Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2013-2014 Atlantic Bluefish Specifications, 11809-11813 [2013-03781]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 34 / Wednesday, February 20, 2013 / Proposed Rules
approval is set forth in the direct final
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Dated: February 7, 2013.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2013–03764 Filed 2–19–13; 8:45 am]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
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SUMMARY:
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Dated: February 5, 2013.
Karl Brooks,
Regional Administrator, Region 7.
[FR Doc. 2013–03770 Filed 2–19–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 130104009–3099–01]
RIN 0648–XC432
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery;
2013–2014 Atlantic Bluefish
Specifications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed specifications; request
for comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS proposes specifications
for the 2013 and 2014 Atlantic bluefish
fishery, including an annual catch limit,
total allowable landings, a commercial
quota and recreational harvest limit, and
a recreational possession limit. The
intent of this action is to establish the
allowable 2013 and 2014 harvest levels
and other management measures to
achieve the target fishing mortality rate,
consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery Management Plan.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before March 7, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by NOAA–NMFS–2013–0006,
by any one of the following methods:
SUMMARY:
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11809
• Electronic Submissions: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=
NOAA–NMFS–2013–0006, click the
‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the
required fields, and enter or attach your
comments.
• Mail: Submit written comments to
John Bullard, Regional Administrator,
NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930.
• Fax: (978) 281–9135, Attn: Carly
Bari.
Instructions: 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 by NMFS. 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.),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publically accessible. 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, Excel, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
Copies of the specifications
document, including the Environmental
Assessment and Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (EA/IRFA) and
other supporting documents for the
specifications, are available from Dr.
Christopher M. Moore, Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 N.
State Street, Dover, DE 19901. The
specifications document is also
accessible via the Internet at: https://
www.nero.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Carly Bari, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281–9224.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic bluefish fishery is
managed cooperatively by the MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council
(Council) and the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission (Commission).
The management unit for bluefish
specified in the Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is U.S.
waters of the western Atlantic Ocean.
Regulations implementing the FMP
appear at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A
and J. The regulations requiring annual
specifications are found at § 648.162.
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The FMP requires the Council to
recommend, on an annual basis, the
annual catch limit (ACL), annual catch
target (ACT), and total allowable
landings (TAL) that will control fishing
mortality (F). An estimate of annual
discards is deducted from the ACT to
calculate the TAL that can be harvested
during the year by the commercial and
recreational fishing sectors. The FMP
requires that 17 percent of the ACT be
allocated to the commercial fishery,
with the remaining 83 percent allocated
to the recreational fishery. The Council
may also recommend a research setaside (RSA) quota, which is deducted
from the bluefish TAL (after any
applicable transfer) in an amount
proportional to the percentage of the
overall TAL as allocated to the
commercial and recreational sectors.
The annual review process for
bluefish requires that the Council’s
Bluefish Monitoring Committee and
Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC) review and make
recommendations based on the best
available scientific information,
including, but not limited to,
commercial and recreational catch/
landing statistics, current estimates of
fishing mortality, stock abundance,
discards for the recreational fishery, and
juvenile recruitment. Based on the
recommendations of the Monitoring
Committee and SSC, the Council makes
a recommendation to the NMFS
Northeast Regional Administrator.
Because this FMP is a joint plan, the
Commission also meets during the
annual specification process to adopt
complementary measures.
The Council’s recommendations must
include supporting documentation
concerning the environmental,
economic, and social impacts of the
recommendations. NMFS is responsible
for reviewing these recommendations to
ensure that they achieve the FMP
objectives, and may modify them if they
do not. NMFS then publishes proposed
specifications in the Federal Register,
and after considering public comment,
NMFS will publish final specifications
in the Federal Register.
Proposed Specifications
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Updated Model Estimates
According to Amendment 1 to the
FMP, overfishing for bluefish occurs
when F exceeds the fishing mortality
rate that allows maximum sustainable
yield (FMSY), or the maximum F
threshold to be achieved. The stock is
considered overfished if the biomass (B)
falls below the minimum biomass
threshold, which is defined as 1⁄2 BMSY.
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Amendment 1 also established that the
long-term target F is 90 percent of FMSY
(FMSY = 0.19; therefore Ftarget = 90
percent of FMSY, or 0.17), and the longterm target B is BMSY = 324 million lb
(147,052 mt).
An age-structured assessment
program (ASAP) model for bluefish was
approved by the 41st Stock Assessment
Review Committee (SARC 41) in 2005 to
estimate F and annual biomass. In June
2012, the ASAP model was updated in
order to estimate the current status of
the bluefish stock (i.e., 2011 biomass
and F estimates) and enable the
Monitoring Committee and SSC to
recommend 2013 and 2014
specifications using landings
information and survey indices through
the 2011 fishing year. The results of the
assessment update were as follows: (1)
An estimated stock biomass for 2011,
B2011 = 292.972 million lb (132,890 mt);
and (2) an estimated fishing mortality
rate for 2011, F2011 = 0.114. Based on the
updated 2011 estimate of bluefish stock
biomass, the bluefish stock is not
considered overfished: B2011 is slightly
less than BMSY, but well above the
minimum biomass threshold, 1⁄2 BMSY,
of 162 million lb (73,526 mt). Estimates
of F have declined from 0.41 in 1991 to
0.114 in 2011. The updated model
results also conclude that the Atlantic
bluefish stock is not experiencing
overfishing; i.e., the most recent F (F2011
= 0.114) is less than the maximum F
overfishing threshold specified by SARC
41 (FMSY = 0.19). Bluefish was declared
rebuilt in 2009.
2013 and 2014 Catch Limits
Following the framework
implemented by the Council’s ACL
Omnibus Amendment, the Council
recommended that ACL be set to
acceptable biological catch (ABC) for
2013 (27.472 million lb, 12,461 mt) and
for 2014 (27.057 million lb, 12,273 mt).
