Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; Revised 2020 and Projected 2021 Specifications and Recreational Management Measures, 38794-38798 [2020-13867]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 125 / Monday, June 29, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
collection of information subject to the
Paperwork Reduction Act that does not
display a current, valid OMB Control
Number. The OMB Control Numbers are
3060–0816.
The foregoing notice is required by
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13, October 1, 1995,
and 44 U.S.C. 3507.
The total annual reporting burdens
and costs for the respondents are as
follows:
OMB Control Number: 3060–0816.
OMB Approval Date: May 28, 2020.
OMB Expiration Date: March 31,
2023.
Title: Local Telephone Competition
and Broadband Reporting, Report and
Order, FCC Form 477 (WC Docket No.
19–195, WC Docket No. 11–10, FCC 19–
79).
Form Number: FCC Form 477.
Respondents: Business or other nonprofit or for-profit entities; not-for-profit
institutions; and state, local, or tribal
government.
Number of Respondents: 2,515
respondents, 5,030 responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 348
hours.
Frequency of Response: Semi-annual
reporting requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Required to
obtain or retain benefits. The statutory
authority for this collection of
information is contained in 47 U.S.C.
4(i), 201, 218–220, 251–252, 271, 303(r),
332 and 403 of the Communications Act
of 1934, as amended, and 47 U.S.C.
1302.
Total Annual Burden: Approximately
1,750,440 hours (for all respondents).
Total Annual Cost: No cost.
Privacy Impact Assessment: No
impact(s).
Nature and Extent of Confidentiality:
The Commission will no longer treat as
confidential service providers’
minimum advertised or expected speed
data for mobile broadband services.
Thus, provider-specific coverage data
will be publicly released for all
subsequent Form 477 filings. This
action is necessary to ensure that
consumers can easily use the
information that is disclosed to the
public, including minimum advertised
or expected speed data, because such
information is only beneficial if
consumers know where service coverage
is available.
Needs and Uses: On August 1, 2019,
the Commission adopted a Report and
Order, FCC 19–79, in WC Docket Nos.
19–195 and 11–10. The Order makes
targeted changes to the existing Form
477 data collection to reduce reporting
burdens for all filers and incorporate
new technologies. The Order adopts the
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5G–NR (New Radio) technology
standards developed by the 3rd
Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)
with Release 15 and requires providers
to submit 5G deployment data that meet
the specifications of Release 15 (or any
successor release that may be adopted
by the Commission’s Bureaus). These
changes are necessary because the
deployment data collected on Form 477
are no longer sufficient for targeting
universal service funds. The actions to
improve the Form 477 data collection
will also increase the usefulness of the
information to the Commission,
Congress, the industry, and the public.
The Order reduces the burden on
broadband providers by removing the
requirement that facilities-based
providers submit separate coverage
maps depicting their broadband
network coverage areas for each
transmission technology and each
frequency band. It also modifies the
requirement that mobile broadband
providers report coverage information
for each technology deployed in their
networks by reducing the number of
categories from nine to four. The Order
also eliminates the requirement that
facilities-based providers submit a list of
census tracts in which the provider
advertises its mobile wireless broadband
service and in which the service is
available to actual and potential
subscribers. Finally, the Order removes
the requirement that fixed providers
offering business/enterprise/government
services to report the maximum
downstream and upstream contractual
or guaranteed data throughput rate
(committed information rate) available
in each reported census block. As
adopted by the Commission, the Order
required mobile providers to submit
broadband and voice subscriber data at
the census-tract level based on the
subscriber’s place of primary use for
postpaid subscribers and based on the
subscriber’s telephone number for
prepaid and resold subscribers. These
rules will not become effective as a
result of the Broadband DATA Act
(Broadband Deployment Accuracy and
Technology Availability Act, Public
Law 116–130, 134 Stat. 228 (2020)
(codified at 47 U.S.C. 641–646)). The
Broadband DATA Act directs the
Commission to ‘‘continue to collect and
publicly report subscription data that
the Commission collected through the
Form 477 broadband deployment
service availability process, as in effect
on July 1, 2019.’’ 47 U.S.C. 642(b)(6)(B),
which became law on March 23, 2020.
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Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–12135 Filed 6–26–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 200623–0167]
RIN 0648–BJ61
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery;
Revised 2020 and Projected 2021
Specifications and Recreational
Management Measures
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
NMFS issues revised
specifications and recreational
management measures for the 2020
Atlantic bluefish fishery and projected
specifications for fishing year 2021. This
action is necessary to establish
allowable harvest levels and other
management measures to prevent
overfishing, consistent with the most
recent scientific information. This rule
informs the public of these revised
fishery specifications and management
measures for the 2020 fishing year.
DATES: Effective June 29, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council prepared an
environmental assessment (EA) for these
specifications that describes the action
and other considered alternatives. The
EA provides an analysis of the
biological, economic, and social impacts
of the preferred measures and other
considered alternatives; a Regulatory
Impact Review; and economic analysis.
Copies of these specifications, including
the EA, Regulatory Flexibility Act
Analyses, 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/
supporting-documents.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281–9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 125 / Monday, June 29, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
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 quota,
recreational harvest limit, and other
management measures for up to three
years at a time. This action implements
specifications and recreational
management measures for the 2020
bluefish fishery, and announces
projected specifications for 2021.
