Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; 2025 Specifications for the Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish Fisheries, 83440-83445 [2024-23841]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 16, 2024 / Proposed Rules
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[FR Doc. 2024–23796 Filed 10–15–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–13–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
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Fisheries of the Northeastern United
States; 2025 Specifications for the
Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea
Bass, and Bluefish Fisheries
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for
comments.
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AGENCY:
NMFS proposes 2025
specifications for the summer flounder,
scup, black sea bass, and bluefish
fisheries. The implementing regulations
for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and
Black Sea Bass Fishery Management
SUMMARY:
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Plan and the Bluefish Fishery
Management Plan require us to publish
specifications for the upcoming fishing
year for each of these species and to
provide an opportunity for public
comment. The proposed specifications
establish allowable harvest levels for
these species that will prevent
overfishing, consistent with the most
recent scientific information.
Comments must be received on
or before October 31, 2024.
DATES:
A plain language summary
of this proposed rule is available at
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/
NOAA-NMFS-2024-0117. You may
submit comments on this document,
identified by NOAA–NMFS–2024–0117,
by the following method:
• Electronic Submission: Submit all
electronic public comments via the
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit
https://www.regulations.gov and type
NOAA–NMFS–2024–0117 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 https://www.regulations.gov
without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.),
confidential business information, or
otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will
be publicly accessible. NMFS will
accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/
A’’ in the required fields if you wish to
remain anonymous).
A Supplemental Information Report
(SIR) was prepared for the 2025 black
sea bass specifications. Environmental
Assessments (EA) were prepared for the
2024 and projected 2025 summer
flounder and scup specifications and
2024 and projected 2025 bluefish
specifications. Copies of the EAs 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 EAs are also accessible via the
internet at https://www.mafmc.org/
supporting-documents.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281–9116, or emily.keiley@
noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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General Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (Council) and the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (Commission)
cooperatively develop management
measures for the summer flounder,
scup, black sea bass, and bluefish
fisheries. The Council, pursuant to the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) develops
recommendations regarding fisheries in
Federal waters seaward of New York,
New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
The Commission, pursuant to the
Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative
Management Act, addresses fisheries in
state waters from Florida to Maine.
These bodies work together in the
development of complementary fishery
management plans (FMP) for species
like summer flounder, scup, black sea
bass, and bluefish that are harvested in
both Federal and state waters, and each
year these bodies work together to
develop specifications for these
fisheries. The Council provides its
recommendations to NMFS, and NMFS
engages in a Federal rulemaking process
by which the agency adopts
specifications that become binding on
the Federal fisheries. Specifications in
these fisheries include various catch
and landing subdivisions, such as the
commercial and recreational sector
annual catch limits (ACL), annual catch
targets (ACT), and sector-specific
landing limits (i.e., the commercial
fishery quota and recreational harvest
limit (RHL)) established for 1 to 3 years
at a time. Adjustments to commercial
management measures are also
considered in the specifications process.
The process for measures used to
manage the recreational fisheries (i.e.,
minimum fish sizes, seasonal closures,
and possession restrictions) for these
four species occurs separately and is not
discussed further in this proposed rule.
The Summer Flounder, Scup, and
Black Sea Bass FMP and the Bluefish
FMP and their implementing
regulations establish the process for
establishing specifications for each of
those four species. All requirements of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including
the 10 national standards, also apply to
specifications. The FMPs also contain
formulas to divide the catch limits into
commercial and recreational fishery
allocations, state-by-state quotas, and
quota periods, depending on the species
in question. This proposed rule outlines
the application of the existing allocation
provisions for each species and provides
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the resulting allocations by state and
sector, as appropriate, for each species.
