Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Framework Adjustment 17 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan, and Framework Adjustment 6 to the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan, 76600-76608 [2022-27118]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 240 (Thursday, December 15, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 76600-76608]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27118]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 221209-0266]
RIN 0648-BL65


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Framework 
Adjustment 17 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery 
Management Plan, and Framework Adjustment 6 to the Bluefish Fishery 
Management Plan

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

[[Page 76601]]

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations to implement Framework Adjustment 17 
to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management 
Plan and Framework Adjustment 6 to the Bluefish Fishery Management 
Plan. This framework was developed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council in conjunction with the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission to revise the process for setting recreational 
management measures, and recreational accountability measures, for 
summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2022-0096, by the following method:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA-NMFS-2022-0096 in the Search box. 
Click on the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and 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 a 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).
    Copies of Framework Adjustment 17 to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and 
Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan and Framework Adjustment 6 to 
the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan, including the Environmental 
Assessment, the Regulatory Impact Review, and the Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (EA/RIR/IRFA) prepared in support of this action 
are available from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North State Street, 
Dover, DE 19901. The supporting documents are also accessible via the 
internet at: https://www.mafmc.org/actions/hcr-framework-addenda.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
(978) 281-9116, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) cooperatively 
manage the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish 
fisheries. The Council submitted Framework Adjustment 17 to the Summer 
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and 
Framework Adjustment 6 to the Bluefish FMP (the Recreational Harvest 
Control Rule (HCR) Framework) to us for consideration of approval. The 
Recreational HCR Framework proposes adoption of a new process for 
setting recreational measures (bag, size, and season limits) and 
modifications to the recreational accountability measures. The goal of 
this Framework/Addenda is to establish a process for setting 
recreational measures that: Prevent overfishing; are reflective of 
stock status; appropriately account for uncertainty in the recreational 
data; take into consideration angler preferences; and provide an 
appropriate level of stability and predictability in changes from year 
to year.

Proposed Recreational Management Measure Setting Process: The Percent 
Change Approach

    This action proposes to modify the process for setting recreational 
management measures for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and 
bluefish, including how to determine when management measures need to 
be changed, the percent change required, and the timing of the overall 
process. This process will apply when stocks are not in a rebuilding 
plan; when a stock is in a rebuilding plan, recreational measures will 
be determined based on the requirements of that plan. Bluefish is in a 
rebuilding plan, so this approach is not currently applicable. The 
proposed process, referred to as the Percent Change Approach, would use 
two factors to determine if management measures could remain status 
quo, could be liberalized, or must be restricted. These factors are:
    1. Comparison of a confidence interval (CI) around an estimate of 
expected harvest under status quo measures to the average recreational 
harvest limit (RHL) for the upcoming two years and;
    2. Biomass compared to the target level, as defined by the most 
recent stock assessment.

Step 1: Estimating Recreational Harvest

    The amount of expected recreational harvest is difficult to predict 
as it is impacted by many factors besides the management measures, 
including fishing effort, availability of various target species, 
economic factors, and weather. Harvest can vary notably from year to 
year even under the same set of management measures. Given these 
challenges, the Council and Commission are supporting the development 
of improved statistical analysis tools for predicting the impacts of 
measures on catch and harvest, while accounting for other factors such 
as angler preferences.
    These statistical models may not be available for all species given 
the amount of data and development that is required to support them. 
When such models are not available, estimated recreational harvest 
would be based on the two most recent years of MRIP estimates.
    In addition to estimating harvest, the CI around this recreational 
harvest estimate would also be generated. When developing a CI from two 
years of MRIP data, the Plan Development Team/Fishery Management Action 
Team recommended the use of a joint distribution 80-percent confidence 
interval that takes into consideration the percent standard error (PSE) 
of each individual year's MRIP estimate and the variability of the 
estimates between years.

Step 2: Biomass Comparison

    The most recent stock assessment will be used to determine the 
biomass relative to the biomass target (BMSY or the relevant proxy). If 
the biomass is at least 150 percent of the target, the stock is 
considered ``very high''; if the stock is between 100 and 150 percent 
of the target, it will be considered ``high''; stocks with a biomass 
below the target size will be categorized as ``low.''

Step 3: Determining the Percent Change

    Considered together, the harvest and biomass comparisons determine 
the appropriate degree of change, defined as a percentage change in 
expected harvest, as summarized in Table 1. For example, when the 
future 2-year average RHL is greater than the upper bound of the 
harvest estimate CI (i.e., an RHL underage is expected under status quo 
measures) and biomass is below the target level, measures would be

[[Page 76602]]

modified to achieve a 10-percent liberalization in harvest. In this 
scenario, the liberalization is capped at 10 percent even if the 
difference between the RHL and expected harvest is greater than 10 
percent.

