Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Adjustment to 2012 Annual Catch Limits, 79610-79612 [2011-32846]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 246 / Thursday, December 22, 2011 / Proposed Rules
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[FR Doc. 2011–32722 Filed 12–21–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6820–EP–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 111207734–1733–01]
RIN 0648–BB50
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Herring Fishery;
Adjustment to 2012 Annual Catch
Limits
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
This action proposes to
reduce the 2012 annual catch limits
(ACLs) for the Atlantic herring (herring)
fishery to account for catch overages in
2010 and to prevent overfishing.
DATES: Public comments must be
received no later than 5 p.m., Eastern
Standard Time, on January 6, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting
documents, the 2010–2012 Herring
Specifications and Amendment 4 to the
Herring Fishery Management Plan
(FMP), are available from: Paul J.
Howard, Executive Director, New
England Fishery Management Council,
50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport,
MA 01950, telephone (978) 465–0492.
These documents are also accessible via
the Internet at https://
www.nero.nmfs.gov.
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
19:15 Dec 21, 2011
Jkt 226001
You may submit comments, identified
by NOAA–NMFS–2011–0275, by any
one of the following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal
www.regulations.gov. To submit
comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
first click the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon,
then enter NOAA–NMFS–2011–0275 in
the keyword search. Locate the
document you wish to comment on
from the resulting list and click on the
‘‘Submit a Comment’’ icon on the right
of that line.
• Mail: NMFS, Northeast Regional
Office, 55 Great Republic Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside
of the envelope ‘‘Comments on
Adjustment to 2012 Herring Catch
Limits.’’
• Fax: (978) 281–9135, Attn: Carrie
Nordeen.
Instructions: Comments must be
submitted by one of the above methods
to ensure that the comments are
received, documented, and considered
by NMFS. Comments sent by any other
method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period, may not be
considered. All comments received are
a part of the public record and will
generally be posted for public viewing
on www.regulations.gov without change.
All personal identifying information
(e.g., name, address) submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be
publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive or protected
information. NMFS will accept
anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in
the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous). Attachments to electronic
comments will be accepted in Microsoft
Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe
PDF formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carrie Nordeen, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281–9272, fax (978) 281–9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic herring harvest in the
United States is managed under the
Herring FMP developed by the New
England Fishery Management Council
(Council), and implemented by NMFS,
in 2000. The Council developed herring
specifications for 2010–2012, which
were approved by NMFS on August 12,
2010 (75 FR 48874). Although herring is
not overfished and is not experiencing
overfishing, the herring annual
acceptable biological catch for fishing
years 2010–2012 (106,000 mt) was
reduced from previous years (145,000
PO 00000
Frm 00063
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
mt in 2009) due to concerns about a
retrospective pattern in the 2009 herring
stock assessment that over-estimates
biomass.
The stock-wide herring ACL (91,200
mt) is divided among three management
areas, one of which has two sub-areas.
Area 1 is located in the Gulf of Maine
(GOM) and is divided into an inshore
section (Area 1A) and an offshore
section (Area 1B). Area 2 is located in
the coastal waters between
Massachusetts and North Carolina, and
Area 3 is on Georges Bank (GB). The
herring stock complex is considered to
be a single stock, but there are inshore
(GOM) and offshore (GB) stock
components. The GOM and GB stock
components segregate during spawning
and mix during feeding and migration.
Each management area has its own subACL to allow greater control of the
fishing mortality on each stock
component. While the stock-wide
herring ACL for 2010–2012 was not
reduced below the 2008 catch level, the
management area sub-ACLs were
reduced from 2009 levels by 20 to 60
percent. The management area subACLs established for 2010–2012 were:
26,546 mt for Area 1A, 4,362 mt for
Area 1B, 22,146 mt for Area 2, and
38,146 mt for Area 3.