No deductions were recommended to
account for management uncertainty;
therefore, ABC=ACL=ACT for both
years. The ACT is initially allocated
between the recreational fishery (83
percent) and the commercial fishery (17
percent). After deducting an estimate of
recreational discards (commercial
discards are considered negligible), the
recreational harvest limit (RHL) would
be 19.190 million lb (8,704 mt) for 2013
and 18.846 million lb (8,548 mt) for
2014 and the commercial quota would
be 4.670 million lb (2,118 mt) for 2013
and 4.60 million lb (2,087 mt) for 2014.
The FMP specifies that, if 17 percent
of the TAL is less than 10.5 million lb,
and the recreational fishery is not
projected to land its harvest limit for the
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upcoming year, the commercial fishery
may be allocated up to 10.5 million lb
as its quota, provided that the
combination of the projected
recreational landings and the
commercial quota does not exceed the
TAL. The RHL would then be adjusted
downward so that the TAL would be
unchanged.
The Council projected an estimated
annual recreational harvest for 2013 and
2014 of 14.069 million lb (6,381 mt). As
such, it is expected that a transfer of up
to 4.686 million lb (2,125 mt) for 2013
and 4.342 million lb (1,969 mt) for 2014
from the recreational sector to the
commercial sector could be approved.
These options represent the preferred
alternatives recommended by the
Council in its specifications document.
The actual transfer amount in the final
rule, if any, will depend on the final
2012 recreational landings data.
RSA
For 2013, the Council preliminarily
approved two research projects that
would utilize bluefish RSA quota and
forwarded them to NOAA’s Grants
Management Division. The Council
preliminarily approved 715,819 lb (325
mt) of RSA quota for use by these
projects during 2013. For 2014, the
Council preliminarily approved 703,385
lb (319 mt) of RSA quota for future
research projects. Proportional
adjustments of these amounts to the
commercial and recreational allocations
would result in a final commercial
quota of 9.076 million lb (4,117 mt) for
2013 and 8.674 million lb (3,934 mt) for
2014, and a final RHL of 14.069 million
lb (6,381 mt) for both 2013 and 2014.
NMFS staff will update the commercial
and recreational allocations based on
the final 2013 RSA awards as part of the
final rule for the 2013 specifications.
Proposed Recreational Possession Limit
The Council recommended, and
NMFS proposes, to maintain the current
recreational possession limit of up to 15
fish per person to achieve the RHL for
both 2013 and 2014.
Proposed State Commercial Allocations
The proposed state commercial
allocations for the recommended 2013
and 2014 commercial quota are shown
in Table 1, based on the percentages
specified in the FMP. These quotas do
not reflect any adjustments for quota
overages that may have occurred in
some states in 2012. Any potential
deductions for states that exceeded their
quota in 2012 will be accounted for in
the final rule.
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11811
TABLE 1—PROPOSED BLUEFISH COMMERCIAL STATE-BY-STATE ALLOCATIONS FOR 2013 AND 2014 (INCLUDING RSA
DEDUCTIONS)
Percent
share
State
2013 Councilproposed
commercial
quota (lb)
2013 Councilproposed
commercial
quota (kg)
2014 Councilproposed
commercial
quota (lb)
2014 Councilproposed
commercial
quota (kg)
ME ........................................................................................
NH ........................................................................................
MA ........................................................................................
RI .........................................................................................
CT ........................................................................................
NY ........................................................................................
NJ .........................................................................................
DE ........................................................................................
MD .......................................................................................
VA ........................................................................................
NC ........................................................................................
SC ........................................................................................
GA ........................................................................................
FL .........................................................................................
0.6685
0.4145
6.7167
6.8081
1.2663
10.3851
14.8162
1.8782
3.0018
11.8795
32.0608
0.0352
0.0095
10.0597
60,673
37,620
609,606
617,902
114,929
942,549
1,344,715
170,465
272,443
1,078,181
2,909,831
3,195
862
913,016
27,521
17,064
276,513
280,276
52,131
427,533
609,953
77,322
123,578
489,055
1,319,878
1,449
391
414,137
57,985
35,953
582,603
590,531
109,838
900,797
1,285,148
162,914
260,374
1,030,421
2,780,935
3,053
824
872,572
26,302
16,308
264,264
267,860
49,822
408,595
582,933
73,897
118,104
467,391
1,261,411
1,385
374
395,792
Total ..............................................................................
100.0001
9,075,976
4,116,795
8,673,941
3,934,435
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Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this proposed rule is consistent
with the Atlantic Bluefish FMP, other
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law, subject to
further consideration after public
comment.
These proposed specifications are
exempt from review under Executive
Order 12866.
An IRFA was prepared, as required by
section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (RFA), which describes the
economic impact this proposed rule, if
adopted, would have on small entities.
A description of the action, why it is
being considered, and the legal basis for
this action are contained at the
beginning of this preamble and in the
SUMMARY. A summary of the analysis
follows. A copy of this analysis is
available from the Council (see
ADDRESSES).
Small businesses operating in
commercial and recreational (i.e., party
and charter vessel operations) fisheries
have been defined by the Small
Business Administration as firms with
gross revenues of up to $4.0 and $6.5
million, respectively. The categories of
small entities likely to be affected by
this action include commercial and
charter/party vessel owners holding an
active Federal permit for Atlantic
bluefish, as well as owners of vessels
that fish for Atlantic bluefish in state
waters. All federally permitted vessels
fall into the definition of small
businesses; thus, there would be no
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disproportionate impacts between large
and small entities as a result of the
proposed rule.
An active participant in the
commercial sector was defined as any
vessel that reported having landed 1 or
more lb (0.45 kg) in the Atlantic bluefish
fishery in 2011 (the most recent year for
which there are complete data). The
active participants in the commercial
sector were defined using two sets of
data. The Northeast seafood dealer
reports were used to identify 742 vessels
that landed bluefish in states from
Maine through North Carolina in 2011.
