Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring Fishery; Adjustments to 2018 Management Area Annual Catch Limits, 6797-6799 [2018-03157]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 32 / Thursday, February 15, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
Phase II support awarded in partnership
with New York’s New NY Broadband
Program as adopted in FCC 17–2,
paragraphs 69–70. If you have any
comments on the burden estimates
listed below, or how the Commission
can improve the collections and reduce
any burdens caused thereby, please
contact Nicole Ongele, Federal
Communications Commission, Room 1–
A620, 445 12th Street SW, Washington,
DC 20554. Please include the OMB
Control Number, 3060–1228, in your
correspondence. The Commission will
also accept your comments via email
please send them to PRA@fcc.gov. To
request materials in accessible formats
for people with disabilities (Braille,
large print, electronic files, audio
format), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov
or call the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau at (202) 418–0530
(voice), (202) 418–0432 (TTY).
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with RULES
Synopsis
As required by the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507),
the FCC is notifying the public that it
received OMB approval on February 1,
2018, for the rules 54.316(a)(1),
54.316(a)(5) and (6), 54.316(b)(6),
54.320(d), 54.321 published at 81 FR
24282, April 25, 2016, 81 FR 44414, July
7, 2016, and 81 FR 83706, November 22,
2016, 81 FR 69696, October 7, 2016, and
the reporting requirements for recipients
of Phase II support awarded in
partnership with New York’s New NY
Broadband Program as adopted in FCC
17–2, paragraphs 69–70. Under 5 CFR
1320, an agency may not conduct or
sponsor a collection of information
unless it displays a current, valid OMB
Control Number.
No person shall be subject to any
penalty for failing to comply with a
collection of information subject to the
Paperwork Reduction Act that does not
display a current, valid OMB Control
Number. The OMB Control Number is
3060–1228.
The foregoing notice is required by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13, October 1, 1995,
and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
The total annual reporting burdens
and costs for the respondents are as
follows:
OMB Control Number: 3060–1228.
OMB Approval Date: February 1,
2018.
OMB Expiration Date: February 28,
2021.
Title: Connect America Fund—High
Cost Portal Filing.
Form No.: N/A.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit, not-for-profit institutions.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:56 Feb 14, 2018
Jkt 244001
Number of Respondents and
Responses: 1,599 unique respondents;
3,731 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 8–60
hours.
Frequency of Response: On occasion,
quarterly reporting requirements,
annual reporting requirements, one-time
reporting requirement and
recordkeeping requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to
obtain or retain benefits. Statutory
authority for this information collection
is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151–154, 155,
201–206, 214, 218–220, 251, 252, 254,
256, 303(r), 332, 403, 405, 410, and
1302.
Total Annual Burden: 68,607 hours.
Total Annual Cost: No Cost.
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality:
We note that USAC must preserve the
confidentiality of certain data obtained
from respondents; must not use the data
except for purposes of administering the
universal service programs or other
purposes specified by the Commission;
and must not disclose data in companyspecific form unless directed to do so by
the Commission. Respondents may
request materials or information
submitted to the Commission or the
Administrator believed confidential to
be withheld from public inspection
under 47 CFR 0.459 of the FCC’s rules.
Needs and Uses: This information
collection addresses the requirement
that certain carriers with high cost
reporting obligations must file
information about their locations which
meet their broadband deployment
public interest obligations via an
electronic portal (‘‘portal’’). The Rate-ofReturn Order required that the
Universal Service Administrative
Company (USAC) establish the portal so
that carriers could file their location
data with the portal starting in 2017.
The Rate-of-Return Order also required
all recipients of Phase II model-based
support and rate-of-return carriers to
submit geocoded location data and
related certifications to the portal.
