Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Commercial Aggregated Large Coastal Shark and Hammerhead Shark Management Groups Retention Limit Adjustment, 21744-21745 [2018-09945]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 91 / Thursday, May 10, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
associated critical habitat. The impacts
of numerous fisheries have been
analyzed in various biological opinions,
and this final rule would not affect the
conclusions of those opinions. The
inclusion of fisheries on the AD is not
considered a management action that
would adversely affect threatened or
endangered species. If NMFS takes a
management action, for example,
requiring modifications to fishing gear
and/or practices, NMFS would review
the action for potential adverse effects to
listed species under the ESA.
This final rule would have no adverse
impacts on sea turtles and may have a
positive impact on sea turtles by
improving knowledge of sea turtles and
the fisheries interacting with sea turtles
through information collected from
observer programs.
This final rule would not affect the
land or water uses or natural resources
of the coastal zone, as specified under
section 307 of the Coastal Zone
Management Act.
Dated: May 7, 2018.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–09957 Filed 5–9–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 160620545–6999–02]
RIN 0648–XG181
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species;
Commercial Aggregated Large Coastal
Shark and Hammerhead Shark
Management Groups Retention Limit
Adjustment
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason
retention limit adjustment.
AGENCY:
NMFS is adjusting the
commercial aggregated large coastal
shark (LCS) and hammerhead shark
management group retention limit for
directed shark limited access permit
holders in the Atlantic region from 25
LCS other than sandbar sharks per
vessel per trip to 3 LCS other than
sandbar sharks per vessel per trip. This
action is based on consideration of the
regulatory determination criteria
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:51 May 09, 2018
Jkt 244001
regarding inseason adjustments. The
retention limit will remain at 3 LCS
other than sandbar sharks per vessel per
trip in the Atlantic region through the
rest of the 2018 fishing season or until
NMFS announces via a notice in the
Federal Register another adjustment to
the retention limit or a fishery closure
is warranted. This retention limit
adjustment will affect anyone with a
directed shark limited access permit
fishing for LCS in the Atlantic region.
DATES: This retention limit adjustment
is effective at 11:30 p.m. local time May
12, 2018, through the end of the 2018
fishing season on December 31, 2018, or
until NMFS announces via a notice in
the Federal Register another adjustment
to the retention limit or a fishery
closure, if warranted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
´
Lauren Latchford, Guy DuBeck, or Karyl
Brewster-Geisz 301–427–8503; fax 301–
713–1917.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic
shark fisheries are managed under the
2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory
Species (HMS) Fishery Management
Plan (FMP), its amendments, and
implementing regulations (50 CFR part
635) issued under authority of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
Under § 635.24(a)(8), NMFS may
adjust the commercial retention limit in
the shark fisheries during the fishing
season. Before making any adjustment,
NMFS must consider specified
regulatory criteria and other relevant
factors See § 635.24(a)(8)(i)–(vi). After
considering these criteria as discussed
below, we have concluded that reducing
the retention limit of the Atlantic
aggregated LCS and hammerhead
management groups for directed shark
limited access permit holders will slow
the fishery catch rates to allow the
fishery throughout the Atlantic region to
remain open for the rest of the year.
Since landings have reached
approximately 20 percent of the quota
and are projected to reach 80 percent
before the end of the 2018 fishing
season, NMFS is reducing the
commercial Atlantic aggregated LCS and
hammerhead shark retention limit from
25 to 3 LCS other than sandbar per
vessel per trip.
NMFS considered whether to reduce
the retention limit for LCS other than
sandbar sharks, considering the
inseason retention limit adjustment
criteria listed in § 635.24(a)(8), which
includes (broken down by bullet
points):
• The amount of remaining shark
quota in the relevant area, region, or
PO 00000
Frm 00038
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
sub-region, to date, based on dealer
reports.
Based on dealer reports, 32.7 mt dw
or 19 percent of the 168.9 mt dw shark
quota for the aggregated LCS
management group has already been
landed in the Atlantic region. This
means that approximately 80 percent of
the quota remains. At current landings
rates, this quota would be expanded by
July. These levels this early in the
season indicate that unless action is
taken to slow landings, fishermen in the
Atlantic region may not have an
opportunity to fish in the region for the
remainder of the year.