However, the Northeast dealer database
does not provide information about
fishery participation in South Carolina,
Georgia or Florida. South Atlantic Trip
Ticket reports were used to identify 768
vessels that landed bluefish in North
Carolina and 791 vessels that landed
bluefish on Florida’s east coast in 2011.1
Bluefish landings in South Carolina and
Georgia were near zero in 2011,
representing a negligible proportion of
the total bluefish landings along the
Atlantic Coast. Therefore, this analysis
assumed that no vessel activity for these
two states took place in 2011. In recent
years, approximately 2,000 party/charter
vessels may have been active in the
bluefish fishery and/or have caught
bluefish.
There are no new reporting or
recordkeeping requirements contained
in any of the alternatives considered for
this action. In addition, NMFS is not
aware of any relevant Federal rules that
may duplicate, overlap, or conflict with
this proposed rule.
1 Some of these vessels were also identified in the
Northeast dealer data; therefore, double counting is
possible.
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The IRFA in the Draft EA addressed
three alternatives (including a no
action/status quo alternative) for the
2013 and 2014 Atlantic bluefish fishing
years. All quota alternatives considered
in this analysis are based on various
commercial harvest levels for bluefish (a
low, medium, and high level of harvest).
For analysis of impacts of Alternatives
1 and 2 for both 2013 and 2014, the
maximum potential RSA quota of 3
percent of the TAL (715,819 lb (324 mt)
for 2013 and 703,385 lb (319 mt) for
2014) was used. For analysis of impacts
of Alternative 3 for both years, the status
quo RSA quota of 491,672 lb (223 mt)
was used. For analysis of impacts of
Alternative 1 for 2013, the
recommended transfer of 4.686 million
lb (2,125 mt) from the recreational
sector to the commercial sector were
used. Alternative 1 for 2014, the
recommended transfer of 4.342 million
lb (1,969 mt) was used. For analysis of
impacts of Alternative 3 for 2013 and
2014, the transfer of 5.052 million lb
(2,291 mt) from the recreational sector
to the commercial sector was used,
which is the same as the 2012 transfer
amount. Under Alternative 2 for both
2013 and 2014, no transfer of bluefish
would be made from the recreational
sector to the commercial sector, and the
allocation of the TAL would be based
strictly on the percentages specified in
the FMP (17 percent commercial, 83
percent recreational).
For 2013, Alternatives 1 and 2 would
implement a TAL of 23.861 million lb
(10,823 mt). For 2014, Alternatives 1
and 2 would implement a TAL of 23.446
million lb (10,635 mt). Alternative 3, for
2013 and 2014, would implement status
quo management measures for both
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years, which would result in a TAL
identical to the 2012 TAL, or 28.267
million lb (12,822 mt). The proposed
2013 and 2014 Atlantic bluefish
specification alternatives are shown in
Table 2, along with the resulting
commercial quota and RHL after any
applicable transfer described earlier in
the preamble and after deduction of the
RSA quota. Alternative 1 (Council’s
preferred) would allocate 9.076 million
lb (4,117 mt) for 2013 and 8.674 million
lb (3,934 mt) for 2014 to the commercial
sector, and 14.096 million lb (6,381 mt)
to the recreational sector for both 2013
and 2014. For 2013, Alternative 2 would
result in the most restrictive commercial
quota and would allocate 4.530 million
lb (2,055 mt) to the commercial sector
and leave 18.615 million lb (8,444 mt)
available to the recreational sector. For
2014, Alternative 2 would also result in
the most restrictive commercial quota
and would allocate 4.462 million lb
(2,024 mt) to the commercial sector and
leave 18.281 million lb (8,292 mt)
available to the recreational sector. For
both 2013 and 2014, Alternative 3
(status quo) would allocate 10.317
million lb (4,680 mt) to the commercial
sector and 17.457 million lb (7,918 mt)
to the recreational sector. This
alternative would also implement the
status quo RSA level, which is currently
approved for 491,672 lb (223 mt).
TABLE 2—PROPOSED 2013 AND 2014 ATLANTIC BLUEFISH SPECIFICATION ALTERNATIVES FOR TAL, COMMERCIAL QUOTA,
AND RHL
Year
2013 ..
2014 ..
TAL
(million lb)
Alternatives
Alternative
Alternative
Alternative
Alternative
Alternative
Alternative
1
2
3
1
2
3
.....................................................
.....................................................
.....................................................
.....................................................
.....................................................
.....................................................
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Commercial Fishery Impacts
To assess the impact of the
alternatives on commercial fisheries, the
Council conducted a threshold analysis
and analysis of potential changes in exvessel gross revenue that would result
from each alternative, using Northeast
dealer reports and South Atlantic Trip
Ticket reports.
Under Alternative 1, the
recommended commercial quota for
2013 is approximately 79 percent higher
than 2011 commercial landings. When
this commercial quota is distributed to
the states from Maine to Florida (based
on the percentages specified in the
FMP), except for New York, each state’s
2013 quota is higher than its 2011
landings. For New York, 2013
commercial landings would be
constrained by the 2013 commercial
quota under Alternative 1. The
threshold analysis projected that 147
vessels could incur revenue losses of
less than 5 percent and 9 vessels could
incur revenue losses of 5 percent or
more. Of the vessels likely to be
impacted with revenue reductions of 5
percent or more, 22 percent had gross
sales of $1,000 or less and 44 percent
had gross sales of $10,000 or less, which
may indicate that the dependence on
fishing for some of these vessels is
small. If commercial quota is transferred
from a state or states that do not land
their entire bluefish quota for 2013, as
was done in 2011 and frequently in
previous years, the number of affected
entities could change, thus changing the
adverse economic impact on vessels
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23.861
23.861
28.267
23.446
23.446
28.267
TAL
(mt)
10,823
10,823
12,822
10,635
10,635
12,822
Commercial
quota
(million lb)
9.076
4.530
10.317
8.674
4.462
10.317
landing in the state(s) receiving quota
transfers.