                   Table 1--Management Response Table
------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Factors to determine recommended change
---------------------------------------------------
                                (2) Stock biomass    Recommended change
  (1) Future RHL vs harvest      compared to the         in harvest
          estimate            target stock size (B/
                                      BMSY)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Future 2-year average RHL is  Very high (at least   Liberalization:
 greater than the upper        150% of the target    percent based on
 bound of the harvest          stock size).          the difference
 estimate confidence          High (between the      between the harvest
 interval (harvest is          target and 150% of    estimate and the 2-
 expected to be lower than     the target stock      year average RHL,
 the RHL).                     size).                not to exceed 40
                              Low (below the         percent.
                               target stock size).  Liberalization:
                                                     percent based on
                                                     the difference
                                                     between the harvest
                                                     estimate and the 2-
                                                     year average RHL,
                                                     not to exceed 20
                                                     percent.
                                                    Liberalization: 10
                                                     percent.
Future 2-year average RHL is  Very high (at least   Liberalization: 10
 within the confidence         150% of the target    percent.
 interval of the harvest       stock size).         No change: 0
 estimate (harvest is         High (between the      percent.
 expected to be close to the   target and 150% of   Reduction: 10
 RHL).                         the target stock      percent.
                               size).
                              Low (below the
                               target stock size).
Future 2-year average RHL is  Very high (at least   Reduction: 10
 less than the lower bound     150% of the target    percent.
 of the harvest estimate       stock size).         Reduction: percent
 confidence interval          High (between the      based on the
 (harvest is expected to       target and 150% of    difference between
 exceed the RHL).              the target stock      the harvest
                               size).                estimate and the 2-
                              Low (below the         year average RHL,
                               target stock size).   not to exceed 20
                                                     percent.
                                                    Reduction: percent
                                                     based on the
                                                     difference between
                                                     the harvest
                                                     estimate and the 2-
                                                     year average RHL,
                                                     not to exceed 40
                                                     percent.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Key Terms

     Biomass (B): The size of a stock of fish measured in 
weight. For summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish, the 
biomass levels and biomass targets used in management are based on 
spawning stock biomass.
     Biomass target (BMSY): The stock size (B) associated with 
maximum sustainable yield (MSY), as defined by a stock assessment. MSY 
is the largest average catch that can be taken from a stock at BMSY 
over time under existing environmental conditions without negatively 
impacting the reproductive capacity of the stock.
     Confidence Interval: the upper and lower bound around a 
point estimate to indicate the range of possible values given the 
uncertainties around the estimate.
     Recreational Harvest Limit (RHL): The total allowable 
annual recreational fishery harvest; set based on information from the 
stock assessment, considerations about scientific and management 
uncertainty, allocations between the commercial and recreational 
sectors, and assumptions about dead discards.

Timing

    The current process considers adjustments to recreational 
management measures annually. This has a number of associated 
challenges, given the timing of MRIP data availability and the fishing 
seasons. The Percent Change Approach would shift the timing to a 2-year 
cycle, adjusting measures in sync with the setting of catch and 
landings limits in response to updated stock assessment information. 
Updated stock assessments will be available every other year for all 
four species. In the interim year, measures would be reviewed and may 
be modified if new data suggest a major change in the expected impacts 
of those measures on the stock or the fishery.

Sunset Provision

    The proposed Percent Change Approach to setting recreational 
management measures is an improvement over the status quo process 
because it allows for measures to be set for two years, includes the 
explicit consideration of biomass, and requires the consideration of 
variability in harvest estimates. However, the Council and Commission's 
Policy Board agreed that the Percent Change Approach should sunset no 
later than December 31, 2025, with the goal of implementing additional 
changes to recreational fisheries management during fishing year 2026. 
These changes will be developed through a separate future management 
action. In the absence of additional action to revise the recreational 
management measure-setting process by the sunset date, the process for 
establishing recreational measures will revert to the methodology 
currently used by the Council, which is part of the FMP but not part of 
regulatory text.

Conservation Equivalency

    The Council and Policy Board considered, but did not recommend, an 
option to set constraints around the use of the Commission's 
conservation equivalency policy as applied to the recreational 
fisheries for these four species. They decided to maintain the current 
policy to allow individual states the flexibility to tailor management 
measures to meet the needs of their fisheries.
    This alternative would maintain the ability for individual states 
to submit proposals for alternative recreational management measures 
for summer flounder and black sea bass that are expected to achieve an 
equivalent level of recreational harvest, catch, or fishing mortality 
(depending on the alternative selected from Alternative Sets 1 and 2) 
as the measures that would otherwise be implemented. This state-level 
flexibility can allow measures to be tailored to the unique 
characteristics of the fisheries in each state. For example, some 
states have used the conservation equivalency process to maintain a 
Saturday opening

[[Page 76603]]

date. The Council and Policy Board supported this level of flexibility 
and, therefore, selected this as a preferred alternative.

Recreational Accountability Measures

    This framework also considers changes to the recreational 
accountability measures that consider if the recreational ACL overages 
contributed to overfishing. Specifically, when biomass is between the 
target and threshold levels, the requirement of paying back 
recreational catch limit overages will account for whether those 
overages contributed to overfishing based on the most recent stock 
assessment information. When a reactive AM has been triggered by a 
recreational ACL overage and the most recent biomass estimate is 
between the target and the threshold, consideration would also be given 
to the most recent estimate of fishing mortality relative to 
FMSY in the year(s) when the overage(s) occurred. The AM 
response would be stricter if FMSY was exceeded in addition 
to the ACL (e.g., a payback would be required). If only the 
recreational ACL was exceeded, the AM response would be less strict 
(e.g., measures would be revised but a payback would not be required).
    Estimates of fishing mortality during the years relevant to the 
evaluation may not always be available as these estimates are provided 
through the stock assessment, which are not updated every year. When 
the relevant fishing mortality estimates are not available, this 
comparison would default to a comparison of total catch relative to the 
ABC.
    This was selected as a preferred alternative because it considers 
if the recreational ACL overages contributed to overfishing, and unlike 
the Percent Change Approach, these recreational accountability measures 
will not sunset in 2025.

