Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region; Framework Amendment 4, 36344-36348 [2017-16469]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 149 (Friday, August 4, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 36344-36348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-16469]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 161103999-7615-02]
RIN 0648-BG43


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic 
Region; Framework Amendment 4

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to implement management measures 
described in Framework Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for 
the Coastal Migratory Pelagics Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and 
Atlantic Region (FMP) as prepared and submitted by the South Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council (Council). For the recreational sector, this 
final rule establishes bag and vessel limits, and revises the minimum 
size limit and accountability measures (AMs) for Atlantic migratory 
group cobia (Atlantic cobia). This final rule also establishes a 
commercial trip limit for Atlantic cobia. Framework Amendment 4 and 
this final rule apply to the commercial and recreational harvest of 
Atlantic cobia in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from Georgia 
through New York. The purpose of Framework Amendment 4 and this final 
rule is to slow the rate of harvest of Atlantic cobia and reduce the 
likelihood that landings will exceed the commercial and recreational 
annual catch limits (ACL), thereby triggering the AMs and reducing 
harvest opportunities.

DATES: This final rule is effective September 5, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of Framework Amendment 4 may be obtained 
from the Southeast Regional Office Web site at https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_sa/cmp/2016/framework_am4/. Framework Amendment 4 includes an 
environmental assessment, a Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis, 
and a regulatory impact review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karla Gore, Southeast Regional Office, 
NMFS, telephone: 727-551-5753, or email: karla.gore@noaa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The coastal migratory pelagic fishery of the 
Gulf and Atlantic Regions is managed under the FMP and includes the 
management of the Gulf and Atlantic migratory groups of king mackerel, 
Spanish mackerel, and cobia. The FMP was prepared by the Council and is 
implemented through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under authority of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act).
    On February 21, 2017, NMFS published a proposed rule to implement 
Framework Amendment 4 and requested public comment (82 FR 11166).
    The AM for the recreational sector requires that if the 
recreational annual catch limit (ACL) is exceeded, and the stock ACL 
(recreational ACL plus commercial ACL) is exceeded, the recreational AM 
is triggered. To determine whether an ACL was exceeded, the FMP 
requires that a 3-year average of landings be compared to the ACL 
unless an ACL changed, in which case the sequence of future ACLs begins 
again starting with a single year of landings compared to the ACL for 
that year, followed by 2-year average landings compared to the ACL in 
the next year, followed by a 3-year average of landings ACL for the 
third year and thereafter. Because Amendment 20B to the FMP changed the 
Atlantic cobia ACLs beginning in 2015 (80 FR 4216, January 27, 2015), 
NMFS could only use the 2015 landings to determine whether the 
recreational and stock ACLs were exceeded such that the AM was 
triggered for the 2016 fishing year. In 2015, recreational landings for 
Atlantic cobia exceeded the 2015 recreational ACL and the stock ACL, 
and the recreational AM required that the 2016 recreational season for 
Atlantic cobia in Federal waters close on June 20, 2016 (81 FR 12601, 
March 10, 2016).
    For the 2017 fishing year, the FMP required recreational landings 
to be averaged for the 2015 and 2016 fishing years, and the average of 
those landings exceeded the 2016 recreational ACL and the 2016 stock 
ACL. Therefore, the recreational AM was triggered, requiring that the 
2017 recreational season for Atlantic cobia in Federal waters again 
close early in the fishing year on January 24, 2017 (82 FR 8363, 
January 25, 2017).
    These recreational closures likely had negative social and economic 
impacts on the recreational sector, including recreational anglers, 
charter vessels and headboat (for-hire) businesses.
    The following actions in Framework Amendment 4 and this final rule 
are intended to slow the rate of harvest of Atlantic cobia and reduce 
the likelihood that sector landings will exceed the sector and stock 
ACLs, thereby triggering the AMs and reducing harvest opportunities. 
The goal is to also provide equitable access for all participants in 
the Atlantic cobia component of the coastal migratory pelagics fishery.

