Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2019 Bluefish Specifications, 66234-66236 [2018-27878]

Download as PDF 66234 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 246 / Wednesday, December 26, 2018 / Proposed Rules Appendix—Information Collection Under the Paperwork Reduction Act Title: Water Carrier Tariffs. OMB Control Number: 2140–0026. STB Form Number: None. Type of Review: Extension with change. Summary: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Surface Transportation Board (STB or Board) gives notice that it is requesting from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval for the revision of the currently approved information collection, Water Carrier Tariffs, OMB Control No. 2140–0026, as further described below. The requested revision to the currently approved collection is necessitated by this NPRM. Respondents: Water carriers that provide freight transportation in noncontiguous domestic trade. Number of Respondents: Approximately 20. Frequency: Annually. Total Burden Hours (annually including all respondents): 80 hours (20 annual filings × 4 hours estimated time per certification). Total ‘‘Non-Hour Burden’’ Cost (such as start-up costs and mailing costs): There are no non-hourly burden costs for this collection. The annual certifications will be submitted electronically. Needs and Uses: Under 49 U.S.C. 13702(b) and 49 CFR part 1312, water carriers that provide freight transportation in noncontiguous domestic trade (i.e., shipments moving to or from Alaska, Hawaii, or the U.S. territories or possessions (Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands) to or from the mainland U.S.) may file an annual certification with the Board that includes the internet address of a website containing a list of current and historical prices and fees that the water carrier charges to the shipping public, rather than submit individual tariffs to the Board. The collection by the Board of these water carrier annual certifications with active website links will decrease the burden on carriers. [FR Doc. 2018–27913 Filed 12–21–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 648 amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with PROPOSALS1 [Docket No. 181010932–8999–01] RIN 0648–XG562 Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2019 Bluefish Specifications National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. AGENCY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:37 Dec 21, 2018 Jkt 247001 specifications are available upon request from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications Fishery Management Council, Suite 201, for the 2019 Atlantic bluefish fishery, as 800 N State Street, Dover, DE 19901. recommended by the Mid-Atlantic These documents are also accessible via Fishery Management Council. This the internet at https://www.mafmc.org. action is necessary to comply with the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: implementing regulations of the Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Management Bluefish Fishery Management Plan that Specialist, (978) 281–9180. require NMFS to publish specifications SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: for the fishery after providing the opportunity for public comment. The Background proposed specifications are intended to The Mid-Atlantic Fishery establish allowable harvest levels for the Management Council and the Atlantic stock that will prevent overfishing while States Marine Fisheries Commission allowing optimum yield, consistent jointly manage the Atlantic Bluefish with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The Conservation and Management Act and FMP requires the specification of the the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan. acceptable biological catch (ABC), This action also informs the public of annual catch limit (ACL), annual catch the proposed fishery specifications, and targets (ACT), commercial quotas, provides an opportunity for comment. recreational harvest limit, and other DATES: Comments must be received by management measures, for up to three January 10, 2019. years at a time. This action proposes ADDRESSES: You may submit comments specifications for the bluefish fishery for on this document, identified by NOAA– the 2019 fishing year. NMFS–2018–0127, by either of the In 2015, the 60th Northeast Stock following methods: Assessment Workshop concluded that Electronic Submission: Submit all the Atlantic bluefish stock is not electronic public comments via the overfished, and overfishing is not Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. occurring. The most recent data update 1. Go to www.regulations.gov/ (2018) showed slight declines in #!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018biomass after 2016, but no change in 0127, stock status from the 2015 benchmark 2. Click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, assessment. Based on this best available complete the required fields, and scientific information, the Council’s 3. Enter or attach your comments. Scientific and Statistical Committee —OR— (SSC) recommended that specifications for the 2019 bluefish fishery remain Mail: Submit written comments to unchanged from the 2018 specifications Michael Pentony, Regional provided in the August 4, 2016, final Administrator, National Marine rule (81 FR 26267), as corrected in the Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic September 27, 2016, final rule (81 FR Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the 66197). The SSC found no compelling outside of the envelope: ‘‘Comments on reason to change the overfishing limit, the Proposed Rule for Bluefish ABC, or subsequent catch limits and Specifications.’’ targets. The Council’s Bluefish Instructions: Comments sent by any Monitoring Committee (MC) also made other method, to any other address or status quo recommendations following individual, or received after the end of their 2018 meeting, consistent with the the comment period, may not be SSC. considered by NMFS. All comments The Bluefish FMP has a prescriptive received are part of the public record process for deriving specifications from and will generally be posted for public the ABC. The FMP sets the ACL equal viewing on www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying to the ABC, and there is historically no reduction due to management information (e.g., name, address, etc.), uncertainty because of persistent underconfidential business information, or harvest of available catch limits. The otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender will ACL is then divided between the commercial and recreational sectors by be publicly accessible. NMFS will allocating 17 percent to the commercial accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in the required fields if you wish ACT and 83 percent to the recreational ACT. Discards are then subtracted from to remain anonymous). each sector to calculate each sector’s Copies of the Supplemental TAL. Commercial discards are assumed Information Report (SIR) prepared for to be negligible and recreational this action and other supporting discards are projected using a terminal documents for the proposed Proposed rule; request for comments. ACTION: PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\26DEP1.SGM 26DEP1 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 246 / Wednesday, December 26, 2018 / Proposed Rules year estimate derived from Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) data. If the recreational fishery is not projected to land its harvest limit, then quota may be transferred from the recreational to the commercial sector increasing the resulting commercial quota up to 10.5 million pounds (4,763 mt). The Council may also specify a research set-aside (RSA) quota of up to 3 percent of the TAL; however, no RSA quota has been allocated since 2015. The final commercial quota is then allocated to the coastal states from Maine to Florida based on percent shares specified in the FMP. The Council and the Commission’s Bluefish Management Board met jointly in August 2018 to consider the SSC and MC’s recommendations and receive public comments. The Council and Board also voted to recommend largely status quo specifications for the 2019 bluefish fishery. Additionally, the Council recommended that the 2017 estimate of recreational catch be used as the basis for recreational landings projections and discards. They also recommended that the sector quota transfer from the recreational fishery to the commercial fishery be 4.0 million pounds (1,814 mt), rather than the maximum allowable transfer of 6.1 million pounds (2,767 mt). The Council stated that the resulting final quotas more accurately represent the current sector-based allocations and the overall goals of the Bluefish FMP. This will result in slightly different final commercial quotas and recreational harvest limits than 2018, so proposed 66235 specifications are not entirely status quo. The Council and Board did not recommend changes to any other regulations in place for bluefish; therefore, all other fishery management measures in place would remain unchanged for the 2019 fishing year. The bluefish stock will undergo an operational assessment in early 2019. The assessment is designed to incorporate updated MRIP information. It is expected the Council and Commission will use the assessment results to set specifications for the 2020–2022 fishing years. Proposed Specifications A summary of the Council’s recommended specifications is shown below in Table 1. TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF CURRENT 2018 AND PROPOSED 2019 BLUEFISH SPECIFICATIONS Current 2018 specifications million lb Overfishing Limit .............................................................................................. ABC = ACL ...................................................................................................... Commercial ACT ............................................................................................. Recreational ACT ............................................................................................ Commercial TAL .............................................................................................. Recreational TAL ............................................................................................. Sector Transfer ................................................................................................ Commercial Quota ........................................................................................... Recreational Harvest Limit .............................................................................. These recommendations are largely status quo compared to the current 2018 specifications, with only minor adjustments to the final commercial quota and recreational harvest limit to account for most recent recreational catch and an adjusted sector transfer. The Council and Board did not 27.97 21.81 3.71 18.11 3.71 15.11 3.54 7.24 11.58 recommend any changes to the recreational fishing measures for bluefish, so the possession limit of up to 15 fish per person would remain in place for 2019. Once the final commercial quota is determined, state commercial quota from Maine through Florida are allocated based on specified percentages metric tons Proposed 2019 specifications million lb 12,688 9,895 1,682 8,213 1,682 6,857 1,604 3,286 5,253 27.97 21.81 3.71 18.11 3.71 15.62 4.00 7.71 11.62 metric tons 12,688 9,895 1,682 8,213 1,682 7,083 1,814 3,497 5,271 defined in the FMP. The proposed commercial state allocations for 2019 based on the Council-recommended commercial quota is shown below in Table 2. No states exceeded their state allocated quota in 2018; therefore, no accountability measures need to be implemented for the 2019 fishing year. TABLE 2—PROPOSED 2019 BLUEFISH STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTA ALLOCATIONS amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with PROPOSALS1 State Percent share Proposed quota (lb) Proposed quota (mt) Maine ........................................................................................................................................... New Hampshire ........................................................................................................................... Massachusetts ............................................................................................................................. Rhode Island ................................................................................................................................ Connecticut .................................................................................................................................. New York ..................................................................................................................................... New Jersey .................................................................................................................................. Delaware ...................................................................................................................................... Maryland ...................................................................................................................................... Virginia ......................................................................................................................................... North Carolina .............................................................................................................................. South Carolina ............................................................................................................................. Georgia ........................................................................................................................................ Florida .......................................................................................................................................... 0.67 0.41 6.72 6.81 1.27 10.39 14.82 1.88 3.00 11.88 32.06 0.04 0.01 10.06 51,538 31,956 517,828 524,874 97,626 800,645 1,142,264 144,801 231,426 915,857 2,471,746 2,714 732 775,558 23.38 14.49 234.88 238.08 44.28 363.17 518.12 65.68 104.97 415.43 1121.17 1.23 0.33 351.79 Total ...................................................................................................................................... 100.00 7,709,565 3,497.00 VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:37 Dec 21, 2018 Jkt 247001 PO 00000 Frm 00073 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\26DEP1.SGM 26DEP1 66236 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 246 / Wednesday, December 26, 2018 / Proposed Rules The current 2018 specifications are in effect until December 31, 2018. After this date, the bluefish fishery will function without a quota in 2019 until these proposed specifications are finalized. Therefore, it is important to implement final specifications as quickly as possible into the fishing year in January 2019 to minimize time without functional quotas. To accomplish this, NMFS is requesting public comments by January 10, 2019. Please see the DATES section for submission instructions. amozie on DSK3GDR082PROD with PROPOSALS1 Classification Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MagnusonStevens Act), the NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with the Bluefish FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment. This proposed rule is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866. The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce certified VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:37 Dec 21, 2018 Jkt 247001 to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Council conducted an evaluation of the potential socioeconomic impacts of the proposed measures in conjunction with a SIR. Because no regulatory changes are proposed that would affect the bluefish fishery, they are not considered in the evaluation. The proposed measures would maintain the existing 2018 bluefish catch specifications and management measures with only minor adjustments to the final recreational TAL and resulting specifications. According to the commercial ownership database, 703 affiliate firms landed bluefish commercially (with a Federal commercial and/or charter/ party permit) during the 2015–2017 period. Of the 703 affiliate firms categorized as commercial fishing operations, 698 are categorized as small business and 5 categorized as large business. Because the Councilrecommended specifications are largely PO 00000 Frm 00074 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 9990 status quo, the proposed action would have no impact on the way the fishery operates or affect small entities. These measures are expected to provide similar fishing opportunities in 2019 when compared to 2018 (proxy for base year 2017). As such, revenue changes are not expected in 2019 due to these specifications. Analyses indicate that the proposed action is not expected to substantially change fishing effort or the risk of overfishing, prices/revenues, or fishery behavior. The proposed specifications are intended to maintain stability in the fishery for all regulated entities, while maintaining the healthy stock condition. There are no new reporting or recordkeeping requirements contained in this action. Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Dated: December 18, 2018. Donna S. Wieting, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine Fisheries Service. [FR Doc. 2018–27878 Filed 12–21–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P E:\FR\FM\26DEP1.SGM 26DEP1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66234-66236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27878]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 181010932-8999-01]
RIN 0648-XG562


