Temporary Rule To Establish Management Measures for Red Grouper in the Gulf of Mexico, 22389-22392 [2019-10322]
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 96 / Friday, May 17, 2019 / Rules and Regulations
should be made to remove a hook if it has
been swallowed and the insertion point is
not clearly visible, or if it is determined that
removal would result in further injury.
(b) If the hook cannot be removed or if the
sea turtle is only entangled, remove as much
line as possible prior to its release using a
long-handled line cutter specified in
paragraph C.1. of this appendix.
(c) If the hook can be removed, it must be
removed using the appropriate long-handled
dehooker specified in paragraph C.2. or C.3.
of this appendix. Without causing further
injury, as much gear as possible must be
removed from the sea turtle prior to its
release.
(3) Any sea turtle taken incidentally while
fishing, regardless of whether the sea turtle
is alive or dead, or whether it is brought on
board, must not be consumed, sold, landed,
offloaded, transshipped, or kept below deck.
E. Incorporation by reference. The
standards required in paragraphs C. and D. of
this appendix are incorporated by reference
into this appendix with the approval of the
Director of the Federal Register under 5
U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. All
approved material is available for inspection
at the National Marine Fisheries Service,
Southeast Regional Office, 263 13th Ave.
South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, phone: 727–
824–5301, website: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/
endangered-species-conservation/sea-turtleand-smalltooth-sawfish-release-gearprotocols.html, and is available from the
sources listed in paragraphs E.1. and E.2. of
this appendix. It is also available for
inspection at the National Archives and
Records Administration (NARA). For
information on the availability of this
material at NARA, call 202–741–6030 or go
to www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibrlocations.html.
1. U.S. Department of Commerce, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast
Fisheries Science Center, 75 Virginia Beach
Drive, Miami, FL 33149.
(a) Careful Release Protocols for Sea Turtle
Release with Minimal Injury, NOAA
Technical Memorandum NMFS–SEFSC–735,
Stokes, L., and Bergmann, C. (Editors), 2019.
(b) [Reserved]
2. U.S. Department of Commerce, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast
Regional Office, 263 13th Ave. South, St.
Petersburg, FL 33701.
(a) Sea Turtle Handling/Release
Guidelines: Quick Reference for Hook and
Line Fisheries, English, Spanish, Vietnamese,
Revised April 2019.
(b) [Reserved]
[FR Doc. 2019–10052 Filed 5–16–19; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 190213109–9385–02]
RIN 0648–BI63
Temporary Rule To Establish
Management Measures for Red
Grouper in the Gulf of Mexico
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final temporary rule; emergency
action.
AGENCY:
NMFS issues an emergency
rule as requested by the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council (Council)
to address concerns that the Gulf of
Mexico (Gulf) red grouper stock may be
in decline. This emergency rule reduces
the commercial and recreational annual
catch limits (ACLs) and annual catch
targets (ACTs). This emergency rule is
effective for 180 days, although NMFS
may extend this emergency rule’s
effectiveness for a maximum of an
additional 186 days. The intended effect
of this emergency rule is to provide a
temporary reduction in Gulf red grouper
harvest levels to protect the stock from
overharvest while the Council develops
a framework action to reduce the red
grouper catch limits on a more longterm basis.
DATES: This final temporary rule is
effective on May 17, 2019, through
November 13, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the
documents in support of this emergency
rule, which include an environmental
assessment (EA), may be obtained from
the Southeast Regional Office website at
https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Peter Hood, Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, telephone: 727–824–5305, email:
peter.hood@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and
the Council manage Gulf reef fish,
including red grouper, under the
Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish
Resources of the Gulf (FMP). The
Council prepared the FMP and NMFS
implements the FMP through
regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The
Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the
legal authority for the promulgation of
emergency regulations under section
305(c) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)).
SUMMARY:
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On March 5, 2019, NMFS published
a proposed temporary rule for
emergency action in the Federal
Register and requested public comment
(84 FR 7864). The proposed emergency
rule and the EA outline the rationale for
the actions contained in this final
emergency rule. A summary of the
management measures described in the
EA and implemented through this
emergency rule is provided below.