Amendment 4 to the Herring FMP
(Amendment 4) (76 FR 11373, March 2,
2011) revised the specification-setting
process, bringing the Herring FMP into
compliance with ACL and
accountability measure (AM)
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (MSA). Under the FMP, if NMFS
determines catch will reach 95 percent
of the sub-ACL allocated to a
management area or seasonal period,
then NMFS prohibits vessels from
fishing for, possessing, catching,
transferring, or landing more than 2,000
lb (907.2 kg) of herring per trip from that
area or period. This AM slows catch to
prevent or minimize catch in excess of
a management area or seasonal period
sub-ACL. As a way to account for ACL
overages in the herring fishery,
Amendment 4 established an AM that
provided for overage deductions. If the
catch of herring in any given fishing
year exceeds any ACL or sub-ACL, the
overage will subsequently be deducted
from the corresponding ACL/sub-ACL.
Fishing year 2010 was the first year
that NMFS monitored herring catch
against the recently reduced
management area sub-ACLs. NMFS
experienced difficulty determining
when to implement the 2,000-lb (907.2kg) possession limit in Area 1B because
of a pulse of fishing effort in that area.
NMFS had similar difficulties
E:\FR\FM\22DEP1.SGM
22DEP1
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 246 / Thursday, December 22, 2011 / Proposed Rules
determining when to implement the
possession limit in Area 1A because
catch rates were highly variable.
Ultimately, catch from Areas 1B and 1A
exceeded their allocations by 1,639 mt
and 1,878 mt, respectively. These
experiences demonstrated that more
timely catch reporting was needed to
better monitor catch against sub-ACLs
and to allow catch to achieve, but not
exceed, management area sub-ACLs.
Therefore, in September 2011, NMFS
revised vessels reporting requirements
to obtain more timely catch reports (76
FR 54385, September 1, 2011). As a
result of that rulemaking, limited access
herring vessels are required to report
herring catch daily via vessel
monitoring systems, open access herring
vessels are required report catch weekly
via the interactive voice response
system, and all herring-permitted
vessels are required to submit vessel trip
reports (VTRs) weekly.
Proposed Measures
In accordance with regulations at
§ 648.201(a)(3), this action proposes to
deduct the 2010 overages from 2012
catch limits. Therefore, in 2012, the subACL for Area 1A would be 24,668 mt
(reduced from 26,546 mt) and the subACL for Area 1B would be 2,723 mt
(reduced from 4,362 mt). The sub-ACLs
for Areas 2 and 3 would remain
unchanged at 22,146 mt for Area 2 and
38,146 mt for Area 3.
NMFS determined 2010 herring
landings based on dealer reports
(Federal and state) containing herring
purchases, supplemented with VTRs
(Federal and State of Maine) containing
herring landings. NMFS compared
dealer reports to VTRs for all trips that
landed herring in 2010. Because VTRs
are generally a hail weight or estimate
of landings, with an assumed 10 percent
margin of error, dealer reports are a
more accurate source of landings data.
However, if the amount of herring
reported via VTR exceeded the amount
of herring reported by the dealer by
10-percent or more, it was assumed that
the dealer report for that trip was in
error. In those instances, the amount of
herring reported via VTR was used to
determine the amount of herring landed
on that trip. Herring landings in the
VTR database were checked for
accuracy against the scanned image of
the paper VTRs submitted by the owner/
operator of the vessel. VTR landings
were also verified by comparing
reported landings to harvesting
potential and applicable possession
limits for each vessel. Federal dealer
reports for 2010 were finalized in June
2011 and state dealer reports for 2010
were finalized in September 2011.
Herring landings reported on the
VTRs were assigned to herring
management areas using latitude and
longitude coordinates. VTRs with
missing or invalid latitude/longitude
coordinates were manually corrected
using the statistical area reported on the
VTR. If no statistical area was reported
on the VTR, then a combination of
recent fishing activity and a review of
the scanned images of the original VTR
were used to assign landings to herring
management area. Dealer reports
without corresponding VTRs were
prorated to herring management area
using the proportion of total herring
landings stratified by week, gear type,
and management area.
