Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Queen Conch Management Measures, 23907-23909 [2011-10446]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2011 / Rules and Regulations
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 0907151138–1235–03]
RIN 0648–AY03
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; Queen
Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands; Queen Conch
Management Measures
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
This final rule implements
measures to address overfishing of
Caribbean queen conch in the U.S.
Caribbean. This rule extends the queen
conch seasonal closure from 3 months
to 5 months, and prohibits fishing for
and possession of queen conch in or
from the Caribbean exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) east of 64°34′ W. longitude,
which includes Lang Bank east of St.
Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), when
harvest and possession of queen conch
is prohibited in St. Croix territorial
waters as a result of a territorial quota
closure. The intended effects of this
final rule are to prevent additional
fishing pressure on queen conch in the
U.S. Caribbean, and to improve
enforcement of regulations affecting the
queen conch resource by improving
compatibility among Federal and
territorial regulations.
DATES: This rule is effective May 31,
2011.
SUMMARY:
Copies of the regulatory
amendment, which includes an
Environmental Assessment (EA), and
the final regulatory flexibility analysis
(FRFA) may be obtained from Britni
Tokotch, Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St.
Petersburg, FL 33701 or may be
downloaded from the Southeast
Regional Office Web site at https://
sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Britni Tokotch, 727–824–5305.
The
Caribbean queen conch fishery is
managed under the Fishery
Management Plan for Queen Conch
Resources of Puerto Rico and the USVI
(FMP). The FMP was prepared by the
Caribbean Fishery Management Council
(Council), and is implemented through
regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with RULES
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:27 Apr 28, 2011
Jkt 223001
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
This final rule extends the current
3-month (July 1 through September 30)
closure in Federal waters in the area
east of 64°34′ W. longitude, which
includes Lang Bank east of St. Croix,
USVI (Lang Bank), to a 5-month closure,
from June 1 through October 31 each
year. This final rule also implements a
compatible queen conch harvest quota
closure for Federal waters. Under this
rule, when the USVI closes territorial
waters off St. Croix to the harvest and
possession of queen conch, NMFS will
concurrently close the queen conch
harvest in Lang Bank. NMFS will notify
the public of the closure by filing a
notice with the Office of the Federal
Register. During the closure, fishing for
or possession of Caribbean queen conch
on board a fishing vessel, in or from
Lang Bank is prohibited. Closure of
Lang Bank is in effect until the next
fishing season for territorial waters
opens November 1, each year.
Comments and Responses
The following is a summary of the
comments NMFS received on the
proposed rule and the queen conch
regulatory amendment, and NMFS’
respective responses. During the
comment period, NMFS received four
comments on the proposed rule. The
submissions included one letter from a
Federal agency, which was in agreement
with the actions in this proposed rule.
The remaining submissions were unique
letters from individuals, one of which is
unrelated to the actions contained in the
regulatory amendment and, therefore, is
not addressed; the other two comments
are addressed below.
Comment 1: One commenter
questioned why a 4-month seasonal
closure was not considered as an
alternative to the existing 3-month
closure and the proposed 5-month
closure.
Response: The intent of the regulatory
amendment and this proposed rule is to
establish consistent regulations between
the USVI and U.S. Federal waters. The
USVI territorial government requested
the Council and NMFS implement
compatible regulations, including a
compatible seasonal closure and a
compatible quota closure, to simplify
enforcement efforts. The lack of
compatible regulations makes
enforcement difficult, which inhibits
resource protection. A 4-month closure
was not considered because it would
not be consistent with USVI regulations,
and would not alleviate the concerns
about enforcement that prompted this
action.
PO 00000
Frm 00047
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
23907
Comment 2: One commenter
expressed concern regarding Federal
consistency with the 50,000-lb (28,680kg) quota set by the USVI. Specifically,
the commenter expressed concern
regarding the possibility the USVI
territorial government could increase
the queen conch quota in the future.
Response: The queen conch
regulatory amendment and this
proposed rule do not address a Federal
quota for queen conch. This proposed
rule recognizes the quota already
established by the USVI. The intent of
this proposed rule is to establish
consistency between Federal regulations
and those already established by the
USVI territorial government to prevent
additional fishing pressure when the
USVI quota is met and to enhance
enforcement efforts.