Management Measures Contained in This Final Rule

    For the recreational sector, this final rule establishes bag and 
vessel limits, and revises the minimum size limit and AMs for Atlantic 
cobia. This final rule also establishes a commercial trip limit for 
Atlantic cobia. As a result of the recreational bag and possession 
limits and the commercial trip limit, Atlantic migratory cobia will no 
longer be subject to the two fish per person per day possession limit 
for limited harvest species.

Recreational Minimum Size Limit

    The current minimum size limit for the recreational harvest of 
Atlantic cobia in the EEZ is 33 inches (83.8 cm), fork length. This 
final rule increases the recreational minimum size limit for the 
Atlantic cobia recreational sector to 36 inches (91.4 cm), fork length. 
This modification will result in a recreational harvest reduction in 
the Atlantic, that in combination with the recreational bag and vessel 
limits, is expected to slow the rate of recreational harvest and 
thereby reduce the likelihood of exceeding the recreational and stock 
ACLs and thereby triggering the AM.

Recreational Bag and Vessel Limits

    Atlantic cobia is currently a limited harvest species with a 
possession limit of two cobia per person per day for both the 
commercial and recreational sectors. This final rule would remove 
Atlantic cobia from the limited harvest species possession limit and 
would establish a recreational bag limit of one fish per person per day 
or six fish per vessel, whichever is more restrictive.

[[Page 36345]]

Recreational AMs

    This final rule would enhance the recreational AMs for Atlantic 
cobia. Currently, if recreational landings of Atlantic cobia exceed the 
recreational ACL and the sum of the commercial and recreational 
landings of cobia exceed the stock ACL, then during the following 
fishing year, the length of the recreational fishing season will be 
reduced to ensure that the harvest achieves the recreational ACT, but 
does not exceed the recreational ACL. The current recreational AM uses 
a moving average of the most recent 3 years of landings to compare to 
the recreational ACL. Finally, if Atlantic cobia are overfished, and 
the stock ACL is exceeded, then during the following fishing year the 
recreational ACL and ACT would be reduced by the amount of any 
recreational ACL overage.
    The recreational AM in this final rule requires that if the 
recreational ACL and the stock ACL are exceeded, then during the 
following fishing year recreational landings will be monitored for a 
persistence in increased landings. Further, if necessary to prevent 
landings from exceeding the recreational ACL during the next fishing 
year, and based on the best scientific information available, the 
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), will file a 
notification with the Office of the Federal Register to reduce the 
recreational vessel limit, to no less than two fish per vessel. NMFS 
notes that the recreational bag limit implemented through this final 
rule of one cobia per person would still apply during any reduction of 
the recreational vessel limit. Any reduction to the recreational vessel 
limit would only apply for the fishing year in which it is implemented. 
In addition, the AM requires that if the reduction to the vessel limit 
is insufficient to ensure that recreational landings will not exceed 
the recreational ACL, then the length of the recreational fishing 
season would be reduced to ensure that recreational landings do not 
exceed the recreational ACL in that fishing year. This AM is intended 
to help prevent recreational landings from exceeding the recreational 
ACL in that fishing year.
    The recreational vessel limit and the length of the recreational 
fishing season would not be reduced if NMFS determines, based on the 
best scientific information available, that a recreational vessel limit 
and fishing season reduction are unnecessary to prevent landings from 
exceeding the recreational ACL. The Council determined that first 
reducing the vessel limit to no less than two fish per vessel, prior to 
any reduction in or closure of the recreational sector, was a 
preferable first step in the AM rather than first reducing the length 
of the recreational season, because they determined that greater 
negative socio-economic impacts result from a reduced season.
    Also, this final rule will change the AM to compare the 
recreational ACL with the most recent single year of landings instead 
of a moving average of the most recent 3 years that was established in 
Amendment 18 to the FMP (76 FR 82058, December 29, 2011). The Council 
selected a comparison of 3-year average of landings to the recreational 
ACL as their preferred alternative in Amendment 18 because they decided 
that it would ensure that the amount of the previous year's total ACL 
overage would be accounted for in the subsequent year's AM protection 
with a reduced season, and thus would be biologically beneficial. 
However, the Council has reevaluated the use of a 3-year average in 
Framework Amendment 4, as well as in recent amendments to the FMP for 
the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Snapper-
Grouper FMP). The Council has determined that when using the 
methodology established through Amendment 18, an exceptionally high and 
unusual spike in landings incorporated into a 3-year running average 
could penalize anglers for the next several years whenever there is an 
evaluation of an ACL overage. Conversely, incorporating a year of 
abnormally low recreational landings into the 3-year average could 
result in an AM not being triggered when high landings are encountered 
in subsequent years, which could have negative biological effects on 
the stock. The revised AMs implemented here will reduce the likelihood 
of those longer term adverse effects.
    Furthermore, the Council is taking action through Framework 
Amendment 4 to enhance the recreational AM by considering both a 
reduction in the vessel limit and the recreational season length, if 
needed, to prevent recreational landings from exceeding the 
recreational ACL in that fishing year, instead of only reducing the 
length of the fishing season. Thus, the revised recreational AM 
provides additional measures to reduce the risk of exceeding the 
recreational ACL while providing opportunities to extend the 
recreational fishing season. Using the most recent year of landings for 
the cobia AM is expected to result in a more timely and accurate 
representation of recreational landings and therefore, respond to the 
best scientific information available.

