Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States; Snapper-Grouper Management Measures, 78879-78881 [2011-32533]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 20, 2011 / Proposed Rules
44. Section 252.225–7035 is amended
by—
a. Revising the section heading,
provision title, and clause date;
b. Removing from paragraph (a) ‘‘Buy
American Act—Free Trade
Agreements—Balance of Payments
Program’’ and adding ‘‘Buy American—
Free Trade Agreements—Balance of
Payments Program’’ in its place;
c. Removing from paragraph (b)(2)
‘‘Buy American Act’’ and adding ‘‘Buy
American’’ in its place;
d. Removing from ALTERNATE II the
clause date ‘‘(DEC 2010)’’ and adding
‘‘(DATE)’’ in its place and in paragraph
(b)(2) removing ‘‘Buy American Act’’
and adding ‘‘Buy American’’ in its
place;
e. Removing from ALTERNATE III the
clause date ‘‘(DEC 2010)’’ and adding
‘‘(DATE)’’ in its place, removing from
paragraph (a) ‘‘Buy American Act—Free
Trade Agreements—Balance of
Payments Program’’ and adding ‘‘Buy
American—Free Trade Agreements—
Balance of Payments Program’’ in its
place, and removing from paragraph
(b)(2) ‘‘Buy American Act’’ and adding
‘‘Buy American’’ in its place.
The revisions read as follows:
252.225–7035 Buy American—Free Trade
Agreements—Balance of Payments
Program Certificate.
*
*
*
*
*
BUY AMERICAN—FREE TRADE
AGREEMENTS—BALANCE OF
PAYMENTS PROGRAM CERTIFICATE
(DATE)
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS-1
*
*
*
*
*
45. Section 252.225–7036 is amended
by—
a. Revising the section heading, clause
title, and clause date;
b. Removing from paragraph (ii) of the
definition ‘‘Commercially available offthe-shelf (COTS) item’’, ‘‘section 3 of the
Shipping Act of 1984 (46 U.S.C. 40102)’’
and adding ‘‘46 U.S.C. 40102(4)’’ in its
place;
c. Removing from paragraph (ii)(A)(2)
of the definition for ‘‘Domestic end
product’’, ‘‘Buy American Act’’ and
adding ‘‘Buy American statute’’ in its
place;
d. Removing from paragraph (c) ‘‘Buy
American Act—Free Trade
Agreements—Balance of Payments
Program Certificate’’ and adding ‘‘Buy
American—Free Trade Agreements—
Balance of Payments Program
Certificate’’ in its place;
e. Removing from ALTERNATE I the
clause date ‘‘(OCT 2011)’’ and adding
‘‘(DATE)’’ in its place and removing
from paragraph (c) ‘‘Buy American
Act—Free Trade Agreements—Balance
VerDate Mar<15>2010
14:50 Dec 19, 2011
Jkt 226001
of Payments Program Certificate’’ and
adding ‘‘Buy American—Free Trade
Agreements—Balance of Payments
Program Certificate’’ in its place;
f. Removing from Alternate II the
clause date ‘‘(OCT 2011)’’ and adding
‘‘(DATE)’’ in its place and removing
from paragraph (c) ‘‘Buy American
Act—Free Trade Agreements—Balance
of Payments Program Certificate’’ and
adding ‘‘Buy American—Free Trade
Agreements—Balance of Payments
Program Certificate’’ in its place; and
g. Removing from ALTERNATE III the
clause date ‘‘(OCT 2011)’’ and adding
‘‘(DATE)’’ in its place and removing
from paragraph (c) ‘‘Buy American
Act—Free Trade Agreements—Balance
of Payments Program Certificate’’ and
adding ‘‘Buy American—Free Trade
Agreements—Balance of Payments
Program Certificate’’ in its place.
The revisions read as follows:
252.225–7036 Buy American—Free Trade
Agreements—Balance of Payments
Program.