The most recent 2019 bluefish
operational assessment incorporated
revised Marine Recreational Information
Program (MRIP) estimates into its
analyses and reference points, and
determined that the bluefish stock is
now overfished but not subject to
overfishing. The Council is developing
a rebuilding plan to be implemented for
the 2022 fishing year. Interim
specifications status quo to 2019 were
implemented on October 9, 2019 (84 FR
54041) to be in place for the beginning
of the 2020 fishing year until new
measures could be developed
incorporating the results of the
operational assessment. However, those
interim specifications are substantially
more liberal than what the best available
science indicates is necessary to
constrain catch and prevent overfishing
in 2020. Interim recreational
management measures were
implemented on February 28, 2020 (85
FR 11863), which reduced the
recreational bag limit for the fishery in
an effort to prevent overfishing in the
early months of the fishing year. This
final action is necessary to implement
these recreational measures beyond the
temporary period of the interim rule
that expires in August 2020. This action
revises the 2020 specifications to reflect
the assessment results and project
similar specifications for 2021, as well
as implements recreational management
measures to constrain catch to these
new limits on a permanent basis.
The proposed rule for this action
published in the Federal Register on
May 11, 2020 (85 FR 27703), and
comments were accepted through May
26, 2020. NMFS received nine
38795
comments from the public, and no
changes were made to the final rule as
a result of those comments (see
Comments and Responses for additional
detail). Additional background
information regarding the development
of these specifications was provided in
the proposed rule and is not repeated
here.
Final Specifications
This action implements the final
revised 2020 and projected 2021
bluefish catch specifications, as well as
the revised recreational management
measures to constrain harvest the new
limits, as outlined in the proposed rule.
These specifications substantially
reduce both the commercial quota and
recreational harvest limit (RHL) in
response to the results of the 2019
operational assessment and to prevent
overfishing on the overfished bluefish
stock. There is no transfer of quota from
the recreational to commercial sector
because the recreational fishery is
expected to achieve the full harvest
limit. A comparison of the interim 2020
and the revised 2020–21 specifications
is shown below in Table 1.
TABLE 1—COMPARISON OF INTERIM 2020 AND REVISED 2020–21 BLUEFISH SPECIFICATIONS *
Interim 2020
Million lb
ABC = ACL ..........................................................................
Commercial ACT ..................................................................
Recreational ACT .................................................................
Commercial Total Allowable Landings (TAL) ......................
Recreational TAL .................................................................
Sector Transfer ....................................................................
Commercial Quota ...............................................................
RHL ......................................................................................
Revised 2020–2021
Metric tons
21.81
3.71
18.11
3.71
15.62
4.00
7.71
11.62
Million lb
9,895
1,682
8,213
1,682
7,085
1,814
3,497
5,271
Metric tons
16.28
2.77
13.51
2.77
9.48
0.00
2.77
9.48
7,385
1,255
6,130
1,255
4,301
0
1,255
4,301
Percent
change
¥25
¥25
¥25
¥25
¥39
¥100
¥64
¥18
* Specifications are derived in metric tons (mt). When values are converted to millions of pounds the numbers may slightly shift due to rounding. The conversion factor used is 1 mt = 2,204.6226 pounds.
Table 2 provides the commercial state
allocations based on the final coastwide
commercial quota for 2020 and 2021,
and the allocation percentages defined
in the FMP. No states exceeded their
allocated quota in 2019; therefore, no
commercial fishery accountability
measures are necessary for the 2020
fishing year.
TABLE 2—2020–21 BLUEFISH STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTA ALLOCATIONS
Percent
share
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State
Maine ...........................................................................................................................................
New Hampshire ...........................................................................................................................
Massachusetts .............................................................................................................................
Rhode Island ................................................................................................................................
Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................
New York .....................................................................................................................................
New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................
Delaware ......................................................................................................................................
Maryland ......................................................................................................................................
Virginia .........................................................................................................................................
North Carolina ..............................................................................................................................
South Carolina .............................................................................................................................
Georgia ........................................................................................................................................
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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
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Quota
(lb)
18,496
11,468
185,838
188,366
35,036
287,335
409,934
51,966
83,054
328,682
887,058
974
263
Quota
(kg)
8,388
5,201
84,280
85,427
15,889
130,311
185,911
23,567
37,666
149,062
402,294
442
119
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 125 / Monday, June 29, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
TABLE 2—2020–21 BLUEFISH STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTA ALLOCATIONS—Continued
Percent
share
State
Quota
(kg)
Florida ..........................................................................................................................................
10.06
278,332
126,228
Total ......................................................................................................................................
100.00
2,766,801
1,254,785
As previously mentioned, changes to
the recreational management measures
were already made through a temporary
interim action implemented by NMFS
using Magnuson-Stevens Act authority
to prevent overfishing (section 305(c)).
This action permanently implements
the change in the daily federal
recreational bag limit. The 2020
measures reduce the limit from 15 fish
for all anglers to 3 fish per person for
private anglers and to 5 fish per person
for for-hire (charter/party) vessels. All
other federal management measures,
including commercial measures, and
recreational season (open all year) and
minimum fish size (none), remain
unchanged.
The Council will review the
specifications for fishing year 2021 to
determine if any changes need to be
made prior to their final
implementation. Changes may occur if
2020 quota overages trigger
accountability measures, or if new stock
information results in changes to the
ABC recommendations. NMFS will
publish a notice prior to or early in 2021
to finalize the projected measures or
announce any necessary changes.
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Quota
(lb)
Comments and Responses
The public comment period for the
proposed rule ended on May 26, 2020,
and NMFS received nine comments
from the public. Four commenters
supported this action and encouraged
restriction in the bluefish fishery,
mentioning that they have noticed a
decline in the available bluefish
resource in recent years. However, one
of these commenters did note concerns
about the implications of implementing
different recreational measures for
private anglers and for-hire vessels,
especially when the stock is overfished.