Recipients of Phase II model-based
support had been required to file such
information in their annual reports due
by July 1, 2017. The Phase II Auction
Order requires auction winners to buildout networks capable of meeting their
public interest obligations and report, to
an online portal, locations to which
auction winners had deployed such
networks. This information collection
also addresses the new portal reporting
requirements for carriers receiving
Alaska Plan support, including their
submission of fiber/microwave middlemile network maps, and recipients of
Phase II support that is awarded in
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
6797
partnership with New York’s New NY
Broadband Program.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–02996 Filed 2–14–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No.: 171213999–8128–01]
RIN 0648–XF898
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Herring Fishery;
Adjustments to 2018 Management Area
Annual Catch Limits
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary final rule;
adjustment of specifications.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
regulations implementing the Atlantic
Herring Fishery Management Plan, this
action adjusts the 2018 catch limits in
the four herring management areas
(Areas 1A, 1B, 2, and 3) to account for
underages and overages in those areas
during 2016. In order to ensure that the
carryover of underages do not cause
overfishing of the herring resource,
management area-specific carryover
does not increase the stock-wide annual
catch limit. 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 February 15, 2018,
through December 31, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting
documents, including the 2013–2015
Specifications/Framework 2 and the
2016–2018 Specifications 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.nefmc.org/
library/framework-2-2, https://
www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/
sustainable/species/atlherring/
index.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alyson Pitts, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978–281–9352.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\15FER1.SGM
15FER1
6798
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 32 / Thursday, February 15, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic herring harvest in the
United States is managed under the
Atlantic Herring Fishery Management
Plan (FMP) developed by the New
England Fishery Management 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/sub-ACL overages in the herring
fishery, Amendment 4 established an
AM that requires NMFS to deduct any
ACL/sub-ACL overages 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.
NMFS also published a final rule
implementing Framework 2 to the FMP
and the 2013–2015 specifications for the
herring fishery on October 4, 2013 (78
FR 61828). Among other measures,
Framework 2 allowed for the carryover
of unharvested allocations (underages)
in the year immediately following the
catch determination. Provided that
annual total catch does not exceed the
stock-wide ACL, up to 10 percent of
each sub-ACL may be carried over and
added to the following year’s sub-ACL.
The carryover provision allows a subACL increase for a management area,
but it does not allow a corresponding
increase to the stock-wide ACL.
NMFS published the 2016–2018
specifications for the herring fishery on
November 1, 2016 (81 FR 75731). Table
1 outlines the 2018 herring sub-ACLs,
minus deductions for research set-aside
catch (RSA) that were effective on
January 1, 2018. RSA equal to 3 percent
of each sub-ACL has been awarded to
two research projects.
TABLE 1—2018 HERRING SUB-ACLS
[mt]
2018 subACLs
Area 1A ........................................................................................................................................
Area 1B ........................................................................................................................................
Area 2 ..........................................................................................................................................
Area 3 ..........................................................................................................................................
Stock-wide ...................................................................................................................................
Provisions Implemented Through This
Final Rule
NMFS completed the 2016 catch
determination in December 2017 and
determined that the herring fishery
caught more than its allocated catch in
2016 in Area 1B. To account for the
overage, this action deducts the catch
overage in Area 1B from the 2018 Area
1B sub-ACL. NMFS also determined
that the herring fishery caught less than
its total allocated catch in 2016 and was
under the allocated catch in the three
remaining herring management areas
(Areas 1A, 2, and 3). As a result, this
action carries over unharvested 2016
30,300
4,500
29,100
40,900
104,800
Research
set-aside
(3 percent
of sub-ACLs)
909
135
873
1,227
3,144
2018
sub-ACLs
(minus RSA)
29,391
4,365
28,227
39,673
101,656
catch to the 2018 herring sub-ACL in
Areas 1A, 2, and 3. This carryover
equals the amount of each area’s
underages, or up to 10 percent of the
allocated 2016 sub-ACL, whichever is
less. Table 2 provides catch details for
2016 and corresponding adjustments for
2018 sub-ACLs.
TABLE 2—HERRING SUB-ACLS, CATCH, AND CARRYOVER
[mt]
Adjusted 2016
sub-ACLs
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with RULES
Area 1A ....................................................
Area 1B ....................................................
Area 2 ......................................................
Area 3 ......................................................
Stock-wide ................................................
30,397
2,941
32,100
43,832
** 101,656
2016
underages/
overages
2016 catch
27,826
3,657
13,456
18,580
63,519
Carryover
* (up to 10
percent)
2,571
¥716
18,644
25,252
45,751
2,571
NA
2,910
4,090
NA
2018 subACLs
(minus RSA)
29,391
4,365
28,227
39,673
101,656
Adjusted
2018 subACLs
31,962
3,649
31,137
43,853
** 100,969
* Maximum carryover is based on 10 percent of the 2016 sub-ACLs: Area 1A = 30,300 mt; Area 1B = 4,500 mt; Area 2 = 29,100 mt; and Area
3 = 40,900 mt.