Commercial Trip Limit

    Currently, no specific commercial trip limit applies to Atlantic 
cobia. However, Atlantic cobia is currently a limited harvest species 
subject to a possession limit of two cobia per person per day for both 
the commercial and recreational sectors. This final rule will remove 
Atlantic cobia from the limited harvest species possession limit and 
establish a commercial trip limit for Atlantic cobia of two fish per 
person per day or six fish per vessel per day, whichever is more 
restrictive.
    Establishing a commercial trip limit with a maximum vessel limit 
will reduce the rate of harvest of cobia and increase the likelihood 
that the commercial and stock ACLs are not exceeded and the AMs are not 
triggered, resulting in a reduced season length or reduced vessel limit 
for the recreational sector and a commercial closure as a result of 
exceeding the commercial quota.

Comments and Responses

    NMFS received a total of 133 comments on the proposed rule to 
implement Framework Amendment 4. The commenters included commercial, 
private recreational, and charter vessel fishing entities, 
representatives of fishing associations, and individuals from the 
general public. Several comments were in support of the measures in 
Framework Amendment 4 but some comments opposed at least one of the 
management measures. Most comments received were outside the scope of 
this amendment, including requests to modify the management boundary 
for Atlantic cobia, to transfer management of cobia to the states, and 
to reopen the Atlantic cobia recreational sector in Federal waters 
during 2017. Because those comments are outside of the scope of the 
actions considered in Framework Amendment 4 and the proposed rule, NMFS 
is not providing responses to those comments in this final rule. Many 
commenters raised the same issues, and NMFS responds to those 
collectively below, having identified seven distinct issues raised in 
the comments specific to Framework Amendment 4 and its proposed rule. 
These seven specific comments and NMFS' respective responses are 
summarized below.
    Comment 1: Several commenters recommended combinations of 
recreational minimum size limits and harvest limits that were different 
than the Council's preferred alternatives. The recommendations included 
retaining the recreational minimum size limit at 33 inches (83.8 cm), 
fork length, but

[[Page 36346]]