The Council’s Scientific and
Statistical Committee (SSC) met on July
23–25, 2024, to recommend acceptable
biological catches (ABC) for the summer
flounder, scup, black sea bass, and
bluefish fisheries. The FMPs’
implementing regulations require the
involvement of a monitoring committee
in the specification process for each
species. The Monitoring Committees
recommend any reduction in catch
limits from the SSC-recommended
ABCs to offset management uncertainty
and other commercial management
measures (e.g., mesh requirements,
minimum commercial fish sizes, gear
restrictions, possession restrictions, and
area restrictions) needed for these four
fisheries. The Monitoring Committees
met on August 1 and 2, 2024, to develop
specification-related recommendations
for each fishery.
Following the SSC and Monitoring
Committee meetings, the Council and
the Commission’s Summer Flounder,
Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish
Management Boards considered the
recommendations of the SSC, the
Monitoring Committees, and public
comments and made their specification
recommendations at a meeting held on
August 12–15, 2024. While the Boards’
actions were finalized at the August
meeting, the Council’s
recommendations must be reviewed by
NMFS to ensure that they comply with
the FMPs, implementing regulations,
and applicable law. NMFS also must
conduct notice-and-comment
rulemaking to propose and implement
the final specifications.
Proposed 2025 Specifications
Summer Flounder Specifications
Consistent with the statutory scheme
described above, NMFS is proposing the
Council and Board-recommended 2025
summer flounder catch and landings
limits shown in table 1.
TABLE 1—SUMMARY OF 2025 SUMMER FLOUNDER FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS
Million pounds
(lb)
Specifications
Overfishing Limit (OFL) .......................................................................................................................................
ABC ......................................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL = ACT ......................................................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...............................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL = ACT .....................................................................................................................................
Recreational Harvest Limit ..................................................................................................................................
according to the baseline formula, and
any additional quota beyond this
threshold will be distributed in equal
shares to all states except Maine,
Delaware, and New Hampshire, which
would split 1 percent of the additional
quota. Because this year’s quota is
below the threshold, the state-by-state
allocations below are based on the
The proposed initial 2025 state-bystate summer flounder quotas are
provided in table 2. As required in
Amendment 21 to the Summer
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
FMP (85 FR 80661), if the commercial
quota in any year is higher than 9.55
million lb (4,332 mt), the first 9.55
million lb (4,322 mt) is distributed
24.97
19.32
10.62
8.79
8.69
6.35
Metric ton
(mt)
11,325
8,761
4,819
3,987
3,942
2,879
baseline allocations that were
established through Amendment 2 (57
FR 57358) and modified by Amendment
4 (58 FR 49937) to the Summer
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass
FMP. Any long-standing overages or
potential 2024 overages may result in
adjustments to these proposed quotas in
the final rule.
TABLE 2—INITIAL 2025 SUMMER FLOUNDER STATE-BY-STATE QUOTAS
State
Percent share
Initial 2025
Quotas *
(lb)
Initial 2025
Quotas *
(mt)
ME ................................................................................................................................................
NH ................................................................................................................................................
MA ................................................................................................................................................
RI .................................................................................................................................................
CT ................................................................................................................................................
NY ................................................................................................................................................
NJ .................................................................................................................................................
DE ................................................................................................................................................
MD ...............................................................................................................................................
VA ................................................................................................................................................
NC ................................................................................................................................................
0.04756
0.00046
6.82046
15.68298
2.25708
7.64699
16.72499
0.01779
2.03910
21.31676
27.44584
4,180
40
599,507
1,378,507
198,394
672,157
1,470,098
1,564
179,233
1,873,707
2,412,443
1.90
0.02
271.93
625.28
89.99
304.89
666.83
0.71
81.30
849.90
1,094.27
Total ......................................................................................................................................
100
8,789,830
3,987.02
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* Initial quotas do not account for any previous overages.
This action makes no changes to the
current commercial management
measures, including the minimum fish
size (14-inch (36-centimeters (cm)) total
length), gear requirements, and
possession limits. This action also
proposes no changes to the recreational
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management measures. Any such
changes would take place through a
separate action.
Black Sea Bass Specifications
At the August 2024, meeting, the
Council and the Commission’s Black
Sea Bass Board were unable to agree on
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the 2025 black sea bass specifications.