In Amendment 2 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Queen Resources
of Puerto Rico and the USVI and
Amendment 5 to the Reef Fish Fishery
Management Plan of Puerto Rico and
the USVI (2010 Caribbean ACL
Amendment), the Council is considering
actions that establish annual catch
limits (ACLs) and accountability
measures (AMs) to ensure the ACLs are
not exceeded. The Council’s preferred
alternative is to set the ACL for queen
conch at 50,000 lb (28,680 kg). Once the
ACL is reached or projected to be
reached, Lang Bank would be closed to
the harvest and possession of queen
conch. The 2010 Caribbean ACL
Amendment is expected to be
implemented in the near future. When
this amendment is implemented, the
ACLs and AMs will apply even if the
USVI territorial government increases
the territorial quota in the future.
Classification
The Regional Administrator,
Southeast Region, NMFS, determined
that the regulatory amendment is
necessary for the conservation and
management of the queen conch fishery
and that it is consistent with the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and other
applicable laws.
This final rule has been determined to
be not significant for purposes of
Executive Order 12866.
NMFS prepared an FRFA, as required
by section 604 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act. The FRFA describes the
economic impact this final rule is
expected to have on small entities. A
description of the action implemented
through this final rule, the need for and
objectives of this final rule, and the legal
basis for this final rule are contained in
the preamble of the proposed rule, and
are not repeated here. A copy of this
analysis is available from the Council
E:\FR\FM\29APR1.SGM
29APR1
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with RULES
23908
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2011 / Rules and Regulations
(see ADDRESSES). A summary of the
analysis follows.
No significant issues associated with
the economic analysis contained in the
proposed rule were raised through
public comment. A summary of the
comments received is provided in the
previous section of this preamble. No
changes were made in this final rule as
a result of these comments.
No duplicative, overlapping, or
conflicting Federal rules have been
identified. Additionally, this final rule
would not establish any new reporting,
recordkeeping, or other compliance
requirements.
This final rule will directly apply to
and may directly affect commercial
fishermen and for-hire vessels in St.
Croix that harvest queen conch. The
Small Business Administration (SBA)
has established size criteria for all major
industry sectors in the U.S., including
commercial fish harvesters and for-hire
operations. A business involved in fish
harvesting is classified as a small
business if it is independently owned
and operated, is not dominant in its
field of operation (including its
affiliates), and has combined annual
receipts not in excess of $4.0 million
(NAICS code 114111, finfish fishing) for
all its affiliated operations worldwide.
For for-hire vessels, the other qualifiers
apply and the revenues threshold is $7.0
million (NAICS code 713990,
recreational industries).
All commercial fishermen who may
be affected by this final rule are
determined, for the purpose of this
analysis, to be small entities. Federal
permits are not required to fish in the
U.S. Caribbean. The USVI, however,
requires a commercial fishing permit to
harvest marine species for commercial
purposes. In 2008, there were 383
permitted fishermen in the USVI, of
which 223 were in St. Croix and 160
were in St. Thomas and St. John. The
ex-vessel value of total harvests by USVI
fishermen in 2008 was approximately
$8.8 million, or approximately $23,000
per fisherman. This estimate is
substantially lower than the SBA small
entity threshold. Comparable values for
St. Croix fishermen are not available.
However, if all revenues from marine
species for the USVI are attributed to St.
Croix fishermen, the appropriate
average revenue per entity would be
only approximately $39,000. Even this
value, as an extreme upper bound for
average revenues for St. Croix
fishermen, is significantly lower than
the SBA threshold.
The number of for-hire dive
operations in the USVI is unknown.
However, 27 for-hire vessels were
identified in the USVI in 2000.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:27 Apr 28, 2011
Jkt 223001
Information on the economic profile of
these vessels is not available. However,
for-hire vessels have been determined to
be small business entities in all Federal
fishery-related regulatory actions to date
in the Gulf of Mexico and South
Atlantic. Therefore, all for-hire
businesses that may be affected by this
final rule are determined, for the
purpose of this analysis, to be small
business entities.