decreasing the recreational bag limit to no more than one fish per 
person or four per vessel; increasing the minimum size limit to 36 
inches (91.4 cm), total length, to reduce stress on the fish when 
trying to determine the fork length; increasing the minimum size limit 
to 40 inches (101.6 cm) but reducing recreational vessel limit to four 
fish per vessel; increasing the minimum size limit to 55 inches (139.7 
cm) to protect spawning cobia; and creating upper and lower size limits 
(slot limit) to protect spawning females.
    Response: The Council evaluated alternatives for recreational 
minimum size limits and bag and vessel limits and considered public 
comments before choosing their preferred alternatives. The Council 
selected a minimum size limit of 36 inches (91.4 cm), fork length, 
because it closely aligned with the minimum size limits in effect in 
the state waters off North Carolina and Virginia, the states that 
account for the majority of Atlantic cobia landings and provides 
increased consistency in the regulations to aid law enforcement and 
avoid confusion among the public. Also, a size limit greater than 36 
inches (91.4 cm) would remove only larger fish, which are most likely 
female, and that could have an impact on cobia spawning. The Council 
acknowledged that the recreational sector, particularly charter vessels 
and headboats, would be negatively affected by vessel limits which 
could preclude multiple paying passengers on board unable to keep a 
desired fish. The Council's selection of a recreational vessel limit of 
six cobia per vessel per day or a reduced bag limit of one cobia per 
person per day, whichever is more restrictive, balances the benefits to 
the cobia stock with the adverse impacts to the recreational sector. 
Ultimately, the Council determined that a vessel limit and a minimum 
size limit of 36 inches (91.4 cm), fork length, best meet the 
objectives of the amendment and the FMP by balancing both short and 
long-term social and economic impacts, and are the most appropriate 
measures to effectively slow the rate of harvest to avoid exceeding an 
ACL and triggering an AM that would restrict or prohibit access.
    Comment 2: The management measures proposed in Framework Amendment 
4 should be re-examined after 1 year to determine if they were 
effective. If so, the measures should be relaxed after that time to 
allow an increased cobia recreational bag limit.
    Response: The Council's intent and the purpose of CMP Amendment 4 
is to slow the rate of harvest and extend the cobia fishing seasons. 
NMFS and the Council will monitor the effectiveness of the cobia 
regulations in achieving those goals. The Council and NMFS may change 
management measures in the future, as appropriate.
    Comment 3: The recreational AM should apply in both Federal and 
state waters.
    Response: The Council does not have jurisdiction in state waters 
and cannot require states to issue compatible regulations for cobia. 
The states may or may not issue regulations compatible with the Federal 
regulations to make fisheries management in state and Federal waters 
consistent, but the states are not required to do so. The Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is developing a fishery 
management plan for cobia in state waters which would complement the 
Council's plan for management of cobia in Federal waters, but has also 
recently requested that the Council consider transferring management 
authority of Atlantic cobia to the ASMFC. Therefore, NMFS recognizes 
that regulations in state and Federal waters could change as a result 
of future management decisions.
    Comment 4: Commercial cobia fishermen should be subject to the same 
regulations as the recreational cobia fishermen, specifically for 
vessel limits, minimum size limits, and AMs.
    Response: This final rule implements similar regulations for the 
commercial and recreational sectors, including a commercial limit of 
two cobia per person or six per vessel, whichever is more restrictive, 
and a recreational limit of one cobia per person or six per vessel, 
whichever is more restrictive. This rule increases the recreational 
minimum size limit for the Atlantic cobia recreational sector from 33 
to 36 inches (91.4 cm), fork length, while the commercial minimum size 
limit remains at 33 inches, fork length.
    In Framework Amendment 4, the Council and NMFS determined that more 
conservative regulations are appropriate for the recreational sector 
because recreational landings greatly exceeded their ACL and were 248 
and 217 percent of the recreational ACL in 2015 and 2016, respectively. 
In comparison, commercial landings were 120 and 97 percent of the 
commercial ACL in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and the current sector 
allocations for Atlantic cobia are 8 percent of the stock ACL to the 
commercial sector and 92 percent to the recreational sector. There is 
greater uncertainty associated with catch estimates as a result of less 
timely catch reporting for the recreational sector compared to the 
commercial sector, because recreational landings are reported in 2-
month intervals with a greater than 4-month time lag in the 
availability of information, while commercial landings are reported 
weekly with the information available within a week.
    Therefore, the Council determined, and NMFS agrees, that different 
management measures between sectors for Atlantic cobia is an 
appropriate approach to increase the likelihood that landings do not 
exceed the respective sector harvest limits.
    Comment 5: Recreational harvest of cobia should be allowed during 
the 2017 fishing season.
    Response: NMFS disagrees. NMFS was required to close the 2017 
recreational season as a result of the recreational AM being triggered 
by an ACL overage. Total landings exceeded the recreational ACL and the 
total ACL in 2016, which required NMFS to reduce the length of the 
recreational fishing season in the following fishing year (2017) based 
on projections of when landings will reach the ACT. NMFS reviewed the 
best scientific information available and determined that the entire 
recreational ACL for Atlantic cobia will be caught in state waters 
during 2017, and the stock ACL will likely be exceeded, and therefore, 
NMFS closed the recreational harvest of cobia on January 24 (82 FR 
8363, January 25, 2017).
    Comment 6: Changing the AM to use 1 year of data rather than the 3-
year running average of data is flawed given the low number of cobia 
data intercepts. A 3-year running average of landings would more fairly 
represent the fishery because the data are flawed.
    Response: NMFS disagrees that the data are flawed, and expects that 
using the most recent year of landings for the AM should result in a 
more timely and accurate representation of recreational landings, and 
better responds to the best scientific information available. The 
Council previously selected a 3-year running average of landings for 
the recreational ACL as their preferred alternative in Amendment 18 
because they decided that it would be biologically beneficial for the 
stock by accounting for an overage in the previous year. However, the 
Council has reevaluated the use of a 3-year average in Framework 
Amendment 4, as well as in recent amendments to the Snapper-Grouper 
FMP. The Council has determined that with the methodology established 
through Amendment 18, an exceptionally high and unusual spike in 
landings incorporated into a 3-year running average could penalize 
anglers for the next several years by unnecessarily triggering AMs.