*
*
*
*
*
BUY AMERICAN—FREE TRADE
AGREEMENTS—BALANCE OF
PAYMENTS PROGRAM (DATE)
*
*
*
252.225–7044
*
*
[Amended]
[Amended]
49. Section 252.244–7001 is amended
by removing the clause date ‘‘(MAY
2011)’’ and adding ‘‘(DATE)’’ in its
place and removing from paragraph
(c)(17) ‘‘the Anti-Kickback Act’’ and
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APPENDIX I TO CHAPTER 2—POLICY
AND PROCEDURES FOR THE DOD
PILOT MENTOR–PROTEGE
PROGRAM
50. Section I–101.4 is revised to read
as follows:
I–101.4 Severely disabled individual.
An individual who has a physical or
mental disability which constitutes a
substantial handicap to employment and
which, in accordance with criteria prescribed
by the Committee for Purchase from People
Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
established by the first section of the Act of
June 25, 1938 (41 U.S.C. 8502), is of such a
nature that the individual is otherwise
prevented from engaging in normal
competitive employment.
[FR Doc. 2011–32398 Filed 12–19–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 622
RIN 0648–BB10
48. Section 252.227–7038 is amended
by removing the clause date ‘‘(DEC
2007)’’ and adding ‘‘(DATE)’’ in its
place and removing from paragraph
(l)(2)(ii) ‘‘Contract Disputes Act’’ and
adding ‘‘Contract Disputes statute’’ in its
place.
252.244–7001
adding ‘‘41 U.S.C. chapter 87,
Kickbacks’’ in its place.
[Docket No. 110511280–1727–01]
[Amended]
46. Section 252.225–7044 is amended
by removing the clause date ‘‘(DEC
2010)’’ and adding ‘‘(DATE)’’ in its
place and removing from paragraph (2)
of the definition ‘‘Commercially
available off-the-shelf (COTS) item’’ ‘‘in
section 3 of the Shipping Act of 1984
(46 U.S.C. 40102’’ and adding ‘‘46
U.S.C. 40102(4)’’ in its place.
47. Section 252.227–7037 is amended
by removing the clause date ‘‘(SEP
2011)’’ and adding ‘‘(DATE)’’ in its
place, removing from paragraph (e)(3)
‘‘the Contract Disputes Act of 1978 (41
U.S.C. 7101)’’ and adding ‘‘41 U.S.C.
7101, Contract Disputes’’ in its place,
and removing from paragraph (g)(2)(iv)
‘‘Contract Disputes Act’’ and adding
‘‘Contract Disputes statute’’ in its place.
252.227–7038
78879
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of
Mexico, and South Atlantic; SnapperGrouper Fishery Off the Southern
Atlantic States; Snapper-Grouper
Management Measures
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS publishes this
proposed rule to implement a regulatory
amendment (Regulatory Amendment
11) to the Fishery Management Plan for
the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the
South Atlantic Region (FMP), as
prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (Council). If
implemented, this rule would remove
the harvest and possession prohibition
of six deep-water snapper-grouper
species (snowy grouper, blueline
tilefish, yellowedge grouper, misty
grouper, queen snapper, and silk
snapper) from depths greater than 240 ft
(73 m) in the South Atlantic exclusive
economic zone (EEZ). The intent of this
rule is to reduce the socio-economic
impacts to fishermen harvesting deepwater snapper-grouper as well as
maintain the biological protection to
SUMMARY:
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78880
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 20, 2011 / Proposed Rules
speckled hind and warsaw grouper in
the South Atlantic.
DATES: Written comments on this
proposed rule must be received on or
before January 19, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on the proposed rule identified by
‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2011–0209’’ by any of
the following methods:
• Electronic submissions: Submit
electronic comments via the Federal
e-Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Rick DeVictor, Southeast
Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th
Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: All comments received
are a part of the public record and will
generally be posted to https://
www.regulations.gov without change.
