Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Recreational Accountability Measures, 82197-82200 [2011-33319]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 251 / Friday, December 30, 2011 / Rules and Regulations
inconsistent with the MSA, the FMP,
and the Court order.
Normally, the Council decides on its
summer flounder and scup specification
recommendations in August and
provides its analytical documentation in
support of those recommendations to
NMFS in September. NMFS reviews the
recommendations and analyses for
consistency with applicable law and
other requirements, and then conducts
notice-and-comment rulemaking over
the course of October, November, and
early December. The process typically
culminates in a final rule to implement
specifications in December. Even under
ideal circumstances, the rulemaking
associated with a typical specification
process from Council decision to agency
rulemaking usually requires NMFS to
waive the 30-day delay in effectiveness
to ensure these management measures
are in place by January 1.
The introduction of new summer
flounder and scup stock status
information in late October presents a
substantial complication in the
specification process. The Council and
NMFS are obligated by the MSA and
National Standard 2 to utilize the best
available scientific information in
fisheries management. The updated
stock status information for both species
indicates that the Council’s previous
specification recommendations would
result in overfishing both stocks in
2012. Under the MSA, NMFS may not
authorize a level of catch that would
knowingly result in overfishing a stock;
thus, it would not be appropriate to
implement the Council’s initial
specification recommendations for these
two species. Nor would it be
appropriate to maintain the status quo,
as the 2011 catch levels would also be
too high and would require rulemaking
to maintain (i.e., they cannot be
automatically carried over year-to-year).
Following the release of the new
information in late October, there was
insufficient time for the Council to
convene its collective committees and
its full membership to consider the new
information and reconsider its
recommendation to NMFS.
Announcement of Council and Council
committee meetings are required to
provide specific advance notice in the
Federal Register. Here, even had the
Council been able to convene quickly
and provide NMFS revised
recommendations for summer flounder
and scup sufficient to ensure that
overfishing would not occur in 2012,
there would have been insufficient time
for NMFS to review the
recommendations and to conduct
notice-and-comment rulemaking with
an effective date on or before January 1,
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2012. This is true even if an abbreviated
public comment period and waiver of
the 30-day delay in effectiveness were
used by NMFS.
The Council proposed revised
recommendations for summer flounder
and scup during its December 13–15,
2011, meeting. NMFS is soliciting
public comment on the interim
measures contained in this rule and will
issue final measures, if necessary, as
soon as possible in early 2012 that
respond to both the Council’s revised
recommendation and comments
received on the interim measures.
While this procedure is not
completely comparable to the noticeand-comment process typically used,
NMFS views this as the only tenable
solution to implement measures that
ensure overfishing does not occur. This
process will ensure that appropriate
measures are implemented for the start
of the fishing year and provides a
meaningful way for the public to
comment on those measures as part of
the development process for final
measures. NMFS recognizes this is not
ideal; however, for the unforeseeable
reasons outlined above, it would be
impracticable to conduct standard
notice-and-comment rulemaking for the
2012 specifications, and failing to
implement them would undermine the
intent of the MSA, and prevent NMFS
from undertaking its legal duties. The
delay that would result from doing so
would allow the fishery to begin with
no effective catch constraints in place
and would violate the MSA, the FMP,
and introduce significant complications
in the fishery management program.
While less than ideal, the alternative of
putting in measures through an interim
rule at least ensures that catch
constraints are in place at the start of the
fishing year and provides a process for
public input on final measures to be
implemented at a later date.
The Assistant Administrator further
finds good cause under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in
effective date for the reasons outlined
above. These specifications must be in
place on January 1, 2012, to ensure
catch constraints are in place for the
start of the fishing year.
These interim specifications are
exempt from review under Executive
Order 12866.
