Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2021 Bluefish Specifications, 70573-70575 [2020-24364]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 215 / Thursday, November 5, 2020 / Proposed Rules
concerning the advantages,
disadvantages, and improvements
anticipated in the pricing and
administration of government contracts
as a result of the adoption of a proposed
standard prior to the promulgation of
any new or revised CAS.
On March 13, 2019 (84 FR 9143), the
Board published a SDP to solicit
information and viewpoints on how to
implement the Board’s statutory
requirement to review and conform CAS
to GAAP to the maximum extent
practicable. Among other things, the
SDP asked commenters what
recommended actions, if any, the Board
should take regarding the changes in
GAAP for operating revenue and lease
accounting rules that occurred after CAS
was promulgated. Three respondents
urged the Board to give these issues the
highest priority in the CAS–GAAP
conformance initiative. They were
concerned that if recent changes in
GAAP are inconsistent with CAS, there
may be inadvertent CAS violations,
confusion over CAS requirements,
inconsistent treatment among
contractors, and additional costs to
maintain separate accounting practices
for GAAP and CAS.
The Board appreciates these
comments and recognizes the need to
take timely action to resolve the
potential confusion on the
interpretation of CAS as a result of
changes in GAAP addressing operating
revenue and lease accounting rules.
Accordingly, this ANPRM requests
public comment on proposed revisions
that are being considered to (i) align
CAS with GAAP on the handling of
operating revenue and (ii) clarify CAS
definitions to make clear that GAAP
changes on lease accounting are not
recognized for CAS purposes.
operating leases and reclassified as
right-of-use assets should be excluded
from treatment as intangible capital
assets and tangible capital assets for
CAS.
III. Public Comments
Interested persons are invited to
provide input on the ANPRM. All
comments must be in writing and
submitted as instructed in the
ADDRESSES section.
In commenting on the ANPRM, the
Board encourages respondents, and
especially entities that are covered by
CAS, to discuss what, if any, burdens
they believe would be added or reduced
if the ANPRM was finalized as
described below. Specifically, the Board
seeks to understand what, if any, burden
is created or reduced for contractors by
relying solely on the GAAP definition of
operating revenue and deleting the more
detailed CAS definition. Similarly, the
Board welcomes feedback regarding any
burden that is expected to be created or
reduced for contractors by making clear
that property formerly classified as
Michael E. Wooten,
Administrator for Federal Procurement
Policy, and Chair, Cost Accounting Standards
Board.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:49 Nov 04, 2020
Jkt 253001
IV. Paperwork Reduction Act
The Paperwork Reduction Act, Public
Law 96–511, does not apply to this draft
proposed rule, because this rule
imposes no paperwork burden on
offerors, affected contractors and
subcontractors, or members of the
public which requires the approval of
OMB under 44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.
V. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563
and the Regulatory Flexibility Act
Executive Orders (E.O.s) 12866 and
13563 direct agencies to assess all costs
and benefits of available regulatory
alternatives and, if regulation is
necessary, to select regulatory
approaches that maximize net benefits
(including potential economic,
environmental, public health and safety
effects, distributive impacts, and
equity). E.O. 13563 emphasizes the
importance of quantifying both costs
and benefits, of reducing costs, of
harmonizing rules, and of promoting
flexibility. Because the affected
contractors and subcontractors are those
who are already subject to CAS and the
draft proposed rule would seek to rely
more heavily on GAAP, which these
contractors are using in their
commercial transactions, the economic
impact of this draft proposed rule on
contractors and subcontractors is
expected to be minor. Accordingly, this
is not a significant regulatory action
and, therefore, is not subject to review
under section 6(b) of E.O. 12866,
Regulatory Planning and Review, dated
September 30, 1993.
[FR Doc. 2020–22904 Filed 11–4–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3110–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 201029–0281; RTID 0648–
XX064]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; 2021
Bluefish Specifications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Frm 00072
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
70573
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
NMFS proposes specifications
for the 2021 Atlantic bluefish fishery, as
recommended by the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council. This
action is necessary to comply with the
implementing regulations of the
Bluefish Fishery Management Plan that
require NMFS to publish specifications
for the fishery after providing the
opportunity for public comment. The
proposed specifications are intended to
establish allowable harvest levels for the
stock that will prevent overfishing,
consistent with the most recent
scientific information. This action also
informs the public of the proposed
fishery specifications and provides an
opportunity for comment.
