Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Adjustments to 2016 Annual Catch Limits, 12420-12422 [2016-05250]
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12420
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 9, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
merely reassigns the role of NASA
suspending and debarring official from
the Assistant Administrator for
Procurement to the Deputy General
Counsel. This change affects only the
internal operating procedures of the
Government.
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
48 CFR Parts 1809 and 1852
RIN 2700–AE26
NASA FAR Supplement: NASA
Suspending and Debarring Official
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) is issuing
a final rule to amend the NASA FAR
Supplement (NFS) to change the role of
NASA suspending and debarring official
from the Assistant Administrator for
Procurement to the Deputy General
Counsel and to make other editorial
changes.
SUMMARY:
DATES:
Effective: April 8, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Manuel Quinones, NASA, Office of
Procurement, telephone (202) 358–2143.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Counsel is the ‘‘debarring official,’’ the
‘‘suspending official,’’ and the agency
head’s ‘‘designee.’’
III. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and
13563 direct agencies to assess all costs
and benefits of available regulatory
alternatives and, if regulation is
necessary, to select regulatory
approaches that maximize net benefits
(including potential economic,
environmental, public health, and safety
effects, distributive impacts, and
equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the
importance of quantifying both costs
and benefits, of reducing costs, of
harmonizing rules, and of promoting
flexibility. This is not a significant
regulatory action and, therefore, was not
subject to review under section 6(b) of
E.O. 12866, Regulatory Planning and
Review, dated September 30, 1993. This
rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C.
804.
■
IV. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act does
not apply to this rule because this final
rule does not constitute a significant
NFS revision within the meaning of
FAR 1.501–1 and 41 U.S.C. 1707 does
not require publication for public
comment.
II. Publication of This Final Rule for
Public Comment Is Not Required by
Statute
Lhorne on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
NASA has not published a proposed
rule in the Federal Register to reassign
the role of NASA Suspending and
Debarring Official (SDO) from the NASA
Assistant Administrator for
Procurement to the NASA Deputy
General Counsel at NFS 1809.403,
because this change affects only the
internal operating procedures of the
Government and has no significant cost
or administrative or cost impact on
contractors or offerors.
Additionally, section 1852.223–73 is
revised to correct a typographical error
by redesignating paragraph (d) as (c). No
other changes to the clause are made.
List of Subjects in 48 CFR 1809 and
1852
Government procurement.
Publication of proposed regulations,
41 U.S.C. 1707, is the statute which
applies to the publication of the Federal
Acquisition Regulation. Paragraph (a)(1)
of the statute requires that a
procurement policy, regulation,
procedure or form (including an
amendment or modification thereof)
must be published for public comment
if it relates to the expenditure of
appropriated funds, and has either a
significant effect beyond the internal
operating procedures of the agency
issuing the policy, regulation, procedure
or form, or has a significant cost or
administrative impact on contractors or
offerors. This final rule is not required
to be published for public comment,
because the revision to section 1809.403
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14:06 Mar 08, 2016
Jkt 238001
V. Paperwork Reduction Act
The rule does not contain any
information collection requirements that
require the approval of the Office of
Management and Budget under the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35).
Manuel Quinones,
NASA FAR Supplement Manager.
Accordingly, 48 CFR parts 1809 and
1852 are amended as follows:
PART 1809—CONTRACTOR
QUALIFICATIONS
1. The authority citation for part 1809
is revised to read as follows:
■
Authority: 51 U.S.C. 20113(a) and 48 CFR
chapter 1.
2. Revise section 1809.403 to read as
follows:
■
1809.403
Definitions.
For purposes of FAR subpart 9.4 and
this subpart, the Deputy General
PO 00000
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Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
PART 1852—SOLICITATION
PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT
CLAUSES
3. The authority citation for part 1852
is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 51 U.S.C. 20113(a) and 48 CFR
chapter 1.
1852.223–73
[Amended]
4. Amend section 1852.223–73 by
redesignating paragraph (d) as (c).