[[Page 36347]]

Conversely, incorporating a year of abnormally low recreational 
landings into the 3-year average could result in negative biological 
effects on the stock by not triggering an AM when it might be needed. 
The revised AMs implemented here will reduce the likelihood of those 
longer term adverse effects.
    The Council is taking action in Framework Amendment 4 to enhance 
the recreational AM by considering both a reduction in the vessel limit 
and the recreational season length, if needed, to prevent recreational 
landings from exceeding the recreational ACL in that fishing year.
    Comment 7: In violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 
the proposed revision to the recreational AM in Framework Amendment 4 
was not subject to public comment and did not receive public support. 
Additionally, the public did not support the provision that allows for 
a shortened fishing year in the fishing year following an ACL overage.
    Response: NMFS disagrees that the revisions to the recreational AM 
are in violation of the APA. In fact, the public had multiple 
opportunities to comment at various stages of the rule's development. 
Framework Amendment 4 was subject to and available for public comment 
during public hearings conducted by the Council in August 2016 and the 
public Council meetings during September 2016. Framework Amendment 4 
was available on the Council's Web site during the amendment's 
development and the public was able to submit comments to the Council 
directly about the amendment. Additionally, the proposed rule to 
implement Framework Amendment 4 was subject to a 30 day public comment 
period, as published in the Federal Register (82 FR 11166, February 21, 
2017).

Classification

    The Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, has determined 
that this final rule is consistent with Framework Amendment 4, the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
    This final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the statutory basis for this 
rule. No duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting Federal rules have 
been identified. In addition, no new reporting, recordkeeping, or other 
compliance requirements are introduced by this rule.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration (SBA) during the proposed rule stage that this rule, if 
adopted, would not have significant economic impacts on a substantial 
number of small entities. The factual basis for this determination was 
published in the proposed rule and is not repeated here. NMFS did not 
receive any comments from SBA's Office of Advocacy or the public on the 
certification in the proposed rule. As a result, a final regulatory 
flexibility analysis is not required and none was prepared.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622

    Annual catch limits, Cobia, Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf of Mexico, 
South Atlantic.

    Dated: August 1, 2017.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended 
as follows:

PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH 
ATLANTIC

0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.


0
2. In Sec.  622.380, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.380   Size limits.