As NMFS was reviewing the 2010
herring data, and comparing individual
VTRs with individual dealer reports, it
resolved data errors resulting from
misreporting. Common dealer reporting
issues were: Missing dealer reports;
incorrect or missing VTR serial
numbers; incorrect or missing vessel
permit numbers; and incorrect dates.
VTRs had similar errors. Common VTR
reporting issues were: Missing VTRs;
missing or incorrect dealer information;
incorrect amounts of landed herring;
incorrect dates; and missing or incorrect
statistical area. The quality of herring
landings data is affected by unresolved
data errors; therefore, NMFS strongly
encourages vessel owner/operators and
dealers to double check reports for
79611
accuracy and ensure reports are
submitted on a timely basis.
Discards of herring in 2010 were
determined by extrapolating Northeast
Fisheries Observer Program (observer)
data to the entire herring fishery. The
amount of observed herring discards
(‘‘Atlantic herring’’ and ‘‘herring
unidentified’’) was divided by the
amount of observed fish landed. That
discard ratio was then multiplied by the
amount of all fish landed for each trip
to calculate total amount of herring
discards in 2010. The amount of
discards was determined for each
management area and gear type.
Observer data for 2010 were finalized in
April 2011.
NMFS calculated the total herring
catch for 2010 by adding the amount of
herring landings to the amount of
herring discarded. The methodology
used by NMFS to calculate the amount
of landed herring and the amount of
discarded herring was reviewed by the
Council’s Herring Plan Development
Team (PDT). NMFS convened a Herring
PDT conference call on October 19,
2011, to review landed catch and
discard methodology. The Herring PDT
recommended that prorated dealer
reports should account for fishing effort
and seasonality in its calculations.
Based on the Herring PDT’s
recommendations, NMFS revised its
methodologies to include stratification
by week, gear type, and area for dealer
reports that were prorated to
management area. Additionally, the
Herring PDT recommended that the
extrapolation of discards be stratified by
gear type and area. NMFS revised its
discard methodology accordingly.
NMFS convened a follow-up Herring
PDT conference call on November 3,
2011, and updated the PDT on its
revised methodology. The Herring PDT
concluded that the methodologies used
by NMFS to calculate the total amount
of herring catch (landings and discards)
in 2010 were appropriate.
The following chart contains
information on the 2010 herring fishery:
TOTAL CATCH OF ATLANTIC HERRING IN 2010
Sub-ACL
(mt)
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Management area
1A .....................................................................
1B .....................................................................
2 .......................................................................
3 .......................................................................
VerDate Mar<15>2010
19:15 Dec 21, 2011
Jkt 226001
PO 00000
Landed herring
(mt)
26,546
4,362
22,146
38,146
Frm 00064
Fmt 4702
28,364
5,997
20,781
17,573
Sfmt 4702
Discarded
herring
(mt)
Total herring
catch
(mt)
60
3
50
23
E:\FR\FM\22DEP1.SGM
28,424
6,001
20,831
17,596
22DEP1
Herring catch as
percentage of
Sub-ACL
107
138
94
46
79612
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 246 / Thursday, December 22, 2011 / Proposed Rules
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Classification
Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of
the MSA, the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this
proposed rule is consistent with the
Atlantic Herring FMP, other provisions
of the MSA, and other applicable law,
subject to further consideration after
public comment.
The National Environmental Policy
Act analysis to support this action was
completed in Amendment 4 (76 FR
11373, March 2, 2011).
This proposed rule has been
determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Orders 12866.
This proposed rule does not contain a
collection-of-information requirement
for purposes of the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Council for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration (SBA)
that this proposed rule, if adopted,
would not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
In 2010, there were catch limit
overages in herring management areas
1A and 1B equal to 1,878 mt and 1,639
mt, respectively. In accordance with
regulations at § 648.201(a)(3), this action
proposes to deduct the 2010 overages
from 2012 catch limits. Therefore, in
2012, the sub-ACL for Area 1A would be
24,668 mt (reduced from 26,546 mt) and
the sub-ACL for Area 1B would be 2,723
mt (reduced from 4,362 mt).