All weights in this emergency rule are
in gutted weight. The current red
grouper commercial and recreational
ACLs and ACTs were implemented
through a framework action to the FMP
in 2016 (81 FR 70365, October 12,
2016). These values were based on a red
grouper stock ACL equal to 10.70
million lb (4.85 million kg). The current
sector allocation for red grouper is 76
percent commercial and 24 percent
recreational, and the commercial and
recreational ACTs reduce the sectorspecific ACLs by 95 percent and 92
percent, respectively. The current red
grouper commercial ACL is 8,190,000 lb
(3,714,922 kg) and the commercial ACT
(commercial quota) is 7,780,000 lb
(3,528,949 kg). The current red grouper
recreational ACL is 2,580,000 lb
(1,170,268 kg) and the recreational ACT
is 2,370,000 lb (1,075,014 kg).
Currently, the red grouper stock is not
considered to be overfished or
undergoing overfishing. However,
recent information suggests the
condition of the red grouper stock has
declined. Information supporting this
conclusion includes reduced
commercial and recreational landings,
an interim analysis of the stock,
testimony from fishermen at Council
meetings, and recent red tide events in
the eastern Gulf. These factors caused
the Council to request emergency action
to reduce the red grouper ACLs and
ACTs while it considers a longer-term
reduction through a framework action to
the FMP. The Council requested that
NMFS reduce the Gulf red grouper stock
ACL for the 2019 fishing year to 4.60
million lb (2.09 million kg), as
recommended by the Council’s
Scientific and Statiscal Committee
(SSC), or the 2017 total red grouper
landings, whichever is less.
The 2017 combined red grouper
commercial and recreational landings
(approximately 4.16 million lb (1.89
million kg)) are less than the SSC’s
recommendation. Therefore, NMFS
implements this final emergency rule to
reduce the red grouper commercial and
recreational ACLs and ACTs consistent
with a stock ACL of 4.16 million lb (1.89
million kg). This emergency rule is
effective for 180 days, although NMFS
may extend the emergency rule’s
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effectiveness for a maximum of an
additional 186 days. This would allow
for sufficient time for the Council and
NMFS to develop and implement a new
framework action to manage the red
grouper stock for the 2020 fishing year
and beyond.
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Measures Contained in This Final
Emergency Rule
For red grouper, this emergency rule
revises the red grouper stock ACL to
4.16 million lb (1.89 million kg).
Applying the commercial allocation of
76 percent to the stock ACL of 4.16
million lb (1.89 million kg) results in a
commercial ACL of 3.16 million lb (1.43
million kg). The commercial ACT is set
at 95 percent of the commercial ACL, or
3.00 million lb (1.36 million kg).
Because commercial red grouper is
managed under an individual fishing
quota (IFQ) program, NMFS distributes
IFQ allocation to the program
shareholders on January 1 of each year.
After NMFS distributes the applicable
commercial quota to shareholders, it
cannot be recalled. Therefore, in
anticipation of this final emergency rule
reducing the commercial quota, NMFS
withheld distribution of 59.4 percent,
equivalent to 4.78 million lb (2.17
million kg) of red grouper IFQ allocation
through a temporary rule effective on
January 1, 2019 (83 FR 64480, December
17, 2018). If the commercial quota
reduction implemented through this
final emergency rule is not effective by
June 1, 2019, the withheld commercial
quota will be redistributed to the
shareholders.
For the recreational sector, 24 percent
of the 4.16 million lb (1.89 million kg)
revised total stock ACL results in a
recreational ACL of 1.00 million lb (0.45
million kg). The recreational ACT is set
at 92 percent of the recreational ACL, or
0.92 million lb (0.42 million kg).
Emergency Rule Criteria
NMFS’ Policy Guidelines for the Use
of Emergency Rules (62 FR 44421,
August 21, 1997) list three criteria for
determining whether an emergency
exists, and this final emergency rule is
promulgated under these criteria.
Specifically, NMFS’ policy guidelines
require that an emergency:
(1) Result from recent, unforeseen
events or recently discovered
circumstances; and
(2) Present serious conservation or
management problems in the fishery;
and
(3) Can be addressed through
emergency regulations for which the
immediate benefits outweigh the value
of advance notice, public comment, and
deliberative consideration of the
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impacts on participants to the same
extent as would be expected under the
normal rulemaking process.
