Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; 2021 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to the Limited Access General Category Fishery, 24745-24746 [2021-09869]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 88 / Monday, May 10, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration (SBA)
during the proposed rule stage that this
rule 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. NMFS did not receive any
comments from SBA’s Office of
Advocacy or the public regarding the
certification in the proposed rule. NMFS
received one public comment on the
economic analysis in Amendment 12;
see Comment #2 in the preamble. No
changes to this final rule were made in
response to public comments. As a
result, a final regulatory flexibility
analysis was not required and none was
prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Atlantic, Dolphin, Ecosystem species,
Fisheries, Fishing, Wahoo.
Dated: May 5, 2021.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the
preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended
as follows:
PART 622—FISHERIES OF THE
CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND
SOUTH ATLANTIC
1. The authority citation for part 622
continues to read as follows:
■
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. Add Table 6 to appendix A to part
622 to read as follows:
■
Appendix A to Part 622—Species
Tables
*
*
*
*
*
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Table 6 of Appendix A to Part 622—Atlantic
Dolphin and Wahoo
Dolphin, Coryphaena equiselis or
Coryphaena hippurus Wahoo,
Acanthocybium solandri
The following species are designated as
ecosystem component species:
Bullet mackerel, Auxis rochei
Frigate mackerel, Auxis thazard
[FR Doc. 2021–09851 Filed 5–7–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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16:22 May 07, 2021
Jkt 253001
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 200325–0088; RTID 0648–
XB071]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery;
2021 Closure of the Northern Gulf of
Maine Scallop Management Area to the
Limited Access General Category
Fishery
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
AGENCY:
NMFS announces the closure
of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop
Management Area for the remainder of
the 2021 fishing year for Limited Access
General Category vessels. Regulations
require this action once NMFS projects
that 100 percent of the Limited Access
General Category total allowable catch
for the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop
Management Area will be harvested.
This action is intended to prevent the
overharvest of the 2021 total allowable
catch allocated to the Limited Access
General Category Fishery.
DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, May
6, 2021, through March 31, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Louis Forristall, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281–9321.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
regulations governing fishing activity in
the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM)
Scallop Management Area are located in
50 CFR 648.54 and 648.62. These
regulations authorize vessels issued a
valid Federal scallop permit to fish in
the NGOM Scallop Management Area
under specific conditions, including a
default total allowable catch (TAC) of
167,500 lb (75,976 kg) for the Limited
Access General Category (LAGC) fleet
for the 2021 fishing year, and a State
Waters Exemption Program for the State
of Maine and Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Section 648.62(b)(2)
requires the NGOM Scallop
Management Area to be closed to
scallop vessels issued Federal LAGC
scallop permits, except as provided
below, for the remainder of the fishing
year once the NMFS Greater Atlantic
Regional Administrator determines that
100 percent of the LAGC TAC for the
fishing year is projected to be harvested.
Any vessel that holds a Federal NGOM
(LAGC B) or Individual Fishing Quota
SUMMARY:
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Fmt 4700
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24745
(IFQ) (LAGC A) permit may continue to
fish in the Maine or Massachusetts state
waters portion of the NGOM Scallop
Management Area under the State
Waters Exemption Program found in
§ 648.54 provided it has a valid Maine
or Massachusetts state scallop permit
and fishes only in that state’s respective
waters.