DATES: Comments must be received by
November 20, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2020–0129, by the following
method:
Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov/
docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2020-0129,
2. Click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon,
complete the required fields, and
3. Enter or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any
other method, to any other address or
individual, or received after the end of
the comment period, may not be
considered by NMFS. All comments
received are part of the public record
and will generally be posted for public
viewing on www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/
A’’ in the required fields if you wish to
remain anonymous). If you are unable to
submit your comment through
www.regulations.gov, contact Cynthia
Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst,
Cynthia.Ferrio@noaa.gov.
Copies of the Supplemental
Information Report (SIR) prepared for
this action and other supporting
documents for the proposed
specifications are available upon request
from Dr. Christopher M. Moore,
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council, Suite 201,
800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
These documents are also accessible via
the internet at https://www.mafmc.org.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\05NOP1.SGM
05NOP1
70574
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 215 / Thursday, November 5, 2020 / Proposed Rules
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281–9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council and the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission
jointly manage the Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The
FMP requires the specification of the
acceptable biological catch (ABC),
annual catch limit (ACL), annual catch
targets (ACT), commercial quota,
recreational harvest limit, and other
management measures, for up to three
years at a time. This action proposes
bluefish specifications for the 2021
fishing year.
The August 2019 bluefish operational
assessment concluded that the Atlantic
bluefish stock is overfished but not
subject to overfishing. The most recent
data update (2020) showed increases in
both commercial and recreational catch
in 2019 from 2018, but no change in the
stock status determinations from the
2019 assessment. Based on this best
available scientific information, the
Council’s Scientific and Statistical
Committee (SSC) found no compelling
reason to change the overfishing limit,
ABC, or subsequent catch limits and
targets for the 2021 bluefish fishery.
Therefore, the SSC recommended a
status quo ABC of 7,385 metric tons
(16.28 million pounds). The Council’s
Bluefish Monitoring Committee also
made status quo recommendations for
2021 at its meeting on July 28, 2020, as
projected in the revised 2020–2021
specifications final rule (85 FR 38794;
June 29, 2020), consistent with the SSC.
The Bluefish FMP has a prescriptive
process for deriving specifications from
the ABC. First, the ACL is set equal to
the ABC. Then, the ACL is allocated 17
percent to the commercial ACT, and 83
percent to the recreational ACT.
Applicable discards are subtracted from
each sector’s ACT to calculate the
sector’s total allowable landings (TAL).
Commercial discards are assumed to be
negligible and recreational discards are
projected using a terminal year estimate
derived from Marine Recreational
Information Program (MRIP) data. If the
recreational fishery is not projected to
land its harvest limit, then recreational
sector quota may be transferred to the
commercial sector resulting in a
commercial quota of up to 10.5 million
pounds (4,763 metric tons). The final
commercial quota is then allocated to
coastal states from Maine to Florida
based on percent shares specified in the
FMP.
The Council and the Commission’s
Bluefish Management Board approved
catch specifications for fishing year
2021 at a joint meeting in August 2020,
based on the data update and
recommendations from the SSC and
Monitoring Committee. The Council and
Board recommended status quo
specifications for the 2021 bluefish
fishery using the most recent catch and
discard data to calculate the final
harvest limits. This recommendation
uses the complete and final 2019
estimates for recreational catch and
discards, which increase the
recreational discard estimates from what
were originally projected for 2021 and
subsequently decreases the recreational
TAL and harvest limit. The recreational
sector is still projected to fully achieve
this recreational harvest limit with the
updated estimates, so no sector transfer
to the commercial fishery is permitted.
The Council and Board did not
recommend changes to any other
regulations in place for bluefish;
therefore, all other fishery management
measures will remain unchanged for the
2021 fishing year unless changed
through a separate rulemaking.
Proposed Specifications
This action proposes the Council’s
recommendations for 2021 bluefish
catch specifications, which are
consistent with the SSC’s
recommendations. A comparison of the
current 2020 and the proposed 2021
specifications is summarized below in
Table 1.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF CURRENT 2020 AND PROPOSED 2021 BLUEFISH SPECIFICATIONS *
Current 2020 specifications
million lb
Overfishing Limit ..............................................................................................
ABC = ACL ......................................................................................................
Commercial ACT .............................................................................................
Recreational ACT ............................................................................................
Commercial Discards .......................................................................................
Recreational Discards ......................................................................................
Commercial TAL ..............................................................................................
Recreational TAL .............................................................................................
Sector Transfer ................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...........................................................................................
Recreational Harvest Limit ..............................................................................