• The catch rates of the relevant shark
species/complexes in the region or subregion, to date, based on dealer reports.
Dealer reports indicate a high level of
average daily landings. At this level,
aggregated LCS are being harvested too
quickly to ensure fishing opportunities
throughout the season. If the per trip
limit is left unchanged, aggregated LCS
would likely be harvested at such a high
rate that there would not be enough
aggregated LCS quota remaining to keep
the fishery open year-round, precluding
equitable fishing opportunities for the
entire Atlantic region.
• Estimated date of fishery closure
based on when the landings are
projected to reach 80 percent of the
quota given the realized catch rates.
Once the landings reach 80 percent of
the quota, NMFS would have to close
the aggregated LCS management group
as well as the ‘‘linked hammerhead
shark management group. Current catch
rates would likely result in reaching this
limit by the beginning of July. A closure
so early in the year would preclude
fishing opportunities in the Atlantic
region for the remainder of the year.
• Effects of the adjustment on
accomplishing the objectives of the 2006
Consolidated HMS FMP and its
amendments.
Reducing the retention limit for the
aggregated LCS and hammerhead
management group from 25 to 3 LCS per
trip would allow for fishing
opportunities later in the year consistent
with the FMP’s objectives to ensure
equitable fishing opportunities
throughout the fishing season and to
limit bycatch and discards.
• Variations in seasonal distribution,
abundance, or migratory patterns of the
relevant shark species based on
scientific and fishery-based knowledge.
The directed shark fisheries in the
Atlantic region exhibit a mixed species
composition, with a high abundance of
aggregated LCS caught in conjunction
with hammerhead sharks. As a result,
by slowing the harvest and reducing
landings on a per-trip basis, both
E:\FR\FM\10MYR1.SGM
10MYR1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 91 / Thursday, May 10, 2018 / Rules and Regulations
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES
fisheries could remain open for the
remainder of the year.
• Effects of catch rates in one part of
a region or sub-region precluding
vessels in another part of that region or
sub-region from having a reasonable
opportunity to harvest a portion of the
relevant quota.
Based on dealer reports, and given
NMFS’ notice to the regulated
community (82 FR 55512, November 22,
2017) that a goal of this year’s fishery
was to ensure fishing opportunities
throughout the fishing season, NMFS
has concluded that the aggregated LCS
quota is being harvested too quickly to
meet conservation and management
goals for the fishery. If the harvest of
these species is not slowed, we estimate
that the fishery would close by the
beginning of July. Closing the fishery so
early would prevent fishermen from
other parts of the Atlantic region from
having the same opportunities to
harvest the aggregated LCS quota later
in the year.
On November 22, 2017 (82 FR 55512),
NMFS announced that the aggregated
LCS and hammerhead shark
management groups for the Atlantic
region would open on January 1 with a
quota of 168.9 metric tons (mt) dressed
weight (dw) (372,552 lb dw) and 27.1 mt
dw (59,736 lb dw), respectively. In that
final rule, NMFS also indicated that if
it appeared that the aggregated LCS
management group quota is being
harvested too quickly, to allow
fishermen throughout the entire region
an opportunity to fish (e.g., if
approximately 20 percent of the quota is
caught at the beginning of the year),
NMFS would consider reducing the
commercial retention limit for LCS
other than sandbar sharks. Dealer
reports through May 4, 2018, indicate
that 32.7 mt dw or 19 percent of the
available quota for the aggregated LCS
management group has been harvested.
If the average landings rate for the
aggregated LCS management group
reflected in the dealer reports continues,
landings could reach 80 percent of the
quota by the beginning of July. Once the
landings reach 80 percent of the quota,
NMFS would close both the aggregated
VerDate Sep<11>2014
15:51 May 09, 2018
Jkt 244001
LCS and hammerhead management
group because they are linked under the
regulations (§ 635.28(b)(3)).