■
[FR Doc. 2016–05231 Filed 3–8–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7510–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 151223999–6135–01]
RIN 0648–XE379
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Herring Fishery;
Adjustments to 2016 Annual Catch
Limits
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary final rule;
adjustment of specifications.
AGENCY:
This action adjusts initial
2016 annual catch limits for the Atlantic
herring fishery to account for the underharvest and overages of fishing year
2014 sub-annual catch limits. The 2015
specifications will remain in place after
December 31, 2015, until NMFS sets
new specifications through a 2016–2018
fishery specifications final rule, which
NMFS expects to publish in the spring
of 2016. In accordance with the
regulations implementing the Atlantic
Herring Fishery Management Plan, this
action uses final herring catch data from
2014 for determining what underharvest and overages occurred in fishing
year 2014, and adjusts the initial 2016
annual catch limits for the four
management areas (Areas 1A, 1B, 2, and
3). In addition, this action adjusts the
initial 2016 stock-wide annual catch
limit to account for any management
area overages incurred in 2014. In order
to ensure that carryover pounds do not
cause overfishing of the herring
resource, area-specific carryover does
not increase the initial stock-wide catch
SUMMARY:
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09MRR1
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 9, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
allocation. This action is necessary to
ensure that NMFS accounts for herring
catch consistent with the requirements
of the Atlantic Herring Fishery
Management Plan.
DATES: Effective March 9, 2016, through
December 31, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting
documents, including the 2013–2015
Specifications/Framework 2 to the
Atlantic Herring Fishery Management
Plan (FMP), are available from the
Sustainable Fisheries Division, Greater
Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930, telephone (978) 281–9315, or
online at: https://
www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/
sustainable/species/atlherring/
index.html
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emily Gilbert, Fishery Policy Analyst,
978–281–9244, fax 978–281–9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic herring harvest in the
United States is managed under the
FMP developed by the New England
Fishery Management Council (Council).
The FMP divides the stock-wide herring
annual catch limit (ACL) among three
management areas, one of which has
two sub-areas. It divides Area 1 (located
in the Gulf of Maine (GOM)) into an
inshore section (Area 1A) and an
offshore section (Area 1B). Area 2 is
located in the coastal waters between
Massachusetts and North Carolina, and
Area 3 is on Georges Bank (GB). The
FMP considers the herring stock
complex to be a single stock, but there
are inshore (GOM) and offshore (GB)
stock components. The GOM and GB
stock components segregate during
spawning and mix during feeding and
migration. Each management area has
its own sub-ACL to allow greater control
of the fishing mortality on each stock
component.
NMFS issued a final rule that
implemented Amendment 4 to the FMP
(76 FR 11373, March 2, 2011) to address
ACL and accountability measure (AM)
requirements. As a way to account for
ACL overages in the herring fishery,
Amendment 4 established an AM that
provided if the catch of herring exceeds
any ACL or sub-ACL, NMFS
subsequently deducts the overage from
the corresponding ACL/sub-ACL in the
year following the catch overage
determination. Amendment 4 also
12421
specified that NMFS will announce
overage deductions in the Federal
Register prior to the start of the fishing
year, if possible.
We also published a final rule
implementing Framework 2 to the FMP
and the 2013–15 specifications for the
herring fishery on October 4, 2013 (78
FR 61828). Among other measures,
Framework 2 allows for the carryover of
unharvested catch in the year
immediately following the catch
determination. Up to 10 percent of each
sub-ACL may be carried over, provided
the stock-wide catch did not exceed the
stock-wide ACL. The carryover
provision allows a sub-ACL increase for
a management area, but it does not
allow a corresponding increase to the
stock-wide ACL.
NMFS was unable to set final 2016
catch limits for the herring fishery by
the January 1, 2016, start of the fishing
year. As a result, the 2015 specifications
will remain in place until NMFS
implements specifications for the 2016–
2018 herring fishing years, likely the
spring of 2016. Table 1 outlines the
2015 herring catch allocations,
including deductions for research setaside, which are currently in place for
the 2016 fishing year.