32.97
16.28
2.77
13.51
0
4.03
2.77
9.48
0.00
2.77
9.48
metric tons
14,955
7,385
1,255
6,130
0
1,829
1,255
4,301
0
1,255
4,301
Proposed 2021 specifications
million lb
37.98
16.28
2.77
13.51
0
5.17
2.77
8.34
0.00
2.77
8.34
metric tons
17,228
7,385
1,255
6,130
0
2,343
1,255
3,785
0
1,255
3,785
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
* Specifications are derived from the ABC 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 = 2204.6226 pounds.
These proposed specifications are
largely status quo compared to the
current 2020 catch limits, with only
slight changes to the recreational TAL
and recreational harvest limit to account
for the increase in recreational discards.
The Council and Board did not
recommend any changes to the
recreational management measures in
these specifications, but may do so
through a separate action at the joint
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:49 Nov 04, 2020
Jkt 253001
meeting in December 2020. Therefore,
this proposed action does not change
the existing recreational daily bag limits
of three fish per person for private
anglers and five fish per person for forhire (charter/party) vessels. All other
Federal management measures,
including commercial management
measures, and recreational season (open
all year) and minimum fish size (none),
will also remain unchanged.
PO 00000
Frm 00073
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
Table 2 provides the proposed
commercial state allocations based on
the Council-recommended coastwide
commercial quota for 2021. No state
exceeded its allocated quota in 2019,
nor is projected to do so in 2020;
therefore, no accountability measures
for the commercial fishery are required
for the 2021 fishing year.
E:\FR\FM\05NOP1.SGM
05NOP1
70575
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 215 / Thursday, November 5, 2020 / Proposed Rules
TABLE 2—PROPOSED 2021 BLUEFISH STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTA ALLOCATIONS
State
Proposed
quota
(lb)
Proposed
quota
(kg)
Maine ...........................................................................................................................................
New Hampshire ...........................................................................................................................
Massachusetts .............................................................................................................................
Rhode Island ................................................................................................................................
Connecticut ..................................................................................................................................
New York .....................................................................................................................................
New Jersey ..................................................................................................................................
Delaware ......................................................................................................................................
Maryland ......................................................................................................................................
Virginia .........................................................................................................................................
North Carolina ..............................................................................................................................
South Carolina .............................................................................................................................
Georgia ........................................................................................................................................
Florida ..........................................................................................................................................
0.67
0.41
6.72
6.81
1.27
10.39
14.82
1.88
3.00
11.88
32.06
0.04
0.01
10.06
18,503
11,473
185,904
188,434
35,049
287,438
410,082
51,985
83,084
328,800
887,377
974
263
278,432
8,391
5,203
84,310
85,458
15,895
130,357
185,978
23,576
37,680
149,116
402,438
442
119
126,273
Total ......................................................................................................................................
100.00
2,767,793
1,255,235
The Council is developing a
rebuilding plan for the bluefish stock
that will be implemented by the end of
November 2021. This rebuilding plan
will inform development of the next set
of specifications for fishing year 2022.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (MagnusonStevens Act), the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this
proposed rule is consistent with the
Atlantic Bluefish FMP, other provisions
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable law, subject to further
consideration after public comment.
This proposed rule is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
This proposed rule is not an
Executive Order 13771 regulatory action
because this rule is not significant under
Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration that this
proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
Percent share
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:49 Nov 04, 2020
Jkt 253001
The factual basis for this determination
is as follows.
The Council conducted an evaluation
of the potential socioeconomic impacts
of the proposed measures in
conjunction with a SIR. There are no
proposed regulatory changes in this
bluefish action, so none are considered
in the evaluation. The proposed 2021
specifications will maintain the existing
2020 bluefish catch limits and
management measures with only minor
adjustments to the final recreational
TAL and recreational harvest limit.
According to the Northeast Fisheries
Science Center commercial ownership
database, 735 affiliate firms landed
bluefish commercially during 2016–
2018. Of those commercial fishing
operations, 728 are categorized as small
businesses and 7 as large businesses.
For the recreational for-hire fishery, 389
for-hire affiliate firms generated
revenues from recreational fishing for
various species during 2016–2018. All
of those business affiliates are
categorized as small businesses, but it is
not possible to derive the proportion of
overall revenues for these for-hire firms
resulting from fishing activities for an
individual species, such as bluefish.