Classification

    Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the Assistant Administrator has 
determined that this proposed rule is consistent with the Summer 
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish FMPs, other provisions 
of the Magnuson Stevens Act, and other applicable law, subject to 
further consideration after public comment.
    This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of 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 (SBA) that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The Council conducted an evaluation of the potential 
socioeconomic impacts of the proposed measures.
    Affiliates potentially regulated by this action include any 
affiliates with Federal for-hire permits for summer flounder, scup, 
black sea bass, and/or bluefish in any year between 2019-2021. A total 
of 688 affiliates were identified as being potentially regulated by 
this action, all of which were identified as small businesses based on 
their average revenues in 2019-2021. Of these 688 affiliates, a total 
of 363 affiliates (53 percent) reported that the majority of their 
revenues in 2021 came from for-hire fishing for any species. Some of 
these affiliates may have also participated in commercial fishing. The 
SBA defines a small for-hire recreational fishing business as a firm 
with receipts of up to $11 million. Estimating what proportion of the 
overall revenues of these for-hire firms came from fishing activities 
for an individual species is not possible. Nevertheless, given the 
popularity of summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish as 
recreational species in the Mid-Atlantic and New England, revenues 
generated from these species are likely very important for many of 
these firms at certain times of the year. The 3-year average (2018-
2020) combined gross receipts (all for-hire fishing activity combined) 
for these small entities was $49,916,903, ranging from less than 
$10,000 for 105 entities (lowest value $46) to over $1,000,000 for 8 
entities (highest value $3.6 million).
    The proposed action would adjust the process for setting 
recreational management measures, and is administrative in nature. 
Because the proposed action is only changing the process used to set 
recreational measures, and is not making changes to the recreational 
management measures (possession limits, seasons, and size limits) it 
will not change the regulations effecting the operation of recreational 
fisheries directly. Future actions, which implement new management 
measures, based on this proposed process, would perform economic 
analyses of the impacts as appropriate. Future impacts on the entities 
described will depend on the harvest limits and management measures 
that are set. For-hire revenues are also impacted by a variety of other 
factors, including demand for for-hire trips for summer flounder, scup, 
black sea bass, bluefish, and other potential target species; fuel 
prices; weather; the economy; and other factors. Because this action is 
not making changes to the recreational management measures and is 
administrative in nature, we have determined that this rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. Therefore, 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.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: December 9, 2022.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is 
proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

0
2. In Sec.  648.100, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text, (b) 
introductory text, and (b)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.100  Summer flounder Annual Catch Limit (ACL).

    (a) The Monitoring Committee shall recommend to the MAFMC separate 
ACLs for the commercial and recreational summer flounder fisheries, the 
sum total of which shall be equal to the ABC recommended by the SSC.
* * * * *
    (b) Performance review. The Monitoring Committee shall conduct a 
detailed review of fishery performance relative to the sector ACLs at 
least every 5 years.
    (1) If one or both of the sector-specific ACLs is exceeded with a 
frequency greater than 25 percent (i.e., more than once in 4 years or 
any 2 consecutive years), the Monitoring Committee will review fishery 
performance information and consider whether changes in measures are 
needed.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec.  648.101, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text, (a)(1) 
and (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.101  Summer flounder Annual Catch Target (ACT).

    (a) The Monitoring Committee shall identify and review the relevant 
sources

[[Page 76604]]

of management uncertainty to recommend ACTs for the commercial and 
recreational fishing sectors as part of the summer flounder 
specification process. The Monitoring Committee recommendations shall 
identify the specific sources of management uncertainty that were 
considered, technical approaches to mitigating these sources of 
uncertainty, and any additional relevant information considered in the 
ACT recommendation process.
    (1) Sectors. Commercial and recreational specific ACTs shall be 
less than or equal to the sector-specific ACLs. The Monitoring 
Committee shall recommend any reduction in catch necessary to address 
sector-specific management uncertainty, consistent with paragraph (a) 
of this section.
* * * * *
    (b) Performance review. The Monitoring Committee shall conduct a 
detailed review of fishery performance relative to ACTs in conjunction 
with any ACL performance review, as outlined in Sec.  648.100(b)(1) 
through (3).
0
4. In Sec.  648.102, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text, (a)(6), 
(a)(11), (b), and (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.102  Summer flounder specifications.