All Personal Identifying Information (for
example, name, address, etc.)
voluntarily submitted by the commenter
may be publicly accessible. Do not
submit Confidential Business
Information or otherwise sensitive or
protected information.
To submit comments through the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov, click on ‘‘submit a
comment,’’ then enter ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–
2011–0209’’ in the keyword search and
click on ‘‘search.’’ NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the
required field if you wish to remain
anonymous). You may submit
attachments to electronic comments in
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or
Adobe PDF file formats only.
Comments received through means
not specified in this rule will not be
considered.
Electronic copies of documents
supporting this proposed rule, which
include an environmental assessment
and a regulatory impact review (RIR),
may be obtained from the Southeast
Regional Office Web site at https://
sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick
DeVictor, telephone: (727) 824–5305, or
email: Rick.DeVictor@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
snapper-grouper fishery of the South
Atlantic is managed under the FMP. The
FMP was prepared by the 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).
Background
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
NMFS and regional fishery management
councils to prevent overfishing of
federally managed fish stocks, while
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14:50 Dec 19, 2011
Jkt 226001
minimizing bycatch and bycatch
mortality to the extent practicable.
These mandates are intended to ensure
fishery resources are managed for the
greatest overall benefit to the Nation,
particularly with respect to providing
food production and recreational
opportunities, and protecting marine
ecosystems. To further this goal, the
Magnuson-Stevens Act requires fishery
managers to establish a mechanism of
specifying Annual Catch Limits (ACLs)
at a level that prevents overfishing and
does not exceed the fishing level
recommendation of the respective
Council’s Scientific and Statistical
Committee (SSC) or other established
peer review processes. An ACL is the
level of annual catch of a stock or stock
complex that is set to prevent
overfishing from occurring.
In the South Atlantic snapper-grouper
fishery, speckled hind and warsaw
grouper are currently undergoing
overfishing and an ACL of zero was
established through Amendment 17B to
the FMP (December 30, 2010, 75 FR
82280). This ACL prohibits all harvest
and possession of speckled hind and
warsaw grouper in the South Atlantic
regardless of the depth where they are
caught. Despite a prohibition of the
harvest and possession of speckled hind
and warsaw grouper, bycatch mortality
of these two species was anticipated to
continue as a result of fishing effort for
other deep-water snapper-grouper
species. In order to reduce the bycatch
mortality of speckled hind and warsaw
grouper, Amendment 17B to the FMP
prohibited all fishing for and possession
of deep-water snapper-grouper species
(snowy grouper, blueline tilefish,
yellowedge grouper, misty grouper,
queen snapper, and silk snapper)
beyond a depth of 240 ft (73 m),
beginning January 31, 2011.
However, recent analysis of landings
data (June 1, 2011, SERO–LAPP–2011–
06 Report) indicate that speckled hind
and warsaw grouper are rarely caught
with snowy grouper, blueline tilefish,
yellowedge grouper, misty grouper,
queen snapper, or silk snapper. The low
association between speckled hind and
warsaw grouper landings and blueline
tilefish may be attributable to the
unique habitat preferences of speckled
hind and warsaw grouper compared to
blueline tilefish. Speckled hind and
warsaw grouper generally prefer hard
bottom structure with habitat features
such as steep cliffs, notches, and rocky
ledges of the continental shelf break.
Blueline tilefish, which is targeted for
harvest by the deep-water component of
the snapper-grouper fishery, inhabit
irregular bottoms composed of troughs
and terraces inter-mingled with sand,
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
mud, or shell hash bottom where they
live in burrows. In addition, the
majority of snowy grouper landings in
the South Atlantic are from waters
deeper than 500 ft (152 m), where
landings of speckled hind and warsaw
grouper are extremely rare. Based on
this information, at its August 2011
meeting, the Council concluded that
allowing the harvest of deep-water
species, including blueline tilefish and
snowy grouper, beyond a depth of 240
ft (73 m), would not likely result in
significant increases in the bycatch
mortality of speckled hind or warsaw
grouper, although low levels of bycatch
of these species might occur. Even
though yellowedge grouper, misty
grouper, queen snapper, and silk
snapper primarily share the same hard
bottom habitat preference as speckled
hind and warsaw grouper, these four
species are rarely encountered and are
not targeted by commercial or
recreational fishermen.