PO 00000
Frm 00074
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 9990
The Council-recommended
specifications for 2021 are expected to
provide similar fishing opportunities
when compared to the previous year,
because they are largely status quo. As
such, revenue changes are not expected
in 2021 as a result of the proposed
action. Overall, analyses indicate that
the proposed specifications will not
substantially change: Fishing effort, the
risk of overfishing, prices/revenues, or
fishery behavior. Additionally, this
action will not have a significant impact
on small entities. As a result, an initial
regulatory flexibility analysis is not
required and none has been prepared.
This proposed rule contains no
information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 29, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020–24364 Filed 11–4–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\05NOP1.SGM
05NOP1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 215 (Thursday, November 5, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70573-70575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24364]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 201029-0281; RTID 0648-XX064]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery; 2021 Bluefish Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes specifications for the 2021 Atlantic bluefish
fishery, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
This action is necessary to comply with the implementing regulations of
the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan that require NMFS to publish
specifications for the fishery after providing the opportunity for
public comment. The proposed specifications are intended to establish
allowable harvest levels for the stock that will prevent overfishing,
consistent with the most recent scientific information. This action
also informs the public of the proposed fishery specifications and
provides an opportunity for comment.
DATES: Comments must be received by November 20, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2020-0129, by the following method:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
1. Go to https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2020-0129,
2. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields,
and
3. Enter or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous). If you are unable to submit your comment through
www.regulations.gov, contact Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy Analyst,
[email protected].
Copies of the Supplemental Information Report (SIR) prepared for
this action and other supporting documents for the proposed
specifications are available upon request from Dr. Christopher M.
Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council,
Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. These documents are
also accessible via the internet at https://www.mafmc.org.
[[Page 70574]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Ferrio, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission jointly manage the Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery Management Plan (FMP). The FMP requires the specification of
the acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch limit (ACL), annual
catch targets (ACT), commercial quota, recreational harvest limit, and
other management measures, for up to three years at a time. This action
proposes bluefish specifications for the 2021 fishing year.
The August 2019 bluefish operational assessment concluded that the
Atlantic bluefish stock is overfished but not subject to overfishing.
The most recent data update (2020) showed increases in both commercial
and recreational catch in 2019 from 2018, but no change in the stock
status determinations from the 2019 assessment. Based on this best
available scientific information, the Council's Scientific and
Statistical Committee (SSC) found no compelling reason to change the
overfishing limit, ABC, or subsequent catch limits and targets for the
2021 bluefish fishery. Therefore, the SSC recommended a status quo ABC
of 7,385 metric tons (16.28 million pounds). The Council's Bluefish
Monitoring Committee also made status quo recommendations for 2021 at
its meeting on July 28, 2020, as projected in the revised 2020-2021
specifications final rule (85 FR 38794; June 29, 2020), consistent with
the SSC.
The Bluefish FMP has a prescriptive process for deriving
specifications from the ABC. First, the ACL is set equal to the ABC.
Then, the ACL is allocated 17 percent to the commercial ACT, and 83
percent to the recreational ACT. Applicable discards are subtracted
from each sector's ACT to calculate the sector's total allowable
landings (TAL). Commercial discards are assumed to be negligible and
recreational discards are projected using a terminal year estimate
derived from Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) data. If
the recreational fishery is not projected to land its harvest limit,
then recreational sector quota may be transferred to the commercial
sector resulting in a commercial quota of up to 10.5 million pounds
(4,763 metric tons). The final commercial quota is then allocated to
coastal states from Maine to Florida based on percent shares specified
in the FMP.
The Council and the Commission's Bluefish Management Board approved
catch specifications for fishing year 2021 at a joint meeting in August
2020, based on the data update and recommendations from the SSC and
Monitoring Committee. The Council and Board recommended status quo
specifications for the 2021 bluefish fishery using the most recent
catch and discard data to calculate the final harvest limits. This
recommendation uses the complete and final 2019 estimates for
recreational catch and discards, which increase the recreational
discard estimates from what were originally projected for 2021 and
subsequently decreases the recreational TAL and harvest limit. The
recreational sector is still projected to fully achieve this
recreational harvest limit with the updated estimates, so no sector
transfer to the commercial fishery is permitted. The Council and Board
did not recommend changes to any other regulations in place for
bluefish; therefore, all other fishery management measures will remain
unchanged for the 2021 fishing year unless changed through a separate
rulemaking.
Proposed Specifications
This action proposes the Council's recommendations for 2021
bluefish catch specifications, which are consistent with the SSC's
recommendations. A comparison of the current 2020 and the proposed 2021
specifications is summarized below in Table 1.
