Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 2021 Specifications, 73253-73257 [2020-25336]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 222 / Tuesday, November 17, 2020 / Proposed Rules
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Dated: November 5, 2020.
Sunita Lough,
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[FR Doc. 2020–25240 Filed 11–13–20; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4830–01–P
73253
This is a
summary of the Commission’s
document, Report No. 3159, released
October 22, 2020. The full text of the
Petition can be accessed online via the
Commission’s Electronic Comment
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ecfs/. The Commission will not send a
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Government Accountability Office
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(a)(1)(A), because no rules are being
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Subject: Implementation of the
National Suicide Hotline Improvement
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FR 57767, September 16, 2020 in WC
Docket No. 18–336. This document is
being published pursuant to 47 CFR
1.429(e). See also 47 CFR 1.4(b)(1) and
1.429(f), (g).
Number of Petitions Filed: 1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–25247 Filed 11–16–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 52
[WC Docket No. 18–336; Report No. 3159;
FRS 17236]
Petition for Reconsideration of Action
in Proceedings
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Petition for Reconsideration.
AGENCY:
Petition for Reconsideration
(Petition) has been filed in the
Commission’s proceeding by Patrick J.
Whittle, on behalf of Communications
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DATES: Oppositions to the Petition must
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Replies to an opposition must be filed
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ADDRESSES: Federal Communications
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jamie McCoy, Wireline Competition
Bureau, (202) 418–2320.
SUMMARY:
6 https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-bill-of-rights.
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[Docket No. 201110–0300; RTID 0648–
XX006]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and
Black Sea Bass 2021 Specifications
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
AGENCY:
NMFS proposes revised 2021
specifications for the summer flounder,
scup, and black sea fisheries. The
implementing regulations for the
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea
Bass Fishery Management Plan require
us to publish specifications for the
upcoming fishing year for each of these
species and to provide an opportunity
for public comment. The proposed
specifications are intended to establish
allowable harvest levels for these
species that will prevent overfishing,
consistent with the most recent
scientific information.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before December 2, 2020.
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 222 / Tuesday, November 17, 2020 / Proposed Rules
You may submit comments
on this document, identified by NOAA–
NMFS–2020–0149, by the following
method:
Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
1. Go to www.regulations.gov/
#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-20200149,
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).
A Supplemental Information Report
(SIR) was prepared for the 2021 summer
flounder, scup, and black sea bass
specifciations. Copies of the SIR are
available on request from Dr.
Christopher M. Moore, Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Suite 201, 800
North State Street, Dover, DE 19901.
The SIR is also accessible via the
internet at https://www.mafmc.org/s/SF_
2020-2021_specs_EA.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281–9116.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:
General Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (Council) and the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (Commission)
cooperatively manage the summer
flounder, scup, and black sea bass
fisheries. The Summer Flounder, Scup,
and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management
Plan (FMP) outlines the Council’s
process for establishing specifications.
The FMP requires NMFS to set an
acceptable biological catch (ABC),
annual catch limit (ACL), annual catch
targets (ACT), commercial quotas,
recreational harvest limits (RHL), and
other management measures, for 1 to 3
years at a time. Projected 2021
specifications for summer flounder (84
FR 54041; October 9, 2019) and scup
and black sea bass (85 FR 29345; May
15, 2020) were previously announced.
This action proposes revisions to the
2021 ABC limits, as well as the
recreational and commercial ACLs,
ACTs, commercial quotas, and RHLs for
all three species, consistent with the
recommendations made by the
Commission’s Summer Flounder, Scup,
and Black Sea Bass Board and Council
at their joint August 2020 meeting.
These revisions are primarily based on
recent changes to the Council’s risk
policy, which defines the acceptable
risk of overfishing associated with an
ABC. The revised risk policy allows for
increased risk of overfishing under high
stock biomass conditions compared to
the previous risk policy. The change is
greatest for stocks with biomass above
the target level (BMSY).