The Black Sea Bass Board adopted a
coastwide quota for black sea bass that
is the same as the 2024 quota, while the
Council adopted a quota that represents
a 20-percent reduction from 2024. If
implemented, the differing quotas
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would likely have significant negative
socioeconomic impacts on Federal black
sea bass permit holders. The regulations
at 50 CFR 648.143(e) require that, in the
case of different specifications, the
Regional Administrator will take
administrative action to align measures
to prevent these differential effects on
Federal permit holders. Given the
current status of the black sea bass
stock, which is well above the FMP’s
definition of the biomass capable of
producing maximum sustainable yield,
and the potentially significant social
and economic harm to Federal permit
holders that would result from divergent
state and Federal quotas, we are
proposing to implement 2025 black sea
bass specifications consistent with those
adopted by the Commission.
The proposed 2025 black sea bass
catch and landings limits are shown in
table 3.
TABLE 3—2025 BLACK SEA BASS CATCH AND LANDINGS LIMITS
Specifications
Million lb
OFL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
ABC ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Expected Commercial Discards ..............................................................................................................................
Expected Recreational Discards .............................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL = ACT ..........................................................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL = ACT .........................................................................................................................................
RHL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
This action proposes no changes to
the other commercial management
measures for black sea bass, including
the commercial minimum fish size (11inch (27.94-cm) total length) and gear
requirements. This action also proposes
no changes to the recreational
management measures. Any such
changes to recreational management
measures for black sea bass would occur
through a separate action.
On October 1, 2024 (89 FR 79778), we
implemented Amendment 23 to the
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea
Bass FMP, which changes the Federal
coastwide commercial in-season
accountability measure such that the
black sea bass commercial fishery will
now close when the quota plus an
additional buffer of up to 5 percent is
projected to be landed. The intent of
this buffer is to minimize negative
economic impacts when the coastwide
quota is reached before all states have
fully harvested their allocations due to
overages in individual states.
Pursuant to Amendment 23, each
year, through the specification process,
the Council and Board will recommend
and NMFS will establish a buffer from
mt
17.01
16.66
1.50
2.89
7.50
6.00
9.16
6.27
7,716
7,557
680
1,311
3,401
2,721
4,156
2,845
0 to 5 percent. For 2025, the Council
and Board have recommended a 5percent commercial in-season closure
buffer, and this action proposes this
buffer. Given recent patterns in the
fishery, an in-season closure is not
expected for 2025; however, in the
unlikely event it is needed, a 5-percent
buffer could have socioeconomic
benefits with little risk to stock status.
Scup Specifications
The Council and Board-recommended
2025 scup catch and landings limits are
shown in table 4.
TABLE 4—2025 SCUP CATCH AND LANDING LIMITS
Specifications
Million lb
OFL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
ABC ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Expected Commercial Discards ..............................................................................................................................
Expected Recreational Discards .............................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL = ACT ..........................................................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL = ACT .........................................................................................................................................
RHL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
The Summer Flounder, Scup and
Black Sea Bass FMP established three
commercial fishery quota periods with
corresponding percentages of the total
quota for each period. Applying those
percentages, which NMFS does not
propose to change via this action, to the
quota provided in Table 4 results in the
42.19
41.31
7.38
2.08
26.85
19.54
14.46
12.31
mt
19,135
18,740
3,318
944
12,181
8,863
6,559
5,585
allocations to quota periods outlined in
table 5.
TABLE 5—COMMERCIAL SCUP QUOTA ALLOCATIONS FOR 2025 BY QUOTA PERIOD
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Quota period
Percent share
lb
mt
Winter I ......................................................................................................................................
Summer .....................................................................................................................................
Winter II .....................................................................................................................................
45.11
38.95
15.94
8,814,300
7,610,663
3,114,608
3,998
3,452
1,413
Total ....................................................................................................................................
100.00
19,539,570
8,863
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The current quota period possession
limits are not changed by this action
and are outlined in table 6.