For 2013, Alternative 2 would result
in a commercial quota 11 percent below
the 2011 commercial landings.
Although the overall commercial quota
is lower than 2011 commercial landings,
except for Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
New York, New Jersey, and North
Carolina, each state’s 2013 quota is
higher than its 2011 landings. For these
states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
New York, New Jersey, and North
Carolina), 2013 commercial landings
would be constrained by the 2013
commercial quota under Alternative 2.
The threshold analysis projected that
596 vessels could incur revenue losses
of less than 5 percent and 67 vessels
could incur revenue losses of 5 percent
or more. Of the vessels likely to be
impacted with revenue reductions of 5
percent or more, 19 percent had gross
sales of $1,000 or less and 55 percent
had gross sales of $10,000 or less, which
may indicate that the dependence on
fishing for some of these vessels is
small.
Under Alternative 3, the 2013
commercial quota is approximately 103
percent higher than the 2011
commercial landings. Most states show
a similar increase in fishing
opportunities under this alternative;
however, New York’s 2013 commercial
quota would be lower than its 2011
commercial landings. Analysis of
Alternative 3 concluded that 586 vessels
would likely have no change in revenue
relative to 2011, 154 vessels were
projected to incur revenue losses of less
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Commercial
quota (mt)
4,117
2,044
4,680
3,934
2,024
4,680
RHL
(million lb)
14.096
18.615
17.457
14.096
18.281
17.457
RHL
(mt)
6,381
8,444
7,918
6,381
8,292
7,918
than 5 percent, and 2 vessels were
projected to incur revenue loss of 5
percent or more.
Under Alternative 1, the
recommended commercial quota for
2014 is approximately 71 percent higher
than 2011 commercial landings. When
this commercial quota is distributed to
the states from Maine to Florida (based
on the percentages specified in the
FMP), except for New York, each state’s
2014 quota is higher than its 2011
landings. For New York, 2014
commercial landings would be
constrained by the 2014 commercial
quota under Alternative 1. The
threshold analysis projected that 147
vessels could incur revenue losses of
less than 5 percent and 13 vessels could
incur revenue losses of 5 percent or
more. Of the vessels likely to be
impacted with revenue reductions of 5
percent or more, 22 percent had gross
sales of $1,000 or less and 56 percent
had gross sales of $10,000 or less, which
may indicate that the dependence on
fishing for some of these vessels is
small. If commercial quota is transferred
from a state or states that do not land
their entire bluefish quota for 2014, as
was done in 2011 and frequently in
previous years, the number of affected
entities could change, thus changing the
adverse economic impact on vessels
landing in the state(s) receiving quota
transfers.
For 2014, Alternative 2 would result
in a commercial quota 12 percent below
the 2011 commercial landings.
Although the overall commercial quota
is lower than 2011 commercial landings,
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except for Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
New York, New Jersey, and North
Carolina, each state’s 2014 quota is
higher than its 2011 landings. For these
states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
New York, New Jersey, and North
Carolina), 2014 commercial landings
would be constrained by the 2014
commercial quota under Alternative 2.
The threshold analysis projected that
594 vessels could incur revenue losses
of less than 5 percent and 69 vessels
could incur revenue losses of 5 percent
or more. It is expected that the
description of the impacted vessels
under non-preferred Alternative 2 for
2013 would also apply to this
alternative.
The commercial impacts under
Alternative 3 for 2014 would be
identical to the impacts described in
Alternative 3 for 2013.
wreier-aviles on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Recreational Fishery Impacts
In Alternative 1 for 2013, the
recommended RHL for the recreational
sector (14.096 million lb, 6,381 mt) is
approximately 22 percent above the
recreational landings for 2011 (11.499
million lb, 5,216 mt) and 21 percent
below the RHL implemented for 2012
(17.457 million lb, 7,919 mt). It is not
anticipated that the recommend RHL
will result in decreased demand for
party/charter boat trips or affect angler
participation in a negative manner. At
the present time, there are neither
behavioral or demand data available to
estimate how sensitive party/charter
boat anglers might be to proposed
fishing regulations. However, given the
level of the adjusted recreational harvest
limit for 2013 and 2014 and recreational
landings in recent years, it is likely that
VerDate Mar<15>2010
14:24 Feb 19, 2013
Jkt 229001
given the proposed recreational harvest
limits under all alternatives evaluated,
the demand for party/charter boat trips
may not be negatively impacted.
Overall, it is not expected that the final
recreational management measures will
affect gross revenues of businesses
providing goods and services to anglers
participating in the party/charter boat,
private/rental boat, and shore fisheries
for bluefish. For 2013, the impacts
under Alternative 2 and 3 are expected
to be similar to the recreational impacts
under Alternative 1. The IRFA analyzed
the maximum transfer amount from the
recreational sector to the commercial
sector, but future updates of recreational
harvest projections could result in a
smaller transfer amount, resulting in a
higher RHL.
The 2013 RHL under Alternative 2
would be 62 percent higher than the
recreational landings in 2011 and 7
percent higher than the 2012 RHL.
Under Alternative 3, the 2013 RHL
would be 52 percent higher than 2011
recreational landings and the same as
the 2012 RHL. Thus, Alternatives 2 and
3 are not expected to have any negative
effects on recreational fishermen or the
demand for party/charter boat trips. In
addition, neither of these alternatives
are expected to result in recreational
landings in excess of the RHL.
The recreational impacts for the 2014
alternatives are the same as those for the
respective alternatives for 2013.