    (a) Commercial quota, recreational landing limits, research set-
asides, and other specification measures. The Monitoring Committee 
shall recommend to the MAFMC, through the specifications process, for 
use in conjunction with each ACL and ACT, a sector-specific research 
set-aside, estimates of sector-related discards, a recreational harvest 
limit, and a commercial quota, along with other measures, as needed to 
prevent overages of the applicable specified limits or targets for each 
sector, as prescribed in the FMP. The measures to be considered by the 
Monitoring Committee are:
* * * * *
    (6) Recreational possession limit set from a range of 0 to 15 
summer flounder.
* * * * *
    (11) Modification of existing accountability measures and ACT 
control rules utilized by the Monitoring Committee.
    (b) Specification fishing measures. The MAFMC shall review the 
recommendations of the Monitoring Committee and, based on the 
recommendations and any public comment, recommend to the Regional 
Administrator measures that are projected to constrain the sectors to 
the applicable limit or target as prescribed in the FMP. The MAFMC's 
recommendations must include supporting documentation, as appropriate, 
concerning the environmental and economic impacts of the 
recommendations. The Regional Administrator shall review these 
recommendations and any recommendations of the ASMFC.
* * * * *
    (d) Recreational specification measures. The MAFMC shall review the 
recommendations of the Monitoring Committee and, based on the 
recommendations and any public comment, recommend to the Regional 
Administrator measures that are projected to prevent overages of the 
applicable recreational target, as prescribed in the FMP, for an 
upcoming fishing year or years. The MAFMC's recommendations must 
include supporting documentation, as appropriate, concerning the 
environmental and economic impacts of the recommendations. The MAFMC 
and the ASMFC will recommend that the Regional Administrator implement 
either:
    (1) Coastwide measures. Annual, or multi-year, coastwide management 
measures projected to achieve the applicable recreational target as 
prescribed in the FMP, or
    (2) Conservation equivalent measures. Individual states, or regions 
formed voluntarily by adjacent states (i.e., multi-state conservation 
equivalency regions), may implement different combinations of minimum 
and/or maximum fish sizes, possession limits, and closed seasons that 
achieve equivalent conservation as the coastwide measures established 
under paragraph (e)(1) of this section. Each state or multi-state 
conservation equivalency region may implement measures by mode or area 
only if the proportional standard error of recreational landing 
estimates by mode or area for that state is less than 30 percent.
    (i) After review of the recommendations, the Regional Administrator 
will publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register as soon as 
possible to implement the overall recreational target for the fishing 
year(s), and the ASMFC's recommendation concerning conservation 
equivalency, the precautionary default measures, and coastwide 
measures.
    (ii) The ASMFC will review conservation equivalency proposals and 
determine whether or not they achieve the necessary adjustment to 
recreational landings. The ASMFC will provide the Regional 
Administrator with the individual state and/or multi-state region 
conservation measures for the approved state and/or multi-state region 
proposals and, in the case of disapproved state and/or multi-state 
region proposals, the precautionary default measures that should be 
applied to a state or region. At the request of the ASMFC, 
precautionary default measures would apply to federally permitted 
party/charter vessels and other recreational fishing vessels harvesting 
summer flounder in or from the EEZ when landing in a state that 
implements measures not approved by the ASMFC.
    (iii) After considering public comment, the Regional Administrator 
will publish a final rule in the Federal Register to implement either 
the state or regional conservation equivalency measures or coastwide 
measures to ensure that the applicable specified target is not 
exceeded.
    (iv) The ASMFC may allow states or regions assigned the 
precautionary default measures to resubmit revised management measures. 
The ASMFC will detail the procedures by which the state or region can 
develop alternate measures. The ASMFC will notify the Regional 
Administrator of any resubmitted state or regional proposals approved 
subsequent to publication of the final rule and the Regional 
Administrator will publish a document in the Federal Register to notify 
the public.
* * * * *
0
5. In Sec.  648.103, revise paragraphs (c), (d)(1), and (d)(2)(ii) to 
read as follows:


Sec.  648.103  Summer flounder accountability measures.

* * * * *
    (c) Recreational ACL Evaluation. The recreational sector ACL will 
be evaluated based on a 3-year moving average comparison of total catch 
(landings and dead discards). Both landings and dead discards will be 
evaluated in determining if the 3-year average recreational sector ACL 
has been exceeded.
    (d) * * *
    (1) If biomass is below the threshold, the stock is under 
rebuilding, or biological reference points are unknown. If the most 
recent estimate of biomass is below the BMSY threshold (i.e., B/BMSY is 
less than 0.5),), the stock is under a rebuilding plan, or the 
biological reference points (B or BMSY) are unknown, and the 
recreational ACL has been exceeded, then the exact amount, in pounds, 
by which the most recent three-year average recreational catch estimate 
exceeded the most recent three-year average recreational ACL will be 
deducted, in the following fishing year, or as soon as possible, 
thereafter,

[[Page 76605]]

once catch data are available, from the recreational ACT. This payback 
may be evenly spread over two years if doing so allows for use of 
identical recreational management measures across the upcoming two 
years.
    (2) * * *
    (ii) If the fishing mortality (F) has exceeded FMSY (or the proxy). 
If the most recent estimate of total fishing mortality exceeds FMSY (or 
the proxy), then an adjustment to the recreational ACT will be made as 
soon as possible, once catch data are available, as described in 
paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(A) of this section. If an estimate of total 
fishing mortality is not available for the most recent complete year of 
catch data, then a comparison of total catch relative to the ABC will 
be used.
    (A) Adjustment to Recreational ACT. If an adjustment to the 
following year's Recreational ACT is required, then the ACT will be 
reduced by the exact amount, in pounds, of the product of the overage, 
defined as the difference between the most recent three-year average 
recreational catch and the most recent three-year recreational ACL, and 
the payback coefficient, as specified in paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(B) of 
this section. This payback may be evenly spread over two years if doing 
so allows for use of identical recreational management measures across 
the upcoming two years.
    (B) Payback coefficient. The payback coefficient is the difference 
between the most recent estimate of biomass and BMSY (i.e., 
BMSY-B) divided by one-half of BMSY.
* * * * *
0
6. In Sec.  648.120, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text, (b) 
introductory text, and (b)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.120  Scup Annual Catch Limit (ACL).