TABLE 1—2015 HERRING SUB-ACLS (mt) EFFECTIVE AT THE START OF 2016
2015
sub-ACLs
Area
Area
Area
Area
Research set-aside
(3 percent of sub-ACLs)
2015 adjusted
sub-ACL
1A .........................................................................
1B .........................................................................
2 ...........................................................................
3 ...........................................................................
31,200
4,600
30,000
42,000
936 ................................................................................
138 ................................................................................
900 ................................................................................
1,260 .............................................................................
30,264
4,462
29,100
40,740
Stock-wide .............................................................
107,800
3,234 (total of all sub-ACL set-asides) .........................
104,566
Provisions Implemented Through This
Final Rule
Lhorne on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
After completing the 2014 catch
determination in December 2015, NMFS
determined that in 2014 the herring
fishery overharvested the sub-ACL in
herring management Area 1B, but
caught less than its allocated catch in
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14:06 Mar 08, 2016
Jkt 238001
the three remaining herring
management areas (Areas 1A, 2, and 3).
As a result, this action deducts the
overage amount from the 2016 herring
catch limit in herring management Area
1B and adds unharvested 2014 catch to
the 2016 herring catch limits for the
remaining three areas. This carryover
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Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
equals to the amount of each area’s
underages (or up to ten percent of the
allocated 2014 sub-annual catch limit,
whichever is less) for herring
management Areas 1A, 2, and 3. Table
2 provides the harvest details for 2014
and initial adjustments for 2016 herring
catch limits.
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 46 / Wednesday, March 9, 2016 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 2—HERRING SUB-ACLS, CATCH, AND CARRYOVER (mt)
2014
sub-ACLs
Area
Area
Area
Area
Underage or
overage
2014 catch
Carryover
(max 10 percent of 2014
sub-ACLs *) or
overage
deduction
2015 adjusted
sub-ACLs
(from Table 1)
Initial 2016
sub-ACLs
adjusted for
carryover or
overage
1A ....................................................
1B ....................................................
2 ......................................................
3 ......................................................
33,031
2,878
28,764
39,415
32,898
4,399
19,626
36,323
133
¥1,521
9,138
3,092
133
¥1,521
3,000
3,092
30,264
4,462
29,100
40,740
30,397
2,941
32,100
43,832
Stock-wide ........................................
104,088
93,247
10,841
NA
104,566
** 103,045
* Maximum carryover, where applicable, is based on 10 percent of initial 2014 ACLs: Area 1A, 31,200 mt; Area 1B, 4,600 mt; Area 2, 30,000
mt; and Area 3, 42,000 mt.
** Although the initial 2016 stock-wide ACL cannot be increased by carryover, it is deducted by the amount of overage in Area 1B.
Lhorne on DSK5TPTVN1PROD with RULES
NMFS calculated the amount of
herring landings in 2014 based on
dealer reports (Federal and state) of
herring purchases, supplemented by
vessel trip reports (VTRs) and vessel
monitoring system (VMS) reports
(Federal and State of Maine) of herring
landings. We generally use dealer
reports to estimate landings; however, if
the amount of herring reported via VTR
exceeded the amount of herring
reported by the dealer by 10 percent or
more, we assumed that the dealer report
for that trip was in error, and used the
VTR report instead. Landings were
assigned to individual herring
management areas using VMS reports,
or latitude and longitude coordinates
from VTR reports when a VMS report
was not available. We used recent
fishing activity to infer herring
management areas for records without a
corresponding VTR or VMS catch
report.
Herring discards were estimated by
extrapolating discards from herring trips
observed by the Northeast Fisheries
Observer Program to all herring trips
(observed and unobserved) according to
gear and herring management area.
Research Set-Aside herring catch was
deducted from total herring catch and
not counted towards the commercial
herring quota.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(MSA), the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this
final rule is consistent with the FMP,
other provisions of the MSA, and other
applicable law.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there
is good cause to waive prior notice and
an opportunity for public comment on
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:06 Mar 08, 2016
Jkt 238001
this action. Notice and comment are
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest because a delay would
potentially impair achievement of the
management plan’s objectives of
preventing overfishing and achieving
optimum yield due to vessels’ ability to
harvest available catch allocations.