NMFS understands these concerns, and
these issues are being discussed as part
of ongoing agency, Council, and
Commission recreational reform
initiative, as well as under Amendment
7 to the FMP and the rebuilding plan,
currently in various stages of
development.
Two commenters suggested that this
action’s catch reduction is too drastic
and should be reconsidered, and
another commenter suggested that a slot
limit or size limits be used to restrict
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recreational catch instead of only a
substantially reduced bag limit. The
Council and Commission explored other
methods to reduce catch, such as size
limits or phased reductions, during
development of these measures;
however, these measures were not
adopted. This action achieves the
necessary reduction in catch while
having the smallest negative impact on
all stakeholders coastwide.
A comment from a fishing
organization in Florida expressed
concerns about the accuracy of the data
used in the latest assessment, especially
with regards to certain states. This
commenter alleged that inaccuracies
could be found in both the recreational
and commercial fishery data, and such
drastic reductions should not be made
based on an assessment that includes
flawed data. The revised MRIP and
commercial data used in the 2019
operational assessment are the best
scientific data available, and the
appropriate model from which to base
these management decisions. MRIP is
the only program to provide consistent,
comprehensive recreational catch and
effort data for the entire Atlantic coast
to cover the range of the bluefish
fishery, and the recent revisions
incorporating the Fishing Effort Survey
improved the accuracy of the data;
reducing bias and increasing efficiency.
In terms of commercial fishery data and
quota allocation, these specifications
allocate commercial quota based on the
percentage share determined by
Amendment 1 to the FMP (65 FR 45844;
August 25, 2000). Revision of these
allocations is being discussed under
Bluefish Amendment 7, but this is a
separate action and does not need to be
addressed with these specifications.
The final comment was not
responsive to the action or bluefish
fishery, and as such, it does not warrant
a response. No changes were made to
the proposed rule as a result of these
comments.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
NMFS has not made any changes to
the proposed regulatory text, and there
are no substantive changes from the
proposed rule.
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Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (MagnusonStevens Act), the NMFS Administrator,
Greater Atlantic Region, has determined
that this final rule is necessary for the
conservation and management of the
Atlantic bluefish fishery, and that it is
consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish
FMP, other provisions of the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable laws.
The Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the
30-day delay in effective date for this
rule, to ensure that these final
specifications are in place as soon as
possible to prevent overfishing in the
2020 fishing year, which began on
January 1, 2020. This action establishes
final, revised specifications (i.e., annual
catch limits) and recreational daily bag
limits for the 2020 bluefish fishery that
began on January 1. A delay in
effectiveness well into the 2020 fishing
year would be contrary to the public
interest, as it could create confusion in
both the commercial and recreational
fishery sectors. Additionally, it could
compromise the effectiveness of the new
specifications to prevent overfishing.
This rule is being issued at the earliest
possible date. The proposed rule and
public comment period were delayed
due to the timing of the operational
stock assessment and the time necessary
for the Council and Commission to
develop new specifications based on
this updated information. The proposed
rule published on May 11, 2020, with a
15-day comment period ending May 26,
2020. A 30-day delay in effectiveness
would postpone implementation of the
revised specifications and recreational
bag limit well into the 2020 fishing year
and after the start of the recreational
season for most of the coast, which is
contrary to the public interest.
Furthermore, it is important to
implement the lower catch limits as
soon as possible to minimize the
potential for overfishing. Although
interim specifications are in place, the
specifications in this rule provide a
substantial reduction in catch limits
based on the most recent stock
assessment, which also determined the
bluefish stock to be overfished. Further
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harvest under old catch limits could
harm the resource and subject it to a
greater risk of overfishing. This could
also have further negative impact on
industry, as overharvest could result in
even more restrictive catch limits in the
near future.
Finally, regulated parties do not
require any additional time to come into
compliance with this rule, and thus, a
30-day delay does not provide any
benefit.
Unlike actions that require an
adjustment period to comply with new
rules, bluefish fishery participants will
not have to purchase new equipment or
otherwise expend time or money to
comply with these status quo
management measures. Rather,
complying with this final rule simply
means adhering to the catch limits and
management measures set for the
bluefish fishing year. Fishery
stakeholders have also been involved in
the development of this action and are
anticipating this rule. Therefore, there
would be no benefit to delaying the
implementation of these specifications.
For these reasons, NMFS finds that a
30-day delay in effectiveness would be
contrary to the public interest, and
therefore waives the requirement
consistent with 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). As a
result, there is good cause to implement
this action on June 29, 2020.
This final rule has been determined to
be not significant for purposes of
Executive Order 12866.
This final rule is not an Executive
Order 13771 regulatory action because
this action is not significant under
Executive Order 12866.
This final rule does not duplicate,
conflict, or overlap with any existing
Federal rules.
This action does not contain a
collection of information requirement
for the purposes of the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
The Council reviewed the regulations
for this action and deemed them
necessary and appropriate to implement
consistent with section 303(c) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
A final regulatory flexibility analysis
(FRFA) was prepared pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 604(a), and is included in this
final rule. The FRFA incorporates the
initial regulatory flexibility analysis
(IRFA), a summary of the significant
issues raised by the public comments in
response to the IRFA, and NMFS
responses to those comments, and a
summary of the analyses completed to
support the action. A public copy of the
EA containing the IRFA is available
from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
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Management Council (see ADDRESSES).
The preamble to the proposed rule
included a detailed summary of the
analyses contained in the IRFA, and that
discussion is not repeated here.
