Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; Revised 2019 Summer Flounder Specifications, 22392-22394 [2019-10250]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 96 / Friday, May 17, 2019 / Rules and Regulations
determines that maintaining the prior
year’s ACT is unnecessary. In addition,
the notification will reduce the length of
the recreational red grouper fishing
season the following fishing year by the
amount necessary to ensure red grouper
recreational landings do not exceed the
recreational ACT in the following
fishing year.
(iii) If red grouper are overfished,
based on the most recent Status of U.S.
Fisheries Report to Congress, and red
grouper recreational landings, as
estimated by the SRD, exceed the
applicable ACL specified in paragraph
(r)(2)(iv) of this section, the following
measures will apply. In addition to the
measures specified in paragraphs
(r)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section, 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 ACL for that following
year by the amount of the ACL overage
in the prior fishing year, and reduce the
ACT, as determined in paragraph
(r)(2)(ii) of this section, by the amount
of the ACL overage in the prior fishing
year, unless the best scientific
information available determines that a
greater, lesser, or no overage adjustment
is necessary.
(iv) The recreational ACL for red
grouper, in gutted weight, is 1.00
million lb (0.45 million kg). The
recreational ACT for red grouper, in
gutted weight, is 0.92 million lb (0.42
million kg).
[FR Doc. 2019–10322 Filed 5–16–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 190312234–9412–01]
RIN 0648–XG898
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and
Black Sea Bass Fisheries; Revised
2019 Summer Flounder Specifications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Interim final rule.
jbell on DSK3GLQ082PROD with RULES
AGENCY:
NMFS issues revised
specifications for the 2019 summer
flounder fishery. Due to recently
available information from a benchmark
stock assessment, changes to the
specifications are necessary to better
SUMMARY:
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achieve optimum yield within the
fishery while controlling overfishing,
consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act. This rule is also intended to inform
the public of the changes to the
specifications for the remainder of the
2019 fishing year.
DATES: Effective May 17, 2019, through
December 31, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the revised
specifications, including the
Supplemental Information Report, and
other supporting documents for the
action, 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 summer flounder fishery is
managed jointly by the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council and the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission as a part of the Summer
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
Fishery Management Plan (FMP).
Summer flounder specifications must be
implemented at the start of the fishing
year on January 1, by the order of Judge
Robert Doumar in North Carolina
Fisheries Association v. Daley. The FMP
does not have any year-to-year quota
rollover or other provisions that would
ensure that catch constraints would
have been in place on January 1, 2019,
should no action have been taken. The
final peer review and assessment results
of the November 2018 summer flounder
benchmark stock assessment were not
available to be incorporated into the
2019 specifications by this deadline, so
on December 17, 2018, initial 2019
specifications were published for the
summer flounder fishery (83 FR 64482)
based on scientific information
provided by a 2016 assessment update.
In that rule, it was explained that those
initial specifications should be
considered interim measures and that
mid-year changes would be developed
and implemented to address the
benchmark assessment results. This
action implements revisions to the
summer flounder catch and landings
limits for the 2019 fishing year based on
new information provided by the
benchmark stock assessment.
The stock assessment was developed
and peer reviewed in the 66th Stock
Assessment Workshop/Stock
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Sfmt 4700
Assessment Review Committee (SAW/
SARC 66). The final peer review and
assessment results were made available
in February 2019. This assessment
included incorporation of revised
Marine Recreational Information
Program (MRIP) estimates of
recreational catch, which has an
important impact on estimated
spawning stock biomass for summer
flounder. Incorporating the revised
MRIP time series increased the total
average fishery catch from 1982–2017
by about 30 percent. While the
magnitude of fishing mortality was not
strongly affected, the increased catch
has resulted in increased estimates of
historic and current stock size. Based on
the results of this benchmark
assessment, the summer flounder stock
is not overfished, and overfishing is not
occurring. Previously, the stock was
considered to be subject to overfishing.