NMFS has determined that reducing
the red grouper 2019 commercial and
recreational ACLs and ACTs for 2019
meets the three criteria required for an
emergency rule. The new red grouper
interim analysis developed by the
NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science
Center (SEFSC) and subsequent SSC
recommendation were presented to the
Council at its October 2018 meeting and
constitute recently discovered
circumstances. In addition, public
testimony at the October Council
meeting expressed concern about the
status of the red grouper stock, noting
that red grouper appear to be scarcer in
abundance than in previous years. The
severe red tide event that occurred in
summer and fall 2018 off the Florida
west coast was also unforeseen and may
have adversely affected the red grouper
stock. Although the impacts of this
recent red tide are unknown, the 2009
Southeast Data Assessment and Review
(SEDAR) 12 update assessment and
2015 SEDAR 42 assessment indicated
that a similar 2005 red tide event
depressed the red grouper spawning
stock biomass. The SEDAR 61 red
grouper stock assessment is presently
underway and NMFS expects to present
the results to the Council’s SSC in July
2019.
Without this emergency rule, the red
grouper ACLs and ACTs could not be
effectively reduced for the 2019 fishing
year. This could present a serious
conservation problem if the red grouper
stock is in decline, as the reduction in
landings, public comment, and interim
analysis suggest.
Based on the Council’s request for an
interim or emergency rule, in its
December 17, 2018, temporary rule,
NMFS withheld the IFQ allocation
equal to this emergency rule’s reduction
in the commercial ACT (quota)(83 FR
64480). This final emergency rule meets
the third criteria for an emergency
because it would reduce the commercial
quota to be effective prior to June 1,
2019. This would provide protection to
the red grouper stock while the Council
and NMFS develop and implement a
framework action that will address the
new information about the stock,
including the SEDAR 61 assessment, for
the 2020 fishing year and beyond.
Comments and Responses
NMFS received 17 comments on the
proposed temporary rule for emergency
action. The majority of the comments
supported the action. Some comments
supporting the action also contained
suggestions for additional management
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measures that are outside the scope of
the Council’s request for interim or
emergency action such as seasonal
closures, reduced recreational bag
limits, and state management of the red
grouper recreational sector. No changes
to this final rule were made as a result
of public comment. Comments that were
specific to the proposed temporary rule
for emergency action are summarized
and responded to below.
Comment 1: The emergency action is
not of a long enough duration to provide
sufficient protection to the red grouper
stock.
Response: NMFS agrees that longterm measures may be needed to protect
Gulf red grouper stock. The Council
requested emergency action to address
concerns regarding the Gulf red grouper
stock and reduce the catch levels for
2019. The Council developed more
long-term measures through a
framework action that would continue
the ACL and ACT reductions contained
in this emergency rule in 2020 and
beyond. The Council approved this
framework action at its April 2019
meeting. NMFS will evaluate the
framework action for consistency with
the FMP, Magnuson-Stevens Act, and
other applicable law, and will publish a
proposed rule if appropriate.
Comment 2: The red grouper stock is
healthy and so neither the commercial
nor recreational catch levels need to be
reduced.
Response: NMFS disagrees. Several
factors support this emergency action.
At their October 2018 meeting, the
Council received a recommendation
from its SSC to reduce the red grouper
commercial and recreational ACLs and
ACTs beginning in the 2019 fishing
year. This recommendation was based
on a NMFS SEFSC analysis that
suggested the Gulf red snapper stock
may be in decline. In addition,
fishermen expressed concern about the
condition of the red grouper stock
because recent harvests have been well
below the current catch levels. Finally,
the Council noted the severe red tide
conditions that occurred in the summer
and fall of 2018 off the Florida west
coast. The red grouper stock has been
shown to be adversely affected by past
red tide events similar to the event that
occurred in 2018. Therefore, the Council
concluded, and NMFS agrees, that this
action should be taken to reduce the red
grouper catch levels for 2019.
Comment 3: NMFS should not reduce
catch levels through this emergency
rule. If the red grouper stock cannot
support a two-fish daily recreational bag
limit, then NMFS should close
commercial fishing for red grouper.