TABLE 6—COMMERCIAL SCUP POSSESSION LIMITS BY QUOTA PERIOD
Quota period
Federal possession limits
(per trip)
Percent share
lb
kg
Winter I ......................................................................................................................................
Summer .....................................................................................................................................
Winter II .....................................................................................................................................
45.11
38.95
15.94
50,000
N/A
12,000
22,680
N/A
5,443
Total ....................................................................................................................................
100.0
N/A
N/A
The Winter I scup commercial
possession limit is proposed to drop to
1,000 lb (454 kg) when 80 percent of
that period’s allocation is landed. If the
Winter I quota is not fully harvested, the
remaining quota would be transferred to
Winter II. The Winter II possession limit
may be adjusted (in association with a
transfer of unused Winter I quota to the
Winter II period) via announcement in
the Federal Register. The regulations
specify that the Winter II possession
limit would increase to different levels
consistent with any increase in the
quota as described in table 7.
TABLE 7—POTENTIAL INCREASE IN WINTER II POSSESSION LIMITS BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF UNUSED SCUP ROLLED
OVER FROM WINTER I TO WINTER II
Initial Winter II
possession limit
lb
Rollover from
Winter I to Winter II
kg
lb
12,000 ...............
12,000 ...............
5,443 ...............
5,443 ...............
12,000 ...............
5,443 ...............
12,000 ...............
5,443 ...............
12,000 ...............
5,443 ...............
Increase in
initial Winter II
possession
limit
Final Winter II
possession limit
after rollover
from Winter I to
Winter II
kg
0–499,999 .......
500,000–
999,999.
1,000,000–
1,499,999.
1,500,000–
1,999,999.
2,000,000–
* 2,500,000.
0–226,796 .......
226,796–
453,592.
453,592–
680,388.
680,389–
907,184.
907,185–
1,133,981.
lb
kg
lb
0 ......................
1,500 ...............
0 ......................
680 ..................
12,000 .............
13,500 .............
5,443
6,123
3,000 ...............
1,361 ...............
15,000 .............
6,804
4,500 ...............
2,041 ...............
16,500 .............
7,484
6,000 ...............
2,722 ...............
18,000 .............
8,165
kg
* This process of increasing the possession limit in 1,500 lb (680 kg) increments would continue past 2,500,000 lb (1,122,981 kg), but we end
here for the purpose of this example.
This action proposes no changes to
the 2025 commercial management
measures for scup, including the
minimum fish size (9-inch (22.9-cm)
total length), gear requirements, and
quota period possession limits. This
action also proposes no changes to the
2025 recreational management
measures. Any such changes would take
place through a separate action.
Bluefish Specifications
The Council and Board-recommended
2025 bluefish catch and landings limits
are shown in table 8.
TABLE 8—SUMMARY OF 2025 BLUEFISH FISHERY SPECIFICATIONS
Specifications
Million lb
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OFL ..........................................................................................................................................................................
ABC ..........................................................................................................................................................................
Commercial ACL = ACT ..........................................................................................................................................
Commercial Quota ...................................................................................................................................................
Recreational ACL = ACT .........................................................................................................................................
Recreational Harvest Limit ......................................................................................................................................
The coastwide commercial quota is
allocated to coastal states from Maine to
Florida based on percent shares
specified in the Bluefish FMP. Table 9
provides the proposed commercial state
allocations based on the Council-
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recommended coastwide commercial
quota for 2025 and the phased-in
changes to the percent share allocations
to the states specified in Amendment 7.
No states exceeded their allocated quota
in 2023, or are projected to do so in
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27.49
21.83
3.06
3.03
18.78
15.70
mt
12,467
9,903
1,386
1,375
8,517
7,121
2024; therefore, no accountability
measures for the commercial fishery are
required for the 2025 fishing year based
on the data available at this time.
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TABLE 9—2025 BLUEFISH STATE COMMERCIAL QUOTA ALLOCATIONS
State
Quota
(lb)
Quota
(kg)
Maine .........................................................................................................................................