Amendment 4 analyzed the effects of
deducting ACL/sub-ACL overages from
the subsequent corresponding ACL/subACL. During a year when the ACL/subACL is exceeded, fishery participants
may benefit economically from higher
catch. In the subsequent year, when the
amount of the overage is deducted from
that ACL/sub-ACL and the amount of
harvest is lower, fishery participants
may experience negative economic
impacts. Since deductions are the same
magnitude as the overages, there would
be no overall change to the amount of
fish available for harvest. Therefore, if
participants are active in the fishery
during the overage year and the
deduction year, the total economic
impact on participants would be
neutral.
In 2010, 101 vessels were issued
limited access herring permits and 2,
258 were issued open access herring
permits. All participants in the herring
fishery are small entities as defined by
the SBA under the Regulatory
Flexibility Act, as none grossed more
than $4 million annually, so there
VerDate Mar<15>2010
19:15 Dec 21, 2011
Jkt 226001
would be no disproportionate economic
impacts on small entities.
Total herring revenue in 2010 equaled
approximately $18.8 million for limited
access vessels and $150,000 for open
access vessels. Because most vessels
that harvest herring participate in other
fisheries, revenue generated by herring
catch is only a portion of their income.
Herring revenue averaged 20 percent of
total fisheries revenue for limited access
vessels in 2010 and less than 1 percent
of total fisheries revenue for open access
vessels in 2010. The reduced sub-ACLs
in Areas 1A and 1B are estimated to
equal $1 million in lost revenue in 2012.
Absent the sub-ACL reductions in Areas
1A and 1B, the total potential herring
revenue in 2012 is estimated to be $26.4
million. The sub-ACL reductions in
Areas 1A and 1B would reduce the total
potential herring revenue by 4 percent
in 2012. While this action reduces the
amount of fish available for harvest,
both the fishery-wide and individualvessel economic effects are anticipated
to be minimal because the reduction is
relatively minor and herring vessels
generate most of their revenue
participating in other fisheries.
For all the reasons described above,
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis
is not required and none has been
prepared.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 19, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–32846 Filed 12–21–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 110901552–1736–01]
RIN 0648–BB34
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the
Northeastern United States; Northeast
(NE) Multispecies Fishery; Amendment
17
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Frm 00065
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
NMFS proposes regulations to
implement measures in Amendment 17
to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery
Management Plan. This action would
amend the Northeast Multispecies
Fishery Management Plan to explicitly
define and facilitate the effective
operation of state-operated permit
banks. As proposed in Amendment 17,
state-operated permit banks would be
allocated an annual catch entitlement
and specifically authorized to provide
their annual catch entitlement and/or
days-at-sea to approved groundfish
sectors for the purpose of enhancing the
fishing opportunities available to sector
members. This action also includes a
provision that would allow NMFS to
issue a days-at-sea credit to a vessel that
cancels a fishing trip prior to setting or
hauling fishing gear and the vessel,
therefore, does not catch or land fish at
any time on the trip.
DATES: Comments must be received by
January 23, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2011–0186, by any of the
following methods:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal
www.regulations.gov. To submit
comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
first click the ‘‘submit a comment’’ icon,
then enter NOAA–NMFS–2011–0186 in
the keyword search. Locate the
document you wish to comment on
from the resulting list and click on the
‘‘Submit a Comment’’ icon on the right
of that line.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast
Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the
outside of the envelope, ‘‘Comments on
NE Multispecies Amendment 17.’’
• Fax: (978) 281–9135, Attn: William
Whitmore
Instructions: Comments must be
submitted by one of the above methods
to ensure that the comments are
received, documented, and considered
by NMFS. Comments sent by any other
method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period, may not be
considered. All comments received are
part of the public record and will
generally be posted for public viewing
on www.regulations.gov without change.