Because prior notice and opportunity
for public comment are not required for
this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other
law, the analytical requirements of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601
et seq., are inapplicable.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
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82197
Dated: December 22, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–33442 Filed 12–29–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 111128700–1702–01]
RIN 0648–BB66
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Northeast Multispecies
Fishery; Recreational Accountability
Measures
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Interim rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
This interim final rule
implements a possession limit and
increases the minimum fish size for
haddock caught in the Gulf of Maine by
recreational anglers aboard private or
charter/party vessels. This action is
intended to address an overage of the
fishing year 2010 GOM haddock subannual catch limit by the recreational
fishery, and prevent a similar overage
from occurring in the future. NMFS
implements this interim final rule
pursuant to its authority under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act and
the Northeast Multispecies Fishery
Management Plan and its implementing
regulations.
DATES: Effective January 6, 2012 through
December 30, 2012. Comments must be
received by January 17, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by NOAA–NMFS–2011–0252,
by any one of the following methods:
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. To submit
comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
first click the ‘‘Submit a Comment’’
icon, then enter ‘‘FDMS Docket Number
NOAA–NMFS–2011–0252’’ 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
Daniel Morris, Acting Regional
SUMMARY:
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82198
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 251 / Friday, December 30, 2011 / Rules and Regulations
Administrator, National Marine
Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930–2276.
Mark the outside of the envelope:
‘‘Comments on NE Multispecies
Recreational AMs.’’
• Fax: (978) 281–9135; Attn: Douglas
Christel.
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, etc.) 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 file formats only.
The analysis of the impacts of the
measures implemented by this action is
included in the Final Environmental
Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared for
Amendment 16 to the Northeast (NE)
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
(FMP) and summarized in the
Classification section of the preamble of
this interim final rule. Copies of
Amendment 16, its Regulatory Impact
Review (RIR), and the FEIS are available
from Paul J. Howard, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management
Council, 50 Water Street Mill 2,
Newburyport, MA 01950. The FEIS/RIR
is also accessible via the Internet at
https://www.nefmc.org/nemulti/
index.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Douglas Christel, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281–9141, fax (978) 281–
9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In 2007, the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) was
reauthorized to require that fishery
management councils establish a
mechanism for specifying annual catch
limits (ACLs) for each managed fishery
such that overfishing does not occur in
the fishery. The reauthorized
Magnuson-Stevens Act also required
that FMPs include measures to ensure
accountability in case ACLs were
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exceeded, and to prevent future
overages from occurring. The final rule
implementing Amendment 16 to the NE
Multispecies FMP (April 9, 2010, 75 FR
18262) established a process to set and
distribute ACLs among the various
components of the fishery that catch
regulated NE multispecies and ocean
pout (also known as groundfish) stocks.
Amendment 16 also established
accountability measures (AMs) that
would be implemented if any ACL is
exceeded during a particular fishing
year (FY).
The recreational groundfish fishery
consists of anglers on private
recreational and charter/party vessels.
This fishery is responsible for nearly 30
percent of haddock catch in the Gulf of
Maine (GOM) in recent years.
Accordingly, Amendment 16 allocated
the recreational fishery 27.5 percent of
the GOM haddock ACL available to the
groundfish fishery. Amendment 16 also
specified that if the sub-ACL allocated
to the recreational fishery is exceeded,
the Regional Administrator must
implement the appropriate AMs in the
subsequent FY to address the overage
and prevent such an overage from
occurring in the future following
consultation with the New England
Fishery Management Council (Council).
The recreational AM may include
adjustments to season, minimum fish
size, or possession limits. Separate AMs
may be specified for the private boat
and charter/party components of the
recreational fishery. Due to the
availability of recreational catch data,
Amendment 16 anticipated that an
overage would be implemented by
January of the FY following the overage,
and may remain in effect for an
undefined period of time.
In FY 2010, the recreational fishery
was allocated 324 mt of GOM haddock
as part of Framework Adjustment 44 to
the FMP (April 9, 2010, 75 FR 18356).