The Scientific and Statistical
Committee (SSC) met on July 23, 2020,
to review its previous recommendations
for 2021 ABCs and to consider possible
modifications in light of the new risk
policy and other new information. No
updated assessment models or biomass
projections were available for these
species. Therefore, no new stock status
information was available. However, the
SSC did consider data updates for each
species including final 2019 fishery
landings information and 2019 Federal
trawl survey indices. The SSC also
considered staff recommendations and
recent fishery performance.
The SSC can deviate from the
currently implemented risk policy with
sufficient justification, and in this case,
the SSC was supportive of revising the
ABCs consistent with the revised risk
policy prior to these revisions being
implemented in Federal regulations.
The approval of the risk policy is being
considered through a concurrent action
(85 FR 71873; November 12, 2020). That
action is expected to be finalized prior
to our approval of these 2021
specifications.
Proposed 2021 Specifications
Summer Flounder Specifications
For summer flounder, applying the
revised risk policy, keeping all other
relevant factors the same as previously
adopted, results in an increase in the
recommended 2021 ABC from 25.03
million lb (11,354 mt) to 27.11 million
lb (12,297 mt). This represents an 8percent increase in the ABC and an
increase in the probability of overfishing
from 34 to 39 percent. Given the high
biomass (healthy stock status) of
summer flounder, the revised risk
policy allows for a slightly increased
risk of overfishing, which balances
fishery access with the prevention of
overfishing. Section 5.1 of the Council’s
SIR provides information on how the
revised ABC was calculated using the
new risk policy. The resulting
recommended catch and landings limits
are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF 2021 SUMMER FLOUNDER FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS
2021 specifications
Million lb
OFL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
ABC ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL ......................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACT .....................................................................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL .....................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACT ....................................................................................................................................................
Recreational Harvest Limit ......................................................................................................................................
We are also developing a final rule to
implement a new state-by-state
allocation formula for the commercial
summer flounder fishery, as described
in Amendment 21 to the FMP (85 FR
48660; August 12, 2020). We approved
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Amendment 21 on October 19, 2020. We
anticipate publishing a final rule for
Amendment 21 before we finalize these
specifications, which would enable us
to use the new allocation formula to set
2021 commercial state summer flounder
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31.67
27.11
14.63
14.63
12.49
12.48
12.48
8.32
mt
14,367
12,297
6,635
6,635
5,663
5,662
5,662
3,776
quotas prior to the start of the 2021
fishing year. However, because the
timing is uncertain, this proposed rule
includes initial state quotas based on
both the current and revised allocation
formulas. We intend to implement the
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new commercial state summer flounder
quotas, through the final rule if
Amendment 21 is approved and
effective prior to January 1, 2021.
The initial 2021 state-by-state summer
flounder quotas are provided in Table 2.
The initial quotas are presented using
the current allocation formula and the
allocation formula that will be used if
Amendment 21 is approved prior to the
start of the 2021 fishing year. Through
the final rule, prior to the start of the
73255
fishing year, we will announce any
adjustments necessary to address any
long-standing overages or potential 2020
overages to provide the states with their
final quotas.
TABLE 2—INITIAL 2021 SUMMER FLOUNDER STATE-BY-STATE QUOTAS
Initial 2021
quotas *
current
allocations
(lb)
State
Initial 2021
quotas *
amendment
21 allocations
(lb)
Initial 2021
quotas *
current
allocations
(mt)
Initial 2021
quotas *
amendment
21 allocations
(mt)
ME ....................................................................................................................
NH ....................................................................................................................
MA ....................................................................................................................
RI .....................................................................................................................
CT ....................................................................................................................
NY ....................................................................................................................
NJ .....................................................................................................................
DE ....................................................................................................................
MD ...................................................................................................................
VA ....................................................................................................................
NC ....................................................................................................................