Based on trip declarations by
federally permitted LAGC scallop
vessels fishing in the NGOM Scallop
Management Area and analysis of
fishing effort, we project that the 2021
LAGC TAC will be harvested as of May
6, 2021. Therefore, in accordance with
§ 648.62(b)(2), the NGOM Scallop
Management Area is closed to all
federally permitted LAGC scallop
vessels as of May 6, 2021. As of this
date, no vessel issued a Federal LAGC
scallop permit may fish for, possess, or
land scallops in or from the NGOM
Scallop Management Area after 0001
local time, May 6, 2021, unless the
vessel is fishing exclusively in state
waters and is participating in an
approved state waters exemption
program as specified in § 648.54. Any
federally permitted LAGC scallop vessel
that has declared into the NGOM
Scallop Management Area, complied
with all trip notification and observer
requirements, and crossed the vessel
monitoring system demarcation line on
the way to the area before 0001, May 6,
2021, may complete its trip and land
scallops. This closure is in effect until
the end of the 2021 scallop fishing year,
through March 31, 2022. This closure
does not apply to the Limited Access
(LA) scallop fleet, which was allocated
a separate TAC of 97,500 lb (44,225 kg)
for the 2021 fishing year under
Framework Adjustment 32 to the
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery
Management Plan. Vessels that are
participating in the 2021 scallop
Research Set-Aside Program and have
been issued letters of authorization to
conduct compensation fishing activities
will harvest the 2021 LA TAC.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part
648 and is exempt from review under
Executive Order 12866.
The Assistant Administrator for
fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive
prior notice and the opportunity for
public comment because it would be
contrary to the public interest and
impracticable. NMFS also finds,
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good
cause to waive the 30-day delayed
effectiveness period for the reasons
noted below. The NGOM Scallop
Management Area opened for the 2021
E:\FR\FM\10MYR1.SGM
10MYR1
24746
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 88 / Monday, May 10, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
fishing year on April 1, 2021. The
regulations at § 648.60(b)(2) require this
closure to ensure that federally
permitted scallop vessels do not harvest
more than the allocated LAGC TAC for
the NGOM Scallop Management Area.
NMFS can only make projections for the
NGOM closure date as trips into the area
occur on a real-time basis and as activity
trends appear. As a result, NMFS can
typically make an accurate projection
only shortly before the TAC is
harvested. The rapid harvest rate that
has occurred in the last 2 weeks makes
it more difficult to project a closure well
in advance. To allow federally
permitted LAGC scallop vessels to
continue taking trips in the NGOM
Scallop Management Area during the
period necessary to publish and receive
comments on a proposed rule would
result in vessels harvesting more than
the 2021 LAGC TAC for the NGOM
Scallop Management Area. This would
result in excessive fishing effort in the
area thereby undermining conservation
objectives of the Atlantic Sea Scallop
Fishery Management Plan and requiring
more restrictive future management
measures to make up for the excessive
harvest. Also, the public had prior
notice and full opportunity to comment
on this closure process when we put the
final NGOM management provisions in
place for the 2021 fishing year on March
31, 2020 (85 FR 17754).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 5, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021–09869 Filed 5–5–21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 679
[Docket No. 210504–0098]
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RIN 0648–BK18
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic
Zone Off Alaska; Removing the
Processing Restrictions on
Incidentally Caught Squid and Sculpin
Species in the Gulf of Alaska and
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Groundfish Fisheries
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:
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16:22 May 07, 2021
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NMFS issues regulations to
remove the regulatory restriction that
limits processing of squids and sculpins
to fishmeal only. This final rule is
necessary to allow the processing and
sale of squids and sculpins as products
other than fishmeal and thereby to help
prevent waste of the incidental catch of
these ecosystem component (EC)
species. This final rule is intended to
promote the goals and objectives of the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the Fishery
Management Plans (FMP) for
Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA)
and Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands
Management Area (BSAI) (Groundfish
FMPs), and other applicable laws.
DATES: Effective June 9, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the
Regulatory Impact Review (referred to as
the ‘‘Analysis’’) and the National
Environmental Policy Act Categorical
Exclusion prepared for this final rule
may be obtained from
www.regulations.gov.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Megan Mackey, 907–586–7228.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority for Action
NMFS manages the groundfish
fisheries in the exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) of the BSAI and GOA under the
Groundfish FMPs. The North Pacific
Fishery Management Council (Council)
prepared the Groundfish FMPs under
the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. Regulations
governing U.S. fisheries and
implementing the Groundfish FMPs
appear at 50 CFR parts 600 and 679.