Based on available information, NMFS
has determined that the recreational
fishery caught 396.3 mt of GOM
haddock during FY 2010. This
represents an overage of 72.3 mt, or 22.3
percent. In November 2011, NMFS
consulted with the Council and its
Recreational Advisory Panel to seek
input on the appropriate AMs to address
this overage. The Recreational Advisory
Panel recommended that NMFS
implement increases in the GOM
haddock size limit to address the
overage, while the Council
recommended that NMFS consider a
possession limit first, adjustments to the
current minimize fish size second, and
additional closed seasons last in
developing recreational AMs to address
the overage.
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Management Measures Implemented by
This Interim Final Rule
This interim final rule implements a
9-fish possession limit (a reduction, as
previously there was no constraint on
possession) and increases the minimum
fish size for haddock caught in the GOM
Regulated Mesh Area from 18 inches
(45.72 cm) to 19 inches (48.26 cm) total
length. These measures will remain in
effect until changed in a future action.
Based on the flexibility provided in
Amendment 16, as codified at
§ 648.89(f), the effective period of such
measures could be modified through
notice consistent with the
Administrative Procedure Act if it is
determined that such measures are not
necessary to prevent overfishing or
ensure that a similar overage does not
occur during future FYs. NMFS is
specifically interested in public input
regarding the duration necessary for
these measures.
The AMs implemented by this action
were selected because they are expected
to achieve the necessary fishing
mortality reduction due to the overage
of the FY 2010 sub-ACL for this stock,
reflect the Council’s general preference
for recreational AMs, are similar to
measures in place for this stock until
recently, and could be implemented in
a timely manner. For example, a 10-fish
possession limit was in effect for GOM
haddock until 2004, and the minimum
size limit for GOM haddock was only
recently reduced from 19 inches (48.26
cm) to 18 inches (45.7 cm) in 2009.
Because these AMs have already been
analyzed under the Amendment 16
FEIS, no additional analysis is necessary
for such measures. This minimizes
unnecessary delays in implementing
this action. Implementation of these
measures in a timely manner is critical
to enabling charter/party operations to
finalize business plans and advertising
strategies as quickly as possible.
These AMs conflict with the
Recreational Advisory Panel’s
recommendation to address the 2010
overage using only increases in size
limits. However, during the discussion
at the Recreational Advisory Panel,
private anglers supported possession
limits in conjunction with an increased
size limit as an acceptable AM, despite
opposition from charter/party vessel
operators.
The 9-fish possession limit and 19inch (48.26 cm) minimum size limit for
GOM haddock were originally
considered during the development of
Amendment 16 as one of several options
designed to reduce the fishing mortality
rate (F) on GOM haddock by the
recreational fishery. Amendment 16
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considered such measures in the context
of effort reductions that would have
been necessary if other options to
distribute the GOM haddock ACL
between the commercial and
recreational groundfish fisheries were
adopted by the Council. However, such
measures can also be used to reduce
recreational catch as part of AMs, as
described in this action.
The biological and economic impacts
of the AMs implemented by this action
were analyzed in Section 7.2.2.3.2.3 and
7.5.2.3.2.3 of the Amendment 16 FEIS,
respectively. The F reduction resulting
from the measures implemented by this
action is nearly identical to the amount
of overage of the GOM haddock subACL during FY 2010 (22.3 percent), and
is expected to result in the necessary
reduction in catch once implemented.
The Amendment 16 analysis does not
quantify the precise economic impacts
of these measures, but indicates that a
9-fish possession limit and a 19-inch
(48.26 cm) minimum fish size may
result in greater negative economic
impacts than increasing the minimum
fish size to 21 inches (53.34 cm) to
reduce recreational catch of GOM
haddock, and less economic impacts
than implementing a 7-fish possession
limit and an 18-inch (45.72 cm)
minimum fish size. The analysis notes
that anglers likely prefer options that
focus on maintaining a higher
possession limit because of the reliance
upon high possession limits to attract
customers for charter/party trips.
