Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass 2021 Specifications, 82946-82949 [2020-27851]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 245 / Monday, December 21, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
DATES:
This rule is effective January 1,
2021.
Dated: December 14, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs,National Marine
Fisheries Service.
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:
[FR Doc. 2020–27852 Filed 12–18–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 201214–0338; 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: Final rule.
AGENCY:
NMFS announces 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. This action is intended to
inform the public of the specifications
for the start of the 2021 fishing year for
summer flounder, scup, and black sea
bass.
SUMMARY:
General Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council and the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries 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 revises 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 the Council at their joint
August 2020 meeting. These revisions
are primarily based on recent changes to
the Council’s risk policy that we
approved on December 15, 2020. The
risk policy 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).
Final 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
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
catch and landings limits are shown in
Table 1.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF THE FINAL 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 also recently approved (October
19, 2020) and implemented (December
14 2020, 85 FR 80661) Amendment 21
to the FMP. Amendment 21 implements
a new state-by-state allocation formula
for the commercial summer flounder
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fishery. The revised allocation formula
was used to set the final 2021 summer
flounder commercial state quotas. In
addition to the revised allocation
formula, the final state summer flounder
quotas take into account any overages
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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
that occurred during the 2019 or current
fishing year, through October 31, as
described at 50 CFR 648.103(b)(2). The
final 2021 state-by-state summer
flounder quotas are provided in Table 2.
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82947
TABLE 2—FINAL 2021 SUMMER FLOUNDER STATE-BY-STATE QUOTAS
Percent
share
State
Maine .........................................
New Hampshire .........................
Massachusetts ...........................
Rhode Island ..............................
Connecticut ................................
New York ...................................
New Jersey ................................
Delaware ....................................
Maryland ....................................
Virginia .......................................
North Carolina ............................
Additional
percent share
of
quota above
9.55 m lb
(4,332 mt)
0.04756
0.00046
6.82046
15.68298
2.25708
7.64699
16.72499
0.01779
2.0391
21.31676
27.44584
This action makes no changes to the
current commercial management
measures, including the minimum fish
size (14 inches (36 cm), total length),
gear requirements, and possession
limits. No changes to 2021 recreational
management measures (bag limits, size
0.333
0.333
12.375
12.375
12.375
12.375
12.375
0.333
12.375
12.375
12.375
Initial
allocation
lb
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
Initial
allocation
kg
6,501
4,461
460,477
844,385
262,801
496,281
889,523
5,211
253,358
1,088,429
1,353,929
limits, and seasons) were considered as
part of this action.
Scup Specifications
Application of the revised risk policy
to the 2021 scup OFL, keeping all other
relevant factors the same, results in the
2021 ABC increasing from 30.67 million
Preliminary
2020
overage
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................
¥52,307
......................
......................
......................
Final
allocation
lb
14,332
9,834
1,015,179
1,861,550
579,376
1,094,113
1,961,062
¥40,818
558,559
2,399,576
2,984,903
Final
allocation
kg
6,501
4,461
460,477
844,385
262,801
496,281
889,523
¥18,515
253,358
1,088,429
1,353,929
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 catch and landings
limits are shown in Table 3.
TABLE 3—SUMMARY OF THE FINAL 2021 SCUP FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS
2021 Specifications
million lb
OFL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
ABC ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL ......................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACT .....................................................................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL .....................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACT ....................................................................................................................................................
Recreational Harvest Limit ......................................................................................................................................
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
TABLE 4—COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA ALLOCATIONS FOR 2021 BY QUOTA PERIOD
Percent
share
Quota period
lb
mt
Winter I ........................................................................................................................................
Summer .......................................................................................................................................
Winter II .......................................................................................................................................
45.11
38.95
15.94
9,247,904
7,985,056
3,267,825
4,194.77
3,621.96
1,482.26
Total ......................................................................................................................................
100.0
20,500,000
9,299.00
Note: Pounds are converted from metric tons and may not necessarily total due to rounding.
This action does not change the 2021
commercial management measures for
scup, including the minimum fish size
(9 inches (22.9 cm), total length), gear
requirements, and quota period
possession limits. Like summer
flounder, changes to the recreational
measures for 2021 were not considered
in this action.
Black Sea Bass Specifications
Application of the revised risk policy
to the 2021 black sea bass OFL, keeping
all other relevant factors the same,
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results 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.