The proposed rule to implement this
action was published in the Federal
Register on February 26, 2021, with
comments invited through March 29,
2021 (86 FR 11716). NMFS received 5
comment letters containing a total of 3
unique comments. The comments are
summarized and responded to under the
heading Comments and Responses
below.
A detailed review of the provisions
and rationale for this action is provided
in the preamble to the proposed rule (86
FR 11716, February 26, 2021) and is
briefly summarized in this final rule.
Background
Squids and sculpins are defined in
the EC category of the Groundfish FMPs.
Directed fishing for EC species is
prohibited. Incidental catch of squid
species is retained in some groundfish
fisheries and often utilized to prevent
waste. Typically, sculpins are not
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Frm 00048
Fmt 4700
Sfmt 4700
retained but can be in some
circumstances.
The Council’s 2017 and 2019 actions
to reclassify squids and sculpins,
respectively, into the EC category of the
Groundfish FMPs were based on the
best available scientific information and
were consistent with the National
Standard (NS) guidelines. The Federal
rulemakings to implement the Council’s
actions prohibited the use or sale of
incidentally caught squids and sculpins
unless processed into fishmeal, in
accordance with the regulations
governing other EC species (85 FR
41427, July 10, 2020 (sculpin); 83 FR
31460, July 6, 2018 (squid)). The
purpose of this action is to provide
flexibility for the use of incidentally
caught squids and sculpins, thereby
reducing the waste of these EC species,
and aligning the regulations with the
long-standing use of incidentally caught
squid species as bait.
The following sections of this
preamble provide:
• A brief history of the restriction on
processing and sale of squids and
sculpins,
• The expected effects of and need for
this action, and
• A description of the regulatory
change made by this final rule.
Brief History of the Restriction on
Processing and Sale of Squids and
Sculpins
EC species are stocks that a fishery
management council (council) or the
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) has
determined do not require conservation
and management, but desire to list in an
FMP in order to achieve ecosystem
management objectives (50 CFR
600.305(c)(5) and (d)(13) and 50 CFR
600.310(d)(1)). Retention and personal
use of some EC species in the
Groundfish FMPs (forage fish,
grenadiers, squids, and sculpins) is
allowed up to the applicable maximum
retainable amount (MRA), which is the
proportion or percentage of retained
catch of a species closed for directed
fishing (incidental catch species) to the
retained catch of a species open for
directed fishing (basis species) (50 CFR
679.20(e) and (i)). Current Federal
regulations at 50 CFR 679.20(i)(4) and
(5) prohibit the processing, barter, trade,
and sale of EC species in Alaska (forage
fish, grenadiers, squids, and sculpins)
unless they are processed as fishmeal.
Amendment 96 to the BSAI FMP and
Amendment 87 to the GOA FMP
(Amendments 96/87) (75 FR 61639,
October 6, 2010) established the EC
category and designated prohibited
species (defined in Table 2b to 50 CFR
part 679, to include salmon, steelhead
E:\FR\FM\10MYR1.SGM
10MYR1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 88 (Monday, May 10, 2021)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24745-24746]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09869]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 200325-0088; RTID 0648-XB071]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop
Fishery; 2021 Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management
Area to the Limited Access General Category Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary rule; closure.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces the closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine
Scallop Management Area for the remainder of the 2021 fishing year for
Limited Access General Category vessels. Regulations require this
action once NMFS projects that 100 percent of the Limited Access
General Category total allowable catch for the Northern Gulf of Maine
Scallop Management Area will be harvested. This action is intended to
prevent the overharvest of the 2021 total allowable catch allocated to
the Limited Access General Category Fishery.