A Summary of the Significant Issues
Raised by the Public in Response to the
IRFA, a Summary of the Agency’s
Assessment of Such Issues, and a
Statement of Any Changes Made in the
Final Rule as a Result of Such
Comments
NMFS did not receive any comments
in response to the IRFA or regulatory
flexibility analysis (RFA) process. Refer
to the ‘‘Comments and Responses’’
section of this rule’s preamble for more
detail on the public comments that were
received. No changes to the proposed
rule were made as a result of public
comment.
Description and Estimate of Number of
Small Entities to Which the Rule Would
Apply
This final rule affects small entities
engaged in commercial fishing
operations in the Atlantic bluefish
fishery (those with commercial bluefish
permits), and those with Federal party/
charter recreational permits for bluefish.
Private recreational anglers are not
considered ‘‘entities’’ under the RFA,
thus economic impacts on private
anglers are not considered here. For the
purposes of the RFA analysis, the
ownership entities (or firms), not the
individual vessels, are considered to be
the regulated entities. Ownership
entities are defined as those entities or
firms with common ownership
personnel as listed on the permit
application. Because of this, some
vessels with bluefish permits may be
considered to be part of the same firm
because they may have the same
owners. To identify these small and
large firms, vessel ownership data from
the permit database were grouped
according to common owners and sorted
by size. In terms of RFA, a business
primarily engaged in commercial fishing
is classified as a small business if it has
combined annual receipts not in excess
of $11 million, for all its affiliated
operations worldwide. A business
primarily engaged in for-hire (party/
charter) fishing is classified as small
business if it has combined annual
receipts not in excess of $8 million.
In the commercial fishery, 735 firms
reported commercial bluefish revenue
from 2016–2018. According to the
vessel ownership database, based on
2018 revenues, 728 of those 735 total
firms are categorized as small
businesses, and 7 are categorized as
large businesses. For the recreational
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38797
for-hire (party/charter) fishery, 389
affiliate firms reported revenue from
recreational fishing from 2016–2018. All
389 of those firms are categorized as
small businesses based on their 2018
revenues. It is not possible to derive
what proportion of the overall revenues
for these for-hire firms came from
fishing activities for an individual
species. Nevertheless, given the
popularity of bluefish as a recreational
species along the Atlantic seaboard,
revenues generated from this species are
likely somewhat important for many of
these firms at certain times of the year.
The 3-year average (2016–2018)
combined gross receipts (all for-hire
fishing activity combined) for these
small entities was $52,156,152, ranging
from less than $10,000 for 119 entities
(lowest value $124) to over $1,000,000
for 8 entities (highest value $2.9
million).
Description of Projected Reporting,
Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance
Requirements
There are no new reporting,
recordkeeping, or other compliance
requirements are included in this final
rule.
Description of the Steps the Agency Has
Taken To Minimize the Significant
Economic Impact on Small Entities
Consistent With the Stated Objectives of
Applicable Statutes
Specification of catch limits and
management measures is constrained by
the conservation objectives of the FMP
and the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This
action revises 2020 catch limits and
recreational management measures, and
projects 2021 specifications for the
Atlantic bluefish fishery based on the
most recent operational stock
assessment and the application of the
Council’s Risk Policy to prevent
overfishing. Because the bluefish stock
declared overfished by the most recent
assessment conducted in 2019 and is at
high risk for overfishing, the Council
and the agency are required to take steps
to protect the stock. NMFS is
constrained in the specifications process
in that the agency can approve,
disapprove, partially approve, or in very
limited circumstances substitute
measures to end overfishing and rebuild
stocks if Council-recommended
measures will not do so. Because of this,
there are limited options to minimize
potential impacts on small entities.
Revenues in 2020 and 2021 are
uncertain and will depend not only on
the quota, but also on availability of
bluefish, market factors (e.g., price of
bluefish compared to alternative
species), weather, and other factors.
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This rule decreases the coastwide
commercial quota by 64 percent, and
the recreational harvest limit by 18
percent. Although these are substantial
reductions, especially for the
commercial fishery due to the lack of
quota transfer from the recreational
sector, commercial bluefish entities are
unlikely to be substantially negatively
impacted. Preliminary reports indicate
that the commercial bluefish fishery
only landed 2.61 million lb (1,185 mt)
in 2019, which is below the revised
commercial quota of 2.77 million lb
(1,255 mt). Therefore, the commercial
fishery overall is not expected to
experience substantial negative impacts
from the quota reduction. However,
commercial entities in certain states that
more actively target bluefish may still be
affected as the allocated state quotas
proportionately decrease. Any quota
losses should be able to be made up in
state-to-state transfers. Compared to the
average receipts for 2016–2018, the
revised 2020–2021 commercial quotas
are expected to result in an overall
revenue reduction of 0.38 percent for
small entities.
In the recreational fishery (for-hire or
party/charter entities), impacts to
entities are more likely to be driven by
the change in recreational management
measures than the reduction in RHL. In
the development of the proposed
measures, a mode-specific bag limit was
chosen specifically to mitigate the
negative impacts on for-hire entities
fishing for bluefish. To achieve the
required reduction in the RHL, these
measures implement a reduction in the
daily recreational bag limit from 15 to
3 fish per person for private anglers and
to 5 fish per person for for-hire (charter/
party) vessels. Because for-hire vessels
are responsible for less than 5 percent
of overall bluefish recreational catch,
but the bag limit can affect demand for
mixed-catch trips and general business
revenues, this action allows the for-hire
mode two additional fish per-person
than the initially determined 3-fish bag
limit for the entire recreational fishery.