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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
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 245 / Monday, December 21, 2020 / Rules and Regulations
actual discards in both sectors,
contributing to commercial and
recreational ACL overages in every year
since 2015. The revised methodology
reduces the likelihood of ACL overages.
The resulting catch and landings limits
are shown in Table 5. This action does
not change the 2021 commercial
management measures for black sea
bass, including the commercial
minimum fish size (11 inches (27.94
cm), total length) and gear requirements.
TABLE 5—SUMMARY OF THE FINAL 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 revises the projected stateby-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 6). 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
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
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 were not considered in this
action.
TABLE 6—RECREACTIONAL BLACK SEA BASS FEBRUARY 2021 HARVEST ESTIMATES
Harvest
estimates
(lb)
State
Harvest
estimates
(mt)
Rhode Island ............................................................................................................................................................
Connecticut ..............................................................................................................................................................
New York .................................................................................................................................................................
New Jersey ..............................................................................................................................................................
Delaware ..................................................................................................................................................................
Maryland ..................................................................................................................................................................
Virginia .....................................................................................................................................................................
North Carolina ..........................................................................................................................................................
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 ..................................................................................................................................................................
483,993
219.54
Comments and Responses
We received two comments on the
proposed rule. One comment was not
relevant to the proposed specifications
and is not discussed further. The second
comment was from the State of New
York and the New York State
Department of Environmental
Conservation (hereinafter referenced as
‘‘New York’’). New York’s comment
comprises a cover letter and ten
attachments. The attachments were the
comment letters and supporting
documents that New York previously
submitted in response to the proposed
rule for the 2020–2021 Summer
Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and
Bluefish Specifications (84 FR 36046;
July 26, 2019) and the proposed rule for
Amendment 21 to the FMP (85 FR
48660; August 12, 2020). Similar to
arguments made in ongoing and past
litigation, New York contends that the
revised allocations and resulting quotas
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19:44 Dec 18, 2020
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are not in accordance with MagnusonStevens Act’s National Standards 2, 4, 5,
and 7. NMFS’s responses to New York’s
previously submitted comments can be
found in the final rules for those two
actions (84 FR 54041; October 8, 2019,
and 85 FR 80661; December 14, 2020)
and are not repeated here.
In the proposed rule, we published
initial 2021 summer flounder state
quotas based on two scenarios. In the
first scenario the distribution of state
quota was based on the new allocation
method we approved through
Amendment 21 to the FMP. Although
we approved Amendment 21 on October
19, 2020, when the specifications
proposed rule was published, we did
not know whether the final rule for
Amendment 21, implementing the new
allocation method, would be published
and effective prior to the start of the
2021 fishing year. Due to the timing
uncertainty, the proposed rule included
a second scenario under which the
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commercial state summer flounder
quota distribution would be based on
the old allocation formula. In its
comment letter, New York opposed ‘‘the
state-by-state allocations proposed
under either scenario.’’
The final rule for Amendment 21
published on December 14, 2020.
Therefore the current regulations
governing the FMP require that quota
allocations be distributed based on the
percentages outlined in Table 2. Any
adjustments to these quota allocations
that are currently part of the FMP must
be developed and considered through
an amendment to the FMP and are
outside the scope of this specifications
action.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
As described in the proposed rule, the
summer flounder specifications in this
final rule incorporate overage
information to calculate the final state
quotas.
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Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this final rule is consistent with the
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea
Bass FMP, other provisions of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable law.
The Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries finds that the need to
implement these measures in a timely
manner constitutes good cause, under
the authority contained in 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3), to waive the 30-day delay in
effective date of this action. This action
implements 2021 specifications for the
summer flounder, scup, and black sea
bass fisheries. These specifications
should be effective by the start of the
fishing year on January 1, 2021, and
must be published on or before
December 31, 2020.
This rule is being issued at the earliest
possible date. Preparation of the
proposed rule was dependent on the
Council’s submission of the SIR. NMFS
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19:44 Dec 18, 2020
Jkt 253001
received the final version of the SIR on
November 2, 2020. Preparation of the
final rule is also dependent on the
analysis of commercial summer
flounder landings for the prior fishing
year (2019) and the current fishing year
through October 31, to determine
whether any overages have occurred
and adjustments are needed to the final
state quotas. This process is codified in
the summer flounder regulations, and,
therefore, cannot be performed earlier.
Annual publication of the summer
flounder quotas prior to the start of the
fishing year, by December 31, is
required by Court Order in North
Carolina Fisheries Association v. Daley.