5,940
57
851,875
1,958,804
281,909
955,109
2,088,951
2,222
254,684
2,662,463
3,427,985
14,342
9,844
1,015,179
1,861,550
579,376
1,094,113
1,961,062
11,499
558,559
2,399,576
2,984,903
2.69
0.03
386.40
888.50
127.87
433.23
947.53
1.01
115.52
1,207.67
1,554.91
6.51
4.47
460.48
844.38
262.80
496.28
889.52
5.22
253.36
1,088.43
1,353.93
Total ..........................................................................................................
12,490,000
12,490,000
5,665.37
5,665.37
* Initial quotas do not account for any previous overages. These allocations are based on the current allocation formula, and the allocation formula from Amendment 21.
the Board and Council later this year
when additional data are available for
2020.
This action makes no changes to the
current commercial management
measures, including the minimum fish
size (14 inch (36 cm) total length), gear
requirements, and possession limits.
Changes to 2021 recreational
management measures (bag limits, size
limits, and seasons) are not considered
in this action, but will be considered by
Scup Specifications
Application of the revised risk policy
to the 2021 scup OFL, keeping all other
relevant factors the same, would result
in the 2021 ABC increasing from 30.67
million lb (13,912 mt) to 34.81 million
lb (15,790 mt). This represents a 13percent increase in the ABC. Section 5.2
of the Council’s SIR provides
information on how the revised ABC
was calculated using the new risk
policy. The resulting recommended
catch and landings limits are shown in
Table 3.
TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF 2021 SCUP FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS
2021 specifications
Million lb
OFL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
ABC ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL ......................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACT .....................................................................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL .....................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACT ....................................................................................................................................................
Recreational Harvest Limit ......................................................................................................................................
This action proposes no changes to
the 2021 commercial management
measures for scup, including the
minimum fish size (9 inch (22.9 cm)
total length), gear requirements, and
quota period possession limits. Like
summer flounder, potential changes to
the recreational measures (bag limits,
size limits, and seasons) for 2021 will be
considered later this year when
additional data are available for 2020.
Black Sea Bass Specifications
Application of the revised risk policy
to 2021 black sea bass OFL, keeping all
other relevant factors the same, would
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result in the 2021 ABC increasing from
15.07 million lb (6,836 mt) to 17.45
million lb (7,915 mt), representing a 16percent increase. As specified in the
FMP, 49 percent of the ABC that is
expected to be landed is allocated to the
commercial fishery and 51 percent is
allocated to the recreational fishery.
Expected discards in each sector are
added to these amounts to derive
commercial and recreational ACLs. The
Council and Board recommended
revisions to the method for calculating
expected discards for black sea bass.
The revised method is based on the
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35.30
34.81
27.15
27.15
20.50
7.66
7.66
6.07
mt
16,012
15,791
12,317
12,317
9,299
3,474
3,474
2,752
assumption that sector-specific discards,
as a percentage of sector-specific catch,
will be the same as the 2016–2018
average (i.e., commercial dead discards
would account for 36 percent of
commercial catch and recreational dead
discards would account for 20 percent
of recreational catch). This allows
commercial discards to scale up with
the increase in the quota, consistent
with past trends in the fishery. The
previously used method for calculating
expected discards under-predicted
actual discards in both sectors,
contributing to commercial and
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 222 / Tuesday, November 17, 2020 / Proposed Rules
recreational ACL overages in every year
since 2015. The revised methodology
reduces the likelihood of ACL overages.
The resulting recommended catch and
landings limits are shown in Table 4.
This action proposes no changes to the
2021 commercial management measures
for black sea bass, including the
commercial minimum fish size (11 inch
(27.94 cm) total length) and gear
requirements.
TABLE 4—SUMMARY OF 2021 BLACK SEA BASS SPECIFICATIONS
2021 specifications
Million lb
OFL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
ABC ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL ......................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACT .....................................................................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL .....................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACT ....................................................................................................................................................
Recreational Harvest Limit ......................................................................................................................................