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish 
Fishery; 2019 Bluefish Specifications

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

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications for the 2019 Atlantic bluefish 
fishery, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. 
This action is necessary to comply with the implementing regulations of 
the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan that require NMFS to publish 
specifications for the fishery after providing the opportunity for 
public comment. The proposed specifications are intended to establish 
allowable harvest levels for the stock that will prevent overfishing 
while allowing optimum yield, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the Bluefish Fishery 
Management Plan. This action also informs the public of the proposed 
fishery specifications, and provides an opportunity for comment.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 10, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2018-0127, by either of the following methods:
    Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
    1. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0127,
    2. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, 
and
    3. Enter or attach your comments.

--OR--

    Mail: Submit written comments to Michael Pentony, Regional 
Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55 Great Republic 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope: 
``Comments on the Proposed Rule for Bluefish Specifications.''
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily 
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous 
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain 
anonymous).
    Copies of the Supplemental Information Report (SIR) prepared for 
this action and other supporting documents for the proposed 
specifications are available upon request from Dr. Christopher M. 
Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 
Suite 201, 800 N State Street, Dover, DE 19901. These documents are 
also accessible via the internet at https://www.mafmc.org.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9180.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission jointly manage the Atlantic Bluefish 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP requires the specification of 
the acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limit (ACL), annual 
catch targets (ACT), commercial quotas, recreational harvest limit, and 
other management measures, for up to three years at a time. This action 
proposes specifications for the bluefish fishery for the 2019 fishing 
year.
    In 2015, the 60th Northeast Stock Assessment Workshop concluded 
that the Atlantic bluefish stock is not overfished, and overfishing is 
not occurring. The most recent data update (2018) showed slight 
declines in biomass after 2016, but no change in stock status from the 
2015 benchmark assessment. Based on this best available scientific 
information, the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) 
recommended that specifications for the 2019 bluefish fishery remain 
unchanged from the 2018 specifications provided in the August 4, 2016, 
final rule (81 FR 26267), as corrected in the September 27, 2016, final 
rule (81 FR 66197). The SSC found no compelling reason to change the 
overfishing limit, ABC, or subsequent catch limits and targets. The 
Council's Bluefish Monitoring Committee (MC) also made status quo 
recommendations following their 2018 meeting, consistent with the SSC.
    The Bluefish FMP has a prescriptive process for deriving 
specifications from the ABC. The FMP sets the ACL equal to the ABC, and 
there is historically no reduction due to management uncertainty 
because of persistent under-harvest of available catch limits. The ACL 
is then divided between the commercial and recreational sectors by 
allocating 17 percent to the commercial ACT and 83 percent to the 
recreational ACT. Discards are then subtracted from each sector to 
calculate each sector's TAL. Commercial discards are assumed to be 
negligible and recreational discards are projected using a terminal

[[Page 66235]]

year estimate derived from Marine Recreational Information Program 
(MRIP) data. If the recreational fishery is not projected to land its 
harvest limit, then quota may be transferred from the recreational to 
the commercial sector increasing the resulting commercial quota up to 
10.5 million pounds (4,763 mt). The Council may also specify a research 
set-aside (RSA) quota of up to 3 percent of the TAL; however, no RSA 
quota has been allocated since 2015. The final commercial quota is then 
allocated to the coastal states from Maine to Florida based on percent 
shares specified in the FMP.
    The Council and the Commission's Bluefish Management Board met 
jointly in August 2018 to consider the SSC and MC's recommendations and 
receive public comments. The Council and Board also voted to recommend 
largely status quo specifications for the 2019 bluefish fishery. 
Additionally, the Council recommended that the 2017 estimate of 
recreational catch be used as the basis for recreational landings 
projections and discards. They also recommended that the sector quota 
transfer from the recreational fishery to the commercial fishery be 4.0 
million pounds (1,814 mt), rather than the maximum allowable transfer 
of 6.1 million pounds (2,767 mt). The Council stated that the resulting 
final quotas more accurately represent the current sector-based 
allocations and the overall goals of the Bluefish FMP. This will result 
in slightly different final commercial quotas and recreational harvest 
limits than 2018, so proposed specifications are not entirely status 
quo. The Council and Board did not recommend changes to any other 
regulations in place for bluefish; therefore, all other fishery 
management measures in place would remain unchanged for the 2019 
fishing year.
    The bluefish stock will undergo an operational assessment in early 
2019. The assessment is designed to incorporate updated MRIP 
information. It is expected the Council and Commission will use the 
assessment results to set specifications for the 2020-2022 fishing 
years.

Proposed Specifications

    A summary of the Council's recommended specifications is shown 
below in Table 1.