Accordingly, as of 11:30 p.m. local
time May 12, 2018, NMFS is reducing
the retention limit for the commercial
aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark
management groups in the Atlantic
region for directed shark limited access
permit holders from 25 LCS other than
sandbar sharks per vessel per trip to 3
LCS other than sandbar sharks per
vessel per trip. If the vessel is properly
permitted to operate as a charter vessel
or headboat for HMS and is engaged in
a for-hire trip, in which case the
recreational retention limits for sharks
and ‘‘no sale’’ provisions apply
(§ 635.22(a) and (c)), or if the vessel
possesses a valid shark research permit
under § 635.32 and a NMFS-approved
observer is onboard, then they are
exempted from the retention limit
adjustment.
All other retention limits and shark
fisheries in the Atlantic region remain
unchanged. This retention limit will
remain at 3 LCS other than sandbar
sharks per vessel per trip for the rest of
the 2018 fishing season, or until NMFS
announces via a notice in the Federal
Register another adjustment to the
retention limit or a fishery closure is
warranted.
The boundary between the Gulf of
Mexico region and the Atlantic region is
defined at § 635.27(b)(1) as a line
beginning on the East Coast of Florida
at the mainland at 25°20.4′ N. lat,
proceeding due East. Any water and
land to the north and east of that
boundary is considered, for the
purposes of quota monitoring and
setting of quotas, to be within the
Atlantic region.
Classification
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
NOAA (AA), finds there is good cause
to waive prior notice and an
opportunity for public comment on this
action, as notice and comment would be
impracticable and contrary to the public
interest. Providing prior notice and an
opportunity for comment is
PO 00000
Frm 00039
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 9990
21745
impracticable because the catch and
landings that need to be reduced are
ongoing and must be reduced
immediately to meet conservation and
management objectives for the fishery.
Continued fishing at those levels during
the time that notice and comment takes
place would result in the much of the
quota being landed and could result in
a very early closure of the fishery,
contrary to the objectives of the existing
conservation and management measures
in place for those species. These
objectives include ensuring that fishing
opportunities are equitable and that
bycatch and discards are minimized.
Allowing fishing to continue at the
existing rates even for a limited time is
contrary to these objectives and would
thus be impracticable. It would also be
contrary to the public interest because,
if the quota continues to be caught at the
current levels, the quota will not last
throughout the remainder of the fishing
season and a large number of fishermen
would be denied the opportunity to
land sharks from the quota.
Furthermore, continued catch at the
current rates, even for a limited period,
could result in eventual quota
overharvests, since it is still so early in
the fishing year. The AA also finds good
cause to waive the 30-day delay in
effective date pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3) for the same reasons. This
action is required under § 635.28(b)(2)
and is exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866. NMFS has
concluded that reducing the retention
limit of the Atlantic aggregated LCS and
hammerhead management groups for
directed shark limited access permit
holders will slow the fishery catch rates
to allow the fishery throughout the
Atlantic region to remain open for the
rest of the year.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 7, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–09945 Filed 5–7–18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\10MYR1.SGM
10MYR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 91 (Thursday, May 10, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21744-21745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09945]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[Docket No. 160620545-6999-02]
RIN 0648-XG181
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Commercial Aggregated Large
Coastal Shark and Hammerhead Shark Management Groups Retention Limit
Adjustment
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason retention limit adjustment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS is adjusting the commercial aggregated large coastal
shark (LCS) and hammerhead shark management group retention limit for
directed shark limited access permit holders in the Atlantic region
from 25 LCS other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip to 3 LCS
other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip. This action is based on
consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding
inseason adjustments. The retention limit will remain at 3 LCS other
than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip in the Atlantic region through
the rest of the 2018 fishing season or until NMFS announces via a
notice in the Federal Register another adjustment to the retention
limit or a fishery closure is warranted. This retention limit
adjustment will affect anyone with a directed shark limited access
permit fishing for LCS in the Atlantic region.