    (a) Annual Catch Limits. The Monitoring Committee shall recommend 
to the MAFMC separate ACLs for the commercial and recreational scup 
fisheries, the sum total of which shall be equal to the ABC recommended 
by the SSC.
* * * * *
    (b) Performance review. The Monitoring Committee shall conduct a 
detailed review of fishery performance relative to the sector ACLs at 
least every 5 years.
    (1) If one or both of the sector-specific ACLs is exceeded with a 
frequency greater than 25 percent (i.e., more than once in 4 years or 
any 2 consecutive years), the Monitoring Committee will review fishery 
performance information and consider whether changes to measures are 
needed.
* * * * *
0
7. In Sec.  648.121, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text and (a)(1) 
and (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.121  Scup Annual Catch Target (ACT).

    (a) Annual Catch Targets. The Monitoring Committee shall identify 
and review the relevant sources of management uncertainty to recommend 
ACTs for the commercial and recreational fishing sectors as part of the 
scup specification process. The Monitoring Committee recommendations 
shall identify the specific sources of management uncertainty that were 
considered, technical approaches to mitigating these sources of 
uncertainty, and any additional relevant information considered in the 
ACT recommendation process.
    (1) Sectors. Commercial and recreational specific ACTs shall be 
less than or equal to the sector-specific ACLs. The Monitoring 
Committee shall recommend any reduction in catch necessary to address 
sector-specific management uncertainty, consistent with paragraph (a) 
of this section.
* * * * *
    (b) Performance review. The Monitoring Committee shall conduct a 
detailed review of fishery performance relative to ACTs in conjunction 
with any ACL performance review, as outlined in Sec.  648.120(b)(1) 
through (3).
0
8. In Sec.  648.122, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text, (a)(7), 
(a)(14) and (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.122  Scup Specifications.

    (a) Commercial quota, recreational landing limits, research set-
asides, and other specification measures. The Monitoring Committee 
shall recommend to the MAFMC and the ASMFC through the specifications 
process, for use in conjunction with each ACL and ACT, a sector-
specific research set-aside, estimates of sector-related discards, a 
recreational harvest limit, and a commercial quota, along with other 
measures, as needed, to prevent overages of the applicable specified 
limits or targets for each sector, as prescribed in the FMP. The 
measures to be considered by the Monitoring Committee are as follows:
* * * * *
    (7) Recreational possession limit set from a range of 0 to 50 scup.
* * * * *
    (14) Modification of existing AM measures and ACT control rules 
utilized by the Monitoring Committee.
    (b) Specification of fishing measures. The MAFMC shall review the 
recommendations of the Monitoring Committee. Based on these 
recommendations and any public comment, the MAFMC shall recommend to 
the Regional Administrator measures necessary to prevent overages of 
the appropriate specified limits or targets for each sector, as 
prescribed in the FMP. The MAFMC's recommendation must include 
supporting documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental 
and economic impacts of the recommendations. The Regional Administrator 
shall review these recommendations and any recommendations of the 
ASMFC. After such review, NMFS will publish a proposed rule in the 
Federal Register to implement a commercial quota, specifying the amount 
of quota allocated to each of the three periods, possession limits for 
the Winter I and Winter II periods, including possession limits that 
result from potential rollover of quota from Winter I to Winter II, the 
percentage of landings attained during the Winter I fishery at which 
the possession limits will be reduced, a recreational harvest limit, 
and additional management measures for the commercial and recreational 
fisheries.
* * * * *
0
9. In Sec.  648.123, revise paragraphs (c) introductory text, (d) 
introductory text, (d)(1), (d)(2)(ii) introductory text, and 
(d)(2)(ii)(A) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.123  Scup accountability measures.

* * * * *
    (c) Recreational ACL. The recreational sector ACL will be evaluated 
based on a 3-year moving average comparison of total catch (landings 
and dead discards). Both landings and dead discards will be evaluated 
in determining if the 3-year average recreational sector ACL has been 
exceeded.
    (d) Recreational AMs. If the recreational ACL is exceeded, then the 
following procedure will be followed:
    (1) If biomass is below the threshold, the stock is under 
rebuilding, or biological reference points are unknown. If the most 
recent estimate of biomass is below the BMSY threshold (i.e., B/BMSY is 
less than 0.5), the stock is under a rebuilding plan, or the biological 
reference points (B or BMSY) are unknown, and the recreational ACL has 
been exceeded, then the exact amount, in pounds, by which the most 
recent three-year average recreational catch estimate exceeded the most 
recent three-year average recreational ACL will be deducted in the 
following fishing year, or as soon as possible, thereafter, once catch 
data are available, from the recreational ACT. This payback may be 
evenly spread over two years if doing so