This action proposes revisions to the
projected state-by-state February black
sea bass recreational fishery harvest. No
changes to the management measures
for the February fishery are being
proposed. The harvest projections are
being updated to incorporate the revised
Marine Recreational Information
Program data, but the overall estimation
method would remain unchanged
(Table 5). States that choose to
participate in this optional opening
must use these revised values when
developing state waters management
measures for the rest of the year. The
purpose is to ensure their participation
in this optional opening does not
increase their annual recreational black
mt
17.68
17.45
9.52
9.52
6.09
7.93
7.93
6.34
8,021
7,916
4,320
4,320
2,764
3,596
3,596
2,877
sea bass harvest in such a way as to
result in an overage of the coastwide
RHL. Changes to management measures
for the overall recreational black sea
bass fishery will be considered later this
year when additional 2020 data is
available.
TABLE 5—RECREACTIONAL BLACK SEA BASS FEBRUARY HARVEST ESTIMATES USED FOR 2018–2020 AND THE
PROPOSED 2021 ESTIMATES
2018–2020
harvest
estimates
(lb)
State
2018–2020
harvest
estimates
(mt)
Proposed
harvest
estimates
(lb)
Proposed
harvest
estimates
(mt)
RI .....................................................................................................................
CT ....................................................................................................................
NY ....................................................................................................................
NJ .....................................................................................................................
DE ....................................................................................................................
MD ...................................................................................................................
VA ....................................................................................................................
NC ....................................................................................................................
288
57
9,410
82,850
1,297
541
5,496
62
0.13
0.03
4.27
37.58
0.59
0.24
2.49
0.03
1,146
158
41,871
405,913
6,418
2,227
24,891
1,369
0.52
0.07
18.99
184.12
2.91
1.01
11.29
0.62
Total ..........................................................................................................
100,000
45.36
483,993
219.54
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this proposed rule is consistent
with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and
Black Sea Bass FMP, Atlantic Bluefish
FMP, other provisions of the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law,
subject to further consideration after
public comment.
This proposed rule is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration that this
proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
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The factual basis for this determination
is as follows.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council conducted an
evaluation of the potential
socioeconomic impacts of the proposed
measures in conjunction with a SIR. The
proposed action would revise the catch
and landings limits for summer
flounder, scup, and black sea bass in
2021 based on the recommendations of
the SSC, the Council, and Board. The
proposed 2021 specifications are an
increase, for all three species, compared
to the previously approved 2021 quotas,
and are an increase for summer flounder
and black sea bass compared to 2020
quotas. No changes to the Federal
commercial fishery management
measures are being proposed.
Recreational fishery management
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measures are developed in a separate
action.
Vessel ownership data were used to
identify all individuals who own fishing
vessels. Vessels were then grouped
according to common owners. The
resulting groupings were then treated as
entities, or affiliates, for purposes of
identifying small and large businesses
which may be affected by this action.
Affiliates were identified as primarily
commercial fishing affiliates if the
majority of their revenues in 2018 came
from commercial fishing. Some of these
affiliates may have also held party/
charter permits. Affiliates were
identified as primarily for-hire fishing
affiliates if the majority of their
revenues in 2018 came from for-hire
fishing. Some of these affiliates may
have also held commercial permits.
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 222 / Tuesday, November 17, 2020 / Proposed Rules
Based on this grouping, a total of 732
commercial affiliates reported revenue
from summer flounder, scup, and/or
black sea bass landings in at least one
year during 2016–2018. Based on
combined receipts in 2018, 725 (99
percent) of these commercial affiliates
were classified as small businesses and
7 (1 percent) were classified as large
businesses. A total of 286 affiliates were
identified as small businesses which
may be impacted by this action (i.e.,
they held summer flounder, scup and/
or black sea bass moratorium and/or forhire permits in 2016–2018) but reported
no revenues from commercial or
recreational fishing in 2018. These 286
affiliates are not discussed further.
Regarding the for-hire fishery, a total
of 389 affiliates generated revenues from
recreational fishing in at least one year
during 2016–2018. All of these affiliates
were categorized as small businesses
based on their 2018 revenues. It is not
possible to determine the proportion of
their revenues that came from fishing
for an individual species. However,
given the popularity of summer
flounder, scup, and black sea bass as
recreational species in the Mid-Atlantic
and southern New England, revenues
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Jkt 253001
generated from these species are likely
important for many of these firms at
certain times of the year.