All personal identifying information
(e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted
voluntarily by the sender will be
publicly accessible. Do not submit
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive or protected
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\22DEP1.SGM
22DEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 246 (Thursday, December 22, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 79610-79612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32846]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 111207734-1733-01]
RIN 0648-BB50
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring
Fishery; Adjustment to 2012 Annual Catch Limits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This action proposes to reduce the 2012 annual catch limits
(ACLs) for the Atlantic herring (herring) fishery to account for catch
overages in 2010 and to prevent overfishing.
DATES: Public comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., Eastern
Standard Time, on January 6, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, the 2010-2012 Herring
Specifications and Amendment 4 to the Herring Fishery Management Plan
(FMP), are available from: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New
England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2,
Newburyport, MA 01950, telephone (978) 465-0492. These documents are
also accessible via the Internet at https://www.nero.nmfs.gov.
You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2011-0275, by any
one of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click the ``submit a
comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2011-0275 in the keyword search.
Locate the document you wish to comment on from the resulting list and
click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on the right of that line.
Mail: NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope
``Comments on Adjustment to 2012 Herring Catch Limits.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Carrie Nordeen.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and
considered by NMFS. Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered. All comments received are a part of the public
record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address) submitted voluntarily by the sender
will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you
wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be
accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF formats
only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Nordeen, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9272, fax (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic herring harvest in the United States is managed under
the Herring FMP developed by the New England Fishery Management Council
(Council), and implemented by NMFS, in 2000. The Council developed
herring specifications for 2010-2012, which were approved by NMFS on
August 12, 2010 (75 FR 48874). Although herring is not overfished and
is not experiencing overfishing, the herring annual acceptable
biological catch for fishing years 2010-2012 (106,000 mt) was reduced
from previous years (145,000 mt in 2009) due to concerns about a
retrospective pattern in the 2009 herring stock assessment that over-
estimates biomass.
The stock-wide herring ACL (91,200 mt) is divided among three
management areas, one of which has two sub-areas. Area 1 is located in
the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and is divided into an inshore section (Area
1A) and an offshore section (Area 1B). Area 2 is located in the coastal
waters between Massachusetts and North Carolina, and Area 3 is on
Georges Bank (GB). The herring stock complex is considered to be a
single stock, but there are inshore (GOM) and offshore (GB) stock
components. The GOM and GB stock components segregate during spawning
and mix during feeding and migration. Each management area has its own
sub-ACL to allow greater control of the fishing mortality on each stock
component. While the stock-wide herring ACL for 2010-2012 was not
reduced below the 2008 catch level, the management area sub-ACLs were
reduced from 2009 levels by 20 to 60 percent. The management area sub-
ACLs established for 2010-2012 were: 26,546 mt for Area 1A, 4,362 mt
for Area 1B, 22,146 mt for Area 2, and 38,146 mt for Area 3.
Amendment 4 to the Herring FMP (Amendment 4) (76 FR 11373, March 2,
2011) revised the specification-setting process, bringing the Herring
FMP into compliance with ACL and accountability measure (AM)
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (MSA). Under the FMP, if NMFS determines catch will
reach 95 percent of the sub-ACL allocated to a management area or
seasonal period, then NMFS prohibits vessels from fishing for,
possessing, catching, transferring, or landing more than 2,000 lb
(907.2 kg) of herring per trip from that area or period. This AM slows
catch to prevent or minimize catch in excess of a management area or
seasonal period sub-ACL. As a way to account for ACL overages in the
herring fishery, Amendment 4 established an AM that provided for
overage deductions. If the catch of herring in any given fishing year
exceeds any ACL or sub-ACL, the overage will subsequently be deducted
from the corresponding ACL/sub-ACL.
Fishing year 2010 was the first year that NMFS monitored herring
catch against the recently reduced management area sub-ACLs. NMFS
experienced difficulty determining when to implement the 2,000-lb
(907.2-kg) possession limit in Area 1B because of a pulse of fishing
effort in that area. NMFS had similar difficulties
[[Page 79611]]
determining when to implement the possession limit in Area 1A because
catch rates were highly variable. Ultimately, catch from Areas 1B and
1A exceeded their allocations by 1,639 mt and 1,878 mt, respectively.