NMFS does not anticipate significant
economic impacts on small entities as a
result of implementing the reduced
quotas in this action. While there is a
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substantial reduction in the commercial
quota, analyses indicate that coastwide
bluefish landings have been less than
the approved limit in recent years. It is
unlikely that potential revenue losses
would be directly affected by these
quota reductions. The recreational
fishery has a relatively smaller
reduction to the RHL and loses no quota
through a sector transfer. Also, the
choice to reduce harvest through only
bag limit rather than adjusting other
management measures such as size limit
or season enables recreational trips to
continue. The choice to allow a higher
bag limit (5 fish) to the for-hire sector
was also a step taken to lessen any
negative impact on small entities.
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.’’ The agency shall
explain the actions a small entity is
required to take to comply with a rule
or group of rules. As part of this
rulemaking process, a letter to permit
holders that also serves as small entity
compliance guide was prepared and
will be sent to all holders of Federal
permits issued for the bluefish fishery.
In addition, copies of this final rule and
guide (i.e., permit holder letter) are
available from NMFS at the following
website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/
species/bluefish#management.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: June 23, 2020.
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 648 is amended
as follows:
PO 00000
Frm 00050
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 9990
PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE
NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
1. The authority citation for part 648
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In § 648.164,
a. Lift the suspension on paragraphs
(a) and (b);
■ b. Revise paragraphs (a) and (b); and
■ c. Remove paragraphs (c) and (d).
The revisions read as follows:
■
■
§ 648.164 Bluefish possession
restrictions.
(a) Recreational possession limits.
Any person fishing from a vessel in the
EEZ that is not fishing under a bluefish
commercial permit shall observe the
applicable recreational possession limit.
The owner, operator, and crew of a
charter or party boat issued a bluefish
commercial permit are not subject to the
recreational possession limit when not
carrying passengers for hire and when
the crew size does not exceed five for a
party boat and three for a charter boat.
(1) Private recreational vessels. Any
person fishing from a vessel that is not
fishing under a bluefish commercial or
charter/party vessel permit issued
pursuant to § 648.4(a)(8), may land up to
three bluefish per day.
(2) For-hire vessels. Anglers fishing
onboard a for-hire vessel under a
bluefish charter/party vessel permit
issued pursuant to § 648.4(a)(8), may
land up to five bluefish per person per
day.
(b) Pooling Catch. Bluefish harvested
by vessels subject to the possession
limit with more than one person on
board may be pooled in one or more
containers. Compliance with the daily
possession limit will be determined by
dividing the number of bluefish on
board by the number of persons on
board, other than the captain and the
crew. If there is a violation of the
possession limit on board a vessel
carrying more than one person, the
violation shall be deemed to have been
committed by the owner and operator of
the vessel.
[FR Doc. 2020–13867 Filed 6–26–20; 8:45 am]
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[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 125 (Monday, June 29, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 38794-38798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13867]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 200623-0167]
RIN 0648-BJ61
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery; Revised 2020 and Projected 2021 Specifications and
Recreational Management Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS issues revised specifications and recreational management
measures for the 2020 Atlantic bluefish fishery and projected
specifications for fishing year 2021. This action is necessary to
establish allowable harvest levels and other management measures to
prevent overfishing, consistent with the most recent scientific
information. This rule informs the public of these revised fishery
specifications and management measures for the 2020 fishing year.
DATES: Effective June 29, 2020.
ADDRESSES: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council prepared an
environmental assessment (EA) for these specifications that describes
the action and other considered alternatives. The EA provides an
analysis of the biological, economic, and social impacts of the
preferred measures and other considered alternatives; a Regulatory
Impact Review; and economic analysis. Copies of these specifications,
including the EA, Regulatory Flexibility Act Analyses, 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/supporting-documents.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 38795]]
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 quota, recreational harvest limit, and
other management measures for up to three years at a time. This action
implements specifications and recreational management measures for the
2020 bluefish fishery, and announces projected specifications for 2021.
The most recent 2019 bluefish operational assessment incorporated
revised Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) estimates into
its analyses and reference points, and determined that the bluefish
stock is now overfished but not subject to overfishing. The Council is
developing a rebuilding plan to be implemented for the 2022 fishing
year. Interim specifications status quo to 2019 were implemented on
October 9, 2019 (84 FR 54041) to be in place for the beginning of the
2020 fishing year until new measures could be developed incorporating
the results of the operational assessment. However, those interim
specifications are substantially more liberal than what the best
available science indicates is necessary to constrain catch and prevent
overfishing in 2020. Interim recreational management measures were
implemented on February 28, 2020 (85 FR 11863), which reduced the
recreational bag limit for the fishery in an effort to prevent
overfishing in the early months of the fishing year. This final action
is necessary to implement these recreational measures beyond the
temporary period of the interim rule that expires in August 2020. This
action revises the 2020 specifications to reflect the assessment
results and project similar specifications for 2021, as well as
implements recreational management measures to constrain catch to these
new limits on a permanent basis.
The proposed rule for this action published in the Federal Register
on May 11, 2020 (85 FR 27703), and comments were accepted through May
26, 2020. NMFS received nine comments from the public, and no changes
were made to the final rule as a result of those comments (see Comments
and Responses for additional detail). Additional background information
regarding the development of these specifications was provided in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here.