The Council’s Scientific and
Statistical Committee (SSC) and the
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea
Bass Monitoring Committee (MC) met in
late February to review the assessment
results and make recommendations to
the Council for revised catch and
landings limits. The SSC applied the
Council’s risk policy to derive
recommended overfishing limits (OFL)
and acceptable biological catch (ABC)
values for fishing years 2019–2021. A
different approach was used for deriving
ABCs than in prior years. Rather than a
varying ABC from year to year, a
constant, averaged ABC value was
derived for 2019–2021 to maintain more
consistency in the fishery. This
approach was determined to be
preferable for industry, to have a similar
biological outcome to the varied ABC
approach, and is consistent with the
Council’s risk policy. The MC, Council,
and the Commission’s Summer
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
Management Board all recommended
using the 3-year averaged ABC approach
as it provides additional stability in the
fishery and reduces the expected
number of year-to-year regulation
changes over this time period.
The Council and Board reviewed the
new stock assessment information and
SSC and MC recommendations at their
joint meeting in March 2019, and took
final action on their revised 2019
specification recommendations. In those
recommendations, the Council and
Board also proposed setting 2020–2021
catch and landings limits, but those
specifications will be implemented in a
separate action later this year. In
addition, the 2019 recreational measures
for summer flounder are being
developed in a separate, concurrent
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 96 / Friday, May 17, 2019 / Rules and Regulations
action published elsewhere in this issue
of the Federal Register.
This action is being published
without prior notice and formal public
comment period. The changes to the
initial 2019 summer flounder
specifications included in this action
were anticipated during development of
the original specifications. The public
was also notified of the intent to publish
revised specifications in the proposed
and final rules of the original summer
flounder specifications action (83 FR
57389, November 15, 2018; 83 FR
64482, December 17, 2018), as well as
in the proposed rule for the 2019
summer flounder recreational measures
that is being published elsewhere in this
issue of the Federal Register.
Revised Specifications
This action implements the revised
2019 specifications (Table 1) as
recommended by the Council and
Board. This action makes no changes to
the current commercial management
measures, including the minimum fish
size (14-inch [35.6-cm] total length),
gear requirements, and possession
limits.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS AND REVISED 2019 SUMMER FLOUNDER FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS
Previous
Revised
Difference (%)
million lb
OFL .......................................................................................................................
ABC .......................................................................................................................
Commercial Annual Catch Limit (ACL) .................................................................
Commercial Annual Catch Target (ACT) * ............................................................
Expected Commercial Discards ............................................................................
Commercial Quota * ..............................................................................................
Recreational ACL ..................................................................................................
Recreational ACT ..................................................................................................
Expected Recreational Discards ...........................................................................
Recreational Harvest Limit ....................................................................................
mt
20.60
15.41
9.18
8.14
1.47
6.67
6.22
6.22
1.08
5.15
million lb
9,344
6,990
4,164
3,692
667
3,030
2,821
2,821
490
2,336
mt
30.00
25.03
13.53
12.98
2.00
10.98
11.51
11.51
3.82
7.69
13,609
11,354
6,136
5,888
907
4,981
5,218
5,218
1,732
3,486
46
62
47
59
36
65
85
85
254
49
* Commercial ACTs and quotas shown after accountability measures have been applied.
Accountability measures (AM) in the
commercial summer flounder fishery
require a scaled payback against the
commercial fishery’s ACT, based on
both the amount of the overage and the
status of the summer flounder stock,
using the most recent biological
reference points. An AM payback of
1.04 million pounds (472 mt) was
applied to the commercial ACL in the
initial 2019 specifications due to an
overage in the 2017 summer flounder
fishery caused by higher than expected
commercial discards. The timing of that
action did not allow for the results of
the 2018 benchmark stock assessment to
be incorporated into the AM evaluation,
so that initial payback amount was
based on the status of the stock from the
2016 assessment update, which
determined the stock was not
overfished, but overfishing was
occurring. The benchmark assessment
has since updated the biological
reference points and stock status for
summer flounder. Based on the
improved stock status, the revised
payback for the AM is 547,000 pounds
(248 mt). This reduces the revised
commercial ACT from 13.53 million
pounds (6,137 mt) to 12.98 million
pounds (5,888 mt), and the subsequent
revised commercial quota from 11.53
million pounds (5,230 mt) to 10.98
million pounds (4,981 mt).