The 725 potentially impacted small
businesses had average total annual
revenues of $432,470, and on average
$50,899 (12 percent) of those annual
revenues came from commercial
landings of summer flounder, scup and/
or black sea bass during 2016–2018. The
7 potentially impacted large businesses
had average total annual revenues of
$17.4 million, and on average $426,859
(2 percent) of those annual revenues
came from commercial landings of
summer flounder, scup, and/or black
sea bass during 2016–2018.
The proposed 2021 specifications are
an increase, for all three species,
compared to the previously approved
2021 quotas, and are an increase for
summer flounder and black sea bass
compared to 2020 quotas. The proposed
action for scup is expected to result in
similar levels of commercial scup
landings and revenues as over the past
several years because commercial scup
landings appear to be influenced more
by market factors than the annual
commercial quota. The proposed action
for summer flounder and black sea bass
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73257
is expected to have a moderate positive
socioeconomic impact for all
participants because it would allow for
increased commercial landings and
revenues. This action does not consider
changes to recreational management
measures.
As result, this action is not expected
to adversely impact revenues for
commercial and recreational vessels that
fish for summer flounder, scup, and,
black sea bass. Because this rule will not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities,
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: November 12, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020–25336 Filed 11–16–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 222 (Tuesday, November 17, 2020)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 73253-73257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25336]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 201110-0300; RTID 0648-XX006]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder,
Scup, and Black Sea Bass 2021 Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes revised 2021 specifications for the summer
flounder, scup, and black sea fisheries. The implementing regulations
for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management
Plan require us to publish specifications for the upcoming fishing year
for each of these species and to provide an opportunity for public
comment. The proposed specifications are intended to establish
allowable harvest levels for these species that will prevent
overfishing, consistent with the most recent scientific information.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before December 2, 2020.
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ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2020-0149, by the following method:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via
the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
1. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020-0149,
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).
A Supplemental Information Report (SIR) was prepared for the 2021
summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass specifciations. Copies of the
SIR are available on request from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North
State Street, Dover, DE 19901. The SIR is also accessible via the
internet at https://www.mafmc.org/s/SF_2020-2021_specs_EA.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281-9116.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
General Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) cooperatively
manage the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries. The
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP)
outlines the Council's process for establishing specifications. The FMP
requires NMFS to set an acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch
limit (ACL), annual catch targets (ACT), commercial quotas,
recreational harvest limits (RHL), and other management measures, for 1
to 3 years at a time. Projected 2021 specifications for summer flounder
(84 FR 54041; October 9, 2019) and scup and black sea bass (85 FR
29345; May 15, 2020) were previously announced. This action proposes
revisions to the 2021 ABC limits, as well as the recreational and
commercial ACLs, ACTs, commercial quotas, and RHLs for all three
species, consistent with the recommendations made by the Commission's
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board and Council at their
joint August 2020 meeting. These revisions are primarily based on
recent changes to the Council's risk policy, which defines the
acceptable risk of overfishing associated with an ABC. The revised risk
policy allows for increased risk of overfishing under high stock
biomass conditions compared to the previous risk policy. The change is
greatest for stocks with biomass above the target level
(BMSY).
The Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) met on July 23,
2020, to review its previous recommendations for 2021 ABCs and to
consider possible modifications in light of the new risk policy and
other new information. No updated assessment models or biomass
projections were available for these species. Therefore, no new stock
status information was available. However, the SSC did consider data
updates for each species including final 2019 fishery landings
information and 2019 Federal trawl survey indices. The SSC also
considered staff recommendations and recent fishery performance.
The SSC can deviate from the currently implemented risk policy with
sufficient justification, and in this case, the SSC was supportive of
revising the ABCs consistent with the revised risk policy prior to
these revisions being implemented in Federal regulations. The approval
of the risk policy is being considered through a concurrent action (85
FR 71873; November 12, 2020). That action is expected to be finalized
prior to our approval of these 2021 specifications.