RSA Quota Impacts
For analysis of each alternative, the
maximum RSA quota amount (3 percent
of the TAL) was deducted from the
initial overall TAL for 2013 and 2014 to
derive the adjusted 2013 and 2014
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 9990
11813
commercial quotas and RHLs under
each alternative. Thus, the threshold
analyses for each alternative accounted
for overall reductions in fishing
opportunities due to RSA.
Specifications of RSA quota for 2013
and 2014 are expected to benefit all
participants in the fishery as a result of
improved data and information for
management or stock assessment
purposes.
Summary
The Council recommended
Alternative 1 for both 2013 and 2014,
over Alternatives 2 and 3, because it is
projected to achieve the target F in 2013
and 2014, respectively, while providing
the second least restrictive commercial
quota among the alternatives analyzed.
Alternative 2 was not recommended by
the Council because it would yield the
lowest commercial fishing opportunities
among the alternatives due to an
absence of a quota transfer under this
alternative. Alternative 3 was not
selected because it would be
inconsistent with the advice of the SSC
and the Monitoring Committee due to
failing to make an effort to prevent
overfishing.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 12, 2013.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,
performing the functions and duties of the
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013–03781 Filed 2–19–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\20FEP1.SGM
20FEP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11809-11813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03781]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 130104009-3099-01]
RIN 0648-XC432
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery; 2013-2014 Atlantic Bluefish Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed specifications; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications for the 2013 and 2014 Atlantic
bluefish fishery, including an annual catch limit, total allowable
landings, a commercial quota and recreational harvest limit, and a
recreational possession limit. The intent of this action is to
establish the allowable 2013 and 2014 harvest levels and other
management measures to achieve the target fishing mortality rate,
consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 7, 2013.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2013-0006,
by any one of the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal. Go to
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2013-0006, click the
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or
attach your comments.
Mail: Submit written comments to John Bullard, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Carly Bari.
Instructions: 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 by NMFS. 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.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publically accessible. 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, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
Copies of the specifications document, including the Environmental
Assessment and Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (EA/IRFA) and
other supporting documents for the specifications, are available from
Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 N. State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
The specifications document is also accessible via the Internet at:
https://www.nero.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carly Bari, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9224.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic bluefish fishery is managed cooperatively by the Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission). The management unit for
bluefish specified in the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan
(FMP) is U.S. waters of the western Atlantic Ocean. Regulations
implementing the FMP appear at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A and J. The
regulations requiring annual specifications are found at Sec. 648.162.
[[Page 11810]]
The FMP requires the Council to recommend, on an annual basis, the
annual catch limit (ACL), annual catch target (ACT), and total
allowable landings (TAL) that will control fishing mortality (F). An
estimate of annual discards is deducted from the ACT to calculate the
TAL that can be harvested during the year by the commercial and
recreational fishing sectors. The FMP requires that 17 percent of the
ACT be allocated to the commercial fishery, with the remaining 83
percent allocated to the recreational fishery. The Council may also
recommend a research set-aside (RSA) quota, which is deducted from the
bluefish TAL (after any applicable transfer) in an amount proportional
to the percentage of the overall TAL as allocated to the commercial and
recreational sectors.
The annual review process for bluefish requires that the Council's
Bluefish Monitoring Committee and Scientific and Statistical Committee
(SSC) review and make recommendations based on the best available
scientific information, including, but not limited to, commercial and
recreational catch/landing statistics, current estimates of fishing
mortality, stock abundance, discards for the recreational fishery, and
juvenile recruitment. Based on the recommendations of the Monitoring
Committee and SSC, the Council makes a recommendation to the NMFS
Northeast Regional Administrator. Because this FMP is a joint plan, the
Commission also meets during the annual specification process to adopt
complementary measures.
The Council's recommendations must include supporting documentation
concerning the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the
recommendations. NMFS is responsible for reviewing these
recommendations to ensure that they achieve the FMP objectives, and may
modify them if they do not. NMFS then publishes proposed specifications
in the Federal Register, and after considering public comment, NMFS
will publish final specifications in the Federal Register.
Proposed Specifications
Updated Model Estimates
According to Amendment 1 to the FMP, overfishing for bluefish
occurs when F exceeds the fishing mortality rate that allows maximum
sustainable yield (FMSY), or the maximum F threshold to be
achieved. The stock is considered overfished if the biomass (B) falls
below the minimum biomass threshold, which is defined as \1/2\
BMSY. Amendment 1 also established that the long-term target
F is 90 percent of FMSY (FMSY = 0.19; therefore
Ftarget = 90 percent of FMSY, or 0.17), and the
long-term target B is BMSY = 324 million lb (147,052 mt).
An age-structured assessment program (ASAP) model for bluefish was
approved by the 41st Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC 41) in
2005 to estimate F and annual biomass. In June 2012, the ASAP model was
updated in order to estimate the current status of the bluefish stock
(i.e., 2011 biomass and F estimates) and enable the Monitoring
Committee and SSC to recommend 2013 and 2014 specifications using
landings information and survey indices through the 2011 fishing year.
The results of the assessment update were as follows: (1) An estimated
stock biomass for 2011, B2011 = 292.972 million lb (132,890
mt); and (2) an estimated fishing mortality rate for 2011,
F2011 = 0.114. Based on the updated 2011 estimate of
bluefish stock biomass, the bluefish stock is not considered
overfished: B2011 is slightly less than BMSY, but
well above the minimum biomass threshold, \1/2\ BMSY, of 162
million lb (73,526 mt). Estimates of F have declined from 0.41 in 1991
to 0.114 in 2011. The updated model results also conclude that the
Atlantic bluefish stock is not experiencing overfishing; i.e., the most
recent F (F2011 = 0.114) is less than the maximum F
overfishing threshold specified by SARC 41 (FMSY = 0.19).
Bluefish was declared rebuilt in 2009.