Table 1--Summary of Current 2020 and Proposed 2021 Bluefish Specifications *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current 2020 specifications Proposed 2021 specifications
---------------------------------------------------------------
million lb metric tons million lb metric tons
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overfishing Limit............................... 32.97 14,955 37.98 17,228
ABC = ACL....................................... 16.28 7,385 16.28 7,385
Commercial ACT.................................. 2.77 1,255 2.77 1,255
Recreational ACT................................ 13.51 6,130 13.51 6,130
Commercial Discards............................. 0 0 0 0
Recreational Discards........................... 4.03 1,829 5.17 2,343
Commercial TAL.................................. 2.77 1,255 2.77 1,255
Recreational TAL................................ 9.48 4,301 8.34 3,785
Sector Transfer................................. 0.00 0 0.00 0
Commercial Quota................................ 2.77 1,255 2.77 1,255
Recreational Harvest Limit...................... 9.48 4,301 8.34 3,785
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Specifications are derived from the ABC 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 = 2204.6226 pounds.
These proposed specifications are largely status quo compared to
the current 2020 catch limits, with only slight changes to the
recreational TAL and recreational harvest limit to account for the
increase in recreational discards. The Council and Board did not
recommend any changes to the recreational management measures in these
specifications, but may do so through a separate action at the joint
meeting in December 2020. Therefore, this proposed action does not
change the existing recreational daily bag limits of three fish per
person for private anglers and five fish per person for for-hire
(charter/party) vessels. All other Federal management measures,
including commercial management measures, and recreational season (open
all year) and minimum fish size (none), will also remain unchanged.
Table 2 provides the proposed commercial state allocations based on
the Council-recommended coastwide commercial quota for 2021. No state
exceeded its allocated quota in 2019, nor is projected to do so in
2020; therefore, no accountability measures for the commercial fishery
are required for the 2021 fishing year.
[[Page 70575]]
Table 2--Proposed 2021 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed quota Proposed quota
State Percent share (lb) (kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine........................................................... 0.67 18,503 8,391
New Hampshire................................................... 0.41 11,473 5,203
Massachusetts................................................... 6.72 185,904 84,310
Rhode Island.................................................... 6.81 188,434 85,458
Connecticut..................................................... 1.27 35,049 15,895
New York........................................................ 10.39 287,438 130,357
New Jersey...................................................... 14.82 410,082 185,978
Delaware........................................................ 1.88 51,985 23,576
Maryland........................................................ 3.00 83,084 37,680
Virginia........................................................ 11.88 328,800 149,116
North Carolina.................................................. 32.06 887,377 402,438
South Carolina.................................................. 0.04 974 442
Georgia......................................................... 0.01 263 119
Florida......................................................... 10.06 278,432 126,273
-----------------------------------------------
Total....................................................... 100.00 2,767,793 1,255,235
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Council is developing a rebuilding plan for the bluefish stock
that will be implemented by the end of November 2021. This rebuilding
plan will inform development of the next set of specifications for
fishing year 2022.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Atlantic Bluefish FMP, other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to further
consideration after public comment.
This proposed rule is exempt from review under Executive Order
12866.
This proposed rule is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory
action because this rule is not significant under Executive Order
12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The factual basis for this determination is as follows.
The Council conducted an evaluation of the potential socioeconomic
impacts of the proposed measures in conjunction with a SIR. There are
no proposed regulatory changes in this bluefish action, so none are
considered in the evaluation. The proposed 2021 specifications will
maintain the existing 2020 bluefish catch limits and management
measures with only minor adjustments to the final recreational TAL and
recreational harvest limit.
According to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center commercial
ownership database, 735 affiliate firms landed bluefish commercially
during 2016-2018. Of those commercial fishing operations, 728 are
categorized as small businesses and 7 as large businesses. For the
recreational for-hire fishery, 389 for-hire affiliate firms generated
revenues from recreational fishing for various species during 2016-
2018. All of those business affiliates are categorized as small
businesses, but it is not possible to derive the proportion of overall
revenues for these for-hire firms resulting from fishing activities for
an individual species, such as bluefish.
The Council-recommended specifications for 2021 are expected to
provide similar fishing opportunities when compared to the previous
year, because they are largely status quo. As such, revenue changes are
not expected in 2021 as a result of the proposed action. Overall,
analyses indicate that the proposed specifications will not
substantially change: Fishing effort, the risk of overfishing, prices/
revenues, or fishery behavior. Additionally, this action will not have
a significant impact on small entities. As a result, an initial
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and none has been
prepared.
This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 29, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-24364 Filed 11-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