Table 2 summarizes the revised
commercial summer flounder quotas for
each state, with the revised AM payback
incorporated, using the allocated
percentages defined in the FMP. This
table also includes state-incurred
overages from 2018, which are
determined by comparing landings for
January through October 2018, plus any
unaccounted 2017 landings overages to
the respective state’s 2018 quota. These
state overages are still deducted as
pound-for-pound paybacks from the
revised 2019 quotas. Delaware has an
accumulated overharvest from previous
years that is greater than its allocated
amount of commercial quota for 2019.
As a result, there is no quota available
for 2019 in Delaware, and federally
permitted vessels are prohibited from
landing summer flounder in that state,
unless additional quota becomes
available through a transfer. There has
been one state-to-state quota transfer in
the 2019 fishing year from North
Carolina to New Jersey, which is also
shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2—REVISED 2019 SUMMER FLOUNDER STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTAS
FMP
Percent Share
State
Revised 2019
quotas 1
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lb
Adjustment for overages
through October 31, 2018
kg
lb
kg
State quota
transfer
Final revised 2019
quotas 2
lb
kg
ME .....................................................................................
NH .....................................................................................
MA .....................................................................................
RI .......................................................................................
CT ......................................................................................
NY .....................................................................................
NJ ......................................................................................
DE .....................................................................................
MD .....................................................................................
VA ......................................................................................
NC .....................................................................................
0.0476
0.0005
6.8205
15.6830
2.2571
7.6470
16.7250
0.0178
2.0391
21.3168
27.4458
5,224
51
749,091
1,722,462
247,895
839,869
1,836,906
1,954
223,954
2,341,220
3,014,377
2,369
23
339,782
781,295
112,443
380,958
833,206
886
101,584
1,061,959
1,367,298
0
0
¥7,559
0
0
0
0
¥55,047
0
0
0
0
0
¥3,429
0
0
0
0
¥24,969
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3,270
0
0
0
¥3,270
0
0
0
0
0
0
1,483
0
0
0
¥1,483
5,224
51
741,532
1,722,462
247,895
839,869
1,840,176
¥53,093
223,954
2,341,220
3,011,107
2,369
23
336,353
781,295
112,443
380,958
834,690
¥24,083
101,584
1,061,959
1,365,815
Total ...........................................................................
100.00
10,983,000
4,981,805
0
0
0
0
10,973,488
4,977,491
1 The
lb
kg
2017 AM payback of 547,000 lb (248 mt) has already been applied to the total coastwide allocated quota.
2 Total quota is the sum for all states with an allocation. A state with a negative number has a 2019 allocation of zero (0). Total final 2019 quota, less overages, does not include negative allocations (i.e., Delaware’s overage).
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 96 / Friday, May 17, 2019 / Rules and Regulations
Classification
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Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this interim final rule is consistent
with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and
Black Sea Bass FMP, the national
standards and other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable law.
This interim final rule is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866
because this action contains no
implementing regulations.
This interim final rule does not
duplicate, conflict, or overlap with any
existing Federal rules.
This action does not contain a
collection of information requirement
for purposes of the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
This interim final rule is exempt from
the procedures of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act because the rule is issued
without opportunity for prior notice and
opportunity for public comment.
The Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA, finds it is unnecessary
and contrary to the public interest to
provide for prior notice and an
opportunity for public comment,
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).
Additionally, the Assistant
Administrator finds good cause under 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day
delay of effectiveness period for this
rule. This action revises the 2019
specifications (i.e., annual catch limits)
for the summer flounder fishery to
account for new benchmark stock
assessment results, and increases the
commercial quota by 65 percent and the
recreational harvest limit by 49 percent.
A delay in its effectiveness would
unnecessarily disadvantage fishermen
who wish to take advantage of the
fishing opportunity that this action
provides with increased quotas. A delay
would be contrary to the public interest
as it could create confusion and
potential economic harm in the summer
flounder fishery. Additionally, it could
compromise the effectiveness of the new
specifications in achieving optimal
yield while still preventing overfishing.