[[Page 76606]]

allows for use of identical recreational management measures across the 
upcoming two years.
* * * * *
    (2) * * *
    (ii) If the fishing mortality (F) has exceeded FMSY (or the proxy). 
If the most recent estimate of total fishing mortality exceeds FMSY (or 
the proxy), then an adjustment to the recreational ACT will be made as 
soon as possible once catch data are available, as described in 
paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(A) of this section. If an estimate of total 
fishing mortality for the most recent complete year of catch data is 
not available, then a comparison of total catch relative to the ABC 
will be used.
    (A) Adjustment to Recreational ACT. If an adjustment to the 
following year's Recreational ACT is required, then the ACT will be 
reduced by the exact amount, in pounds, of the product of the overage, 
defined as the difference between the most recent three-year average 
recreational catch and the most recent three-year average recreational 
ACL, and the payback coefficient, as specified in paragraph 
(d)(2)(ii)(B) of this section. This payback may be evenly spread over 
two years if doing so allows for use of identical recreational 
management measures across the upcoming two years.
* * * * *
0
10. In Sec.  648.140, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text, (b) 
introductory text, and (b)(1) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.140  Black sea bass Annual Catch Limit (ACL).

    (a) Annual Catch Limits. The Monitoring Committee shall recommend 
to the MAFMC separate ACLs for the commercial and recreational scup 
fisheries, the sum total of which shall be equal to the ABC recommended 
by the SSC.
* * * * *
    (b) Performance review. The Monitoring Committee shall conduct a 
detailed review of fishery performance relative to the sector ACLs at 
least every 5 years.
    (1) If one or both of the sector-specific ACLs is exceeded with a 
frequency greater than 25 percent (i.e., more than once in 4 years or 
any 2 consecutive years), the Monitoring Committee will review fishery 
performance information and consider whether changes to measures are 
needed.
* * * * *
0
11. In Sec.  648.141, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text, (a)(1) 
and (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.141  Black sea bass Annual Catch Target (ACT).

    (a) Annual Catch Targets. The Monitoring Committee shall identify 
and review the relevant sources of management uncertainty to recommend 
ACTs for the commercial and recreational fishing sectors as part of the 
black sea bass specification process. The Monitoring Committee 
recommendations shall identify the specific sources of management 
uncertainty that were considered, technical approaches to mitigating 
these sources of uncertainty, and any additional relevant information 
considered in the ACT recommendation process.
    (1) Sectors. Commercial and recreational specific ACTs shall be 
less than or equal to the sector-specific ACLs. The Monitoring 
Committee shall recommend any reduction in catch necessary to address 
sector-specific management uncertainty, consistent with paragraph (a) 
of this section.
* * * * *
    (b) Performance review. The Monitoring Committee shall conduct a 
detailed review of fishery performance relative to ACTs in conjunction 
with any ACL performance review, as outlined in Sec.  648.140(b)(1)-
(3).
0
12. In Sec.  648.142, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text, (a)(7), 
(a)(10), (b), (d) introductory text, (d)(1) and (d)(2)(i) through (iv) 
to read as follows:


Sec.  648.142  Black sea bass specifications.

    (a) Specifications. Commercial quota, recreational landing limit, 
research set-aside, and other specification measures. The Monitoring 
Committee will recommend to the MAFMC and the ASMFC, through the 
specification process, for use in conjunction with the ACL and ACT, 
sector-specific research set-asides, estimates of the sector-related 
discards, a recreational harvest limit, a commercial quota, along with 
other measures, as needed, that are projected to prevent overages of 
the applicable specified limits or targets for each sector as 
prescribed in the FMP. The following measures are to be considered by 
the Monitoring Committee:
* * * * *
    (7) A recreational possession limit.
* * * * *
    (10) Recreational state conservation equivalent and precautionary 
default measures utilizing possession limits, minimum fish sizes, and/
or seasons.
* * * * *
    (b) Specification fishing measures. The MAFMC shall review the 
Monitoring Committee recommendations and, based on the recommendations 
and public comment, make recommendations to the Regional Administrator 
on measures projected to constrain the sectors to the applicable limit 
or target as prescribed in the FMP. Included in the recommendation will 
be supporting documents, as appropriate, concerning the environmental 
and economic impacts of the final rule. The Regional Administrator will 
review these recommendations and any recommendations of the ASMFC. 
After such review, the Regional Administrator will publish a proposed 
rule in the Federal Register to implement a commercial quota, a 
recreational harvest limit, and additional management measures for the 
commercial fishery.
* * * * *
    (d) Recreational specification measures. The Monitoring Committee 
shall recommend to the MAFMC and ASMFC measures that are projected to 
prevent overages of the applicable recreational target as prescribed in 
the FMP. The MAFMC shall review these recommendations and, based on the 
recommendations and any public comment, recommend recreational 
management measures to the Regional Administrator. The MAFMC's 
recommendations must include supporting documentation, as appropriate, 
concerning the environmental and economic impacts of the 
recommendations. The MAFMC and the ASMFC will recommend that the 
Regional Administrator implement either:
    (1) Coastwide measures. Annual coastwide management measures that 
constrain the recreational black sea bass fishery to the recreational 
target as specified in the fishery management plan, or
    (2) * * *
    (i) After review of the recommendations, the Regional Administrator 
will publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register as soon as 
possible to implement the overall recreational target required for the 
fishing year(s), and the ASMFC's recommendation concerning conservation 
equivalency, the precautionary default measures, and coastwide 
measures.
    (ii) The ASMFC will review conservation equivalency proposals and 
determine whether or not they achieve the necessary recreational 
target. The ASMFC will provide the Regional Administrator with the 
individual state and/or multi-state region conservation measures for 
the approved state and/or multi-state region proposals and, in the case 
of disapproved state and/or multi-state region proposals, the 
precautionary