The 30-day delay in implementation
for this rule is also unnecessary because
this rule contains no new measures (e.g.,
requiring new nets or equipment) for
which regulated entities need time to
prepare or revise their current practices.
This final rule is exempt from review
under Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the
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82949
Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration during
the proposed rule stage that this action
would not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for the
certification was published in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here.
No comments were received regarding
this certification. As a result, a
regulatory flexibility analysis was not
required and none was prepared.
This final rule contains no
information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 14, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020–27851 Filed 12–18–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\21DER1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 245 (Monday, December 21, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 82946-82949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27851]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 201214-0338; 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: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces 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. This action is intended to inform the public of
the specifications for the start of the 2021 fishing year for summer
flounder, scup, and black sea bass.
DATES: This rule is effective January 1, 2021.
ADDRESSES: 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 and the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries 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 revises 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
the Council at their joint August 2020 meeting. These revisions are
primarily based on recent changes to the Council's risk policy that we
approved on December 15, 2020. The risk policy 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).
Final 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 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 catch and landings limits are shown in Table 1.
Table 1--Summary of the Final 2021 Summer Flounder Fishery
Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021 Specifications million lb mt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
We also recently approved (October 19, 2020) and implemented
(December 14 2020, 85 FR 80661) Amendment 21 to the FMP. Amendment 21
implements a new state-by-state allocation formula for the commercial
summer flounder fishery. The revised allocation formula was used to set
the final 2021 summer flounder commercial state quotas. In addition to
the revised allocation formula, the final state summer flounder quotas
take into account any overages that occurred during the 2019 or current
fishing year, through October 31, as described at 50 CFR 648.103(b)(2).
The final 2021 state-by-state summer flounder quotas are provided in
Table 2.
[[Page 82947]]
Table 2--Final 2021 Summer Flounder State-by-State Quotas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Additional
percent
Percent share of Initial Initial Preliminary Final Final
State share quota above allocation allocation 2020 overage allocation allocation
9.55 m lb lb kg lb kg
(4,332 mt)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine................................................. 0.04756 0.333 14,342 6,501 ............ 14,332 6,501
New Hampshire......................................... 0.00046 0.333 9,844 4,461 ............ 9,834 4,461
Massachusetts......................................... 6.82046 12.375 1,015,179 460,477 ............ 1,015,179 460,477
Rhode Island.......................................... 15.68298 12.375 1,861,550 844,385 ............ 1,861,550 844,385
Connecticut........................................... 2.25708 12.375 579,376 262,801 ............ 579,376 262,801
New York.............................................. 7.64699 12.375 1,094,113 496,281 ............ 1,094,113 496,281
New Jersey............................................ 16.72499 12.375 1,961,062 889,523 ............ 1,961,062 889,523
Delaware.............................................. 0.01779 0.333 11,499 5,211 -52,307 -40,818 -18,515
Maryland.............................................. 2.0391 12.375 558,559 253,358 ............ 558,559 253,358
Virginia.............................................. 21.31676 12.375 2,399,576 1,088,429 ............ 2,399,576 1,088,429
North Carolina........................................ 27.44584 12.375 2,984,903 1,353,929 ............ 2,984,903 1,353,929
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This action makes no changes to the current commercial management
measures, including the minimum fish size (14 inches (36 cm), total
length), gear requirements, and possession limits. No changes to 2021
recreational management measures (bag limits, size limits, and seasons)
were considered as part of this action.
Scup Specifications
Application of the revised risk policy to the 2021 scup OFL,
keeping all other relevant factors the same, results 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 catch and
landings limits are shown in Table 3.
Table 3--Summary of the Final 2021 Scup Fishery Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021 Specifications million lb mt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 4--Commercial Scup Quota Allocations for 2021 by Quota Period
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quota period Percent share lb mt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I........................................................ 45.11 9,247,904 4,194.77
Summer.......................................................... 38.95 7,985,056 3,621.96
Winter II....................................................... 15.94 3,267,825 1,482.26
-----------------------------------------------
Total....................................................... 100.0 20,500,000 9,299.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Pounds are converted from metric tons and may not necessarily total due to rounding.
This action does not change the 2021 commercial management measures
for scup, including the minimum fish size (9 inches (22.9 cm), total
length), gear requirements, and quota period possession limits. Like
summer flounder, changes to the recreational measures for 2021 were not
considered in this action.