DATES: Effective 0001 hr local time, May 6, 2021, through March 31,
2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louis Forristall, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9321.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations governing fishing activity
in the Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Scallop Management Area are
located in 50 CFR 648.54 and 648.62. These regulations authorize
vessels issued a valid Federal scallop permit to fish in the NGOM
Scallop Management Area under specific conditions, including a default
total allowable catch (TAC) of 167,500 lb (75,976 kg) for the Limited
Access General Category (LAGC) fleet for the 2021 fishing year, and a
State Waters Exemption Program for the State of Maine and Commonwealth
of Massachusetts. Section 648.62(b)(2) requires the NGOM Scallop
Management Area to be closed to scallop vessels issued Federal LAGC
scallop permits, except as provided below, for the remainder of the
fishing year once the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator
determines that 100 percent of the LAGC TAC for the fishing year is
projected to be harvested. Any vessel that holds a Federal NGOM (LAGC
B) or Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) (LAGC A) permit may continue to
fish in the Maine or Massachusetts state waters portion of the NGOM
Scallop Management Area under the State Waters Exemption Program found
in Sec. 648.54 provided it has a valid Maine or Massachusetts state
scallop permit and fishes only in that state's respective waters.
Based on trip declarations by federally permitted LAGC scallop
vessels fishing in the NGOM Scallop Management Area and analysis of
fishing effort, we project that the 2021 LAGC TAC will be harvested as
of May 6, 2021. Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 648.62(b)(2), the
NGOM Scallop Management Area is closed to all federally permitted LAGC
scallop vessels as of May 6, 2021. As of this date, no vessel issued a
Federal LAGC scallop permit may fish for, possess, or land scallops in
or from the NGOM Scallop Management Area after 0001 local time, May 6,
2021, unless the vessel is fishing exclusively in state waters and is
participating in an approved state waters exemption program as
specified in Sec. 648.54. Any federally permitted LAGC scallop vessel
that has declared into the NGOM Scallop Management Area, complied with
all trip notification and observer requirements, and crossed the vessel
monitoring system demarcation line on the way to the area before 0001,
May 6, 2021, may complete its trip and land scallops. This closure is
in effect until the end of the 2021 scallop fishing year, through March
31, 2022. This closure does not apply to the Limited Access (LA)
scallop fleet, which was allocated a separate TAC of 97,500 lb (44,225
kg) for the 2021 fishing year under Framework Adjustment 32 to the
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. Vessels that are
participating in the 2021 scallop Research Set-Aside Program and have
been issued letters of authorization to conduct compensation fishing
activities will harvest the 2021 LA TAC.
Classification
This action is required by 50 CFR part 648 and is exempt from
review under Executive Order 12866.
The Assistant Administrator for fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) to waive prior notice and the
opportunity for public comment because it would be contrary to the
public interest and impracticable. NMFS also finds, pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(3), good cause to waive the 30-day delayed effectiveness
period for the reasons noted below. The NGOM Scallop Management Area
opened for the 2021
[[Page 24746]]
fishing year on April 1, 2021. The regulations at Sec. 648.60(b)(2)
require this closure to ensure that federally permitted scallop vessels
do not harvest more than the allocated LAGC TAC for the NGOM Scallop
Management Area. NMFS can only make projections for the NGOM closure
date as trips into the area occur on a real-time basis and as activity
trends appear. As a result, NMFS can typically make an accurate
projection only shortly before the TAC is harvested. The rapid harvest
rate that has occurred in the last 2 weeks makes it more difficult to
project a closure well in advance. To allow federally permitted LAGC
scallop vessels to continue taking trips in the NGOM Scallop Management
Area during the period necessary to publish and receive comments on a
proposed rule would result in vessels harvesting more than the 2021
LAGC TAC for the NGOM Scallop Management Area. This would result in
excessive fishing effort in the area thereby undermining conservation
objectives of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan and
requiring more restrictive future management measures to make up for
the excessive harvest. Also, the public had prior notice and full
opportunity to comment on this closure process when we put the final
NGOM management provisions in place for the 2021 fishing year on March
31, 2020 (85 FR 17754).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 5, 2021.
Jennifer M. Wallace,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-09869 Filed 5-5-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