Final Specifications
This action implements the final revised 2020 and projected 2021
bluefish catch specifications, as well as the revised recreational
management measures to constrain harvest the new limits, as outlined in
the proposed rule. These specifications substantially reduce both the
commercial quota and recreational harvest limit (RHL) in response to
the results of the 2019 operational assessment and to prevent
overfishing on the overfished bluefish stock. There is no transfer of
quota from the recreational to commercial sector because the
recreational fishery is expected to achieve the full harvest limit. A
comparison of the interim 2020 and the revised 2020-21 specifications
is shown below in Table 1.
Table 1--Comparison of Interim 2020 and Revised 2020-21 Bluefish Specifications *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interim 2020 Revised 2020-2021
---------------------------------------------------------------- Percent change
Million lb Metric tons Million lb Metric tons
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC = ACL....................... 21.81 9,895 16.28 7,385 -25
Commercial ACT.................. 3.71 1,682 2.77 1,255 -25
Recreational ACT................ 18.11 8,213 13.51 6,130 -25
Commercial Total Allowable 3.71 1,682 2.77 1,255 -25
Landings (TAL).................
Recreational TAL................ 15.62 7,085 9.48 4,301 -39
Sector Transfer................. 4.00 1,814 0.00 0 -100
Commercial Quota................ 7.71 3,497 2.77 1,255 -64
RHL............................. 11.62 5,271 9.48 4,301 -18
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Specifications are derived in metric tons (mt). When values are converted to millions of pounds the numbers
may slightly shift due to rounding. The conversion factor used is 1 mt = 2,204.6226 pounds.
Table 2 provides the commercial state allocations based on the
final coastwide commercial quota for 2020 and 2021, and the allocation
percentages defined in the FMP. No states exceeded their allocated
quota in 2019; therefore, no commercial fishery accountability measures
are necessary for the 2020 fishing year.
Table 2--2020-21 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Percent share Quota (lb) Quota (kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine........................................................... 0.67 18,496 8,388
New Hampshire................................................... 0.41 11,468 5,201
Massachusetts................................................... 6.72 185,838 84,280
Rhode Island.................................................... 6.81 188,366 85,427
Connecticut..................................................... 1.27 35,036 15,889
New York........................................................ 10.39 287,335 130,311
New Jersey...................................................... 14.82 409,934 185,911
Delaware........................................................ 1.88 51,966 23,567
Maryland........................................................ 3.00 83,054 37,666
Virginia........................................................ 11.88 328,682 149,062
North Carolina.................................................. 32.06 887,058 402,294
South Carolina.................................................. 0.04 974 442
Georgia......................................................... 0.01 263 119
[[Page 38796]]
Florida......................................................... 10.06 278,332 126,228
-----------------------------------------------
Total....................................................... 100.00 2,766,801 1,254,785
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As previously mentioned, changes to the recreational management
measures were already made through a temporary interim action
implemented by NMFS using Magnuson-Stevens Act authority to prevent
overfishing (section 305(c)). This action permanently implements the
change in the daily federal recreational bag limit. The 2020 measures
reduce the limit from 15 fish for all anglers to 3 fish per person for
private anglers and to 5 fish per person for for-hire (charter/party)
vessels. All other federal management measures, including commercial
measures, and recreational season (open all year) and minimum fish size
(none), remain unchanged.
The Council will review the specifications for fishing year 2021 to
determine if any changes need to be made prior to their final
implementation. Changes may occur if 2020 quota overages trigger
accountability measures, or if new stock information results in changes
to the ABC recommendations. NMFS will publish a notice prior to or
early in 2021 to finalize the projected measures or announce any
necessary changes.
Comments and Responses
The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on May 26,
2020, and NMFS received nine comments from the public. Four commenters
supported this action and encouraged restriction in the bluefish
fishery, mentioning that they have noticed a decline in the available
bluefish resource in recent years. However, one of these commenters did
note concerns about the implications of implementing different
recreational measures for private anglers and for-hire vessels,
especially when the stock is overfished. NMFS understands these
concerns, and these issues are being discussed as part of ongoing
agency, Council, and Commission recreational reform initiative, as well
as under Amendment 7 to the FMP and the rebuilding plan, currently in
various stages of development.
Two commenters suggested that this action's catch reduction is too
drastic and should be reconsidered, and another commenter suggested
that a slot limit or size limits be used to restrict recreational catch
instead of only a substantially reduced bag limit. The Council and
Commission explored other methods to reduce catch, such as size limits
or phased reductions, during development of these measures; however,
these measures were not adopted. This action achieves the necessary
reduction in catch while having the smallest negative impact on all
stakeholders coastwide.
A comment from a fishing organization in Florida expressed concerns
about the accuracy of the data used in the latest assessment,
especially with regards to certain states. This commenter alleged that
inaccuracies could be found in both the recreational and commercial
fishery data, and such drastic reductions should not be made based on
an assessment that includes flawed data. The revised MRIP and
commercial data used in the 2019 operational assessment are the best
scientific data available, and the appropriate model from which to base
these management decisions. MRIP is the only program to provide
consistent, comprehensive recreational catch and effort data for the
entire Atlantic coast to cover the range of the bluefish fishery, and
the recent revisions incorporating the Fishing Effort Survey improved
the accuracy of the data; reducing bias and increasing efficiency. In
terms of commercial fishery data and quota allocation, these
specifications allocate commercial quota based on the percentage share
determined by Amendment 1 to the FMP (65 FR 45844; August 25, 2000).
Revision of these allocations is being discussed under Bluefish
Amendment 7, but this is a separate action and does not need to be
addressed with these specifications.