This rule should be effective as soon as
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possible to fully realize the intended
benefits to the fishery.
This action, revising 2019 summer
flounder specifications to account for
benchmark assessment results, was
anticipated during development and
implementation of the original
specifications action. Because of this,
changes to catch limits as a result of the
assessment were already analyzed under
the range of alternatives considered in
the environmental assessment for the
original action, and the potential for
mid-year revision was discussed in the
initial specifications (83 FR 64482). The
public was provided an opportunity to
comment on this likely outcome in late
2018. In the original action, we also
notified the public of our intent to
publish revised specifications once
assessment information became
available. The information for and
development of this action was
discussed and subject to public
comment following the results of the
benchmark assessment at a public MC
meeting in February 2019, and the MidAtlantic Council Meeting in March
2019. In addition, the proposed rule for
the 2019 summer flounder recreational
measures, being published elsewhere in
this issue of the Federal Register,
describes the revised recreational
specifications that appear in this action.
This rule is being issued at the earliest
possible date. The results of the
benchmark assessment became available
in February 2019, and the Council and
Board took final action on the revised
specifications in March. The revised
specifications substantially increase
quotas and relieve restrictions on the
fishery. The timely implementation of
this action will help to ensure that
industry has the opportunity to achieve
optimal yield in the fishery, and access
the increased quotas made available by
the new stock assessment. A delay in
implementing the new catch limits
could prevent this fishing opportunity
and potential economic benefit, which
is contrary to the public interest.
Furthermore, this rule would not
require a period for regulated parties to
come into compliance with the new
rules. Summer flounder fishery
participants will not be required to
purchase new equipment or otherwise
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Fmt 4700
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expend time or money to comply with
these management measures. Rather,
complying with this rule simply means
adhering to the higher (less restrictive)
catch limits and management measures
set for the remainder of the summer
flounder fishing year. Fishery
stakeholders have been involved in the
development of this action and are
anticipating this rule.
Finally, if the 30-day delay in
effectiveness were not waived, the lack
of effective catch limits for summer
flounder following the updated
benchmark assessment results would
present confusion to the cooperative
management regime governing the
fishery in the states. This rule needs to
be effective, with the revised
recreational harvest limit, before the
Federal recreational management
measures and state recreational
management plans can be implemented.
Summer flounder recreational seasons
typically begin in May, and a 30-day
delay would result in a substantial loss
of the 2019 recreational fishing season,
loss of fishing opportunity, and
economic loss to related industries. If
there was a delay, individual states
would be unable to set appropriately
adjusted commercial possession and/or
trip limits, which apportion the catch
throughout the year. This could result in
further lost seasonal fishing and
economic opportunity on the state level,
as well as a temporally unbalanced
supply that could disrupt prices in the
coastwide market. Disproportionate
harvest and confusion over state quota
allocations could also make landings
and quota monitoring difficult, affecting
the timing of state closures later in the
year.
For these reasons, there is good cause
to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness and these specifications
shall be made effective on May 17, 2019.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 13, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019–10250 Filed 5–16–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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17MYR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 96 (Friday, May 17, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22392-22394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10250]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 190312234-9412-01]
RIN 0648-XG898
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder,
Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fisheries; Revised 2019 Summer Flounder
Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Interim final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS issues revised specifications for the 2019 summer
flounder fishery. Due to recently available information from a
benchmark stock assessment, changes to the specifications are necessary
to better achieve optimum yield within the fishery while controlling
overfishing, consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act. This rule is also intended to inform the public of
the changes to the specifications for the remainder of the 2019 fishing
year.
DATES: Effective May 17, 2019, through December 31, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the revised specifications, including the
Supplemental Information Report, and other supporting documents for the
action, 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 summer flounder fishery is managed jointly by the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission as a part of the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Summer flounder specifications must be
implemented at the start of the fishing year on January 1, by the order
of Judge Robert Doumar in North Carolina Fisheries Association v.