Black Sea Bass Specifications
Application of the revised risk policy to the 2021 black sea bass
OFL, keeping all other relevant factors the same, results 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
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actual discards in both sectors, contributing to commercial and
recreational ACL overages in every year since 2015. The revised
methodology reduces the likelihood of ACL overages. The resulting catch
and landings limits are shown in Table 5. This action does not change
the 2021 commercial management measures for black sea bass, including
the commercial minimum fish size (11 inches (27.94 cm), total length)
and gear requirements.
Table 5--Summary of the Final 2021 Black Sea Bass Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2021 Specifications million lb mt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 revises 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 6). 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
were not considered in this action.
Table 6--Recreactional Black Sea Bass February 2021 Harvest Estimates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harvest Harvest
State estimates (lb) estimates (mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rhode Island............................ 1,146 0.52
Connecticut............................. 158 0.07
New York................................ 41,871 18.99
New Jersey.............................. 405,913 184.12
Delaware................................ 6,418 2.91
Maryland................................ 2,227 1.01
Virginia................................ 24,891 11.29
North Carolina.......................... 1,369 0.62
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Total............................... 483,993 219.54
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Comments and Responses
We received two comments on the proposed rule. One comment was not
relevant to the proposed specifications and is not discussed further.
The second comment was from the State of New York and the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation (hereinafter referenced
as ``New York''). New York's comment comprises a cover letter and ten
attachments. The attachments were the comment letters and supporting
documents that New York previously submitted in response to the
proposed rule for the 2020-2021 Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass,
and Bluefish Specifications (84 FR 36046; July 26, 2019) and the
proposed rule for Amendment 21 to the FMP (85 FR 48660; August 12,
2020). Similar to arguments made in ongoing and past litigation, New
York contends that the revised allocations and resulting quotas are not
in accordance with Magnuson-Stevens Act's National Standards 2, 4, 5,
and 7. NMFS's responses to New York's previously submitted comments can
be found in the final rules for those two actions (84 FR 54041; October
8, 2019, and 85 FR 80661; December 14, 2020) and are not repeated here.
In the proposed rule, we published initial 2021 summer flounder
state quotas based on two scenarios. In the first scenario the
distribution of state quota was based on the new allocation method we
approved through Amendment 21 to the FMP. Although we approved
Amendment 21 on October 19, 2020, when the specifications proposed rule
was published, we did not know whether the final rule for Amendment 21,
implementing the new allocation method, would be published and
effective prior to the start of the 2021 fishing year. Due to the
timing uncertainty, the proposed rule included a second scenario under
which the commercial state summer flounder quota distribution would be
based on the old allocation formula. In its comment letter, New York
opposed ``the state-by-state allocations proposed under either
scenario.''
The final rule for Amendment 21 published on December 14, 2020.
Therefore the current regulations governing the FMP require that quota
allocations be distributed based on the percentages outlined in Table
2. Any adjustments to these quota allocations that are currently part
of the FMP must be developed and considered through an amendment to the
FMP and are outside the scope of this specifications action.
Changes From the Proposed Rule
As described in the proposed rule, the summer flounder
specifications in this final rule incorporate overage information to
calculate the final state quotas.
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Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined that this final rule is
consistent with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP,
other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable law.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries finds that the need to
implement these measures in a timely manner constitutes good cause,
under the authority contained in 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), to waive the 30-
day delay in effective date of this action. This action implements 2021
specifications for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass
fisheries. These specifications should be effective by the start of the
fishing year on January 1, 2021, and must be published on or before
December 31, 2020.
This rule is being issued at the earliest possible date.
Preparation of the proposed rule was dependent on the Council's
submission of the SIR. NMFS received the final version of the SIR on
November 2, 2020. Preparation of the final rule is also dependent on
the analysis of commercial summer flounder landings for the prior
fishing year (2019) and the current fishing year through October 31, to
determine whether any overages have occurred and adjustments are needed
to the final state quotas. This process is codified in the summer
flounder regulations, and, therefore, cannot be performed earlier.
Annual publication of the summer flounder quotas prior to the start of
the fishing year, by December 31, is required by Court Order in North
Carolina Fisheries Association v. Daley.
The 30-day delay in implementation for this rule is also
unnecessary because this rule contains no new measures (e.g., requiring
new nets or equipment) for which regulated entities need time to
prepare or revise their current practices.
This final 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
during the proposed rule stage that this action would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The factual basis for the certification was published in the proposed
rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received regarding this
certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not
required and none was prepared.
This final rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: December 14, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-27851 Filed 12-18-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