However, it was suggested that because
haddock do not grow as large as cod,
exclusive reliance upon size limits to
achieve the necessary F reductions for
GOM haddock may reduce the
probability of catching and being able to
keep a legal-sized fish to such an extent
that anglers may prefer a lower
possession limit to a higher size limit.
Classification
The Administrator, Northeast Region,
NMFS, determined that the management
measures implemented by this interim
final rule are necessary for the
conservation and management of the NE
multispecies fishery, and that they are
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens
Act and other applicable law.
There is good cause under 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(3)(B) and (d)(3) to waive prior
notice and opportunity for public
comment, and the 30-day delay in
effective date, respectively, for the
measures implemented by this interim
final rule because such a delay would be
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest. This interim final rule is
necessary to implement AMs to address
an overage of the FY 2010 GOM
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haddock sub-ACL by the recreational
groundfish fishery and prevent a similar
overage from occurring in the future.
Data available to estimate the
recreational catch of GOM haddock
come from the Marine Recreational
Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS), a
telephone and shore-side intercept
survey of fishing effort and angler catch.
This process results in ‘‘waves’’ (a 2month period) of data that estimate
catch throughout the year. Catch data
through the end of a particular FY
(April of each year) are only available in
June or July. These data must then be
analyzed based on the distribution of
anglers and fishing effort to estimate the
catch of haddock in the GOM and on
Georges Bank, the two stocks of
haddock managed under the FMP. An
estimate of the recreational catch of
GOM haddock during FY 2010 (May
2010–April 2011) was made available to
NMFS and the Council just before the
September Council meeting. However,
because the issue was not on the
published Council agenda and there was
no information available on which to
base potential AMs at the time of the
meeting, the Council did not offer
recommendations about the appropriate
AMs to address the FY 2010 overage by
the recreational fishery. Further, there
were substantial concerns raised by the
Council about the accuracy of the
recreational data, primarily because the
existing MRFSS process is expected to
be replaced in the near future by a more
accurate and thorough process for
estimating recreational catch. It is
unclear at this time whether the
updated methodology will result in
different estimates of recreational catch
of GOM haddock during FY 2010, or
other years. As a result, it was not until
November that the Council or its
advisory bodies were able to discuss the
recreational overage of the FY 2010
GOM haddock sub-ACL, and
recommend appropriate AMs to NMFS,
as required by the existing regulations.
Thus, it was impracticable for NMFS to
publish rulemaking soliciting public
comment on appropriate AMs in the
recreational fishery until first consulting
with the Council at its November 15–17,
2011, meeting.
As noted above, this interim final rule
immediately reduces fishing mortality
on GOM haddock by the recreational
fishery in order to address an overage of
the FY 2010 recreational sub-ACL. This
is important for preventing overfishing
from occurring, as required in the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, especially
considering that the biomass for GOM
haddock is expected to continue to
decline over the next few years. The
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82199
recreational fishing season, particularly
for charter/party vessels, begins in
earnest in March and April of each year.
Charter/party operations advertise and
try to book fishing trips prior to the start
of the fishing season as part of their
yearly business plans. As a result, it is
important to implement recreational
AMs in a timely manner and before the
recreational fishing begins to not only
increase the effectiveness of such
measures at achieving desired F
reductions in the recreational fishery,
but also to enable charter/party vessel
operators to effectively plan, advertise,
and book trips for the upcoming fishing
season. Delays in implementing
recreational AMs to consider additional
public input for the measures
implemented by this action will only
complicate business plans currently
being developed by charter/party
operations for the upcoming fishing
season. Further, delays in implementing
such measures could result in the AMs
becoming effective midway into the
spring recreational fishing season. This
could result in unanticipated negative
economic impacts to charter/party
vessel operators and associated
supporting businesses due to confusion
in applicable regulations, changes to
advertisements, and potentially
cancelled trips. In addition, mid-season
implementation may undermine
compliance with such measures and
reduce the effectiveness of the AMs and
their benefits to the GOM haddock
stock. If such measures are not effective
at reducing recreational catch and,
therefore, F on this stock, further
measures may be necessary in the future
to ensure that overfishing does not
occur, as required by the MagnusonStevens Act. Therefore, it is contrary to
the public interest to unnecessarily
delay the implementation of such
measures due to the potential biological
and economic impacts that may result.