DATES: This retention limit adjustment is effective at 11:30 p.m. local
time May 12, 2018, through the end of the 2018 fishing season on
December 31, 2018, or until NMFS announces via a notice in the Federal
Register another adjustment to the retention limit or a fishery
closure, if warranted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lauren Latchford, Gu[yacute] DuBeck,
or Karyl Brewster-Geisz 301-427-8503; fax 301-713-1917.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic shark fisheries are managed under
the 2006 Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management
Plan (FMP), its amendments, and implementing regulations (50 CFR part
635) issued under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
Under Sec. 635.24(a)(8), NMFS may adjust the commercial retention
limit in the shark fisheries during the fishing season. Before making
any adjustment, NMFS must consider specified regulatory criteria and
other relevant factors See Sec. 635.24(a)(8)(i)-(vi). After
considering these criteria as discussed below, we have concluded that
reducing the retention limit of the Atlantic aggregated LCS and
hammerhead management groups for directed shark limited access permit
holders will slow the fishery catch rates to allow the fishery
throughout the Atlantic region to remain open for the rest of the year.
Since landings have reached approximately 20 percent of the quota and
are projected to reach 80 percent before the end of the 2018 fishing
season, NMFS is reducing the commercial Atlantic aggregated LCS and
hammerhead shark retention limit from 25 to 3 LCS other than sandbar
per vessel per trip.
NMFS considered whether to reduce the retention limit for LCS other
than sandbar sharks, considering the inseason retention limit
adjustment criteria listed in Sec. 635.24(a)(8), which includes
(broken down by bullet points):
The amount of remaining shark quota in the relevant area,
region, or sub-region, to date, based on dealer reports.
Based on dealer reports, 32.7 mt dw or 19 percent of the 168.9 mt
dw shark quota for the aggregated LCS management group has already been
landed in the Atlantic region. This means that approximately 80 percent
of the quota remains. At current landings rates, this quota would be
expanded by July. These levels this early in the season indicate that
unless action is taken to slow landings, fishermen in the Atlantic
region may not have an opportunity to fish in the region for the
remainder of the year.
The catch rates of the relevant shark species/complexes in
the region or sub-region, to date, based on dealer reports.
Dealer reports indicate a high level of average daily landings. At
this level, aggregated LCS are being harvested too quickly to ensure
fishing opportunities throughout the season. If the per trip limit is
left unchanged, aggregated LCS would likely be harvested at such a high
rate that there would not be enough aggregated LCS quota remaining to
keep the fishery open year-round, precluding equitable fishing
opportunities for the entire Atlantic region.
Estimated date of fishery closure based on when the
landings are projected to reach 80 percent of the quota given the
realized catch rates.
Once the landings reach 80 percent of the quota, NMFS would have to
close the aggregated LCS management group as well as the ``linked
hammerhead shark management group. Current catch rates would likely
result in reaching this limit by the beginning of July. A closure so
early in the year would preclude fishing opportunities in the Atlantic
region for the remainder of the year.
Effects of the adjustment on accomplishing the objectives
of the 2006 Consolidated HMS FMP and its amendments.
Reducing the retention limit for the aggregated LCS and hammerhead
management group from 25 to 3 LCS per trip would allow for fishing
opportunities later in the year consistent with the FMP's objectives to
ensure equitable fishing opportunities throughout the fishing season
and to limit bycatch and discards.
Variations in seasonal distribution, abundance, or
migratory patterns of the relevant shark species based on scientific
and fishery-based knowledge.
The directed shark fisheries in the Atlantic region exhibit a mixed
species composition, with a high abundance of aggregated LCS caught in
conjunction with hammerhead sharks. As a result, by slowing the harvest
and reducing landings on a per-trip basis, both
[[Page 21745]]
fisheries could remain open for the remainder of the year.
Effects of catch rates in one part of a region or sub-
region precluding vessels in another part of that region or sub-region
from having a reasonable opportunity to harvest a portion of the
relevant quota.
Based on dealer reports, and given NMFS' notice to the regulated
community (82 FR 55512, November 22, 2017) that a goal of this year's
fishery was to ensure fishing opportunities throughout the fishing
season, NMFS has concluded that the aggregated LCS quota is being
harvested too quickly to meet conservation and management goals for the
fishery. If the harvest of these species is not slowed, we estimate
that the fishery would close by the beginning of July. Closing the
fishery so early would prevent fishermen from other parts of the
Atlantic region from having the same opportunities to harvest the
aggregated LCS quota later in the year.