The purpose of the removal of the
deep-water snapper-grouper harvest and
possession prohibition in Regulatory
Amendment 11 is to reduce the socioeconomic impacts expected from the
Amendment 17B deep-water closure
while maintaining the biological
protection to speckled hind and warsaw
grouper in the South Atlantic. At its
August 2011 meeting, the Council voted
to approve Regulatory Amendment 11
based upon the recent data analyses, to
remove the deep-water snapper-grouper
harvest and possession prohibition
implemented through Amendment 17B.
The speckled hind and warsaw
grouper harvest and possession
prohibition, implemented through
Amendment 17B, is not being changed
and is expected to reduce fishing
mortality of these two species even
without the additional deep-water
snapper-grouper harvest and possession
prohibition. Therefore, if implemented,
Regulatory Amendment 11 would seek
to prevent significant direct economic
loss to snapper-grouper fishermen and
continue to achieve optimum yield for
the fishery, without subjecting the
speckled hind and warsaw grouper
resource to overfishing.
The Council will continue to explore
management alternatives to enhance the
biological protections for speckled hind
and warsaw grouper.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this proposed rule is consistent
with Regulatory Amendment 11, other
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law, subject to
E:\FR\FM\20DEP1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 244 / Tuesday, December 20, 2011 / Proposed Rules
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further consideration after public
comment.
This proposed rule has been
determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration that this
rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities.
The factual basis for this determination
is as follows:
A description of the action, why it is
being considered, and the objectives of,
and legal basis for this action are
contained at the beginning of this
section in the preamble and in the
SUMMARY section of the preamble. The
Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the
statutory basis for this rule. No
duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting
Federal rules have been identified.
This rule would directly affect
businesses that fish for, possess, and
retain snowy grouper, blueline tilefish,
yellowedge grouper, misty grouper,
queen snapper, and silk snapper in the
South Atlantic EEZ. Under the North
American Industry Classification
System (NAICS), these businesses are in
the finfish fishing (NAICS 11411) and
charter fishing (NAICS 487210)
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14:50 Dec 19, 2011
Jkt 226001
industries. The Small Business
Administration size standards for these
businesses are $4.0 million and $7.0
million in annual receipts, respectively.
NMFS estimates that from 890 to 944
businesses in the finfish fishing
industry and up to 1,754 businesses in
the charter fishing industry participate
in the affected snapper-grouper fishery.
All businesses expected to be directly
affected by this rule are determined, for
the purpose of this analysis, to be small
entities.
Since January 31, 2011, fishing for,
possession, and retention of snowy
grouper, blueline tilefish, yellowedge
grouper, misty grouper, queen snapper,
and silk snapper in the South Atlantic
EEZ beyond a depth of 240 ft (73 m) has
been prohibited. This rule would
eliminate this prohibition and would be
expected to result in a restoration of
landings and associated ex-vessel
revenue of approximately $348,000
annually, as detailed in the RIR
contained in Regulatory Amendment 11
to the FMP.
As a result, this rule would have a
beneficial economic impact on small
entities and would not result in a
significant direct adverse economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
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78881
Because this rule, if implemented, is
not expected to have a direct adverse
economic impact on any small entities,
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis
is not required and none has been
prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Virgin Islands.
Dated: December 14, 2011.
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 622 is proposed
to be 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.
§ 622.35
[Amended]
2. In § 622.35, paragraph (o) is
removed and reserved.