New Hampshire .........................................................................................................................
Massachusetts ...........................................................................................................................
Rhode Island ..............................................................................................................................
Connecticut ................................................................................................................................
New York ...................................................................................................................................
New Jersey ................................................................................................................................
Delaware ....................................................................................................................................
Maryland ....................................................................................................................................
Virginia .......................................................................................................................................
North Carolina ............................................................................................................................
South Carolina ...........................................................................................................................
Georgia ......................................................................................................................................
Florida ........................................................................................................................................
0.35
0.30
8.66
8.41
1.16
15.74
14.26
1.09
2.38
8.44
32.04
0.07
0.06
7.04
10,582
9,123
262,663
255,061
35,309
477,518
432,630
32,990
72,265
256,125
972,012
2,250
1,897
213,625
4,800
4,138
119,142
115,694
16,016
216,598
196,238
14,964
32,779
116,176
440,897
1,021
860
96,899
Total ....................................................................................................................................
100
3,033,561
1,376,000
This action proposes no changes to
the 2025 commercial or recreational
management measures for bluefish.
Classification
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Percent share
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, the NMFS
Assistant Administrator has determined
that this proposed rule is consistent
with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and
Black Sea Bass FMP, the Bluefish FMP,
other provisions of the MagnusonStevens Act, and other applicable law,
subject to further consideration after
public comment.
This action is exempt from review
under Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of
the Department of Commerce certified
to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration that this
proposed rule, if adopted, would not
have a significant economic impact on
a substantial number of small entities.
The basis for the certification follows.
We conducted an evaluation of the
potential socioeconomic impacts of the
proposed measures in conjunction with
the EAs and a SIR. The proposed action
would set the 2025 catch and landings
limits for summer flounder, scup, black
sea bass, and bluefish.
Vessel ownership data were used to
identify all individuals who own fishing
vessels. Vessels were then grouped
according to common owners. The
resulting groupings were then treated as
entities, or affiliates for purposes of
identifying small and large businesses
that may be affected by this action.
Affiliates were identified as primarily
commercial fishing affiliates if the
majority of their revenues in 2023 came
from commercial fishing. Some of these
affiliates may have also held party/
charter permits. Affiliates were
identified as primarily for-hire fishing
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affiliates if the majority of their
revenues in 2023 came from for-hire
fishing. Some of these affiliates may
have also held commercial permits.
Affiliates were identified as small or
large businesses based on their average
revenues during 2019–2023.
A total of 915 affiliates derive the
majority of their revenue from
commercial fishing operations. Of these
affiliates, 905 are classified as small
businesses, and 10 are classified as large
businesses. A total of 362 primarily forhire affiliates were identified as
potentially impacted by this action. All
362 of these for-hire affiliates were
categorized as small businesses.
Expected Impacts on Commercial
Entities
The 10 potentially impacted primarily
commercial large business affiliates had
average total annual revenues of $19.1
million and $303,600 on average in
annual revenues from summer flounder,
scup, black sea bass, and/or bluefish
during 2019–2023. On average, summer
flounder, scup, black sea bass, and/or
bluefish accounted for about 2 percent
of total annual revenues for these ten
large businesses.
The 905 potentially impacted
primarily commercial small business
affiliates had average total annual
revenues of $719,300 and $37,500 on
average in annual revenues from
commercial landings of summer
flounder, scup, black sea bass, and/or
bluefish during 2019–2023. Summer
flounder, scup, and/or black sea bass
accounted for an average of 5 percent of
the total revenues for these 905 small
businesses.
The proposed 2025 quotas for black
sea bass and summer flounder are
constant compared to 2024. The
proposed 2025 bluefish quota is
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approximately 25 percent higher than
the 2024 quota. The proposed 2025
quota for scup would decrease by
approximately 7 percent compared to
2024. This decrease in the scup quota is
the only plausible pathway for the
proposed rule to have an adverse impact
on small entities. However, the
proposed 2025 scup commercial quotas
are expected to result in similar levels
of commercial scup landings and
revenues as the past several years.