Further, this is a nondiscretionary
action required by provisions of
Amendment 4 and Framework 2, which
were previously subject to public
comment. This action simply effectuates
this mandatory calculation. The
proposed and final rules for Framework
2 and Amendment 4 explained the need
and likelihood for adjustments to the
sub-ACLs based on final catch numbers.
Framework 2, specifically, provided
prior notice of the need to distribute
carryover catch. These actions provided
a full opportunity for the public to
comment on the substance and process
of this action.
Allowing for prior notice and public
comment on this adjustment is also
impracticable because the herring
fishing year already began on January 1,
2016. To prevent confusion and
potential overharvests, it will be in the
best interest of the fleet and the herring
resource to set the adjusted sub-ACLs as
soon as possible. Three areas are
currently closed and will open on either
May 1 (i.e., Management Areas 1B and
3) or June 1 (i.e., Management Area 1A).
Management Area 2 is already open and
subject to a lower catch limit until this
action is implemented. Putting in place
the adjusted initial sub-ACLs as soon as
possible will provide the fleet with this
opportunity to develop their business
plans in sufficient time to facilitate their
harvest of available catch.
There is good cause under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 9990
effective date and make the rule
effective upon publication in the
Federal Register. The 2016 herring
fishing year began on January 1, 2016.
To prevent confusion and potential
overharvests, it will be in the best
interest of the fleet and the herring
resource to have the adjusted sub-ACLs
in place as soon as possible. Due to
seasonal closures of Area 1A and 1B,
and closure of most of Area 3 because
of haddock catch, only Area 2 is open
and it is subject to a lower catch limit
until this action is implemented. Putting
in place the adjusted initial sub-ACLs as
soon as possible will provide the fleet
with this opportunity to develop their
business plans in sufficient time to
facilitate their harvest of available catch.
Accordingly, any delay in the rule’s
effectiveness would be contrary to the
conservation objectives of the MSA and
the FMP.
This action is required by 50 CFR part
648 subpart K and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
This final rule does not contain a
collection-of-information requirement
for purposes of the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
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.
Dated: March 2, 2016.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016–05250 Filed 3–8–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\09MRR1.SGM
09MRR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 9, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12420-12422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05250]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 151223999-6135-01]
RIN 0648-XE379
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring
Fishery; Adjustments to 2016 Annual Catch Limits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary final rule; adjustment of specifications.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This action adjusts initial 2016 annual catch limits for the
Atlantic herring fishery to account for the under-harvest and overages
of fishing year 2014 sub-annual catch limits. The 2015 specifications
will remain in place after December 31, 2015, until NMFS sets new
specifications through a 2016-2018 fishery specifications final rule,
which NMFS expects to publish in the spring of 2016. In accordance with
the regulations implementing the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management
Plan, this action uses final herring catch data from 2014 for
determining what under-harvest and overages occurred in fishing year
2014, and adjusts the initial 2016 annual catch limits for the four
management areas (Areas 1A, 1B, 2, and 3). In addition, this action
adjusts the initial 2016 stock-wide annual catch limit to account for
any management area overages incurred in 2014. In order to ensure that
carryover pounds do not cause overfishing of the herring resource,
area-specific carryover does not increase the initial stock-wide catch
[[Page 12421]]
allocation. This action is necessary to ensure that NMFS accounts for
herring catch consistent with the requirements of the Atlantic Herring
Fishery Management Plan.