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Response: A complete closure of the
commercial sector is beyond the scope
of the action requested by the Council
and implemented through this
emergency rule. The commercial sector
is managed under an IFQ program,
which allows for the harvest of red
grouper as long as IFQ participants have
allocation available. However, NMFS
notes that the catch levels established
through this rule are equal to 2017
harvest levels and recreational red
grouper fishing did not close in 2017.
Therefore, NMFS expects the
recreational season to remain open
throughout 2019 under the current 2fish red grouper recreational bag limit.
Classification
This action is issued pursuant to
section 305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, 16 U.S.C. 1855(c). The Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA
(AA), has determined that this
emergency rule is necessary to provide
increased protection for the Gulf red
grouper stock and is consistent with the
Magnuson-Stevens Act and other
applicable laws.
This action is being taken pursuant to
the emergency provision of MagnusonStevens Act and is exempt from review
by the Office of Management and
Budget.
NMFS published the proposed
temporary emergency rule on March 5,
2019 (84 FR 7864), and prepared an
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
(IRFA) to accompany the proposed
action. The IRFA concluded that the
action would have a significant adverse
impact on the average annual 330 small
commercial fishing businesses and their
combined 376 federally permitted
fishing vessels that harvest red grouper
from the Gulf. The comment period for
the proposed rulemaking closed on
March 20, 2019.
A final regulatory flexibility analysis
(FRFA) parallels the IRFA and must also
include a summary of significant issues
raised by public comments in response
to the IRFA, any changes in the action
in response to those comments or new
information, a description of the steps
the agency took to minimize the adverse
economic impact on small entities, and
why it selected the alternative adopted.
No comments were received on the
IRFA or on the economic impacts of the
rule on small entities more generally.
NMFS has not received any new
information that would affect its
previous determination. As a result, the
estimates and conclusions of the IRFA
have not changed.
This rule will reduce the red grouper
quota in 2019 to 3.00 million lb (1.36
million kg). NMFS considered two other
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alternatives to the rule: either no change
in the quota or a reduction to 3.32
million lb (1.51 million kg). The noaction alternative has no short-term
impacts on small businesses, but was
not selected because it allows for
declining status of the stock. The second
non-selected alternative has smaller
short-term costs than the selected
alternative, but it may not provide for
sufficient protection of the stock.
Section 212 of the Small Business
Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of
1996 states that, for each rule or group
of related rules for which an agency is
required to prepare a FRFA, the agency
shall publish one or more guides to
assist small entities in complying with
the rule, and shall designate such
publications as small entity compliance
guides. As part of the rulemaking
process, NMFS prepared a fishery
bulletin, which also serves as a small
entity compliance guide. The fishery
bulletin will be sent to all interested
parties.
This final emergency rule responds to
the best scientific information available.
The AA finds that the need to
immediately implement this action
constitutes good cause to waive the 30day delay in this final emergency rule’s
effectiveness, pursuant to the authority
set forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), as such
procedure for this final emergency rule
would be contrary to the public interest.
Delaying the effectiveness of this
emergency rule for 30 days would be
contrary to the public interest because
of the need to implement this action
before June 1, 2019, in order to protect
the red grouper stock. If the reduction
in the ACL is not effective by June 1,
additional allocation will be released to
the current red grouper shareholders.
Once released, the allocation cannot be
recalled, and the reduction in the catch
levels cannot be implemented for 2019.
Accordingly, the 30-day delay in
effectiveness of the measures contained
in this emergency rule is waived.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Annual catch limits, Fisheries,
Fishing, Gulf of Mexico, Red grouper,
Quotas.
Dated: May 14, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended
as follows:
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22391
PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE
CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND
SOUTH ATLANTIC
1. The authority citation for part 622
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In § 622.39, suspend paragraph
(a)(1)(iii)(C) and add paragraph
(a)(1)(iii)(D) to read as follows:
■
§ 622.39
Quotas.
*
*
*
*
*
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(iii) * * *
(D) Red grouper—3.00 million lb (1.36
million kg).