2013 and 2014 Catch Limits
Following the framework implemented by the Council's ACL Omnibus
Amendment, the Council recommended that ACL be set to acceptable
biological catch (ABC) for 2013 (27.472 million lb, 12,461 mt) and for
2014 (27.057 million lb, 12,273 mt). No deductions were recommended to
account for management uncertainty; therefore, ABC=ACL=ACT for both
years. The ACT is initially allocated between the recreational fishery
(83 percent) and the commercial fishery (17 percent). After deducting
an estimate of recreational discards (commercial discards are
considered negligible), the recreational harvest limit (RHL) would be
19.190 million lb (8,704 mt) for 2013 and 18.846 million lb (8,548 mt)
for 2014 and the commercial quota would be 4.670 million lb (2,118 mt)
for 2013 and 4.60 million lb (2,087 mt) for 2014.
The FMP specifies that, if 17 percent of the TAL is less than 10.5
million lb, and the recreational fishery is not projected to land its
harvest limit for the upcoming year, the commercial fishery may be
allocated up to 10.5 million lb as its quota, provided that the
combination of the projected recreational landings and the commercial
quota does not exceed the TAL. The RHL would then be adjusted downward
so that the TAL would be unchanged.
The Council projected an estimated annual recreational harvest for
2013 and 2014 of 14.069 million lb (6,381 mt). As such, it is expected
that a transfer of up to 4.686 million lb (2,125 mt) for 2013 and 4.342
million lb (1,969 mt) for 2014 from the recreational sector to the
commercial sector could be approved. These options represent the
preferred alternatives recommended by the Council in its specifications
document. The actual transfer amount in the final rule, if any, will
depend on the final 2012 recreational landings data.
RSA
For 2013, the Council preliminarily approved two research projects
that would utilize bluefish RSA quota and forwarded them to NOAA's
Grants Management Division. The Council preliminarily approved 715,819
lb (325 mt) of RSA quota for use by these projects during 2013. For
2014, the Council preliminarily approved 703,385 lb (319 mt) of RSA
quota for future research projects. Proportional adjustments of these
amounts to the commercial and recreational allocations would result in
a final commercial quota of 9.076 million lb (4,117 mt) for 2013 and
8.674 million lb (3,934 mt) for 2014, and a final RHL of 14.069 million
lb (6,381 mt) for both 2013 and 2014. NMFS staff will update the
commercial and recreational allocations based on the final 2013 RSA
awards as part of the final rule for the 2013 specifications.
Proposed Recreational Possession Limit
The Council recommended, and NMFS proposes, to maintain the current
recreational possession limit of up to 15 fish per person to achieve
the RHL for both 2013 and 2014.
Proposed State Commercial Allocations
The proposed state commercial allocations for the recommended 2013
and 2014 commercial quota are shown in Table 1, based on the
percentages specified in the FMP. These quotas do not reflect any
adjustments for quota overages that may have occurred in some states in
2012. Any potential deductions for states that exceeded their quota in
2012 will be accounted for in the final rule.
[[Page 11811]]
Table 1--Proposed Bluefish Commercial State-by-State Allocations for 2013 and 2014 (Including RSA Deductions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013 Council- 2013 Council- 2014 Council- 2014 Council-
Percent proposed proposed proposed proposed
State share commercial commercial commercial commercial
quota (lb) quota (kg) quota (lb) quota (kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME............................... 0.6685 60,673 27,521 57,985 26,302
NH............................... 0.4145 37,620 17,064 35,953 16,308
MA............................... 6.7167 609,606 276,513 582,603 264,264
RI............................... 6.8081 617,902 280,276 590,531 267,860
CT............................... 1.2663 114,929 52,131 109,838 49,822
NY............................... 10.3851 942,549 427,533 900,797 408,595
NJ............................... 14.8162 1,344,715 609,953 1,285,148 582,933
DE............................... 1.8782 170,465 77,322 162,914 73,897
MD............................... 3.0018 272,443 123,578 260,374 118,104
VA............................... 11.8795 1,078,181 489,055 1,030,421 467,391
NC............................... 32.0608 2,909,831 1,319,878 2,780,935 1,261,411
SC............................... 0.0352 3,195 1,449 3,053 1,385
GA............................... 0.0095 862 391 824 374
FL............................... 10.0597 913,016 414,137 872,572 395,792
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total........................ 100.0001 9,075,976 4,116,795 8,673,941 3,934,435
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish FMP, other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further
consideration after public comment.
These proposed specifications are exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866.
An IRFA was prepared, as required by section 603 of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act (RFA), which describes the economic impact this
proposed rule, if adopted, would have on small entities. A description
of the action, why it is being considered, and the legal basis for this
action are contained at the beginning of this preamble and in the
SUMMARY. A summary of the analysis follows. A copy of this analysis is
available from the Council (see ADDRESSES).
Small businesses operating in commercial and recreational (i.e.,
party and charter vessel operations) fisheries have been defined by the
Small Business Administration as firms with gross revenues of up to
$4.0 and $6.5 million, respectively. The categories of small entities
likely to be affected by this action include commercial and charter/
party vessel owners holding an active Federal permit for Atlantic
bluefish, as well as owners of vessels that fish for Atlantic bluefish
in state waters. All federally permitted vessels fall into the
definition of small businesses; thus, there would be no
disproportionate impacts between large and small entities as a result
of the proposed rule.
An active participant in the commercial sector was defined as any
vessel that reported having landed 1 or more lb (0.45 kg) in the
Atlantic bluefish fishery in 2011 (the most recent year for which there
are complete data). The active participants in the commercial sector
were defined using two sets of data. The Northeast seafood dealer
reports were used to identify 742 vessels that landed bluefish in
states from Maine through North Carolina in 2011. However, the
Northeast dealer database does not provide information about fishery
participation in South Carolina, Georgia or Florida. South Atlantic
Trip Ticket reports were used to identify 768 vessels that landed
bluefish in North Carolina and 791 vessels that landed bluefish on
Florida's east coast in 2011.\1\ Bluefish landings in South Carolina
and Georgia were near zero in 2011, representing a negligible
proportion of the total bluefish landings along the Atlantic Coast.