DATES: Effective March 9, 2016, through December 31, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, including the 2013-2015
Specifications/Framework 2 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management
Plan (FMP), are available from the Sustainable Fisheries Division,
Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive,
Gloucester, MA 01930, telephone (978) 281-9315, or online at: https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/sustainable/species/atlherring/
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Gilbert, Fishery Policy Analyst,
978-281-9244, fax 978-281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic herring harvest in the United States is managed under
the FMP developed by the New England Fishery Management Council
(Council). The FMP divides the stock-wide herring annual catch limit
(ACL) among three management areas, one of which has two sub-areas. It
divides Area 1 (located in the Gulf of Maine (GOM)) into an inshore
section (Area 1A) and an offshore section (Area 1B). Area 2 is located
in the coastal waters between Massachusetts and North Carolina, and
Area 3 is on Georges Bank (GB). The FMP considers the herring stock
complex to be a single stock, but there are inshore (GOM) and offshore
(GB) stock components. The GOM and GB stock components segregate during
spawning and mix during feeding and migration. Each management area has
its own sub-ACL to allow greater control of the fishing mortality on
each stock component.
NMFS issued a final rule that implemented Amendment 4 to the FMP
(76 FR 11373, March 2, 2011) to address ACL and accountability measure
(AM) requirements. As a way to account for ACL overages in the herring
fishery, Amendment 4 established an AM that provided if the catch of
herring exceeds any ACL or sub-ACL, NMFS subsequently deducts the
overage from the corresponding ACL/sub-ACL in the year following the
catch overage determination. Amendment 4 also specified that NMFS will
announce overage deductions in the Federal Register prior to the start
of the fishing year, if possible.
We also published a final rule implementing Framework 2 to the FMP
and the 2013-15 specifications for the herring fishery on October 4,
2013 (78 FR 61828). Among other measures, Framework 2 allows for the
carryover of unharvested catch in the year immediately following the
catch determination. Up to 10 percent of each sub-ACL may be carried
over, provided the stock-wide catch did not exceed the stock-wide ACL.
The carryover provision allows a sub-ACL increase for a management
area, but it does not allow a corresponding increase to the stock-wide
ACL.
NMFS was unable to set final 2016 catch limits for the herring
fishery by the January 1, 2016, start of the fishing year. As a result,
the 2015 specifications will remain in place until NMFS implements
specifications for the 2016-2018 herring fishing years, likely the
spring of 2016. Table 1 outlines the 2015 herring catch allocations,
including deductions for research set-aside, which are currently in
place for the 2016 fishing year.
Table 1--2015 Herring Sub-ACLs (mt) Effective at the Start of 2016
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research set-aside (3 percent 2015 adjusted
2015 sub-ACLs of sub-ACLs) sub-ACL
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area 1A....................................... 31,200 936............................. 30,264
Area 1B....................................... 4,600 138............................. 4,462
Area 2........................................ 30,000 900............................. 29,100
Area 3........................................ 42,000 1,260........................... 40,740
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Stock-wide................................ 107,800 3,234 (total of all sub-ACL set- 104,566
asides).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Provisions Implemented Through This Final Rule
After completing the 2014 catch determination in December 2015,
NMFS determined that in 2014 the herring fishery overharvested the sub-
ACL in herring management Area 1B, but caught less than its allocated
catch in the three remaining herring management areas (Areas 1A, 2, and
3). As a result, this action deducts the overage amount from the 2016
herring catch limit in herring management Area 1B and adds unharvested
2014 catch to the 2016 herring catch limits for the remaining three
areas. This carryover equals to the amount of each area's underages (or
up to ten percent of the allocated 2014 sub-annual catch limit,
whichever is less) for herring management Areas 1A, 2, and 3. Table 2
provides the harvest details for 2014 and initial adjustments for 2016
herring catch limits.
[[Page 12422]]
Table 2--Herring Sub-ACLs, Catch, and Carryover (mt)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carryover (max Initial 2016
10 percent of 2015 adjusted sub-ACLs
2014 sub-ACLs 2014 catch Underage or 2014 sub-ACLs sub-ACLs (from adjusted for
overage *) or overage Table 1) carryover or
deduction overage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area 1A................................................. 33,031 32,898 133 133 30,264 30,397
Area 1B................................................. 2,878 4,399 -1,521 -1,521 4,462 2,941
Area 2.................................................. 28,764 19,626 9,138 3,000 29,100 32,100
Area 3.................................................. 39,415 36,323 3,092 3,092 40,740 43,832
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stock-wide.......................................... 104,088 93,247 10,841 NA 104,566 ** 103,045
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Maximum carryover, where applicable, is based on 10 percent of initial 2014 ACLs: Area 1A, 31,200 mt; Area 1B, 4,600 mt; Area 2, 30,000 mt; and Area
3, 42,000 mt.