Daley. The FMP does not have any year-to-year quota rollover or other
provisions that would ensure that catch constraints would have been in
place on January 1, 2019, should no action have been taken. The final
peer review and assessment results of the November 2018 summer flounder
benchmark stock assessment were not available to be incorporated into
the 2019 specifications by this deadline, so on December 17, 2018,
initial 2019 specifications were published for the summer flounder
fishery (83 FR 64482) based on scientific information provided by a
2016 assessment update. In that rule, it was explained that those
initial specifications should be considered interim measures and that
mid-year changes would be developed and implemented to address the
benchmark assessment results. This action implements revisions to the
summer flounder catch and landings limits for the 2019 fishing year
based on new information provided by the benchmark stock assessment.
The stock assessment was developed and peer reviewed in the 66th
Stock Assessment Workshop/Stock Assessment Review Committee (SAW/SARC
66). The final peer review and assessment results were made available
in February 2019. This assessment included incorporation of revised
Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) estimates of
recreational catch, which has an important impact on estimated spawning
stock biomass for summer flounder. Incorporating the revised MRIP time
series increased the total average fishery catch from 1982-2017 by
about 30 percent. While the magnitude of fishing mortality was not
strongly affected, the increased catch has resulted in increased
estimates of historic and current stock size. Based on the results of
this benchmark assessment, the summer flounder stock is not overfished,
and overfishing is not occurring. Previously, the stock was considered
to be subject to overfishing.
The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and the
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee (MC) met
in late February to review the assessment results and make
recommendations to the Council for revised catch and landings limits.
The SSC applied the Council's risk policy to derive recommended
overfishing limits (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) values
for fishing years 2019-2021. A different approach was used for deriving
ABCs than in prior years. Rather than a varying ABC from year to year,
a constant, averaged ABC value was derived for 2019-2021 to maintain
more consistency in the fishery. This approach was determined to be
preferable for industry, to have a similar biological outcome to the
varied ABC approach, and is consistent with the Council's risk policy.
The MC, Council, and the Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black
Sea Bass Management Board all recommended using the 3-year averaged ABC
approach as it provides additional stability in the fishery and reduces
the expected number of year-to-year regulation changes over this time
period.
The Council and Board reviewed the new stock assessment information
and SSC and MC recommendations at their joint meeting in March 2019,
and took final action on their revised 2019 specification
recommendations. In those recommendations, the Council and Board also
proposed setting 2020-2021 catch and landings limits, but those
specifications will be implemented in a separate action later this
year. In addition, the 2019 recreational measures for summer flounder
are being developed in a separate, concurrent
[[Page 22393]]
action published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register.
This action is being published without prior notice and formal
public comment period. The changes to the initial 2019 summer flounder
specifications included in this action were anticipated during
development of the original specifications. The public was also
notified of the intent to publish revised specifications in the
proposed and final rules of the original summer flounder specifications
action (83 FR 57389, November 15, 2018; 83 FR 64482, December 17,
2018), as well as in the proposed rule for the 2019 summer flounder
recreational measures that is being published elsewhere in this issue
of the Federal Register.
Revised Specifications
This action implements the revised 2019 specifications (Table 1) as
recommended by the Council and Board. This action makes no changes to
the current commercial management measures, including the minimum fish
size (14-inch [35.6-cm] total length), gear requirements, and
possession limits.
Table 1--Summary of Previous and Revised 2019 Summer Flounder Fishery Specifications
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous Revised
---------------------------------------------------------------- Difference (%)
million lb mt million lb mt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL............................. 20.60 9,344 30.00 13,609 46
ABC............................. 15.41 6,990 25.03 11,354 62
Commercial Annual Catch Limit 9.18 4,164 13.53 6,136 47
(ACL)..........................
Commercial Annual Catch Target 8.14 3,692 12.98 5,888 59
(ACT) *........................