These experiences demonstrated that more timely catch reporting was
needed to better monitor catch against sub-ACLs and to allow catch to
achieve, but not exceed, management area sub-ACLs. Therefore, in
September 2011, NMFS revised vessels reporting requirements to obtain
more timely catch reports (76 FR 54385, September 1, 2011). As a result
of that rulemaking, limited access herring vessels are required to
report herring catch daily via vessel monitoring systems, open access
herring vessels are required report catch weekly via the interactive
voice response system, and all herring-permitted vessels are required
to submit vessel trip reports (VTRs) weekly.
Proposed Measures
In accordance with regulations at Sec. 648.201(a)(3), this action
proposes to deduct the 2010 overages from 2012 catch limits. Therefore,
in 2012, the sub-ACL for Area 1A would be 24,668 mt (reduced from
26,546 mt) and the sub-ACL for Area 1B would be 2,723 mt (reduced from
4,362 mt). The sub-ACLs for Areas 2 and 3 would remain unchanged at
22,146 mt for Area 2 and 38,146 mt for Area 3.
NMFS determined 2010 herring landings based on dealer reports
(Federal and state) containing herring purchases, supplemented with
VTRs (Federal and State of Maine) containing herring landings. NMFS
compared dealer reports to VTRs for all trips that landed herring in
2010. Because VTRs are generally a hail weight or estimate of landings,
with an assumed 10 percent margin of error, dealer reports are a more
accurate source of landings data. However, if the amount of herring
reported via VTR exceeded the amount of herring reported by the dealer
by 10-percent or more, it was assumed that the dealer report for that
trip was in error. In those instances, the amount of herring reported
via VTR was used to determine the amount of herring landed on that
trip. Herring landings in the VTR database were checked for accuracy
against the scanned image of the paper VTRs submitted by the owner/
operator of the vessel. VTR landings were also verified by comparing
reported landings to harvesting potential and applicable possession
limits for each vessel. Federal dealer reports for 2010 were finalized
in June 2011 and state dealer reports for 2010 were finalized in
September 2011.
Herring landings reported on the VTRs were assigned to herring
management areas using latitude and longitude coordinates. VTRs with
missing or invalid latitude/longitude coordinates were manually
corrected using the statistical area reported on the VTR. If no
statistical area was reported on the VTR, then a combination of recent
fishing activity and a review of the scanned images of the original VTR
were used to assign landings to herring management area. Dealer reports
without corresponding VTRs were prorated to herring management area
using the proportion of total herring landings stratified by week, gear
type, and management area.
As NMFS was reviewing the 2010 herring data, and comparing
individual VTRs with individual dealer reports, it resolved data errors
resulting from misreporting. Common dealer reporting issues were:
Missing dealer reports; incorrect or missing VTR serial numbers;
incorrect or missing vessel permit numbers; and incorrect dates. VTRs
had similar errors. Common VTR reporting issues were: Missing VTRs;
missing or incorrect dealer information; incorrect amounts of landed
herring; incorrect dates; and missing or incorrect statistical area.
The quality of herring landings data is affected by unresolved data
errors; therefore, NMFS strongly encourages vessel owner/operators and
dealers to double check reports for accuracy and ensure reports are
submitted on a timely basis.
Discards of herring in 2010 were determined by extrapolating
Northeast Fisheries Observer Program (observer) data to the entire
herring fishery. The amount of observed herring discards (``Atlantic
herring'' and ``herring unidentified'') was divided by the amount of
observed fish landed. That discard ratio was then multiplied by the
amount of all fish landed for each trip to calculate total amount of
herring discards in 2010. The amount of discards was determined for
each management area and gear type. Observer data for 2010 were
finalized in April 2011.
NMFS calculated the total herring catch for 2010 by adding the
amount of herring landings to the amount of herring discarded. The
methodology used by NMFS to calculate the amount of landed herring and
the amount of discarded herring was reviewed by the Council's Herring
Plan Development Team (PDT). NMFS convened a Herring PDT conference
call on October 19, 2011, to review landed catch and discard
methodology. The Herring PDT recommended that prorated dealer reports
should account for fishing effort and seasonality in its calculations.