*
*
*
*
*
■ 3. In § 622.41, suspend paragraph (e)
and add paragraph (r) to read as follows:
§ 622.41 Annual catch limits (ACLs),
annual catch targets (ACTs), and
accountability measures (AMs).
*
*
*
*
*
(r) Red grouper—(1) Commercial
sector. The IFQ program for groupers
and tilefishes in the Gulf of Mexico
serves as the accountability measure for
commercial red grouper. The applicable
commercial ACL for red grouper, in
gutted weight, is 3.16 million lb (1.43
million kg).
(2) Recreational sector. (i) Without
regard to overfished status, if red
grouper recreational landings, as
estimated by the SRD, reach or are
projected to reach the applicable ACL
specified in paragraph (r)(2)(iv) of this
section, the AA will file a notification
with the Office of the Federal Register,
to close the recreational sector for the
remainder of the fishing year. On and
after the effective date of such a
notification, the bag and possession
limit of red grouper in or from the Gulf
EEZ is zero. This bag and possession
limit applies in the Gulf on board a
vessel for which a valid Federal charter
vessel/headboat permit for Gulf reef fish
has been issued, without regard to
where such species were harvested, i.e.,
in state or Federal waters.
(ii) Without regard to overfished
status, and in addition to the measures
specified in paragraph (r)(2)(i) of this
section, if red grouper recreational
landings, as estimated by the SRD,
exceed the applicable ACL specified in
paragraph (r)(2)(iv) of this section, the
AA will file a notification with the
Office of the Federal Register to
maintain the red grouper ACT, specified
in paragraph (r)(2)(iv) of this section, for
that following fishing year at the level
of the prior year’s ACT, unless the best
scientific information available
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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.
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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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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
E:\FR\FM\17MYR1.SGM
17MYR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 96 (Friday, May 17, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22389-22392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-10322]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 190213109-9385-02]
RIN 0648-BI63
Temporary Rule To Establish Management Measures for Red Grouper
in the Gulf of Mexico
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final temporary rule; emergency action.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues an emergency rule as requested by the Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) to address concerns that
the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) red grouper stock may be in decline. This
emergency rule reduces the commercial and recreational annual catch
limits (ACLs) and annual catch targets (ACTs). This emergency rule is
effective for 180 days, although NMFS may extend this emergency rule's
effectiveness for a maximum of an additional 186 days. The intended
effect of this emergency rule is to provide a temporary reduction in
Gulf red grouper harvest levels to protect the stock from overharvest
while the Council develops a framework action to reduce the red grouper
catch limits on a more long-term basis.
DATES: This final temporary rule is effective on May 17, 2019, through
November 13, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the documents in support of this
emergency rule, which include an environmental assessment (EA), may be
obtained from the Southeast Regional Office website at https://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Hood, Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and the Council manage Gulf reef fish,
including red grouper, under the Fishery Management Plan for Reef Fish
Resources of the Gulf (FMP). The Council prepared the FMP and NMFS
implements the FMP through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the legal
authority for the promulgation of emergency regulations under section
305(c) (16 U.S.C. 1855(c)).
On March 5, 2019, NMFS published a proposed temporary rule for
emergency action in the Federal Register and requested public comment
(84 FR 7864). The proposed emergency rule and the EA outline the
rationale for the actions contained in this final emergency rule. A
summary of the management measures described in the EA and implemented
through this emergency rule is provided below.
All weights in this emergency rule are in gutted weight. The
current red grouper commercial and recreational ACLs and ACTs were
implemented through a framework action to the FMP in 2016 (81 FR 70365,
October 12, 2016). These values were based on a red grouper stock ACL
equal to 10.70 million lb (4.85 million kg). The current sector
allocation for red grouper is 76 percent commercial and 24 percent
recreational, and the commercial and recreational ACTs reduce the
sector-specific ACLs by 95 percent and 92 percent, respectively. The
current red grouper commercial ACL is 8,190,000 lb (3,714,922 kg) and
the commercial ACT (commercial quota) is 7,780,000 lb (3,528,949 kg).
The current red grouper recreational ACL is 2,580,000 lb (1,170,268 kg)
and the recreational ACT is 2,370,000 lb (1,075,014 kg).