Expected Commercial Discards.... 1.47 667 2.00 907 36
Commercial Quota *.............. 6.67 3,030 10.98 4,981 65
Recreational ACL................ 6.22 2,821 11.51 5,218 85
Recreational ACT................ 6.22 2,821 11.51 5,218 85
Expected Recreational Discards.. 1.08 490 3.82 1,732 254
Recreational Harvest Limit...... 5.15 2,336 7.69 3,486 49
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Commercial ACTs and quotas shown after accountability measures have been applied.
Accountability measures (AM) in the commercial summer flounder
fishery require a scaled payback against the commercial fishery's ACT,
based on both the amount of the overage and the status of the summer
flounder stock, using the most recent biological reference points. An
AM payback of 1.04 million pounds (472 mt) was applied to the
commercial ACL in the initial 2019 specifications due to an overage in
the 2017 summer flounder fishery caused by higher than expected
commercial discards. The timing of that action did not allow for the
results of the 2018 benchmark stock assessment to be incorporated into
the AM evaluation, so that initial payback amount was based on the
status of the stock from the 2016 assessment update, which determined
the stock was not overfished, but overfishing was occurring. The
benchmark assessment has since updated the biological reference points
and stock status for summer flounder. Based on the improved stock
status, the revised payback for the AM is 547,000 pounds (248 mt). This
reduces the revised commercial ACT from 13.53 million pounds (6,137 mt)
to 12.98 million pounds (5,888 mt), and the subsequent revised
commercial quota from 11.53 million pounds (5,230 mt) to 10.98 million
pounds (4,981 mt).
Table 2 summarizes the revised commercial summer flounder quotas
for each state, with the revised AM payback incorporated, using the
allocated percentages defined in the FMP. This table also includes
state-incurred overages from 2018, which are determined by comparing
landings for January through October 2018, plus any unaccounted 2017
landings overages to the respective state's 2018 quota. These state
overages are still deducted as pound-for-pound paybacks from the
revised 2019 quotas. Delaware has an accumulated overharvest from
previous years that is greater than its allocated amount of commercial
quota for 2019. As a result, there is no quota available for 2019 in
Delaware, and federally permitted vessels are prohibited from landing
summer flounder in that state, unless additional quota becomes
available through a transfer. There has been one state-to-state quota
transfer in the 2019 fishing year from North Carolina to New Jersey,
which is also shown in Table 2.
Table 2--Revised 2019 Summer Flounder State Commercial Quotas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised 2019 quotas \1\ Adjustment for overages State quota transfer Final revised 2019
FMP Percent -------------------------- through October 31, 2018 -------------------------- quotas \2\
State Share -------------------------- -------------------------
lb kg lb kg lb kg lb kg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME.............................. 0.0476 5,224 2,369 0 0 0 0 5,224 2,369
NH.............................. 0.0005 51 23 0 0 0 0 51 23
MA.............................. 6.8205 749,091 339,782 -7,559 -3,429 0 0 741,532 336,353
RI.............................. 15.6830 1,722,462 781,295 0 0 0 0 1,722,462 781,295
CT.............................. 2.2571 247,895 112,443 0 0 0 0 247,895 112,443
NY.............................. 7.6470 839,869 380,958 0 0 0 0 839,869 380,958
NJ.............................. 16.7250 1,836,906 833,206 0 0 3,270 1,483 1,840,176 834,690
DE.............................. 0.0178 1,954 886 -55,047 -24,969 0 0 -53,093 -24,083
MD.............................. 2.0391 223,954 101,584 0 0 0 0 223,954 101,584
VA.............................. 21.3168 2,341,220 1,061,959 0 0 0 0 2,341,220 1,061,959
NC.............................. 27.4458 3,014,377 1,367,298 0 0 -3,270 -1,483 3,011,107 1,365,815
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................... 100.00 10,983,000 4,981,805 0 0 0 0 10,973,488 4,977,491
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 2017 AM payback of 547,000 lb (248 mt) has already been applied to the total coastwide allocated quota.
\2\ Total quota is the sum for all states with an allocation. A state with a negative number has a 2019 allocation of zero (0). Total final 2019 quota,
less overages, does not include negative allocations (i.e., Delaware's overage).