Based on the Herring PDT's recommendations, NMFS revised its
methodologies to include stratification by week, gear type, and area
for dealer reports that were prorated to management area. Additionally,
the Herring PDT recommended that the extrapolation of discards be
stratified by gear type and area. NMFS revised its discard methodology
accordingly. NMFS convened a follow-up Herring PDT conference call on
November 3, 2011, and updated the PDT on its revised methodology. The
Herring PDT concluded that the methodologies used by NMFS to calculate
the total amount of herring catch (landings and discards) in 2010 were
appropriate.
The following chart contains information on the 2010 herring
fishery:
Total Catch of Atlantic Herring in 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Herring catch as
Management area Sub-ACL (mt) Landed herring Discarded Total herring percentage of
(mt) herring (mt) catch (mt) Sub-ACL
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1A............................................................ 26,546 28,364 60 28,424 107
1B............................................................ 4,362 5,997 3 6,001 138
2............................................................. 22,146 20,781 50 20,831 94
3............................................................. 38,146 17,573 23 17,596 46
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 79612]]
Classification
Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of the MSA, the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with
the Atlantic Herring FMP, other provisions of the MSA, and other
applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
The National Environmental Policy Act analysis to support this
action was completed in Amendment 4 (76 FR 11373, March 2, 2011).
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Orders 12866. This proposed rule does not contain
a collection-of-information requirement for purposes of the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Council for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration (SBA) that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
In 2010, there were catch limit overages in herring management
areas 1A and 1B equal to 1,878 mt and 1,639 mt, respectively. In
accordance with regulations at Sec. 648.201(a)(3), this action
proposes to deduct the 2010 overages from 2012 catch limits. Therefore,
in 2012, the sub-ACL for Area 1A would be 24,668 mt (reduced from
26,546 mt) and the sub-ACL for Area 1B would be 2,723 mt (reduced from
4,362 mt).
Amendment 4 analyzed the effects of deducting ACL/sub-ACL overages
from the subsequent corresponding ACL/sub-ACL. During a year when the
ACL/sub-ACL is exceeded, fishery participants may benefit economically
from higher catch. In the subsequent year, when the amount of the
overage is deducted from that ACL/sub-ACL and the amount of harvest is
lower, fishery participants may experience negative economic impacts.
Since deductions are the same magnitude as the overages, there would be
no overall change to the amount of fish available for harvest.
Therefore, if participants are active in the fishery during the overage
year and the deduction year, the total economic impact on participants
would be neutral.
In 2010, 101 vessels were issued limited access herring permits and
2, 258 were issued open access herring permits. All participants in the
herring fishery are small entities as defined by the SBA under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, as none grossed more than $4 million
annually, so there would be no disproportionate economic impacts on
small entities.
Total herring revenue in 2010 equaled approximately $18.8 million
for limited access vessels and $150,000 for open access vessels.
Because most vessels that harvest herring participate in other
fisheries, revenue generated by herring catch is only a portion of
their income. Herring revenue averaged 20 percent of total fisheries
revenue for limited access vessels in 2010 and less than 1 percent of
total fisheries revenue for open access vessels in 2010. The reduced
sub-ACLs in Areas 1A and 1B are estimated to equal $1 million in lost
revenue in 2012. Absent the sub-ACL reductions in Areas 1A and 1B, the
total potential herring revenue in 2012 is estimated to be $26.4
million. The sub-ACL reductions in Areas 1A and 1B would reduce the
total potential herring revenue by 4 percent in 2012. While this action
reduces the amount of fish available for harvest, both the fishery-wide
and individual-vessel economic effects are anticipated to be minimal
because the reduction is relatively minor and herring vessels generate
most of their revenue participating in other fisheries.
For all the reasons described above, an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis is not required and none has been prepared.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 19, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-32846 Filed 12-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