Therefore, this analysis assumed that no vessel activity for these two
states took place in 2011. In recent years, approximately 2,000 party/
charter vessels may have been active in the bluefish fishery and/or
have caught bluefish.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Some of these vessels were also identified in the Northeast
dealer data; therefore, double counting is possible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are no new reporting or recordkeeping requirements contained
in any of the alternatives considered for this action. In addition,
NMFS is not aware of any relevant Federal rules that may duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with this proposed rule.
The IRFA in the Draft EA addressed three alternatives (including a
no action/status quo alternative) for the 2013 and 2014 Atlantic
bluefish fishing years. All quota alternatives considered in this
analysis are based on various commercial harvest levels for bluefish (a
low, medium, and high level of harvest). For analysis of impacts of
Alternatives 1 and 2 for both 2013 and 2014, the maximum potential RSA
quota of 3 percent of the TAL (715,819 lb (324 mt) for 2013 and 703,385
lb (319 mt) for 2014) was used. For analysis of impacts of Alternative
3 for both years, the status quo RSA quota of 491,672 lb (223 mt) was
used. For analysis of impacts of Alternative 1 for 2013, the
recommended transfer of 4.686 million lb (2,125 mt) from the
recreational sector to the commercial sector were used. Alternative 1
for 2014, the recommended transfer of 4.342 million lb (1,969 mt) was
used. For analysis of impacts of Alternative 3 for 2013 and 2014, the
transfer of 5.052 million lb (2,291 mt) from the recreational sector to
the commercial sector was used, which is the same as the 2012 transfer
amount. Under Alternative 2 for both 2013 and 2014, no transfer of
bluefish would be made from the recreational sector to the commercial
sector, and the allocation of the TAL would be based strictly on the
percentages specified in the FMP (17 percent commercial, 83 percent
recreational).
For 2013, Alternatives 1 and 2 would implement a TAL of 23.861
million lb (10,823 mt). For 2014, Alternatives 1 and 2 would implement
a TAL of 23.446 million lb (10,635 mt). Alternative 3, for 2013 and
2014, would implement status quo management measures for both
[[Page 11812]]
years, which would result in a TAL identical to the 2012 TAL, or 28.267
million lb (12,822 mt). The proposed 2013 and 2014 Atlantic bluefish
specification alternatives are shown in Table 2, along with the
resulting commercial quota and RHL after any applicable transfer
described earlier in the preamble and after deduction of the RSA quota.
Alternative 1 (Council's preferred) would allocate 9.076 million lb
(4,117 mt) for 2013 and 8.674 million lb (3,934 mt) for 2014 to the
commercial sector, and 14.096 million lb (6,381 mt) to the recreational
sector for both 2013 and 2014. For 2013, Alternative 2 would result in
the most restrictive commercial quota and would allocate 4.530 million
lb (2,055 mt) to the commercial sector and leave 18.615 million lb
(8,444 mt) available to the recreational sector. For 2014, Alternative
2 would also result in the most restrictive commercial quota and would
allocate 4.462 million lb (2,024 mt) to the commercial sector and leave
18.281 million lb (8,292 mt) available to the recreational sector. For
both 2013 and 2014, Alternative 3 (status quo) would allocate 10.317
million lb (4,680 mt) to the commercial sector and 17.457 million lb
(7,918 mt) to the recreational sector. This alternative would also
implement the status quo RSA level, which is currently approved for
491,672 lb (223 mt).
Table 2--Proposed 2013 and 2014 Atlantic Bluefish Specification Alternatives for TAL, Commercial Quota, and RHL
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial
Year Alternatives TAL (million TAL quota Commercial RHL (million RHL
lb) (mt) (million lb) quota (mt) lb) (mt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013....... Alternative 1.... 23.861 10,823 9.076 4,117 14.096 6,381
Alternative 2.... 23.861 10,823 4.530 2,044 18.615 8,444
Alternative 3.... 28.267 12,822 10.317 4,680 17.457 7,918
2014....... Alternative 1.... 23.446 10,635 8.674 3,934 14.096 6,381
Alternative 2.... 23.446 10,635 4.462 2,024 18.281 8,292
Alternative 3.... 28.267 12,822 10.317 4,680 17.457 7,918
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commercial Fishery Impacts
To assess the impact of the alternatives on commercial fisheries,
the Council conducted a threshold analysis and analysis of potential
changes in ex-vessel gross revenue that would result from each
alternative, using Northeast dealer reports and South Atlantic Trip
Ticket reports.
Under Alternative 1, the recommended commercial quota for 2013 is
approximately 79 percent higher than 2011 commercial landings. When
this commercial quota is distributed to the states from Maine to
Florida (based on the percentages specified in the FMP), except for New
York, each state's 2013 quota is higher than its 2011 landings. For New
York, 2013 commercial landings would be constrained by the 2013
commercial quota under Alternative 1. The threshold analysis projected
that 147 vessels could incur revenue losses of less than 5 percent and
9 vessels could incur revenue losses of 5 percent or more. Of the
vessels likely to be impacted with revenue reductions of 5 percent or
more, 22 percent had gross sales of $1,000 or less and 44 percent had
gross sales of $10,000 or less, which may indicate that the dependence
on fishing for some of these vessels is small. If commercial quota is
transferred from a state or states that do not land their entire
bluefish quota for 2013, as was done in 2011 and frequently in previous
years, the number of affected entities could change, thus changing the
adverse economic impact on vessels landing in the state(s) receiving
quota transfers.