** Although the initial 2016 stock-wide ACL cannot be increased by carryover, it is deducted by the amount of overage in Area 1B.
NMFS calculated the amount of herring landings in 2014 based on
dealer reports (Federal and state) of herring purchases, supplemented
by vessel trip reports (VTRs) and vessel monitoring system (VMS)
reports (Federal and State of Maine) of herring landings. We generally
use dealer reports to estimate landings; however, if the amount of
herring reported via VTR exceeded the amount of herring reported by the
dealer by 10 percent or more, we assumed that the dealer report for
that trip was in error, and used the VTR report instead. Landings were
assigned to individual herring management areas using VMS reports, or
latitude and longitude coordinates from VTR reports when a VMS report
was not available. We used recent fishing activity to infer herring
management areas for records without a corresponding VTR or VMS catch
report.
Herring discards were estimated by extrapolating discards from
herring trips observed by the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program to
all herring trips (observed and unobserved) according to gear and
herring management area. Research Set-Aside herring catch was deducted
from total herring catch and not counted towards the commercial herring
quota.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304 (b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the NMFS Assistant Administrator
has determined that this final rule is consistent with the FMP, other
provisions of the MSA, and other applicable law.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), there is good cause to waive prior
notice and an opportunity for public comment on this action. Notice and
comment are impracticable and contrary to the public interest because a
delay would potentially impair achievement of the management plan's
objectives of preventing overfishing and achieving optimum yield due to
vessels' ability to harvest available catch allocations. Further, this
is a nondiscretionary action required by provisions of Amendment 4 and
Framework 2, which were previously subject to public comment. This
action simply effectuates this mandatory calculation. The proposed and
final rules for Framework 2 and Amendment 4 explained the need and
likelihood for adjustments to the sub-ACLs based on final catch
numbers. Framework 2, specifically, provided prior notice of the need
to distribute carryover catch. These actions provided a full
opportunity for the public to comment on the substance and process of
this action.
Allowing for prior notice and public comment on this adjustment is
also impracticable because the herring fishing year already began on
January 1, 2016. To prevent confusion and potential overharvests, it
will be in the best interest of the fleet and the herring resource to
set the adjusted sub-ACLs as soon as possible. Three areas are
currently closed and will open on either May 1 (i.e., Management Areas
1B and 3) or June 1 (i.e., Management Area 1A). Management Area 2 is
already open and subject to a lower catch limit until this action is
implemented. Putting in place the adjusted initial sub-ACLs as soon as
possible will provide the fleet with this opportunity to develop their
business plans in sufficient time to facilitate their harvest of
available catch.
There is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day
delay in effective date and make the rule effective upon publication in
the Federal Register. The 2016 herring fishing year began on January 1,
2016. To prevent confusion and potential overharvests, it will be in
the best interest of the fleet and the herring resource to have the
adjusted sub-ACLs in place as soon as possible. Due to seasonal
closures of Area 1A and 1B, and closure of most of Area 3 because of
haddock catch, only Area 2 is open and it is subject to a lower catch
limit until this action is implemented. Putting in place the adjusted
initial sub-ACLs as soon as possible will provide the fleet with this
opportunity to develop their business plans in sufficient time to
facilitate their harvest of available catch. Accordingly, any delay in
the rule's effectiveness would be contrary to the conservation
objectives of the MSA and the FMP.
This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 subpart K and is exempt
from review under Executive Order 12866.
This final rule does not contain a collection-of-information
requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
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.
Dated: March 2, 2016.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-05250 Filed 3-8-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