On November 22, 2017 (82 FR 55512), NMFS announced that the
aggregated LCS and hammerhead shark management groups for the Atlantic
region would open on January 1 with a quota of 168.9 metric tons (mt)
dressed weight (dw) (372,552 lb dw) and 27.1 mt dw (59,736 lb dw),
respectively. In that final rule, NMFS also indicated that if it
appeared that the aggregated LCS management group quota is being
harvested too quickly, to allow fishermen throughout the entire region
an opportunity to fish (e.g., if approximately 20 percent of the quota
is caught at the beginning of the year), NMFS would consider reducing
the commercial retention limit for LCS other than sandbar sharks.
Dealer reports through May 4, 2018, indicate that 32.7 mt dw or 19
percent of the available quota for the aggregated LCS management group
has been harvested. If the average landings rate for the aggregated LCS
management group reflected in the dealer reports continues, landings
could reach 80 percent of the quota by the beginning of July. Once the
landings reach 80 percent of the quota, NMFS would close both the
aggregated LCS and hammerhead management group because they are linked
under the regulations (Sec. 635.28(b)(3)).
Accordingly, as of 11:30 p.m. local time May 12, 2018, NMFS is
reducing the retention limit for the commercial aggregated LCS and
hammerhead shark management groups in the Atlantic region for directed
shark limited access permit holders from 25 LCS other than sandbar
sharks per vessel per trip to 3 LCS other than sandbar sharks per
vessel per trip. If the vessel is properly permitted to operate as a
charter vessel or headboat for HMS and is engaged in a for-hire trip,
in which case the recreational retention limits for sharks and ``no
sale'' provisions apply (Sec. 635.22(a) and (c)), or if the vessel
possesses a valid shark research permit under Sec. 635.32 and a NMFS-
approved observer is onboard, then they are exempted from the retention
limit adjustment.
All other retention limits and shark fisheries in the Atlantic
region remain unchanged. This retention limit will remain at 3 LCS
other than sandbar sharks per vessel per trip for the rest of the 2018
fishing season, or until NMFS announces via a notice in the Federal
Register another adjustment to the retention limit or a fishery closure
is warranted.
The boundary between the Gulf of Mexico region and the Atlantic
region is defined at Sec. 635.27(b)(1) as a line beginning on the East
Coast of Florida at the mainland at 25[deg]20.4' N. lat, proceeding due
East. Any water and land to the north and east of that boundary is
considered, for the purposes of quota monitoring and setting of quotas,
to be within the Atlantic region.
Classification
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), the Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds there is good cause to waive prior notice
and an opportunity for public comment on this action, as notice and
comment would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest.
Providing prior notice and an opportunity for comment is impracticable
because the catch and landings that need to be reduced are ongoing and
must be reduced immediately to meet conservation and management
objectives for the fishery. Continued fishing at those levels during
the time that notice and comment takes place would result in the much
of the quota being landed and could result in a very early closure of
the fishery, contrary to the objectives of the existing conservation
and management measures in place for those species. These objectives
include ensuring that fishing opportunities are equitable and that
bycatch and discards are minimized. Allowing fishing to continue at the
existing rates even for a limited time is contrary to these objectives
and would thus be impracticable. It would also be contrary to the
public interest because, if the quota continues to be caught at the
current levels, the quota will not last throughout the remainder of the
fishing season and a large number of fishermen would be denied the
opportunity to land sharks from the quota. Furthermore, continued catch
at the current rates, even for a limited period, could result in
eventual quota overharvests, since it is still so early in the fishing
year. The AA also finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in
effective date pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) for the same reasons.
This action is required under Sec. 635.28(b)(2) and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866. NMFS has concluded that reducing
the retention limit of the Atlantic aggregated LCS and hammerhead
management groups for directed shark limited access permit holders will
slow the fishery catch rates to allow the fishery throughout the
Atlantic region to remain open for the rest of the year.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 7, 2018.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-09945 Filed 5-7-18; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