It is unknown whether this final rule
will have any direct adverse economic
effects on any small entities. Available
queen conch harvest data do not
distinguish between queen conch
harvested from territorial waters and
from Lang Bank. Incompatible Federal
and St. Croix territorial water seasonal
closures only began in 2008, and the
first quota closure of St. Croix territorial
waters occurred in 2009. It is unknown
whether landings originating from Lang
Bank continued after closure of the
territorial waters in these years, or
whether the territorial closure resulted
in fishermen ceasing harvest activity in
Lang Bank. If the territorial possession
prohibition resulted in fishermen
stopping all harvest activity, including
activity that historically occurred in the
Lang Bank, then this final rule will not
have any direct effect on harvest activity
or associated revenues from Lang Bank,
because no such harvest activity would
be expected to continue to occur. As a
result, the only direct effect of this
action on fishery participants will be the
benefits of regulatory simplicity.
If, however, queen conch has
traditionally continued to be harvested
in Lang Bank during the period when
the territorial waters closed, this final
rule will result in a reduction in the
revenues associated with these harvests.
As previously stated, available data do
not allow quantification of any harvests
from Lang Bank that may be affected. In
general, however, because queen conch
are distributed in habitats where water
depth is less than 100 fathoms (183 m),
and the majority of the benthos at that
depth around St. Croix is located in
territorial waters, it is assumed that the
majority of queen conch in the USVI are
harvested from territorial waters. As a
result, any reduction in harvests, and
associated revenues, from Lang Bank
that might occur as a result of
compatible closures is expected to be
minimal.
Because of the absence of locationspecific harvest data and the inability to
assess with certainty the economic
effects of compatible quota and seasonal
closures, public comment on the
economic analysis was solicited in the
proposed rule. No comments on the
economic analysis were received and, as
PO 00000
Frm 00048
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
a result, no information was provided to
either confirm or refute the conclusion
in the economic analysis that any
reduction in revenues as a result of
compatible closures would be minimal.
Only one alternative to the proposed
rule was considered. This alternative,
the no action alternative (status quo),
would not implement compatible
closures and would not achieve the
Council’s objectives. Therefore, NMFS
did not adopt this alternative.
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 an 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.’’ As part of the rulemaking
process, NMFS prepared a fishery
bulletin, which also serves as a small
entity compliance guide. The fishery
bulletin will be distributed to interested
parties in the Caribbean.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Virgin Islands.
Dated: April 26, 2011.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Operations, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended
as follows:
PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE
CARIBBEAN, GULF, AND SOUTH
ATLANTIC
1. The authority citation for part 622
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In § 622.32, paragraph (b)(1)(iv) is
revised to read as follows:
■
§ 622.32 Prohibited and limited harvest
species.
*
*
*
*
*
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(iv) No person may fish for or possess
on board a fishing vessel a Caribbean
queen conch in or from the Caribbean
EEZ, in the area east of 64E34’ W.
longitude which includes Lang Bank
east of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands,
except during November 1 through
May 31.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 3. In § 622.33, paragraph (d) is added
to read as follows:
E:\FR\FM\29APR1.SGM
29APR1
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 83 / Friday, April 29, 2011 / Rules and Regulations
§ 622.33 Caribbean EEZ seasonal and/or
area closures.
*
*
*
*
*
(d) Queen conch closure in the
Caribbean EEZ. (1) Pursuant to the
procedures and criteria established in
the FMP for Queen Conch Resources of
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands,
when the U.S. Virgin Islands closes
territorial waters off St. Croix to the
harvest and possession of queen conch,
the Regional Administrator will
concurrently close the Caribbean EEZ,
in the area east of 64°34′ W. longitude
which includes Lang Bank, east of
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, by filing
a notification of closure with the Office
of the Federal Register. Closure of the
adjacent EEZ will be effective until the
next fishing season for territorial waters
opens November 1.