[[Page 76607]]

default measures that should be applied to a state or region. At the 
request of the ASMFC, precautionary default measures would apply to 
federally permitted party/charter vessels and other recreational 
fishing vessels harvesting black sea bass in or from the EEZ when 
landing in a state that implements measures not approved by the ASMFC.
    (iii) After considering public comment, the Regional Administrator 
will publish a final rule in the Federal Register to implement either 
the state or regional conservation equivalency measures or coastwide 
measures to ensure that the applicable specified target is not 
exceeded.
    (iv) The ASMFC may allow states or regions assigned the 
precautionary default measures to resubmit revised management measures. 
The ASMFC will detail the procedures by which the state or region can 
develop alternate measures. The ASMFC will notify the Regional 
Administrator of any resubmitted state or regional proposals approved 
subsequent to publication of the final rule and the Regional 
Administrator will publish a document in the Federal Register to notify 
the public.
* * * * *
0
13. In Sec.  648.143, revise paragraphs (c) and (d) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.143  Black sea bass accountability measures.

* * * * *
    (c) Recreational ACL Evaluation. The recreational sector ACL will 
be evaluated based on a 3-year moving average comparison of total catch 
(landings and dead discards). Both landings and dead discards will be 
evaluated in determining if the 3-year average recreational sector ACL 
has been exceeded.
    (d) Recreational AMs. If the recreational ACL is exceeded, then the 
following procedure will be followed:
    (1) If biomass is below the threshold, the stock is under 
rebuilding, or biological reference points are unknown. If the most 
recent estimate of biomass is below the BMSY threshold (i.e., B/BMSY is 
less than 0.5), the stock is under a rebuilding plan, or the biological 
reference points (B or BMSY) are unknown, and the recreational ACL has 
been exceeded, then the exact amount, in pounds, by which the most 
recent three-year average recreational catch estimate exceeded the most 
recent three-year average recreational ACL will be deducted in the 
following fishing year, or as soon as possible thereafter, once catch 
data are available, from the recreational ACT. This payback may be 
evenly spread over two years if doing so allows for use of identical 
recreational management measures across the upcoming two years.
    (2) If biomass is above the threshold, but below the target, and 
the stock is not under rebuilding. If the most recent estimate of 
biomass is above the biomass threshold (B/BMSY is greater 
than 0.5), but below the biomass target (B/BMSY is less than 
1.0), and the stock is not under a rebuilding plan, then the following 
AMs will apply:
    (i) If the Recreational ACL has been exceeded. If the Recreational 
ACL has been exceeded, then adjustments to the recreational management 
measures, taking into account the performance of the measures and 
conditions that precipitated the overage, will be made in the following 
fishing year, or as soon as possible thereafter, once catch data are 
available, as a single-year adjustment.
    (ii) If the fishing mortality (F) has exceeded FMSY (or the proxy). 
If the most recent estimate of total fishing mortality exceeds FMSY (or 
the proxy) then an adjustment to the recreational ACT will be made as 
soon as possible once catch data are available, as described in 
paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(A) of this section. If an estimate of total 
fishing mortality for the most recent complete year of catch data is 
not available, then a comparison of total catch relative to the ABC 
will be used.
    (A) Adjustment to Recreational ACT. If an adjustment to the 
following year's Recreational ACT is required, then the ACT will be 
reduced by the exact amount, in pounds, of the product of the overage, 
defined as the difference between the most recent three-year average 
recreational catch and the most recent three-year average recreational 
ACL, and the payback coefficient, as specified in paragraph 
(d)(2)(ii)(B) of this section. This payback may be evenly spread over 
two years if doing so allows for use of identical recreational 
management measures across the upcoming two years.
    (B) Payback coefficient. The payback coefficient is the difference 
between the most recent estimate of biomass and BMSY (i.e., 
BMSY-B) divided by one-half of BMSY.
    (3) If biomass is above BMSY. If the most recent estimate of 
biomass is above BMSY (i.e., B/BMSY is greater 
than 1.0), then adjustments to the recreational management measures, 
taking into account the performance of the measures and conditions that 
precipitated the overage, will be made in the following fishing year, 
or as soon as possible thereafter, once catch data are available, as a 
single-year adjustment.
* * * * *
0
13. In Sec.  648.160, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:


Sec.  648.160  Bluefish Annual Catch Limit (ACL).

* * * * *
    (b) Performance review. The Bluefish Monitoring Committee shall 
conduct a detailed review of fishery performance relative to the ACL at 
least every 5 years.
    (1) If the ACL is exceeded with a frequency greater than 25 percent 
(i.e., more than once in 4 years or any 2 consecutive years), the 
Bluefish Monitoring Committee will review fishery performance 
information and consider whether changes to measures are needed.
    (2) The MAFMC may specify more frequent or more specific ACL 
performance review criteria as part of a stock rebuilding plan 
following the determination that the bluefish stock has become 
overfished.
    (3) Performance reviews shall not substitute for annual reviews 
that occur to ascertain if prior year ACLs have been exceeded, but may 
be conducted in conjunction with such reviews.
0
14. In Sec.  648.162, revise paragraphs (a) introductory text and (c) 
to read as follows:


Sec.  648.162  Bluefish specifications.