Commercial scup landings appear to be
influenced more by market factors than
the annual commercial quota. The
proposed 2025 scup quota is higher than
recent commercial landings which have
ranged between 12 and 13 million lb
since 2018. It is unlikely that
commercial effort or landings would
change given recent trends.
Expected Impacts on Recreational
Entities
As previously stated, 362 for-hire
fishing affiliates were identified as
potentially impacted by this action
based on the definition above. All these
affiliates were categorized as small
businesses based on their average 2019–
2023 revenues. These 362 small
businesses had average total annual
revenues of $133,500 during 2019–2023.
Their average revenues from
recreational for hire fishing (for a variety
of species) was $132,500. On average,
recreational fishing accounted for 99
percent of the total revenues for these
362 small businesses.
It is not possible to derive what
proportion of the for-hire revenues came
from fishing activities for an individual
species. Nevertheless, given the
popularity of summer flounder, scup,
black sea bass, and bluefish as
recreational species, revenues generated
from these species are likely important
E:\FR\FM\16OCP1.SGM
16OCP1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 200 / Wednesday, October 16, 2024 / Proposed Rules
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
to many of these businesses, at least at
certain times of the year.
For-hire revenues are impacted by a
variety of factors, including demand for
for-hire trips for summer flounder, scup,
black sea bass, bluefish, and other
potential target species, as well as
weather, the economy, and other factors.
Recreational measures (possession,
season and size limits) for 2025 will
remain the same as measures
implemented in 2024 for summer
flounder, scup, and bluefish. Potential
changes for black sea bass recreational
measures will be considered in a
separate action, but with an unchanged
recreational quota it is unlikely that any
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:01 Oct 15, 2024
Jkt 265001
changes would significantly affect
revenues. In any event, any changes to
the black sea bass recreational measures
will be evaluated when they are
developed.
This action is not expected to
adversely impact revenues for
commercial and recreational vessels that
fish for summer flounder, scup, black
sea bass, and bluefish. Because this
proposed rule, if adopted, will not have
a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities, an
initial regulatory flexibility analysis is
not required and none has been
prepared.
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 9990
83445
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: October 10, 2024.
Jennifer Leigh Quan,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for
Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024–23841 Filed 10–15–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
E:\FR\FM\16OCP1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 16, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 83440-83445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23841]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 241009-0267]
RTID 0648-XE226
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; 2025 Specifications
for the Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes 2025 specifications for the summer flounder,
scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries. The implementing
regulations for the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery
Management Plan and the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan require us to
publish specifications for the upcoming fishing year for each of these
species and to provide an opportunity for public comment. The proposed
specifications establish allowable harvest levels for these species
that will prevent overfishing, consistent with the most recent
scientific information.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 31, 2024.
ADDRESSES: A plain language summary of this proposed rule is available
at https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2024-0117. You may
submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2024-0117, by
the following method:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Visit https://www.regulations.gov and type NOAA-NMFS-2024-0117 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
https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.), confidential business
information, or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily
by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous
comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain
anonymous).
A Supplemental Information Report (SIR) was prepared for the 2025
black sea bass specifications. Environmental Assessments (EA) were
prepared for the 2024 and projected 2025 summer flounder and scup
specifications and 2024 and projected 2025 bluefish specifications.
Copies of the EAs 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 EAs are also
accessible via the internet at https://www.mafmc.org/supporting-documents.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Keiley, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281-9116, or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
General Background
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) cooperatively
develop management measures for the summer flounder, scup, black sea
bass, and bluefish fisheries. The Council, pursuant to the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act)
develops recommendations regarding fisheries in Federal waters seaward
of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia,
and North Carolina. The Commission, pursuant to the Atlantic Coastal
Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, addresses fisheries in state
waters from Florida to Maine. These bodies work together in the
development of complementary fishery management plans (FMP) for species
like summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish that are
harvested in both Federal and state waters, and each year these bodies
work together to develop specifications for these fisheries. The
Council provides its recommendations to NMFS, and NMFS engages in a
Federal rulemaking process by which the agency adopts specifications
that become binding on the Federal fisheries. Specifications in these
fisheries include various catch and landing subdivisions, such as the
commercial and recreational sector annual catch limits (ACL), annual
catch targets (ACT), and sector-specific landing limits (i.e., the
commercial fishery quota and recreational harvest limit (RHL))
established for 1 to 3 years at a time. Adjustments to commercial
management measures are also considered in the specifications process.