The measures implemented by this
interim final rule have already been
considered by the public as part of
Amendment 16 to the FMP. During the
development of Amendment 16, several
public meetings were held in which
these measures were discussed. Further,
the public had an opportunity to
comment on these measures as part of
the public review of the notices of
availability for both the Amendment 16
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) and FEIS that were published in
the Federal Register on April 24, 2009
(74 FR 18705), and October 30, 2009 (74
FR 56194), respectively. During both
comment periods, public comments
were received concerning recreational
measures considered in Amendment 16,
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including specific comments regarding
the haddock minimum size limit and
the recreational AMs. These comments
were considered during the decision by
the Council to adopt final measures in
Amendment 16 (DEIS comments only),
and by the Secretary in the partial
approval of Amendment 16. Moreover,
the public also had an opportunity to
discuss such measures during the
comment period for the proposed rule to
implement measures adopted by the
Council in Amendment 16 (December
31, 2009, 74 FR 69382). As noted above,
NMFS consulted with the Council, the
Groundfish Recreational Advisory
Panel, and the Groundfish Oversight
Committee at meetings in November
2011 to elicit their input into
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appropriate AMs to address the
recreational fishery overage of the GOM
haddock sub-ACL during FY 2010.
During the Advisory Panel and
Committee meetings, the measures
implemented by this interim final rule
were specifically discussed as potential
AMs to address the overage. The public,
including both private recreational
anglers and charter/party vessel
operators, provided input into their
preference for AMs to address this
overage during these meetings. Finally,
additional public comment on these
measures is being sought through the
implementation of this action as an
interim final rule.
Pursuant to the procedures
established to implement section 6 of
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E.O. 12866, the Office of Management
and Budget has initially determined that
this interim rule is not significant.
This interim final rule does not
contain policies with Federalism or
‘‘takings’’ implications as those terms
are defined in E.O. 13132 and E.O.
12630, respectively.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 22, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011–33319 Filed 12–29–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 251 (Friday, December 30, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 82197-82200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33319]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 111128700-1702-01]
RIN 0648-BB66
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast
Multispecies Fishery; Recreational Accountability Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Interim rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This interim final rule implements a possession limit and
increases the minimum fish size for haddock caught in the Gulf of Maine
by recreational anglers aboard private or charter/party vessels. This
action is intended to address an overage of the fishing year 2010 GOM
haddock sub-annual catch limit by the recreational fishery, and prevent
a similar overage from occurring in the future. NMFS implements this
interim final rule pursuant to its authority under the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Northeast Multispecies
Fishery Management Plan and its implementing regulations.
DATES: Effective January 6, 2012 through December 30, 2012. Comments
must be received by January 17, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2011-0252,
by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. To submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal,
first click the ``Submit a Comment'' icon, then enter ``FDMS Docket
Number NOAA-NMFS-2011-0252'' 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 Daniel Morris, Acting
Regional
[[Page 82198]]
Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2276. Mark the outside of the envelope:
``Comments on NE Multispecies Recreational AMs.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135; Attn: Douglas Christel.
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, etc.) 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 file
formats only.
The analysis of the impacts of the measures implemented by this
action is included in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
prepared for Amendment 16 to the Northeast (NE) Multispecies Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) and summarized in the Classification section of
the preamble of this interim final rule. Copies of Amendment 16, its
Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the FEIS are available from Paul J.
Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 50
Water Street Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. The FEIS/RIR is also
accessible via the Internet at https://www.nefmc.org/nemulti/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Douglas Christel, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9141, fax (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
In 2007, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) was reauthorized to require that fishery
management councils establish a mechanism for specifying annual catch
limits (ACLs) for each managed fishery such that overfishing does not
occur in the fishery. The reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act also
required that FMPs include measures to ensure accountability in case
ACLs were exceeded, and to prevent future overages from occurring. The
final rule implementing Amendment 16 to the NE Multispecies FMP (April
9, 2010, 75 FR 18262) established a process to set and distribute ACLs
among the various components of the fishery that catch regulated NE
multispecies and ocean pout (also known as groundfish) stocks.
Amendment 16 also established accountability measures (AMs) that would
be implemented if any ACL is exceeded during a particular fishing year
(FY).
The recreational groundfish fishery consists of anglers on private
recreational and charter/party vessels. This fishery is responsible for
nearly 30 percent of haddock catch in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) in recent
years. Accordingly, Amendment 16 allocated the recreational fishery
27.5 percent of the GOM haddock ACL available to the groundfish
fishery. Amendment 16 also specified that if the sub-ACL allocated to
the recreational fishery is exceeded, the Regional Administrator must
implement the appropriate AMs in the subsequent FY to address the
overage and prevent such an overage from occurring in the future
following consultation with the New England Fishery Management Council
(Council). The recreational AM may include adjustments to season,
minimum fish size, or possession limits. Separate AMs may be specified
for the private boat and charter/party components of the recreational
fishery. Due to the availability of recreational catch data, Amendment
16 anticipated that an overage would be implemented by January of the
FY following the overage, and may remain in effect for an undefined
period of time.
In FY 2010, the recreational fishery was allocated 324 mt of GOM
haddock as part of Framework Adjustment 44 to the FMP (April 9, 2010,
75 FR 18356). Based on available information, NMFS has determined that
the recreational fishery caught 396.3 mt of GOM haddock during FY 2010.
This represents an overage of 72.3 mt, or 22.3 percent. In November
2011, NMFS consulted with the Council and its Recreational Advisory
Panel to seek input on the appropriate AMs to address this overage. The
Recreational Advisory Panel recommended that NMFS implement increases
in the GOM haddock size limit to address the overage, while the Council
recommended that NMFS consider a possession limit first, adjustments to
the current minimize fish size second, and additional closed seasons
last in developing recreational AMs to address the overage.
Management Measures Implemented by This Interim Final Rule
This interim final rule implements a 9-fish possession limit (a
reduction, as previously there was no constraint on possession) and
increases the minimum fish size for haddock caught in the GOM Regulated
Mesh Area from 18 inches (45.72 cm) to 19 inches (48.26 cm) total
length. These measures will remain in effect until changed in a future
action. Based on the flexibility provided in Amendment 16, as codified
at Sec. 648.89(f), the effective period of such measures could be
modified through notice consistent with the Administrative Procedure
Act if it is determined that such measures are not necessary to prevent
overfishing or ensure that a similar overage does not occur during
future FYs. NMFS is specifically interested in public input regarding
the duration necessary for these measures.
The AMs implemented by this action were selected because they are
expected to achieve the necessary fishing mortality reduction due to
the overage of the FY 2010 sub-ACL for this stock, reflect the
Council's general preference for recreational AMs, are similar to
measures in place for this stock until recently, and could be
implemented in a timely manner. For example, a 10-fish possession limit
was in effect for GOM haddock until 2004, and the minimum size limit
for GOM haddock was only recently reduced from 19 inches (48.26 cm) to
18 inches (45.7 cm) in 2009. Because these AMs have already been
analyzed under the Amendment 16 FEIS, no additional analysis is
necessary for such measures. This minimizes unnecessary delays in
implementing this action. Implementation of these measures in a timely
manner is critical to enabling charter/party operations to finalize
business plans and advertising strategies as quickly as possible.