    (a) Recommended measures. Based on the annual review and requests 
for research quota as described in paragraph (h) of this section, the 
Bluefish Monitoring Committee shall recommend to the MAFMC and the 
ASMFC the following measures to ensure that the ACL specified by the 
process outlined in Sec.  648.160(a) will not be exceeded:
* * * * *
    (c) Annual fishing measures. The MAFMC shall review the 
recommendations of the Bluefish Monitoring Committee. Based on these 
recommendations and any public comment, the MAFMC shall recommend to 
the Regional Administrator by September 1 measures necessary to prevent 
overages of the applicable specified limits or targets for each sector 
as prescribed in the FMP. The MAFMC's recommendations must include 
supporting documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental, 
economic, and social impacts of the recommendations. The Regional 
Administrator shall review these recommendations and any 
recommendations of the ASMFC. After such review, NMFS will publish a

[[Page 76608]]

proposed rule in the Federal Register as soon as practicable to 
implement ACLs, ACTs, research quota, a coastwide commercial quota, 
individual state commercial quotas, a recreational harvest limit, and 
additional management measures for the commercial and recreational 
fisheries to prevent overages of the applicable specified limits or 
targets for each sector as prescribed in the FMP. After considering 
public comment, NMFS will publish a final rule in the Federal Register.
* * * * *
0
15. In Sec.  648.163 revise paragraphs (a), (d) and (f) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  648.163  Bluefish Accountability Measures (AMs).

    (a) ACL overage evaluation. The ACLs will be evaluated based on a 
single-year examination of total catch (landings and dead discards). 
Both landings and dead discards will be evaluated in determining if the 
ACLs have been exceeded.
* * * * *
    (d) Recreational landings AM when the recreational ACL is exceeded 
and no sector-to-sector transfer of allowable landings has occurred. If 
the recreational ACL is exceeded and no transfer between the commercial 
and recreational sector was made for the fishing year, as outlined in 
Sec.  648.162(b)(2), then the following procedure will be followed:
    (1) If biomass is below the threshold, the stock is under 
rebuilding, or biological reference points are unknown. If the most 
recent estimate of biomass is below the BMSY threshold 
(i.e., B/BMSY is less than 0.5), the stock is under a 
rebuilding plan, or the biological reference points (B or 
BMSY) are unknown, and the recreational ACL has been 
exceeded, then the exact amount, in pounds, by which the most recent 
year's recreational catch estimate exceeded the most recent year's 
recreational ACL will be deducted from the following year's 
recreational ACT, or as soon as possible thereafter, once catch data 
are available. This payback may be evenly spread over two years if 
doing so allows for use of identical recreational management measures 
across the upcoming two years.
    (2) If biomass is above the threshold, but below the target, and 
the stock is not under rebuilding. If the most recent estimate of 
biomass is above the biomass threshold (B/BMSY is greater 
than 0.5), but below the biomass target (B/BMSY is less than 
1.0), and the stock is not under a rebuilding plan, then the following 
AMs will apply:
    (i) If the recreational ACL has been exceeded. If the recreational 
ACL has been exceeded, then adjustments to the recreational management 
measures, taking into account the performance of the measures and 
conditions that precipitated the overage, will be made in the following 
fishing year, or as soon as possible thereafter, once catch data are 
available, as a single-year adjustment.
    (ii) If the fishing mortality (F) has exceeded FMSY (or the proxy). 
If the most recent estimate of total fishing mortality exceeds FMSY (or 
the proxy) then an adjustment to the recreational ACT will be made as 
soon as possible once catch data are available. If an estimate of total 
fishing mortality for the most recent complete year of catch data is 
not available, then a comparison of total catch relative to the ABC 
will be used.
    (A) Adjustment to Recreational ACT. If an adjustment to the 
following year's Recreational ACT is required, then the ACT will be 
reduced by the exact amount, in pounds, of the product of the 
recreational ACL overage and the payback coefficient, as specified in 
paragraph (d)(2)(ii)(B) of this section. This payback may be evenly 
spread over two years if doing so allows for use of identical 
recreational management measures across the upcoming two years.
    (B) Payback coefficient. The payback coefficient is the difference 
between the most recent estimates of BMSY and biomass (i.e., 
BMSY-B) divided by one-half of BMSY.
    (3) If biomass is above BMSY. If the most recent estimate of 
biomass is above BMSY (i.e., B/BMSY is greater than 1.0), then 
adjustments to the recreational management measures, taking into 
account the performance of the measures and conditions that 
precipitated the overage, will be made in the following fishing year, 
or as soon as possible thereafter, once catch data are available, as a 
single-year adjustment.
* * * * *
    (f) Non-landing AMs. In the event that the fishery-level ACL has 
been exceeded and the overage has not been accommodated through the AM 
measures in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this section, then the exact 
amount, in pounds, by which the fishery-level ACL was exceeded shall be 
deducted, as soon as possible, from subsequent, single fishing year 
ACTs. The payback will be applied to each sector's ACT in proportion to 
each sector's contribution to the overage.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-27118 Filed 12-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P