** The stock-wide ACL cannot be increased by carryover. The 2018 adjusted stock-wide ACL is decreased by the Area 1B overage.
NMFS calculated the amount of
herring landings in 2016 based on
dealer reports (Federal and state) of
herring purchases, supplemented by
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:56 Feb 14, 2018
Jkt 244001
vessel trip reports (VTRs) and vessel
monitoring system (VMS) reports
(Federal and states of Maine and
Massachusetts) of herring landings.
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
NMFS generally uses dealer reports to
estimate herring landings; however, if
the amount of herring reported via VTR
exceeded the amount of herring
E:\FR\FM\15FER1.SGM
15FER1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 32 / Thursday, February 15, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
reported by the dealer by 10 percent or
more, NMFS assumes the dealer report
for that trip was in error and uses the
VTR report instead. NMFS assigns
herring landings to individual herring
management areas using VMS reports or
latitude and longitude coordinates from
VTR reports when a VMS report is not
available. NMFS uses recent fishing
activity to assign landings to a
management area if dealer reports do
not have a corresponding VTR or VMS
catch report.
NMFS estimates herring discards 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.
Because RSA is removed from
management area sub-ACLs at the
beginning of the fishery year, NMFS
tracks RSA catch but does not count it
towards the herring sub-ACLs.
Classification
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with RULES
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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:56 Feb 14, 2018
Jkt 244001
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 by impairing a
vessel’s ability to harvest available catch
allocations. Allowing for prior notice
and public comment on this adjustment
is also impracticable because
regulations require notification of
adjustments as close as possible to the
start of the herring fishing year on
January 1, 2018. We only recently
received sufficient information to
determine 2016 catch amount. Further,
this is a nondiscretionary action
required by provisions of Amendment 4
and Framework 2, which were
previously subject to public notice and
comment. The adjustments required by
these regulations are formulaic; this
action simply effectuates these
mandatory calculations. The proposed
and final rules for Framework 2 and
Amendment 4 explained the need and
likelihood for adjustments to the subACLs based on final catch amounts.
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.
For the same reasons as noted above,
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
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 9990
6799
effective upon publication in the
Federal Register. To prevent confusion
and potential overharvests, it will be in
the best interest of the fleet and the
herring resource to set the adjusted subACLs as soon as possible. The
adjustments in this notice increase the
amount of catch available to fishermen,
with the exception of Area 1B due to
overharvest in 2016. Putting in place the
adjusted sub-ACLs as soon as possible
will provide the fleet with an
opportunity to develop their business
plans in sufficient time to facilitate their
full harvest of available catch in the
open areas.
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: February 12, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–03157 Filed 2–14–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\15FER1.SGM
15FER1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 32 (Thursday, February 15, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 6797-6799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03157]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No.: 171213999-8128-01]
RIN 0648-XF898
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring
Fishery; Adjustments to 2018 Management Area Annual Catch Limits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary final rule; adjustment of specifications.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the regulations implementing the Atlantic
Herring Fishery Management Plan, this action adjusts the 2018 catch
limits in the four herring management areas (Areas 1A, 1B, 2, and 3) to
account for underages and overages in those areas during 2016. In order
to ensure that the carryover of underages do not cause overfishing of
the herring resource, management area-specific carryover does not
increase the stock-wide annual catch limit. 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 February 15, 2018, through December 31, 2018.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, including the 2013-2015
Specifications/Framework 2 and the 2016-2018 Specifications 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.nefmc.org/library/framework-2-2,
https://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/sustainable/species/atlherring/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alyson Pitts, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-281-9352.
[[Page 6798]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic herring harvest in the United States is managed under
the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan (FMP) developed by the New
England Fishery Management 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/sub-ACL overages in the
herring fishery, Amendment 4 established an AM that requires NMFS to
deduct any ACL/sub-ACL overages 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.
NMFS also published a final rule implementing Framework 2 to the
FMP and the 2013-2015 specifications for the herring fishery on October
4, 2013 (78 FR 61828). Among other measures, Framework 2 allowed for
the carryover of unharvested allocations (underages) in the year
immediately following the catch determination. Provided that annual
total catch does not exceed the stock-wide ACL, up to 10 percent of
each sub-ACL may be carried over and added to the following year's sub-
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 published the 2016-2018 specifications for the herring fishery
on November 1, 2016 (81 FR 75731). Table 1 outlines the 2018 herring
sub-ACLs, minus deductions for research set-aside catch (RSA) that were
effective on January 1, 2018. RSA equal to 3 percent of each sub-ACL
has been awarded to two research projects.