                   Table 1--Summary of Current 2018 and Proposed 2019 Bluefish Specifications
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    Current 2018 specifications    Proposed 2019 specifications
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    million lb      metric tons     million lb      metric tons
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overfishing Limit...............................           27.97          12,688           27.97          12,688
ABC = ACL.......................................           21.81           9,895           21.81           9,895
Commercial ACT..................................            3.71           1,682            3.71           1,682
Recreational ACT................................           18.11           8,213           18.11           8,213
Commercial TAL..................................            3.71           1,682            3.71           1,682
Recreational TAL................................           15.11           6,857           15.62           7,083
Sector Transfer.................................            3.54           1,604            4.00           1,814
Commercial Quota................................            7.24           3,286            7.71           3,497
Recreational Harvest Limit......................           11.58           5,253           11.62           5,271
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    These recommendations are largely status quo compared to the 
current 2018 specifications, with only minor adjustments to the final 
commercial quota and recreational harvest limit to account for most 
recent recreational catch and an adjusted sector transfer. The Council 
and Board did not recommend any changes to the recreational fishing 
measures for bluefish, so the possession limit of up to 15 fish per 
person would remain in place for 2019.
    Once the final commercial quota is determined, state commercial 
quota from Maine through Florida are allocated based on specified 
percentages defined in the FMP. The proposed commercial state 
allocations for 2019 based on the Council-recommended commercial quota 
is shown below in Table 2. No states exceeded their state allocated 
quota in 2018; therefore, no accountability measures need to be 
implemented for the 2019 fishing year.

                       Table 2--Proposed 2019 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Proposed quota  Proposed quota
                              State                                Percent share       (lb)            (mt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine...........................................................            0.67          51,538           23.38
New Hampshire...................................................            0.41          31,956           14.49
Massachusetts...................................................            6.72         517,828          234.88
Rhode Island....................................................            6.81         524,874          238.08
Connecticut.....................................................            1.27          97,626           44.28
New York........................................................           10.39         800,645          363.17
New Jersey......................................................           14.82       1,142,264          518.12
Delaware........................................................            1.88         144,801           65.68
Maryland........................................................            3.00         231,426          104.97
Virginia........................................................           11.88         915,857          415.43
North Carolina..................................................           32.06       2,471,746         1121.17
South Carolina..................................................            0.04           2,714            1.23
Georgia.........................................................            0.01             732            0.33
Florida.........................................................           10.06         775,558          351.79
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................................          100.00       7,709,565        3,497.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 66236]]

    The current 2018 specifications are in effect until December 31, 
2018. After this date, the bluefish fishery will function without a 
quota in 2019 until these proposed specifications are finalized. 
Therefore, it is important to implement final specifications as quickly 
as possible into the fishing year in January 2019 to minimize time 
without functional quotas. To accomplish this, NMFS is requesting 
public comments by January 10, 2019. Please see the DATES section for 
submission instructions.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS 
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is 
consistent with the Bluefish FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration 
after public comment.
    This proposed rule is exempt from review under Executive Order 
12866.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
    The Council conducted an evaluation of the potential socioeconomic 
impacts of the proposed measures in conjunction with a SIR. Because no 
regulatory changes are proposed that would affect the bluefish fishery, 
they are not considered in the evaluation. The proposed measures would 
maintain the existing 2018 bluefish catch specifications and management 
measures with only minor adjustments to the final recreational TAL and 
resulting specifications.
    According to the commercial ownership database, 703 affiliate firms 
landed bluefish commercially (with a Federal commercial and/or charter/
party permit) during the 2015-2017 period. Of the 703 affiliate firms 
categorized as commercial fishing operations, 698 are categorized as 
small business and 5 categorized as large business. Because the 
Council-recommended specifications are largely status quo, the proposed 
action would have no impact on the way the fishery operates or affect 
small entities. These measures are expected to provide similar fishing 
opportunities in 2019 when compared to 2018 (proxy for base year 2017). 
As such, revenue changes are not expected in 2019 due to these 
specifications.
    Analyses indicate that the proposed action is not expected to 
substantially change fishing effort or the risk of overfishing, prices/
revenues, or fishery behavior. The proposed specifications are intended 
to maintain stability in the fishery for all regulated entities, while 
maintaining the healthy stock condition.
    There are no new reporting or recordkeeping requirements contained 
in this action.

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

    Dated: December 18, 2018.
Donna S. Wieting,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-27878 Filed 12-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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