Proposed 2021 Specifications
Summer Flounder Specifications
For summer flounder, applying the revised risk policy, keeping all
other relevant factors the same as previously adopted, results in an
increase in the recommended 2021 ABC from 25.03 million lb (11,354 mt)
to 27.11 million lb (12,297 mt). This represents an 8-percent increase
in the ABC and an increase in the probability of overfishing from 34 to
39 percent. Given the high biomass (healthy stock status) of summer
flounder, the revised risk policy allows for a slightly increased risk
of overfishing, which balances fishery access with the prevention of
overfishing. Section 5.1 of the Council's SIR provides information on
how the revised ABC was calculated using the new risk policy. The
resulting recommended catch and landings limits are shown in Table 1.
Table 1--Summary of 2021 Summer Flounder Fishery Specifications
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2021 specifications Million lb mt
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OFL..................................... 31.67 14,367
ABC..................................... 27.11 12,297
Commercial ACL.......................... 14.63 6,635
Commercial ACT.......................... 14.63 6,635
Commercial Quota........................ 12.49 5,663
Recreational ACL........................ 12.48 5,662
Recreational ACT........................ 12.48 5,662
Recreational Harvest Limit.............. 8.32 3,776
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We are also developing a final rule to implement a new state-by-
state allocation formula for the commercial summer flounder fishery, as
described in Amendment 21 to the FMP (85 FR 48660; August 12, 2020). We
approved Amendment 21 on October 19, 2020. We anticipate publishing a
final rule for Amendment 21 before we finalize these specifications,
which would enable us to use the new allocation formula to set 2021
commercial state summer flounder quotas prior to the start of the 2021
fishing year. However, because the timing is uncertain, this proposed
rule includes initial state quotas based on both the current and
revised allocation formulas. We intend to implement the
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new commercial state summer flounder quotas, through the final rule if
Amendment 21 is approved and effective prior to January 1, 2021.
The initial 2021 state-by-state summer flounder quotas are provided
in Table 2. The initial quotas are presented using the current
allocation formula and the allocation formula that will be used if
Amendment 21 is approved prior to the start of the 2021 fishing year.
Through the final rule, prior to the start of the fishing year, we will
announce any adjustments necessary to address any long-standing
overages or potential 2020 overages to provide the states with their
final quotas.
Table 2--Initial 2021 Summer Flounder State-by-State Quotas
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Initial 2021 Initial 2021 Initial 2021 Initial 2021
quotas * quotas * quotas * quotas *
State current amendment 21 current amendment 21
allocations allocations allocations allocations
(lb) (lb) (mt) (mt)
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ME.............................................. 5,940 14,342 2.69 6.51
NH.............................................. 57 9,844 0.03 4.47
MA.............................................. 851,875 1,015,179 386.40 460.48
RI.............................................. 1,958,804 1,861,550 888.50 844.38
CT.............................................. 281,909 579,376 127.87 262.80
NY.............................................. 955,109 1,094,113 433.23 496.28
NJ.............................................. 2,088,951 1,961,062 947.53 889.52
DE.............................................. 2,222 11,499 1.01 5.22
MD.............................................. 254,684 558,559 115.52 253.36
VA.............................................. 2,662,463 2,399,576 1,207.67 1,088.43
NC.............................................. 3,427,985 2,984,903 1,554.91 1,353.93
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Total....................................... 12,490,000 12,490,000 5,665.37 5,665.37
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* Initial quotas do not account for any previous overages. These allocations are based on the current allocation
formula, and the allocation formula from Amendment 21.
This action makes no changes to the current commercial management
measures, including the minimum fish size (14 inch (36 cm) total
length), gear requirements, and possession limits. Changes to 2021
recreational management measures (bag limits, size limits, and seasons)
are not considered in this action, but will be considered by the Board
and Council later this year when additional data are available for
2020.