(2) During the closure, as specified in
paragraph (d)(1) of this section, no
person may fish for or possess on board
a fishing vessel, a Caribbean queen
conch, in or from the Caribbean EEZ, in
the area east of 64°34′ W. longitude
which includes Lang Bank, east of
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
[FR Doc. 2011–10446 Filed 4–28–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket Nos. 100610255–0257–01 and
040205043–4043–01]
RIN 0648–XA353
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; Gulf of
Mexico Reef Fish Fishery; 2011
Accountability Measures for Greater
Amberjack and Closure of the 2011
Gulf of Mexico Commercial Sector for
Greater Amberjack
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
AGENCY:
NMFS implements
accountability measures (AMs) for
commercial and recreational greater
amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf)
for the 2011 fishing year through this
temporary final rule, announces the
closure date for the 2011 commercial
sector for greater amberjack of the Gulf
reef fish fishery, and provides an
estimated season length for the 2011
recreational greater amberjack sector of
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with RULES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:27 Apr 28, 2011
Jkt 223001
the Gulf reef fish fishery. This rule
reduces the 2011 commercial and
recreational quotas for greater amberjack
based on the 2010 quota overages.
Additionally, NMFS has determined
that the 2011 adjusted commercial quota
for Gulf greater amberjack will have
been reached by June 18, 2011. These
actions are necessary to reduce
overfishing of the Gulf greater amberjack
resource.
DATES: This rule is effective April 29,
2011 through December 31, 2011, except
for the greater amberjack commercial
sector closure provision. The closure of
the commercial sector for Gulf greater
amberjack is effective 12:01 a.m., local
time, June 18, 2011, until 12:01 a.m.,
local time, on January 1, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the final rule for
Amendment 30A, the Final
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (FSEIS) for Amendment 30A,
and other supporting documentation
may be obtained from Rich Malinowski,
NMFS, Southeast Regional Office, 263
13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL
33701; telephone: 727–824–5305.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rich
Malinowski, telephone: 727–824–5305,
e-mail Rich.Malinowski@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef
fish fishery of the Gulf is managed
under the Fishery Management Plan for
Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of
Mexico (FMP). The FMP was prepared
by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council (Council) and is
implemented under the authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) by regulations
at 50 CFR part 622.
Background
The 2006 reauthorization of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act implemented
new requirements that annual catch
limits (ACLs) and AMs be established to
end overfishing and prevent overfishing
from occurring. AMs are management
controls to prevent ACLs from being
exceeded, and correct or mitigate
overages of the ACL if they occur.
Section 303(a)(15) of the MagnusonStevens Act mandates the establishment
of ACLs at a level such that overfishing
does not occur in the fishery, including
measures to ensure accountability.
On July 3, 2008, NMFS issued a final
rule (73 FR 38139) to implement
Amendment 30A to the FMP
(Amendment 30A). Amendment 30A
established commercial and recreational
quotas for Gulf greater amberjack and
AMs that would go into effect if the
commercial and recreational quotas for
greater amberjack are exceeded. In
PO 00000
Frm 00049
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
23909
accordance with regulations at 50 CFR
622.49(a)(1)(i), when the applicable
commercial quota is reached, or
projected to be reached, the Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA,
(AA), will file a notification with the
Office of the Federal Register to close
the commercial sector for the remainder
of the fishing year. If despite such
closure, commercial landings exceed the
quota, the AA will reduce the quota the
year following an overage by the amount
of the overage of the prior fishing year.
Amendment 30A also implemented
AMs for the Gulf greater amberjack
recreational sector of the reef fish
fishery. As described at 50 CFR
622.40(a)(1)(ii), if recreational landings
are met or projected to be met, the AA
will close the recreational sector for the
remainder of the fishing year. In
addition, if recreational landings exceed
the quota, the AA will reduce the length
of the recreational fishing season the
year following an overage by the amount
necessary to recover the overage of the
prior fishing year. Also, if necessary, the
reduced fishing season may be adjusted
during the fishing year to ensure the
recreational harvest achieves, but does
not exceed the intended harvest level.
Management Measures Contained in
This Temporary Rule
In 2009, the commercial sector of
greater amberjack was closed on
November 7, when the commercial
quota of 503,000 lb (228,157 kg) was
determined to be reached. Finalized
2009 commercial landings data
indicated the commercial quota was
exceeded by 25.8 percent, or 129,928 lb
(58,934 kg). The reduced 2010
commercial quota for Gulf greater
amberjack was 373,072 lb (169,222 kg).