These AMs conflict with the Recreational Advisory Panel's
recommendation to address the 2010 overage using only increases in size
limits. However, during the discussion at the Recreational Advisory
Panel, private anglers supported possession limits in conjunction with
an increased size limit as an acceptable AM, despite opposition from
charter/party vessel operators.
The 9-fish possession limit and 19-inch (48.26 cm) minimum size
limit for GOM haddock were originally considered during the development
of Amendment 16 as one of several options designed to reduce the
fishing mortality rate (F) on GOM haddock by the recreational fishery.
Amendment 16
[[Page 82199]]
considered such measures in the context of effort reductions that would
have been necessary if other options to distribute the GOM haddock ACL
between the commercial and recreational groundfish fisheries were
adopted by the Council. However, such measures can also be used to
reduce recreational catch as part of AMs, as described in this action.
The biological and economic impacts of the AMs implemented by this
action were analyzed in Section 7.2.2.3.2.3 and 7.5.2.3.2.3 of the
Amendment 16 FEIS, respectively. The F reduction resulting from the
measures implemented by this action is nearly identical to the amount
of overage of the GOM haddock sub-ACL during FY 2010 (22.3 percent),
and is expected to result in the necessary reduction in catch once
implemented.
The Amendment 16 analysis does not quantify the precise economic
impacts of these measures, but indicates that a 9-fish possession limit
and a 19-inch (48.26 cm) minimum fish size may result in greater
negative economic impacts than increasing the minimum fish size to 21
inches (53.34 cm) to reduce recreational catch of GOM haddock, and less
economic impacts than implementing a 7-fish possession limit and an 18-
inch (45.72 cm) minimum fish size. The analysis notes that anglers
likely prefer options that focus on maintaining a higher possession
limit because of the reliance upon high possession limits to attract
customers for charter/party trips. However, it was suggested that
because haddock do not grow as large as cod, exclusive reliance upon
size limits to achieve the necessary F reductions for GOM haddock may
reduce the probability of catching and being able to keep a legal-sized
fish to such an extent that anglers may prefer a lower possession limit
to a higher size limit.
Classification
The Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS, determined that the
management measures implemented by this interim final rule are
necessary for the conservation and management of the NE multispecies
fishery, and that they are consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and
other applicable law.
There is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) and (d)(3) to waive
prior notice and opportunity for public comment, and the 30-day delay
in effective date, respectively, for the measures implemented by this
interim final rule because such a delay would be impracticable and
contrary to the public interest. This interim final rule is necessary
to implement AMs to address an overage of the FY 2010 GOM haddock sub-
ACL by the recreational groundfish fishery and prevent a similar
overage from occurring in the future. Data available to estimate the
recreational catch of GOM haddock come from the Marine Recreational
Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS), a telephone and shore-side
intercept survey of fishing effort and angler catch. This process
results in ``waves'' (a 2-month period) of data that estimate catch
throughout the year. Catch data through the end of a particular FY
(April of each year) are only available in June or July. These data
must then be analyzed based on the distribution of anglers and fishing
effort to estimate the catch of haddock in the GOM and on Georges Bank,
the two stocks of haddock managed under the FMP. An estimate of the
recreational catch of GOM haddock during FY 2010 (May 2010-April 2011)
was made available to NMFS and the Council just before the September
Council meeting. However, because the issue was not on the published
Council agenda and there was no information available on which to base
potential AMs at the time of the meeting, the Council did not offer
recommendations about the appropriate AMs to address the FY 2010
overage by the recreational fishery. Further, there were substantial
concerns raised by the Council about the accuracy of the recreational
data, primarily because the existing MRFSS process is expected to be
replaced in the near future by a more accurate and thorough process for
estimating recreational catch. It is unclear at this time whether the
updated methodology will result in different estimates of recreational
catch of GOM haddock during FY 2010, or other years. As a result, it
was not until November that the Council or its advisory bodies were
able to discuss the recreational overage of the FY 2010 GOM haddock
sub-ACL, and recommend appropriate AMs to NMFS, as required by the
existing regulations. Thus, it was impracticable for NMFS to publish
rulemaking soliciting public comment on appropriate AMs in the
recreational fishery until first consulting with the Council at its
November 15-17, 2011, meeting.