Currently, the red grouper stock is not considered to be overfished
or undergoing overfishing. However, recent information suggests the
condition of the red grouper stock has declined. Information supporting
this conclusion includes reduced commercial and recreational landings,
an interim analysis of the stock, testimony from fishermen at Council
meetings, and recent red tide events in the eastern Gulf. These factors
caused the Council to request emergency action to reduce the red
grouper ACLs and ACTs while it considers a longer-term reduction
through a framework action to the FMP. The Council requested that NMFS
reduce the Gulf red grouper stock ACL for the 2019 fishing year to 4.60
million lb (2.09 million kg), as recommended by the Council's
Scientific and Statiscal Committee (SSC), or the 2017 total red grouper
landings, whichever is less.
The 2017 combined red grouper commercial and recreational landings
(approximately 4.16 million lb (1.89 million kg)) are less than the
SSC's recommendation. Therefore, NMFS implements this final emergency
rule to reduce the red grouper commercial and recreational ACLs and
ACTs consistent with a stock ACL of 4.16 million lb (1.89 million kg).
This emergency rule is effective for 180 days, although NMFS may extend
the emergency rule's
[[Page 22390]]
effectiveness for a maximum of an additional 186 days. This would allow
for sufficient time for the Council and NMFS to develop and implement a
new framework action to manage the red grouper stock for the 2020
fishing year and beyond.
Measures Contained in This Final Emergency Rule
For red grouper, this emergency rule revises the red grouper stock
ACL to 4.16 million lb (1.89 million kg). Applying the commercial
allocation of 76 percent to the stock ACL of 4.16 million lb (1.89
million kg) results in a commercial ACL of 3.16 million lb (1.43
million kg). The commercial ACT is set at 95 percent of the commercial
ACL, or 3.00 million lb (1.36 million kg).
Because commercial red grouper is managed under an individual
fishing quota (IFQ) program, NMFS distributes IFQ allocation to the
program shareholders on January 1 of each year. After NMFS distributes
the applicable commercial quota to shareholders, it cannot be recalled.
Therefore, in anticipation of this final emergency rule reducing the
commercial quota, NMFS withheld distribution of 59.4 percent,
equivalent to 4.78 million lb (2.17 million kg) of red grouper IFQ
allocation through a temporary rule effective on January 1, 2019 (83 FR
64480, December 17, 2018). If the commercial quota reduction
implemented through this final emergency rule is not effective by June
1, 2019, the withheld commercial quota will be redistributed to the
shareholders.
For the recreational sector, 24 percent of the 4.16 million lb
(1.89 million kg) revised total stock ACL results in a recreational ACL
of 1.00 million lb (0.45 million kg). The recreational ACT is set at 92
percent of the recreational ACL, or 0.92 million lb (0.42 million kg).
Emergency Rule Criteria
NMFS' Policy Guidelines for the Use of Emergency Rules (62 FR
44421, August 21, 1997) list three criteria for determining whether an
emergency exists, and this final emergency rule is promulgated under
these criteria. Specifically, NMFS' policy guidelines require that an
emergency:
(1) Result from recent, unforeseen events or recently discovered
circumstances; and
(2) Present serious conservation or management problems in the
fishery; and
(3) Can be addressed through emergency regulations for which the
immediate benefits outweigh the value of advance notice, public
comment, and deliberative consideration of the impacts on participants
to the same extent as would be expected under the normal rulemaking
process.
NMFS has determined that reducing the red grouper 2019 commercial
and recreational ACLs and ACTs for 2019 meets the three criteria
required for an emergency rule. The new red grouper interim analysis
developed by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and
subsequent SSC recommendation were presented to the Council at its
October 2018 meeting and constitute recently discovered circumstances.
In addition, public testimony at the October Council meeting expressed
concern about the status of the red grouper stock, noting that red
grouper appear to be scarcer in abundance than in previous years. The
severe red tide event that occurred in summer and fall 2018 off the
Florida west coast was also unforeseen and may have adversely affected
the red grouper stock. Although the impacts of this recent red tide are
unknown, the 2009 Southeast Data Assessment and Review (SEDAR) 12
update assessment and 2015 SEDAR 42 assessment indicated that a similar
2005 red tide event depressed the red grouper spawning stock biomass.