Table 1--2018 Herring Sub-ACLs
[mt]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Research set-
aside (3 2018 sub-ACLs
2018 sub-ACLs percent of (minus RSA)
sub-ACLs)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area 1A......................................................... 30,300 909 29,391
Area 1B......................................................... 4,500 135 4,365
Area 2.......................................................... 29,100 873 28,227
Area 3.......................................................... 40,900 1,227 39,673
Stock-wide...................................................... 104,800 3,144 101,656
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Provisions Implemented Through This Final Rule
NMFS completed the 2016 catch determination in December 2017 and
determined that the herring fishery caught more than its allocated
catch in 2016 in Area 1B. To account for the overage, this action
deducts the catch overage in Area 1B from the 2018 Area 1B sub-ACL.
NMFS also determined that the herring fishery caught less than its
total allocated catch in 2016 and was under the allocated catch in the
three remaining herring management areas (Areas 1A, 2, and 3). As a
result, this action carries over unharvested 2016 catch to the 2018
herring sub-ACL in Areas 1A, 2, and 3. This carryover equals the amount
of each area's underages, or up to 10 percent of the allocated 2016
sub-ACL, whichever is less. Table 2 provides catch details for 2016 and
corresponding adjustments for 2018 sub-ACLs.
Table 2--Herring Sub-ACLs, Catch, and Carryover
[mt]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2016 Carryover *
Adjusted 2016 2016 catch underages/ (up to 10 2018 sub-ACLs Adjusted 2018
sub-ACLs overages percent) (minus RSA) sub-ACLs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area 1A................................................. 30,397 27,826 2,571 2,571 29,391 31,962
Area 1B................................................. 2,941 3,657 -716 NA 4,365 3,649
Area 2.................................................. 32,100 13,456 18,644 2,910 28,227 31,137
Area 3.................................................. 43,832 18,580 25,252 4,090 39,673 43,853
Stock-wide.............................................. ** 101,656 63,519 45,751 NA 101,656 ** 100,969
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Maximum carryover is based on 10 percent of the 2016 sub-ACLs: Area 1A = 30,300 mt; Area 1B = 4,500 mt; Area 2 = 29,100 mt; and Area 3 = 40,900 mt.
** The stock-wide ACL cannot be increased by carryover. The 2018 adjusted stock-wide ACL is decreased by the Area 1B overage.
NMFS calculated the amount of herring landings in 2016 based on
dealer reports (Federal and state) of herring purchases, supplemented
by vessel trip reports (VTRs) and vessel monitoring system (VMS)
reports (Federal and states of Maine and Massachusetts) of herring
landings. NMFS generally uses dealer reports to estimate herring
landings; however, if the amount of herring reported via VTR exceeded
the amount of herring
[[Page 6799]]
reported by the dealer by 10 percent or more, NMFS assumes the dealer
report for that trip was in error and uses the VTR report instead. NMFS
assigns herring landings to individual herring management areas using
VMS reports or latitude and longitude coordinates from VTR reports when
a VMS report is not available. NMFS uses recent fishing activity to
assign landings to a management area if dealer reports do not have a
corresponding VTR or VMS catch report.
NMFS estimates herring discards 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. Because RSA is removed from management area
sub-ACLs at the beginning of the fishery year, NMFS tracks RSA catch
but does not count it towards the herring sub-ACLs.
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 by
impairing a vessel's ability to harvest available catch allocations.
Allowing for prior notice and public comment on this adjustment is also
impracticable because regulations require notification of adjustments
as close as possible to the start of the herring fishing year on
January 1, 2018. We only recently received sufficient information to
determine 2016 catch amount. Further, this is a nondiscretionary action
required by provisions of Amendment 4 and Framework 2, which were
previously subject to public notice and comment. The adjustments
required by these regulations are formulaic; this action simply
effectuates these mandatory calculations. 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 amounts. 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.
For the same reasons as noted above, 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. 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. The adjustments in this notice increase the amount of
catch available to fishermen, with the exception of Area 1B due to
overharvest in 2016. Putting in place the adjusted sub-ACLs as soon as
possible will provide the fleet with an opportunity to develop their
business plans in sufficient time to facilitate their full harvest of
available catch in the open areas.
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: February 12, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-03157 Filed 2-14-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