As noted above, this interim final rule immediately reduces fishing
mortality on GOM haddock by the recreational fishery in order to
address an overage of the FY 2010 recreational sub-ACL. This is
important for preventing overfishing from occurring, as required in the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, especially considering that the biomass for GOM
haddock is expected to continue to decline over the next few years. The
recreational fishing season, particularly for charter/party vessels,
begins in earnest in March and April of each year. Charter/party
operations advertise and try to book fishing trips prior to the start
of the fishing season as part of their yearly business plans. As a
result, it is important to implement recreational AMs in a timely
manner and before the recreational fishing begins to not only increase
the effectiveness of such measures at achieving desired F reductions in
the recreational fishery, but also to enable charter/party vessel
operators to effectively plan, advertise, and book trips for the
upcoming fishing season. Delays in implementing recreational AMs to
consider additional public input for the measures implemented by this
action will only complicate business plans currently being developed by
charter/party operations for the upcoming fishing season. Further,
delays in implementing such measures could result in the AMs becoming
effective midway into the spring recreational fishing season. This
could result in unanticipated negative economic impacts to charter/
party vessel operators and associated supporting businesses due to
confusion in applicable regulations, changes to advertisements, and
potentially cancelled trips. In addition, mid-season implementation may
undermine compliance with such measures and reduce the effectiveness of
the AMs and their benefits to the GOM haddock stock. If such measures
are not effective at reducing recreational catch and, therefore, F on
this stock, further measures may be necessary in the future to ensure
that overfishing does not occur, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. Therefore, it is contrary to the public interest to unnecessarily
delay the implementation of such measures due to the potential
biological and economic impacts that may result.
The measures implemented by this interim final rule have already
been considered by the public as part of Amendment 16 to the FMP.
During the development of Amendment 16, several public meetings were
held in which these measures were discussed. Further, the public had an
opportunity to comment on these measures as part of the public review
of the notices of availability for both the Amendment 16 Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and FEIS that were published in
the Federal Register on April 24, 2009 (74 FR 18705), and October 30,
2009 (74 FR 56194), respectively. During both comment periods, public
comments were received concerning recreational measures considered in
Amendment 16,
[[Page 82200]]
including specific comments regarding the haddock minimum size limit
and the recreational AMs. These comments were considered during the
decision by the Council to adopt final measures in Amendment 16 (DEIS
comments only), and by the Secretary in the partial approval of
Amendment 16. Moreover, the public also had an opportunity to discuss
such measures during the comment period for the proposed rule to
implement measures adopted by the Council in Amendment 16 (December 31,
2009, 74 FR 69382). As noted above, NMFS consulted with the Council,
the Groundfish Recreational Advisory Panel, and the Groundfish
Oversight Committee at meetings in November 2011 to elicit their input
into appropriate AMs to address the recreational fishery overage of the
GOM haddock sub-ACL during FY 2010. During the Advisory Panel and
Committee meetings, the measures implemented by this interim final rule
were specifically discussed as potential AMs to address the overage.
The public, including both private recreational anglers and charter/
party vessel operators, provided input into their preference for AMs to
address this overage during these meetings. Finally, additional public
comment on these measures is being sought through the implementation of
this action as an interim final rule.
Pursuant to the procedures established to implement section 6 of
E.O. 12866, the Office of Management and Budget has initially
determined that this interim rule is not significant.
This interim final rule does not contain policies with Federalism
or ``takings'' implications as those terms are defined in E.O. 13132
and E.O. 12630, respectively.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 22, 2011.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-33319 Filed 12-29-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