The SEDAR 61 red grouper stock assessment is presently underway and
NMFS expects to present the results to the Council's SSC in July 2019.
Without this emergency rule, the red grouper ACLs and ACTs could
not be effectively reduced for the 2019 fishing year. This could
present a serious conservation problem if the red grouper stock is in
decline, as the reduction in landings, public comment, and interim
analysis suggest.
Based on the Council's request for an interim or emergency rule, in
its December 17, 2018, temporary rule, NMFS withheld the IFQ allocation
equal to this emergency rule's reduction in the commercial ACT
(quota)(83 FR 64480). This final emergency rule meets the third
criteria for an emergency because it would reduce the commercial quota
to be effective prior to June 1, 2019. This would provide protection to
the red grouper stock while the Council and NMFS develop and implement
a framework action that will address the new information about the
stock, including the SEDAR 61 assessment, for the 2020 fishing year and
beyond.
Comments and Responses
NMFS received 17 comments on the proposed temporary rule for
emergency action. The majority of the comments supported the action.
Some comments supporting the action also contained suggestions for
additional management measures that are outside the scope of the
Council's request for interim or emergency action such as seasonal
closures, reduced recreational bag limits, and state management of the
red grouper recreational sector. No changes to this final rule were
made as a result of public comment. Comments that were specific to the
proposed temporary rule for emergency action are summarized and
responded to below.
Comment 1: The emergency action is not of a long enough duration to
provide sufficient protection to the red grouper stock.
Response: NMFS agrees that long-term measures may be needed to
protect Gulf red grouper stock. The Council requested emergency action
to address concerns regarding the Gulf red grouper stock and reduce the
catch levels for 2019. The Council developed more long-term measures
through a framework action that would continue the ACL and ACT
reductions contained in this emergency rule in 2020 and beyond. The
Council approved this framework action at its April 2019 meeting. NMFS
will evaluate the framework action for consistency with the FMP,
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, and will publish a
proposed rule if appropriate.
Comment 2: The red grouper stock is healthy and so neither the
commercial nor recreational catch levels need to be reduced.
Response: NMFS disagrees. Several factors support this emergency
action. At their October 2018 meeting, the Council received a
recommendation from its SSC to reduce the red grouper commercial and
recreational ACLs and ACTs beginning in the 2019 fishing year. This
recommendation was based on a NMFS SEFSC analysis that suggested the
Gulf red snapper stock may be in decline. In addition, fishermen
expressed concern about the condition of the red grouper stock because
recent harvests have been well below the current catch levels. Finally,
the Council noted the severe red tide conditions that occurred in the
summer and fall of 2018 off the Florida west coast. The red grouper
stock has been shown to be adversely affected by past red tide events
similar to the event that occurred in 2018. Therefore, the Council
concluded, and NMFS agrees, that this action should be taken to reduce
the red grouper catch levels for 2019.
Comment 3: NMFS should not reduce catch levels through this
emergency rule. If the red grouper stock cannot support a two-fish
daily recreational bag limit, then NMFS should close commercial fishing
for red grouper.
[[Page 22391]]
Response: A complete closure of the commercial sector is beyond the
scope of the action requested by the Council and implemented through
this emergency rule. The commercial sector is managed under an IFQ
program, which allows for the harvest of red grouper as long as IFQ
participants have allocation available. However, NMFS notes that the
catch levels established through this rule are equal to 2017 harvest
levels and recreational red grouper fishing did not close in 2017.
Therefore, NMFS expects the recreational season to remain open
throughout 2019 under the current 2-fish red grouper recreational bag
limit.
Classification
This action is issued pursuant to section 305(c) of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1855(c). The Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA (AA), has determined that this emergency rule is
necessary to provide increased protection for the Gulf red grouper
stock and is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other
applicable laws.
This action is being taken pursuant to the emergency provision of
Magnuson-Stevens Act and is exempt from review by the Office of
Management and Budget.