NMFS closed the commercial sector for
Gulf greater amberjack on October 28,
2010 (75 FR 64171), when NMFS
projected that the 373,072 lb (169,222
kg) quota had been reached. Finalized
2010 commercial landings data indicate
the commercial quota was exceeded by
50.7 percent, or 189,100 lb (85,774 kg).
Therefore, the reduced 2011 commercial
quota for Gulf greater amberjack is
313,900 lb (142,383 kg).
The NMFS Southeast Fisheries
Science Center (SEFSC) estimates that
189,618 lb (86,009 kg) of greater
amberjack were landed by the
commercial sector during the months of
January and February of 2011.
Commercial harvest of greater amberjack
is prohibited during the months of
March through May each year to protect
spawning aggregations. The fishing
season for commercial greater amberjack
re-opens on June 1, 2011 at which time
the remaining 124,282 lb (56,373 kg) of
E:\FR\FM\29APR1.SGM
29APR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 23907-23909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10446]
[[Page 23907]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 0907151138-1235-03]
RIN 0648-AY03
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Queen Conch Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; Queen
Conch Management Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This final rule implements measures to address overfishing of
Caribbean queen conch in the U.S. Caribbean. This rule extends the
queen conch seasonal closure from 3 months to 5 months, and prohibits
fishing for and possession of queen conch in or from the Caribbean
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) east of 64[deg]34' W. longitude, which
includes Lang Bank east of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), when
harvest and possession of queen conch is prohibited in St. Croix
territorial waters as a result of a territorial quota closure. The
intended effects of this final rule are to prevent additional fishing
pressure on queen conch in the U.S. Caribbean, and to improve
enforcement of regulations affecting the queen conch resource by
improving compatibility among Federal and territorial regulations.
DATES: This rule is effective May 31, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the regulatory amendment, which includes an
Environmental Assessment (EA), and the final regulatory flexibility
analysis (FRFA) may be obtained from Britni Tokotch, Southeast Regional
Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 or may be
downloaded from the Southeast Regional Office Web site at https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Britni Tokotch, 727-824-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Caribbean queen conch fishery is managed
under the Fishery Management Plan for Queen Conch Resources of Puerto
Rico and the USVI (FMP). The FMP was prepared by the Caribbean Fishery
Management Council (Council), and is implemented through regulations at
50 CFR part 622 under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
This final rule extends the current 3-month (July 1 through
September 30) closure in Federal waters in the area east of 64[deg]34'
W. longitude, which includes Lang Bank east of St. Croix, USVI (Lang
Bank), to a 5-month closure, from June 1 through October 31 each year.
This final rule also implements a compatible queen conch harvest quota
closure for Federal waters. Under this rule, when the USVI closes
territorial waters off St. Croix to the harvest and possession of queen
conch, NMFS will concurrently close the queen conch harvest in Lang
Bank. NMFS will notify the public of the closure by filing a notice
with the Office of the Federal Register. During the closure, fishing
for or possession of Caribbean queen conch on board a fishing vessel,
in or from Lang Bank is prohibited. Closure of Lang Bank is in effect
until the next fishing season for territorial waters opens November 1,
each year.
Comments and Responses
The following is a summary of the comments NMFS received on the
proposed rule and the queen conch regulatory amendment, and NMFS'
respective responses. During the comment period, NMFS received four
comments on the proposed rule. The submissions included one letter from
a Federal agency, which was in agreement with the actions in this
proposed rule. The remaining submissions were unique letters from
individuals, one of which is unrelated to the actions contained in the
regulatory amendment and, therefore, is not addressed; the other two
comments are addressed below.
Comment 1: One commenter questioned why a 4-month seasonal closure
was not considered as an alternative to the existing 3-month closure
and the proposed 5-month closure.
Response: The intent of the regulatory amendment and this proposed
rule is to establish consistent regulations between the USVI and U.S.