For 2013, Alternative 2 would result in a commercial quota 11
percent below the 2011 commercial landings. Although the overall
commercial quota is lower than 2011 commercial landings, except for
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina,
each state's 2013 quota is higher than its 2011 landings. For these
states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and North
Carolina), 2013 commercial landings would be constrained by the 2013
commercial quota under Alternative 2. The threshold analysis projected
that 596 vessels could incur revenue losses of less than 5 percent and
67 vessels could incur revenue losses of 5 percent or more. Of the
vessels likely to be impacted with revenue reductions of 5 percent or
more, 19 percent had gross sales of $1,000 or less and 55 percent had
gross sales of $10,000 or less, which may indicate that the dependence
on fishing for some of these vessels is small.
Under Alternative 3, the 2013 commercial quota is approximately 103
percent higher than the 2011 commercial landings. Most states show a
similar increase in fishing opportunities under this alternative;
however, New York's 2013 commercial quota would be lower than its 2011
commercial landings. Analysis of Alternative 3 concluded that 586
vessels would likely have no change in revenue relative to 2011, 154
vessels were projected to incur revenue losses of less than 5 percent,
and 2 vessels were projected to incur revenue loss of 5 percent or
more.
Under Alternative 1, the recommended commercial quota for 2014 is
approximately 71 percent higher than 2011 commercial landings. When
this commercial quota is distributed to the states from Maine to
Florida (based on the percentages specified in the FMP), except for New
York, each state's 2014 quota is higher than its 2011 landings. For New
York, 2014 commercial landings would be constrained by the 2014
commercial quota under Alternative 1. The threshold analysis projected
that 147 vessels could incur revenue losses of less than 5 percent and
13 vessels could incur revenue losses of 5 percent or more. Of the
vessels likely to be impacted with revenue reductions of 5 percent or
more, 22 percent had gross sales of $1,000 or less and 56 percent had
gross sales of $10,000 or less, which may indicate that the dependence
on fishing for some of these vessels is small. If commercial quota is
transferred from a state or states that do not land their entire
bluefish quota for 2014, as was done in 2011 and frequently in previous
years, the number of affected entities could change, thus changing the
adverse economic impact on vessels landing in the state(s) receiving
quota transfers.
For 2014, Alternative 2 would result in a commercial quota 12
percent below the 2011 commercial landings. Although the overall
commercial quota is lower than 2011 commercial landings,
[[Page 11813]]
except for Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and North
Carolina, each state's 2014 quota is higher than its 2011 landings. For
these states (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, and
North Carolina), 2014 commercial landings would be constrained by the
2014 commercial quota under Alternative 2. The threshold analysis
projected that 594 vessels could incur revenue losses of less than 5
percent and 69 vessels could incur revenue losses of 5 percent or more.
It is expected that the description of the impacted vessels under non-
preferred Alternative 2 for 2013 would also apply to this alternative.
The commercial impacts under Alternative 3 for 2014 would be
identical to the impacts described in Alternative 3 for 2013.
Recreational Fishery Impacts
In Alternative 1 for 2013, the recommended RHL for the recreational
sector (14.096 million lb, 6,381 mt) is approximately 22 percent above
the recreational landings for 2011 (11.499 million lb, 5,216 mt) and 21
percent below the RHL implemented for 2012 (17.457 million lb, 7,919
mt). It is not anticipated that the recommend RHL will result in
decreased demand for party/charter boat trips or affect angler
participation in a negative manner. At the present time, there are
neither behavioral or demand data available to estimate how sensitive
party/charter boat anglers might be to proposed fishing regulations.
However, given the level of the adjusted recreational harvest limit for
2013 and 2014 and recreational landings in recent years, it is likely
that given the proposed recreational harvest limits under all
alternatives evaluated, the demand for party/charter boat trips may not
be negatively impacted. Overall, it is not expected that the final
recreational management measures will affect gross revenues of
businesses providing goods and services to anglers participating in the
party/charter boat, private/rental boat, and shore fisheries for
bluefish. For 2013, the impacts under Alternative 2 and 3 are expected
to be similar to the recreational impacts under Alternative 1. The IRFA
analyzed the maximum transfer amount from the recreational sector to
the commercial sector, but future updates of recreational harvest
projections could result in a smaller transfer amount, resulting in a
higher RHL.
The 2013 RHL under Alternative 2 would be 62 percent higher than
the recreational landings in 2011 and 7 percent higher than the 2012
RHL. Under Alternative 3, the 2013 RHL would be 52 percent higher than
2011 recreational landings and the same as the 2012 RHL. Thus,
Alternatives 2 and 3 are not expected to have any negative effects on
recreational fishermen or the demand for party/charter boat trips. In
addition, neither of these alternatives are expected to result in
recreational landings in excess of the RHL.
The recreational impacts for the 2014 alternatives are the same as
those for the respective alternatives for 2013.
RSA Quota Impacts
For analysis of each alternative, the maximum RSA quota amount (3
percent of the TAL) was deducted from the initial overall TAL for 2013
and 2014 to derive the adjusted 2013 and 2014 commercial quotas and
RHLs under each alternative. Thus, the threshold analyses for each
alternative accounted for overall reductions in fishing opportunities
due to RSA. Specifications of RSA quota for 2013 and 2014 are expected
to benefit all participants in the fishery as a result of improved data
and information for management or stock assessment purposes.
Summary
The Council recommended Alternative 1 for both 2013 and 2014, over
Alternatives 2 and 3, because it is projected to achieve the target F
in 2013 and 2014, respectively, while providing the second least
restrictive commercial quota among the alternatives analyzed.
Alternative 2 was not recommended by the Council because it would yield
the lowest commercial fishing opportunities among the alternatives due
to an absence of a quota transfer under this alternative. Alternative 3
was not selected because it would be inconsistent with the advice of
the SSC and the Monitoring Committee due to failing to make an effort
to prevent overfishing.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 12, 2013.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, performing the functions and
duties of the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-03781 Filed 2-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