[FR Doc. 2011–32533 Filed 12–19–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\20DEP1.SGM
20DEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 20, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 78879-78881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32533]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 110511280-1727-01]
RIN 0648-BB10
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Snapper-Grouper Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States; Snapper-
Grouper Management Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS publishes this proposed rule to implement a regulatory
amendment (Regulatory Amendment 11) to the Fishery Management Plan for
the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP), as
prepared by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). If
implemented, this rule would remove the harvest and possession
prohibition of six deep-water snapper-grouper species (snowy grouper,
blueline tilefish, yellowedge grouper, misty grouper, queen snapper,
and silk snapper) from depths greater than 240 ft (73 m) in the South
Atlantic exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The intent of this rule is to
reduce the socio-economic impacts to fishermen harvesting deep-water
snapper-grouper as well as maintain the biological protection to
[[Page 78880]]
speckled hind and warsaw grouper in the South Atlantic.
DATES: Written comments on this proposed rule must be received on or
before January 19, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the proposed rule identified by
``NOAA-NMFS-2011-0209'' by any of the following methods:
Electronic submissions: Submit electronic comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Rick DeVictor, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263
13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to https://www.regulations.gov without
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
To submit comments through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov, click on ``submit a comment,'' then enter ``NOAA-
NMFS-2011-0209'' in the keyword search and click on ``search.'' NMFS
will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required field if you
wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to electronic
comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file
formats only.
Comments received through means not specified in this rule will not
be considered.
Electronic copies of documents supporting this proposed rule, which
include an environmental assessment and a regulatory impact review
(RIR), may be obtained from the Southeast Regional Office Web site at
https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick DeVictor, telephone: (727) 824-
5305, or email: Rick.DeVictor@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The snapper-grouper fishery of the South
Atlantic is managed under the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the 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).
Background
The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires NMFS and regional fishery
management councils to prevent overfishing of federally managed fish
stocks, while minimizing bycatch and bycatch mortality to the extent
practicable. These mandates are intended to ensure fishery resources
are managed for the greatest overall benefit to the Nation,
particularly with respect to providing food production and recreational
opportunities, and protecting marine ecosystems. To further this goal,
the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires fishery managers to establish a
mechanism of specifying Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) at a level that
prevents overfishing and does not exceed the fishing level
recommendation of the respective Council's Scientific and Statistical
Committee (SSC) or other established peer review processes. An ACL is
the level of annual catch of a stock or stock complex that is set to
prevent overfishing from occurring.
In the South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery, speckled hind and
warsaw grouper are currently undergoing overfishing and an ACL of zero
was established through Amendment 17B to the FMP (December 30, 2010, 75
FR 82280). This ACL prohibits all harvest and possession of speckled
hind and warsaw grouper in the South Atlantic regardless of the depth
where they are caught. Despite a prohibition of the harvest and
possession of speckled hind and warsaw grouper, bycatch mortality of
these two species was anticipated to continue as a result of fishing
effort for other deep-water snapper-grouper species. In order to reduce
the bycatch mortality of speckled hind and warsaw grouper, Amendment
17B to the FMP prohibited all fishing for and possession of deep-water
snapper-grouper species (snowy grouper, blueline tilefish, yellowedge
grouper, misty grouper, queen snapper, and silk snapper) beyond a depth
of 240 ft (73 m), beginning January 31, 2011.
However, recent analysis of landings data (June 1, 2011, SERO-LAPP-
2011-06 Report) indicate that speckled hind and warsaw grouper are
rarely caught with snowy grouper, blueline tilefish, yellowedge
grouper, misty grouper, queen snapper, or silk snapper. The low
association between speckled hind and warsaw grouper landings and
blueline tilefish may be attributable to the unique habitat preferences
of speckled hind and warsaw grouper compared to blueline tilefish.
