls. 

Sectors may request additional exemptions to streamline operations for 

sector vessels and to increase economic opportunities. We review these 

requests for consistency with the NE Multispecies FMP and other FMPs, 

as well as for resource and community impacts. We may approve requested 

exemptions that benefit sector vessels and that are consistent with the 

goals and objectives of the relevant FMPs. Sectors are prohibited from 

requesting exemptions from permitting restrictions, gear restrictions 

designed to minimize habitat impacts, and most reporting requirements.



Modified Sector Exemption



Modifications to the Sectors Small-Mesh Fishery Exemption Area



    On April 28, 2017, we published an interim final rule (82 FR 19618) 

that approved sector operations plans, granted regulatory exemptions 

for sectors, and provided preliminary allocations of annual catch 

entitlements to sectors for the start of the 2017 fishing year . This 

interim final rule included consideration of a request from sectors to 

modify the Sectors Small-Mesh Fishery Exemption, which was first 

granted in fishing year 2015.

    This exemption allows vessels to combine sector and small-mesh 

fishery trips in two discrete areas in Southern New England. Vessels 

may first target groundfish with large-mesh trawl gear and then switch 

to small-mesh trawl gear to target exempted fishery species like squid. 

These combined trips are more efficient and allow sector vessels to 

increase revenue and profitability on a single trip. There are 

additional requirements for gear modifications on the small-mesh 

portion of the trip to reduce bycatch of groundfish, and all legal 

groundfish caught on the small-mesh portion of the trip must be kept 

and counted against the sector's allocation. A vessel using this 

exemption is still required to meet the same at-sea monitoring coverage 

as normal groundfish trips, and is also required to submit a catch 

report through its Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) unit when switching 

gears.

    The previously approved small-mesh sector exemption area includes 

two discrete areas, one that parallels the southern shore of Long 

Island to the waters just off Narragansett Bay, and a second area south 

of Martha's Vineyard (Figure 1). Sectors requested to modify the area 

to include all of statistical areas 537, 539 and 613, which would 

expand the geographic footprint of the exemption area, to better 

reflect fishing practices in the area and increase efficiency and 

opportunities for sector vessels (Figure 2). We received one public 

comment on this proposed change to the Sectors Small-Mesh Fishery 

Exemption. The comment supported approval of the modification to the 

exemption as proposed.

    We are granting the modification to the exemption area, but as 

noted in the April 28, 2017, interim final rule, we are excluding areas 

that overlap with existing year-round groundfish closed areas or 

southern windowpane flounder accountability measure (AM) areas, 

regardless of whether the AMs are triggered, to be consistent with the 

goals and objectives of the NE Multispecies FMP. We are excluding the 

overlapping southern windowpane flounder AM areas because of concerns 

about potential interactions with windowpane flounder and other 

regulated groundfish species within the AM area. As with all sector 

exemptions, we will continue to monitor the use of the updated 

exemption, as well as any future changes to area management that the 

New England Fishery Management Council recommends.

    All other requirements of the Sectors Small-Mesh Fishery Exemption 

remain unchanged from those previously approved and implemented. 

Vessels using the exemption must fish with one of three trawl gear 

modifications when using small mesh: Drop-chain sweep with a minimum of 

12 inches (30.48 cm) in length; a large-mesh belly panel with a minimum 

of 32-inch (81.28-cm) mesh size; or an excluder grate secured forward 

of the codend with an outlet hole forward of the grate with bar spacing 

of no more than 1.97 inches (5.00 cm) wide. These gear modifications, 

when fished properly, have been shown to reduce the catch of legal and 

sub-legal groundfish stocks.

    As in previously approved versions of the exemption, in order to 

facilitate proper coverage levels and assist with enforcement, the 

vessel is required to declare their intent to use small mesh to target 

small-mesh species by submitting a trip start hail through its VMS unit 

prior to departure. Trips declaring this exemption must stow their 

small-mesh gear and use their large-mesh gear first, and once finished 

with the large mesh, must submit a Multispecies Catch Report via VMS of 

all catch on board at that time and indicate that the small-mesh gear 

will now be fished. Once the Catch Report is sent, the vessel can then 

deploy small-mesh with the required modifications in the specific areas 

(see map above), outside of the Nantucket Lightship Closed Area, at 

which point, the large mesh cannot be redeployed. Any legal-sized 

allocated groundfish stocks caught during these small-mesh hauls must 

be landed and the associated landed weight (dealer or vessel trip



[[Page 39365]]



report (VTR)) will be deducted from the sector's ACE.

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Classification



    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 

NMFS Assistant Administrator (AA) has determined that this final rule 

is consistent with the NE Multispecies FMP, other provisions of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.

    This action is exempt from the procedures of Executive Order 12866 

because this action contains no implementing regulations.

    This final rule is not an E.O. 13771 regulatory action because it 

is not significant under E.O. 12866.

    This final rule does not contain policies with Federalism or 

``takings'' implications as those terms are defined in E.O. 13132 and 

E.O. 12630, respectively.

    The AA finds good cause, under authority provided in 5. U.S.C. 

553(d)(1), to waive the 30-day delay in effective date because a delay 

in effectiveness would be contrary to the public interest. This rule 

does not impose any new requirements or costs on industry for which 

industry needs time to prepare to comply. Groundfish sectors requested 

this exemption to provide greater operational flexibility and to 

increase fishing opportunities. Delaying its effectiveness would 

unnecessarily restrict their fishing and lead to lost economic 

opportunity and efficiencies for sector vessels. Additionally, the 

small-mesh exemption is typically used by sector vessels in the fall. 

Because this rule changes the exemption area to increase use of the 

exemption, a delay in effectiveness would prevent sector vessels from 

the benefit of this change for the fall 2017 season, thus undermining 

the intent of the rule. The interim final rule, which proposed this 

action, was originally delayed as a result of the untimely submission 

of Framework Adjustment 56 by the New England Fishery Management 

Council, which prevented us from coordinating the publishing of the 

sector rule and the Framework 56 rulemaking in time for May 1, 2017 

start of the 2017 fishing year. For all of these reasons, a 30-day 

delay in effectiveness of this rule would be contrary to the public 

interest.

    This final rule is exempt from the procedures of the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act because the preceding interim final rule was issued 

without opportunity for prior notice and comment.



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



    Dated: August 15, 2017.

Chris Oliver,

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 

Service.

[FR Doc. 2017-17522 Filed 8-17-17; 8:45 am]

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