* * * * *
    (a) Cobia. (1) In the Gulf--33 inches (83.8), fork length.
    (2) In the Mid-Atlantic or South Atlantic. (i) 33 inches (83.8), 
fork length, for cobia that are sold (commercial sector).
    (ii) 36 inches (91.4 cm), fork length, for cobia that are not sold 
(recreational sector).
* * * * *

0
3. In Sec.  622.382, revise paragraph (a) introductory text and add 
paragraph (a)(1)(vi) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.382   Bag and possession limits.

* * * * *
    (a) King mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and Atlantic migratory group 
cobia--
    (1) * * *
    (vi) Atlantic migratory group cobia that are not sold (recreational 
sector)--1, not to exceed 6 fish per vessel per day.
* * * * *

0
4. In Sec.  622.383, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.383   Limited harvest species.

* * * * *
    (b) Gulf migratory group cobia. No person may possess more than two 
Gulf migratory group cobia per day in or from the EEZ, regardless of 
the number of trips or duration of a trip.

0
5. In Sec.  622.385, add paragraph (c) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.385   Commercial trip limits.

* * * * *
    (c) Cobia. (1) Atlantic migratory group. Until the commercial ACL 
specified in Sec.  622.384(d)(2) is reached, 2 fish per person, not to 
exceed 6 fish per vessel.
    (2) [Reserved]

0
6. In Sec.  622.388, revise paragraph (f) to read as follows:


Sec.  622.388  Annual catch limits (ACLs), annual catch targets (ACTs), 
and accountability measures (AMs).

* * * * *
    (f) Atlantic migratory group cobia. (1) The following ACLs and AMs 
apply to cobia that are sold (commercial sector):
    (i) If the sum of the cobia landings that are sold, as estimated by 
the SRD, reach or are projected to reach the quota specified in Sec.  
622.384(d)(2) (ACL), the AA will file a notification with the Office of 
the Federal Register to prohibit the sale and purchase of cobia for the 
remainder of the fishing year.
    (ii) In addition to the measures specified in paragraph (f)(1)(i) 
of this section, if the sum of the cobia landings that are sold and not 
sold in or from the Atlantic migratory group, as estimated by the SRD, 
exceeds the stock ACL, as specified in paragraph (f)(3) of this 
section, and Atlantic migratory group cobia are overfished, based on 
the most recent status of U.S. Fisheries Report to Congress, the AA 
will file a notification with the Office of the Federal Register, at or 
near the beginning of the following fishing year to reduce the 
applicable quota (ACL), as specified in paragraph (f)(1)(i) of this 
section, for that following year by the amount of any applicable 
sector-specific ACL overage in the prior fishing year.
    (2) The following ACLs and AMs apply to cobia that are not sold 
(recreational sector). If recreational landings for cobia, as estimated 
by the SRD, exceed both the recreational ACL of 620,000 lb (281,227 
kg), and the stock ACL, as specified paragraph (f)(3) of this section, 
then during the following fishing year, recreational landings will be 
monitored for a persistence in increased landings, and, if necessary, 
the AA will file a notification with the Office of the Federal Register 
to reduce the recreational vessel limit, specified in

[[Page 36348]]

Sec.  622.382(a)(1)(vi), to no less than 2 fish per vessel to ensure 
recreational landings achieve the recreational ACT, but do not exceed 
the recreational ACL in that fishing year. Any recreational vessel 
limit reduction that is implemented as described in this paragraph is 
only applicable for the fishing year in which it is implemented. 
Additionally, if the reduction in the recreational vessel limit is 
determined by the AA to be insufficient to ensure that recreational 
landings will not exceed the recreational ACL, the AA will also reduce 
the length of the recreational fishing season by the amount necessary 
to ensure recreational landings do not exceed the recreational ACL in 
that fishing year. The recreational vessel limit and the length of the 
recreational fishing season will not be reduced if NMFS determines, 
based on the best scientific information available, that a recreational 
vessel limit and fishing season reduction are unnecessary. The 
recreational ACT is 500,000 lb (226,796 kg).
    (3) The stock ACL for Atlantic migratory group cobia is 670,000 lb 
(303,907 kg).

[FR Doc. 2017-16469 Filed 8-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P