Federal waters. The USVI territorial government requested the Council
and NMFS implement compatible regulations, including a compatible
seasonal closure and a compatible quota closure, to simplify
enforcement efforts. The lack of compatible regulations makes
enforcement difficult, which inhibits resource protection. A 4-month
closure was not considered because it would not be consistent with USVI
regulations, and would not alleviate the concerns about enforcement
that prompted this action.
Comment 2: One commenter expressed concern regarding Federal
consistency with the 50,000-lb (28,680-kg) quota set by the USVI.
Specifically, the commenter expressed concern regarding the possibility
the USVI territorial government could increase the queen conch quota in
the future.
Response: The queen conch regulatory amendment and this proposed
rule do not address a Federal quota for queen conch. This proposed rule
recognizes the quota already established by the USVI. The intent of
this proposed rule is to establish consistency between Federal
regulations and those already established by the USVI territorial
government to prevent additional fishing pressure when the USVI quota
is met and to enhance enforcement efforts.
In Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan for Queen Resources
of Puerto Rico and the USVI and Amendment 5 to the Reef Fish Fishery
Management Plan of Puerto Rico and the USVI (2010 Caribbean ACL
Amendment), the Council is considering actions that establish annual
catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) to ensure the
ACLs are not exceeded. The Council's preferred alternative is to set
the ACL for queen conch at 50,000 lb (28,680 kg). Once the ACL is
reached or projected to be reached, Lang Bank would be closed to the
harvest and possession of queen conch. The 2010 Caribbean ACL Amendment
is expected to be implemented in the near future. When this amendment
is implemented, the ACLs and AMs will apply even if the USVI
territorial government increases the territorial quota in the future.
Classification
The Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, determined that
the regulatory amendment is necessary for the conservation and
management of the queen conch fishery and that it is consistent with
the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
NMFS prepared an FRFA, as required by section 604 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act. The FRFA describes the economic impact this final rule
is expected to have on small entities. A description of the action
implemented through this final rule, the need for and objectives of
this final rule, and the legal basis for this final rule are contained
in the preamble of the proposed rule, and are not repeated here. A copy
of this analysis is available from the Council
[[Page 23908]]
(see ADDRESSES). A summary of the analysis follows.
No significant issues associated with the economic analysis
contained in the proposed rule were raised through public comment. A
summary of the comments received is provided in the previous section of
this preamble. No changes were made in this final rule as a result of
these comments.
No duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting Federal rules have been
identified. Additionally, this final rule would not establish any new
reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements.
This final rule will directly apply to and may directly affect
commercial fishermen and for-hire vessels in St. Croix that harvest
queen conch. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has established
size criteria for all major industry sectors in the U.S., including
commercial fish harvesters and for-hire operations. A business involved
in fish harvesting is classified as a small business if it is
independently owned and operated, is not dominant in its field of
operation (including its affiliates), and has combined annual receipts
not in excess of $4.0 million (NAICS code 114111, finfish fishing) for
all its affiliated operations worldwide. For for-hire vessels, the
other qualifiers apply and the revenues threshold is $7.0 million
(NAICS code 713990, recreational industries).
All commercial fishermen who may be affected by this final rule are
determined, for the purpose of this analysis, to be small entities.
Federal permits are not required to fish in the U.S. Caribbean. The
USVI, however, requires a commercial fishing permit to harvest marine
species for commercial purposes. In 2008, there were 383 permitted
fishermen in the USVI, of which 223 were in St. Croix and 160 were in
St. Thomas and St. John. The ex-vessel value of total harvests by USVI
fishermen in 2008 was approximately $8.8 million, or approximately
$23,000 per fisherman. This estimate is substantially lower than the
SBA small entity threshold. Comparable values for St. Croix fishermen
are not available. However, if all revenues from marine species for the
USVI are attributed to St. Croix fishermen, the appropriate average
revenue per entity would be only approximately $39,000. Even this
value, as an extreme upper bound for average revenues for St. Croix
fishermen, is significantly lower than the SBA threshold.
The number of for-hire dive operations in the USVI is unknown.
However, 27 for-hire vessels were identified in the USVI in 2000.