Scup Specifications
Application of the revised risk policy to the 2021 scup OFL,
keeping all other relevant factors the same, would result in the 2021
ABC increasing from 30.67 million lb (13,912 mt) to 34.81 million lb
(15,790 mt). This represents a 13-percent increase in the ABC. Section
5.2 of the Council's SIR provides information on how the revised ABC
was calculated using the new risk policy. The resulting recommended
catch and landings limits are shown in Table 3.
Table 3--Summary of 2021 Scup Fishery Specifications
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2021 specifications Million lb mt
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OFL..................................... 35.30 16,012
ABC..................................... 34.81 15,791
Commercial ACL.......................... 27.15 12,317
Commercial ACT.......................... 27.15 12,317
Commercial Quota........................ 20.50 9,299
Recreational ACL........................ 7.66 3,474
Recreational ACT........................ 7.66 3,474
Recreational Harvest Limit.............. 6.07 2,752
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This action proposes no changes to the 2021 commercial management
measures for scup, including the minimum fish size (9 inch (22.9 cm)
total length), gear requirements, and quota period possession limits.
Like summer flounder, potential changes to the recreational measures
(bag limits, size limits, and seasons) for 2021 will be considered
later this year when additional data are available for 2020.
Black Sea Bass Specifications
Application of the revised risk policy to 2021 black sea bass OFL,
keeping all other relevant factors the same, would result in the 2021
ABC increasing from 15.07 million lb (6,836 mt) to 17.45 million lb
(7,915 mt), representing a 16-percent increase. As specified in the
FMP, 49 percent of the ABC that is expected to be landed is allocated
to the commercial fishery and 51 percent is allocated to the
recreational fishery. Expected discards in each sector are added to
these amounts to derive commercial and recreational ACLs. The Council
and Board recommended revisions to the method for calculating expected
discards for black sea bass. The revised method is based on the
assumption that sector-specific discards, as a percentage of sector-
specific catch, will be the same as the 2016-2018 average (i.e.,
commercial dead discards would account for 36 percent of commercial
catch and recreational dead discards would account for 20 percent of
recreational catch). This allows commercial discards to scale up with
the increase in the quota, consistent with past trends in the fishery.
The previously used method for calculating expected discards under-
predicted actual discards in both sectors, contributing to commercial
and
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recreational ACL overages in every year since 2015. The revised
methodology reduces the likelihood of ACL overages. The resulting
recommended catch and landings limits are shown in Table 4. This action
proposes no changes to the 2021 commercial management measures for
black sea bass, including the commercial minimum fish size (11 inch
(27.94 cm) total length) and gear requirements.
Table 4--Summary of 2021 Black Sea Bass Specifications
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2021 specifications Million lb mt
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OFL..................................... 17.68 8,021
ABC..................................... 17.45 7,916
Commercial ACL.......................... 9.52 4,320
Commercial ACT.......................... 9.52 4,320
Commercial Quota........................ 6.09 2,764
Recreational ACL........................ 7.93 3,596
Recreational ACT........................ 7.93 3,596
Recreational Harvest Limit.............. 6.34 2,877
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This action proposes revisions to the projected state-by-state
February black sea bass recreational fishery harvest. No changes to the
management measures for the February fishery are being proposed. The
harvest projections are being updated to incorporate the revised Marine
Recreational Information Program data, but the overall estimation
method would remain unchanged (Table 5). States that choose to
participate in this optional opening must use these revised values when
developing state waters management measures for the rest of the year.
The purpose is to ensure their participation in this optional opening
does not increase their annual recreational black sea bass harvest in
such a way as to result in an overage of the coastwide RHL. Changes to
management measures for the overall recreational black sea bass fishery
will be considered later this year when additional 2020 data is
available.