Speckled hind and warsaw grouper generally prefer hard bottom structure
with habitat features such as steep cliffs, notches, and rocky ledges
of the continental shelf break. Blueline tilefish, which is targeted
for harvest by the deep-water component of the snapper-grouper fishery,
inhabit irregular bottoms composed of troughs and terraces inter-
mingled with sand, mud, or shell hash bottom where they live in
burrows. In addition, the majority of snowy grouper landings in the
South Atlantic are from waters deeper than 500 ft (152 m), where
landings of speckled hind and warsaw grouper are extremely rare. Based
on this information, at its August 2011 meeting, the Council concluded
that allowing the harvest of deep-water species, including blueline
tilefish and snowy grouper, beyond a depth of 240 ft (73 m), would not
likely result in significant increases in the bycatch mortality of
speckled hind or warsaw grouper, although low levels of bycatch of
these species might occur. Even though yellowedge grouper, misty
grouper, queen snapper, and silk snapper primarily share the same hard
bottom habitat preference as speckled hind and warsaw grouper, these
four species are rarely encountered and are not targeted by commercial
or recreational fishermen.
The purpose of the removal of the deep-water snapper-grouper
harvest and possession prohibition in Regulatory Amendment 11 is to
reduce the socio-economic impacts expected from the Amendment 17B deep-
water closure while maintaining the biological protection to speckled
hind and warsaw grouper in the South Atlantic. At its August 2011
meeting, the Council voted to approve Regulatory Amendment 11 based
upon the recent data analyses, to remove the deep-water snapper-grouper
harvest and possession prohibition implemented through Amendment 17B.
The speckled hind and warsaw grouper harvest and possession
prohibition, implemented through Amendment 17B, is not being changed
and is expected to reduce fishing mortality of these two species even
without the additional deep-water snapper-grouper harvest and
possession prohibition. Therefore, if implemented, Regulatory Amendment
11 would seek to prevent significant direct economic loss to snapper-
grouper fishermen and continue to achieve optimum yield for the
fishery, without subjecting the speckled hind and warsaw grouper
resource to overfishing.
The Council will continue to explore management alternatives to
enhance the biological protections for speckled hind and warsaw
grouper.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with Regulatory Amendment 11, other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to
[[Page 78881]]
further consideration after public comment.
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this rule, if adopted, would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The factual
basis for this determination is as follows:
A description of the action, why it is being considered, and the
objectives of, and legal basis for this action are contained at the
beginning of this section in the preamble and in the SUMMARY section of
the preamble. The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the statutory basis for
this rule. No duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting Federal rules
have been identified.
This rule would directly affect businesses that fish for, possess,
and retain snowy grouper, blueline tilefish, yellowedge grouper, misty
grouper, queen snapper, and silk snapper in the South Atlantic EEZ.
Under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), these
businesses are in the finfish fishing (NAICS 11411) and charter fishing
(NAICS 487210) industries. The Small Business Administration size
standards for these businesses are $4.0 million and $7.0 million in
annual receipts, respectively. NMFS estimates that from 890 to 944
businesses in the finfish fishing industry and up to 1,754 businesses
in the charter fishing industry participate in the affected snapper-
grouper fishery. All businesses expected to be directly affected by
this rule are determined, for the purpose of this analysis, to be small
entities.
Since January 31, 2011, fishing for, possession, and retention of
snowy grouper, blueline tilefish, yellowedge grouper, misty grouper,
queen snapper, and silk snapper in the South Atlantic EEZ beyond a
depth of 240 ft (73 m) has been prohibited. This rule would eliminate
this prohibition and would be expected to result in a restoration of
landings and associated ex-vessel revenue of approximately $348,000
annually, as detailed in the RIR contained in Regulatory Amendment 11
to the FMP.
As a result, this rule would have a beneficial economic impact on
small entities and would not result in a significant direct adverse
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Because this rule, if implemented, is not expected to have a direct
adverse economic impact on any small entities, an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis is not required and none has been prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements, Virgin Islands.
Dated: December 14, 2011.
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 622 is
proposed to be 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.
Sec. 622.35 [Amended]
2. In Sec. 622.35, paragraph (o) is removed and reserved.
[FR Doc. 2011-32533 Filed 12-19-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