Information on the economic profile of these vessels is not available.
However, for-hire vessels have been determined to be small business
entities in all Federal fishery-related regulatory actions to date in
the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic. Therefore, all for-hire
businesses that may be affected by this final rule are determined, for
the purpose of this analysis, to be small business entities.
It is unknown whether this final rule will have any direct adverse
economic effects on any small entities. Available queen conch harvest
data do not distinguish between queen conch harvested from territorial
waters and from Lang Bank. Incompatible Federal and St. Croix
territorial water seasonal closures only began in 2008, and the first
quota closure of St. Croix territorial waters occurred in 2009. It is
unknown whether landings originating from Lang Bank continued after
closure of the territorial waters in these years, or whether the
territorial closure resulted in fishermen ceasing harvest activity in
Lang Bank. If the territorial possession prohibition resulted in
fishermen stopping all harvest activity, including activity that
historically occurred in the Lang Bank, then this final rule will not
have any direct effect on harvest activity or associated revenues from
Lang Bank, because no such harvest activity would be expected to
continue to occur. As a result, the only direct effect of this action
on fishery participants will be the benefits of regulatory simplicity.
If, however, queen conch has traditionally continued to be
harvested in Lang Bank during the period when the territorial waters
closed, this final rule will result in a reduction in the revenues
associated with these harvests. As previously stated, available data do
not allow quantification of any harvests from Lang Bank that may be
affected. In general, however, because queen conch are distributed in
habitats where water depth is less than 100 fathoms (183 m), and the
majority of the benthos at that depth around St. Croix is located in
territorial waters, it is assumed that the majority of queen conch in
the USVI are harvested from territorial waters. As a result, any
reduction in harvests, and associated revenues, from Lang Bank that
might occur as a result of compatible closures is expected to be
minimal.
Because of the absence of location-specific harvest data and the
inability to assess with certainty the economic effects of compatible
quota and seasonal closures, public comment on the economic analysis
was solicited in the proposed rule. No comments on the economic
analysis were received and, as a result, no information was provided to
either confirm or refute the conclusion in the economic analysis that
any reduction in revenues as a result of compatible closures would be
minimal.
Only one alternative to the proposed rule was considered. This
alternative, the no action alternative (status quo), would not
implement compatible closures and would not achieve the Council's
objectives. Therefore, NMFS did not adopt this alternative.
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 an 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.'' As part of the rulemaking process, NMFS prepared a
fishery bulletin, which also serves as a small entity compliance guide.
The fishery bulletin will be distributed to interested parties in the
Caribbean.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Virgin Islands.
Dated: April 26, 2011.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended
as follows:
PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF, AND SOUTH ATLANTIC
0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 622.32, paragraph (b)(1)(iv) is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 622.32 Prohibited and limited harvest species.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) * * *
(iv) No person may fish for or possess on board a fishing vessel a
Caribbean queen conch in or from the Caribbean EEZ, in the area east of
64E34' W. longitude which includes Lang Bank east of St. Croix, U.S.
Virgin Islands, except during November 1 through May 31.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 622.33, paragraph (d) is added to read as follows:
[[Page 23909]]
Sec. 622.33 Caribbean EEZ seasonal and/or area closures.
* * * * *
(d) Queen conch closure in the Caribbean EEZ. (1) Pursuant to the
procedures and criteria established in the FMP for Queen Conch
Resources of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, when the U.S.
Virgin Islands closes territorial waters off St. Croix to the harvest
and possession of queen conch, the Regional Administrator will
concurrently close the Caribbean EEZ, in the area east of 64[deg]34' W.
longitude which includes Lang Bank, east of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin
Islands, by filing a notification of closure with the Office of the
Federal Register. Closure of the adjacent EEZ will be effective until
the next fishing season for territorial waters opens November 1.
(2) During the closure, as specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this
section, no person may fish for or possess on board a fishing vessel, a
Caribbean queen conch, in or from the Caribbean EEZ, in the area east
of 64[deg]34' W. longitude which includes Lang Bank, east of St. Croix,
U.S. Virgin Islands.
[FR Doc. 2011-10446 Filed 4-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