The final comment was not responsive to the action or bluefish
fishery, and as such, it does not warrant a response. No changes were
made to the proposed rule as a result of these comments.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
NMFS has not made any changes to the proposed regulatory text, and
there are no substantive changes from the proposed rule.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS
Administrator, Greater Atlantic Region, has determined that this final
rule is necessary for the conservation and management of the Atlantic
bluefish fishery, and that it is consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish
FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable
laws.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in effective date
for this rule, to ensure that these final specifications are in place
as soon as possible to prevent overfishing in the 2020 fishing year,
which began on January 1, 2020. This action establishes final, revised
specifications (i.e., annual catch limits) and recreational daily bag
limits for the 2020 bluefish fishery that began on January 1. A delay
in effectiveness well into the 2020 fishing year would be contrary to
the public interest, as it could create confusion in both the
commercial and recreational fishery sectors. Additionally, it could
compromise the effectiveness of the new specifications to prevent
overfishing.
This rule is being issued at the earliest possible date. The
proposed rule and public comment period were delayed due to the timing
of the operational stock assessment and the time necessary for the
Council and Commission to develop new specifications based on this
updated information. The proposed rule published on May 11, 2020, with
a 15-day comment period ending May 26, 2020. A 30-day delay in
effectiveness would postpone implementation of the revised
specifications and recreational bag limit well into the 2020 fishing
year and after the start of the recreational season for most of the
coast, which is contrary to the public interest.
Furthermore, it is important to implement the lower catch limits as
soon as possible to minimize the potential for overfishing. Although
interim specifications are in place, the specifications in this rule
provide a substantial reduction in catch limits based on the most
recent stock assessment, which also determined the bluefish stock to be
overfished. Further
[[Page 38797]]
harvest under old catch limits could harm the resource and subject it
to a greater risk of overfishing. This could also have further negative
impact on industry, as overharvest could result in even more
restrictive catch limits in the near future.
Finally, regulated parties do not require any additional time to
come into compliance with this rule, and thus, a 30-day delay does not
provide any benefit.
Unlike actions that require an adjustment period to comply with new
rules, bluefish fishery participants will not have to purchase new
equipment or otherwise expend time or money to comply with these status
quo management measures. Rather, complying with this final rule simply
means adhering to the catch limits and management measures set for the
bluefish fishing year. Fishery stakeholders have also been involved in
the development of this action and are anticipating this rule.
Therefore, there would be no benefit to delaying the implementation of
these specifications.
For these reasons, NMFS finds that a 30-day delay in effectiveness
would be contrary to the public interest, and therefore waives the
requirement consistent with 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). As a result, there is
good cause to implement this action on June 29, 2020.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
This final rule is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory action
because this action is not significant under Executive Order 12866.
This final rule does not duplicate, conflict, or overlap with any
existing Federal rules.
This action does not contain a collection of information
requirement for the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act.
The Council reviewed the regulations for this action and deemed
them necessary and appropriate to implement consistent with section
303(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
A final regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) was prepared
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 604(a), and is included in this final rule. The
FRFA incorporates the initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA), a
summary of the significant issues raised by the public comments in
response to the IRFA, and NMFS responses to those comments, and a
summary of the analyses completed to support the action. A public copy
of the EA containing the IRFA is available from the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council (see ADDRESSES). The preamble to the
proposed rule included a detailed summary of the analyses contained in
the IRFA, and that discussion is not repeated here.
A Summary of the Significant Issues Raised by the Public in Response to
the IRFA, a Summary of the Agency's Assessment of Such Issues, and a
Statement of Any Changes Made in the Final Rule as a Result of Such
Comments
NMFS did not receive any comments in response to the IRFA or
regulatory flexibility analysis (RFA) process. Refer to the ``Comments
and Responses'' section of this rule's preamble for more detail on the
public comments that were received. No changes to the proposed rule
were made as a result of public comment.
Description and Estimate of Number of Small Entities to Which the Rule
Would Apply
This final rule affects small entities engaged in commercial
fishing operations in the Atlantic bluefish fishery (those with
commercial bluefish permits), and those with Federal party/charter
recreational permits for bluefish. Private recreational anglers are not
considered ``entities'' under the RFA, thus economic impacts on private
anglers are not considered here. For the purposes of the RFA analysis,
the ownership entities (or firms), not the individual vessels, are
considered to be the regulated entities. Ownership entities are defined
as those entities or firms with common ownership personnel as listed on
the permit application. Because of this, some vessels with bluefish
permits may be considered to be part of the same firm because they may
have the same owners. To identify these small and large firms, vessel
ownership data from the permit database were grouped according to
common owners and sorted by size. In terms of RFA, a business primarily
engaged in commercial fishing is classified as a small business if it
has combined annual receipts not in excess of $11 million, for all its
affiliated operations worldwide. A business primarily engaged in for-
hire (party/charter) fishing is classified as small business if it has
combined annual receipts not in excess of $8 million.
In the commercial fishery, 735 firms reported commercial bluefish
revenue from 2016-2018. According to the vessel ownership database,
based on 2018 revenues, 728 of those 735 total firms are categorized as
small businesses, and 7 are categorized as large businesses. For the
recreational for-hire (party/charter) fishery, 389 affiliate firms
reported revenue from recreational fishing from 2016-2018. All 389 of
those firms are categorized as small businesses based on their 2018
revenues. It is not possible to derive what proportion of the overall
revenues for these for-hire firms came from fishing activities for an
individual species. Nevertheless, given the popularity of bluefish as a
recreational species along the Atlantic seaboard, revenues generated
from this species are likely somewhat important for many of these firms
at certain times of the year. The 3-year average (2016-2018) combined
gross receipts (all for-hire fishing activity combined) for these small
entities was $52,156,152, ranging from less than $10,000 for 119
entities (lowest value $124) to over $1,000,000 for 8 entities (highest
value $2.9 million).
Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance
Requirements
There are no new reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance
requirements are included in this final rule.
Description of the Steps the Agency Has Taken To Minimize the
Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities Consistent With the
Stated Objectives of Applicable Statutes
Specification of catch limits and management measures is
constrained by the conservation objectives of the FMP and the Magnuson-
Stevens Act. This action revises 2020 catch limits and recreational
management measures, and projects 2021 specifications for the Atlantic
bluefish fishery based on the most recent operational stock assessment
and the application of the Council's Risk Policy to prevent
overfishing. Because the bluefish stock declared overfished by the most
recent assessment conducted in 2019 and is at high risk for
overfishing, the Council and the agency are required to take steps to
protect the stock. NMFS is constrained in the specifications process in
that the agency can approve, disapprove, partially approve, or in very
limited circumstances substitute measures to end overfishing and
rebuild stocks if Council-recommended measures will not do so. Because
of this, there are limited options to minimize potential impacts on
small entities.
Revenues in 2020 and 2021 are uncertain and will depend not only on
the quota, but also on availability of bluefish, market factors (e.g.,
price of bluefish compared to alternative species), weather, and other
factors.
[[Page 38798]]
This rule decreases the coastwide commercial quota by 64 percent, and
the recreational harvest limit by 18 percent. Although these are
substantial reductions, especially for the commercial fishery due to
the lack of quota transfer from the recreational sector, commercial
bluefish entities are unlikely to be substantially negatively impacted.
Preliminary reports indicate that the commercial bluefish fishery only
landed 2.61 million lb (1,185 mt) in 2019, which is below the revised
commercial quota of 2.77 million lb (1,255 mt). Therefore, the
commercial fishery overall is not expected to experience substantial
negative impacts from the quota reduction. However, commercial entities
in certain states that more actively target bluefish may still be
affected as the allocated state quotas proportionately decrease. Any
quota losses should be able to be made up in state-to-state transfers.
Compared to the average receipts for 2016-2018, the revised 2020-2021
commercial quotas are expected to result in an overall revenue
reduction of 0.38 percent for small entities.
In the recreational fishery (for-hire or party/charter entities),
impacts to entities are more likely to be driven by the change in
recreational management measures than the reduction in RHL. In the
development of the proposed measures, a mode-specific bag limit was
chosen specifically to mitigate the negative impacts on for-hire
entities fishing for bluefish. To achieve the required reduction in the
RHL, these measures implement a reduction in the daily recreational bag
limit from 15 to 3 fish per person for private anglers and to 5 fish
per person for for-hire (charter/party) vessels. Because for-hire
vessels are responsible for less than 5 percent of overall bluefish
recreational catch, but the bag limit can affect demand for mixed-catch
trips and general business revenues, this action allows the for-hire
mode two additional fish per-person than the initially determined 3-
fish bag limit for the entire recreational fishery.
NMFS does not anticipate significant economic impacts on small
entities as a result of implementing the reduced quotas in this action.
While there is a substantial reduction in the commercial quota,
analyses indicate that coastwide bluefish landings have been less than
the approved limit in recent years. It is unlikely that potential
revenue losses would be directly affected by these quota reductions.
The recreational fishery has a relatively smaller reduction to the RHL
and loses no quota through a sector transfer. Also, the choice to
reduce harvest through only bag limit rather than adjusting other
management measures such as size limit or season enables recreational
trips to continue. The choice to allow a higher bag limit (5 fish) to
the for-hire sector was also a step taken to lessen any negative impact
on small entities.
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.'' The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is
required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of
this rulemaking process, a letter to permit holders that also serves as
small entity compliance guide was prepared and will be sent to all
holders of Federal permits issued for the bluefish fishery. In
addition, copies of this final rule and guide (i.e., permit holder
letter) are available from NMFS at the following website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/bluefish#management.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: June 23, 2020.
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 648 is amended
as follows:
PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 648.164,
0
a. Lift the suspension on paragraphs (a) and (b);
0
b. Revise paragraphs (a) and (b); and
0
c. Remove paragraphs (c) and (d).
The revisions read as follows:
Sec. 648.164 Bluefish possession restrictions.
(a) Recreational possession limits. Any person fishing from a
vessel in the EEZ that is not fishing under a bluefish commercial
permit shall observe the applicable recreational possession limit. The
owner, operator, and crew of a charter or party boat issued a bluefish
commercial permit are not subject to the recreational possession limit
when not carrying passengers for hire and when the crew size does not
exceed five for a party boat and three for a charter boat.
(1) Private recreational vessels. Any person fishing from a vessel
that is not fishing under a bluefish commercial or charter/party vessel
permit issued pursuant to Sec. 648.4(a)(8), may land up to three
bluefish per day.
(2) For-hire vessels. Anglers fishing onboard a for-hire vessel
under a bluefish charter/party vessel permit issued pursuant to Sec.
648.4(a)(8), may land up to five bluefish per person per day.
(b) Pooling Catch. Bluefish harvested by vessels subject to the
possession limit with more than one person on board may be pooled in
one or more containers. Compliance with the daily possession limit will
be determined by dividing the number of bluefish on board by the number
of persons on board, other than the captain and the crew. If there is a
violation of the possession limit on board a vessel carrying more than
one person, the violation shall be deemed to have been committed by the
owner and operator of the vessel.
[FR Doc. 2020-13867 Filed 6-26-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