NMFS published the proposed temporary emergency rule on March 5,
2019 (84 FR 7864), and prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (IRFA) to accompany the proposed action. The IRFA concluded
that the action would have a significant adverse impact on the average
annual 330 small commercial fishing businesses and their combined 376
federally permitted fishing vessels that harvest red grouper from the
Gulf. The comment period for the proposed rulemaking closed on March
20, 2019.
A final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) parallels the IRFA
and must also include a summary of significant issues raised by public
comments in response to the IRFA, any changes in the action in response
to those comments or new information, a description of the steps the
agency took to minimize the adverse economic impact on small entities,
and why it selected the alternative adopted.
No comments were received on the IRFA or on the economic impacts of
the rule on small entities more generally. NMFS has not received any
new information that would affect its previous determination. As a
result, the estimates and conclusions of the IRFA have not changed.
This rule will reduce the red grouper quota in 2019 to 3.00 million
lb (1.36 million kg). NMFS considered two other alternatives to the
rule: either no change in the quota or a reduction to 3.32 million lb
(1.51 million kg). The no-action alternative has no short-term impacts
on small businesses, but was not selected because it allows for
declining status of the stock. The second non-selected alternative has
smaller short-term costs than the selected alternative, but it may not
provide for sufficient protection of the stock.
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule,
and shall designate such publications as small entity compliance
guides. As part of the rulemaking process, NMFS prepared a fishery
bulletin, which also serves as a small entity compliance guide. The
fishery bulletin will be sent to all interested parties.
This final emergency rule responds to the best scientific
information available. The AA finds that the need to immediately
implement this action constitutes good cause to waive the 30-day delay
in this final emergency rule's effectiveness, pursuant to the authority
set forth in 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), as such procedure for this final
emergency rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Delaying the effectiveness of this emergency rule for 30 days would
be contrary to the public interest because of the need to implement
this action before June 1, 2019, in order to protect the red grouper
stock. If the reduction in the ACL is not effective by June 1,
additional allocation will be released to the current red grouper
shareholders. Once released, the allocation cannot be recalled, and the
reduction in the catch levels cannot be implemented for 2019.
Accordingly, the 30-day delay in effectiveness of the measures
contained in this emergency rule is waived.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Annual catch limits, Fisheries, Fishing, Gulf of Mexico, Red
grouper, Quotas.
Dated: May 14, 2019.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended
as follows:
PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH
ATLANTIC
0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 622.39, suspend paragraph (a)(1)(iii)(C) and add paragraph
(a)(1)(iii)(D) to read as follows:
Sec. 622.39 Quotas.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(1) * * *
(iii) * * *
(D) Red grouper--3.00 million lb (1.36 million kg).
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 622.41, suspend paragraph (e) and add paragraph (r) to read
as follows:
Sec. 622.41 Annual catch limits (ACLs), annual catch targets (ACTs),
and accountability measures (AMs).
* * * * *
(r) Red grouper--(1) Commercial sector. The IFQ program for
groupers and tilefishes in the Gulf of Mexico serves as the
accountability measure for commercial red grouper. The applicable
commercial ACL for red grouper, in gutted weight, is 3.16 million lb
(1.43 million kg).
(2) Recreational sector. (i) Without regard to overfished status,
if red grouper recreational landings, as estimated by the SRD, reach or
are projected to reach the applicable ACL specified in paragraph
(r)(2)(iv) of this section, the AA will file a notification with the
Office of the Federal Register, to close the recreational sector for
the remainder of the fishing year. On and after the effective date of
such a notification, the bag and possession limit of red grouper in or
from the Gulf EEZ is zero. This bag and possession limit applies in the
Gulf on board a vessel for which a valid Federal charter vessel/
headboat permit for Gulf reef fish has been issued, without regard to
where such species were harvested, i.e., in state or Federal waters.
(ii) Without regard to overfished status, and in addition to the
measures specified in paragraph (r)(2)(i) of this section, if red
grouper recreational landings, as estimated by the SRD, exceed the
applicable ACL specified in paragraph (r)(2)(iv) of this section, the
AA will file a notification with the Office of the Federal Register to
maintain the red grouper ACT, specified in paragraph (r)(2)(iv) of this
section, for that following fishing year at the level of the prior
year's ACT, unless the best scientific information available
[[Page 22392]]
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