Table 5--Recreactional Black Sea Bass February Harvest Estimates Used for 2018-2020 and the Proposed 2021
Estimates
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2018-2020 2018-2020 Proposed Proposed
harvest harvest harvest harvest
State estimates estimates estimates estimates
(lb) (mt) (lb) (mt)
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RI.............................................. 288 0.13 1,146 0.52
CT.............................................. 57 0.03 158 0.07
NY.............................................. 9,410 4.27 41,871 18.99
NJ.............................................. 82,850 37.58 405,913 184.12
DE.............................................. 1,297 0.59 6,418 2.91
MD.............................................. 541 0.24 2,227 1.01
VA.............................................. 5,496 2.49 24,891 11.29
NC.............................................. 62 0.03 1,369 0.62
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Total....................................... 100,000 45.36 483,993 219.54
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Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP,
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.
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 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council conducted an evaluation
of the potential socioeconomic impacts of the proposed measures in
conjunction with a SIR. The proposed action would revise the catch and
landings limits for summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass in 2021
based on the recommendations of the SSC, the Council, and Board. The
proposed 2021 specifications are an increase, for all three species,
compared to the previously approved 2021 quotas, and are an increase
for summer flounder and black sea bass compared to 2020 quotas. No
changes to the Federal commercial fishery management measures are being
proposed. Recreational fishery management measures are developed in a
separate action.
Vessel ownership data were used to identify all individuals who own
fishing vessels. Vessels were then grouped according to common owners.
The resulting groupings were then treated as entities, or affiliates,
for purposes of identifying small and large businesses which may be
affected by this action. Affiliates were identified as primarily
commercial fishing affiliates if the majority of their revenues in 2018
came from commercial fishing. Some of these affiliates may have also
held party/charter permits. Affiliates were identified as primarily
for-hire fishing affiliates if the majority of their revenues in 2018
came from for-hire fishing. Some of these affiliates may have also held
commercial permits.
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Based on this grouping, a total of 732 commercial affiliates
reported revenue from summer flounder, scup, and/or black sea bass
landings in at least one year during 2016-2018. Based on combined
receipts in 2018, 725 (99 percent) of these commercial affiliates were
classified as small businesses and 7 (1 percent) were classified as
large businesses. A total of 286 affiliates were identified as small
businesses which may be impacted by this action (i.e., they held summer
flounder, scup and/or black sea bass moratorium and/or for-hire permits
in 2016-2018) but reported no revenues from commercial or recreational
fishing in 2018. These 286 affiliates are not discussed further.
Regarding the for-hire fishery, a total of 389 affiliates generated
revenues from recreational fishing in at least one year during 2016-
2018. All of these affiliates were categorized as small businesses
based on their 2018 revenues. It is not possible to determine the
proportion of their revenues that came from fishing for an individual
species. However, given the popularity of summer flounder, scup, and
black sea bass as recreational species in the Mid-Atlantic and southern
New England, revenues generated from these species are likely important
for many of these firms at certain times of the year.
The 725 potentially impacted small businesses had average total
annual revenues of $432,470, and on average $50,899 (12 percent) of
those annual revenues came from commercial landings of summer flounder,
scup and/or black sea bass during 2016-2018. The 7 potentially impacted
large businesses had average total annual revenues of $17.4 million,
and on average $426,859 (2 percent) of those annual revenues came from
commercial landings of summer flounder, scup, and/or black sea bass
during 2016-2018.
The proposed 2021 specifications are an increase, for all three
species, compared to the previously approved 2021 quotas, and are an
increase for summer flounder and black sea bass compared to 2020
quotas. The proposed action for scup is expected to result in similar
levels of commercial scup landings and revenues as over the past
several years because commercial scup landings appear to be influenced
more by market factors than the annual commercial quota. The proposed
action for summer flounder and black sea bass is expected to have a
moderate positive socioeconomic impact for all participants because it
would allow for increased commercial landings and revenues. This action
does not consider changes to recreational management measures.
As result, this action is not expected to adversely impact revenues
for commercial and recreational vessels that fish for summer flounder,
scup, and, black sea bass. Because this rule will not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities,
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: November 12, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-25336 Filed 11-16-20; 8:45 am]
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