[[Page 22394]]
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this interim final
rule is consistent with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
FMP, the national standards and other provisions of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
This interim final rule is exempt from review under Executive Order
12866 because this action contains no implementing regulations.
This interim final rule does not duplicate, conflict, or overlap
with any existing Federal rules.
This action does not contain a collection of information
requirement for purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
This interim final rule is exempt from the procedures of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act because the rule is issued without
opportunity for prior notice and opportunity for public comment.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds it is
unnecessary and contrary to the public interest to provide for prior
notice and an opportunity for public comment, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(B). Additionally, the Assistant Administrator finds good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay of effectiveness
period for this rule. This action revises the 2019 specifications
(i.e., annual catch limits) for the summer flounder fishery to account
for new benchmark stock assessment results, and increases the
commercial quota by 65 percent and the recreational harvest limit by 49
percent. A delay in its effectiveness would unnecessarily disadvantage
fishermen who wish to take advantage of the fishing opportunity that
this action provides with increased quotas. A delay would be contrary
to the public interest as it could create confusion and potential
economic harm in the summer flounder fishery. Additionally, it could
compromise the effectiveness of the new specifications in achieving
optimal yield while still preventing overfishing. This rule should be
effective as soon as possible to fully realize the intended benefits to
the fishery.
This action, revising 2019 summer flounder specifications to
account for benchmark assessment results, was anticipated during
development and implementation of the original specifications action.
Because of this, changes to catch limits as a result of the assessment
were already analyzed under the range of alternatives considered in the
environmental assessment for the original action, and the potential for
mid-year revision was discussed in the initial specifications (83 FR
64482). The public was provided an opportunity to comment on this
likely outcome in late 2018. In the original action, we also notified
the public of our intent to publish revised specifications once
assessment information became available. The information for and
development of this action was discussed and subject to public comment
following the results of the benchmark assessment at a public MC
meeting in February 2019, and the Mid-Atlantic Council Meeting in March
2019. In addition, the proposed rule for the 2019 summer flounder
recreational measures, being published elsewhere in this issue of the
Federal Register, describes the revised recreational specifications
that appear in this action.
This rule is being issued at the earliest possible date. The
results of the benchmark assessment became available in February 2019,
and the Council and Board took final action on the revised
specifications in March. The revised specifications substantially
increase quotas and relieve restrictions on the fishery. The timely
implementation of this action will help to ensure that industry has the
opportunity to achieve optimal yield in the fishery, and access the
increased quotas made available by the new stock assessment. A delay in
implementing the new catch limits could prevent this fishing
opportunity and potential economic benefit, which is contrary to the
public interest.
Furthermore, this rule would not require a period for regulated
parties to come into compliance with the new rules. Summer flounder
fishery participants will not be required to purchase new equipment or
otherwise expend time or money to comply with these management
measures. Rather, complying with this rule simply means adhering to the
higher (less restrictive) catch limits and management measures set for
the remainder of the summer flounder fishing year. Fishery stakeholders
have been involved in the development of this action and are
anticipating this rule.
Finally, if the 30-day delay in effectiveness were not waived, the
lack of effective catch limits for summer flounder following the
updated benchmark assessment results would present confusion to the
cooperative management regime governing the fishery in the states. This
rule needs to be effective, with the revised recreational harvest
limit, before the Federal recreational management measures and state
recreational management plans can be implemented. Summer flounder
recreational seasons typically begin in May, and a 30-day delay would
result in a substantial loss of the 2019 recreational fishing season,
loss of fishing opportunity, and economic loss to related industries.
If there was a delay, individual states would be unable to set
appropriately adjusted commercial possession and/or trip limits, which
apportion the catch throughout the year. This could result in further
lost seasonal fishing and economic opportunity on the state level, as
well as a temporally unbalanced supply that could disrupt prices in the
coastwide market. Disproportionate harvest and confusion over state
quota allocations could also make landings and quota monitoring
difficult, affecting the timing of state closures later in the year.
For these reasons, there is good cause to waive the 30-day delay in
effectiveness and these specifications shall be made effective on May
17, 2019.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 13, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2019-10250 Filed 5-16-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