The process for measures used to manage the recreational fisheries
(i.e., minimum fish sizes, seasonal closures, and possession
restrictions) for these four species occurs separately and is not
discussed further in this proposed rule.
The Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP and the Bluefish
FMP and their implementing regulations establish the process for
establishing specifications for each of those four species. All
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including the 10 national
standards, also apply to specifications. The FMPs also contain formulas
to divide the catch limits into commercial and recreational fishery
allocations, state-by-state quotas, and quota periods, depending on the
species in question. This proposed rule outlines the application of the
existing allocation provisions for each species and provides
[[Page 83441]]
the resulting allocations by state and sector, as appropriate, for each
species.
The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) met on
July 23-25, 2024, to recommend acceptable biological catches (ABC) for
the summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish fisheries. The
FMPs' implementing regulations require the involvement of a monitoring
committee in the specification process for each species. The Monitoring
Committees recommend any reduction in catch limits from the SSC-
recommended ABCs to offset management uncertainty and other commercial
management measures (e.g., mesh requirements, minimum commercial fish
sizes, gear restrictions, possession restrictions, and area
restrictions) needed for these four fisheries. The Monitoring
Committees met on August 1 and 2, 2024, to develop specification-
related recommendations for each fishery.
Following the SSC and Monitoring Committee meetings, the Council
and the Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and
Bluefish Management Boards considered the recommendations of the SSC,
the Monitoring Committees, and public comments and made their
specification recommendations at a meeting held on August 12-15, 2024.
While the Boards' actions were finalized at the August meeting, the
Council's recommendations must be reviewed by NMFS to ensure that they
comply with the FMPs, implementing regulations, and applicable law.
NMFS also must conduct notice-and-comment rulemaking to propose and
implement the final specifications.
Proposed 2025 Specifications
Summer Flounder Specifications
Consistent with the statutory scheme described above, NMFS is
proposing the Council and Board-recommended 2025 summer flounder catch
and landings limits shown in table 1.
Table 1--Summary of 2025 Summer Flounder Fishery Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Million pounds Metric ton
Specifications (lb) (mt)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overfishing Limit (OFL)............... 24.97 11,325
ABC................................... 19.32 8,761
Commercial ACL = ACT.................. 10.62 4,819
Commercial Quota...................... 8.79 3,987
Recreational ACL = ACT................ 8.69 3,942
Recreational Harvest Limit............ 6.35 2,879
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed initial 2025 state-by-state summer flounder quotas are
provided in table 2. As required in Amendment 21 to the Summer
Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP (85 FR 80661), if the commercial
quota in any year is higher than 9.55 million lb (4,332 mt), the first
9.55 million lb (4,322 mt) is distributed according to the baseline
formula, and any additional quota beyond this threshold will be
distributed in equal shares to all states except Maine, Delaware, and
New Hampshire, which would split 1 percent of the additional quota.
Because this year's quota is below the threshold, the state-by-state
allocations below are based on the baseline allocations that were
established through Amendment 2 (57 FR 57358) and modified by Amendment
4 (58 FR 49937) to the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP.
Any long-standing overages or potential 2024 overages may result in
adjustments to these proposed quotas in the final rule.
Table 2--Initial 2025 Summer Flounder State-by-State Quotas
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial 2025 Initial 2025
State Percent share Quotas * (lb) Quotas * (mt)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME.............................................................. 0.04756 4,180 1.90
NH.............................................................. 0.00046 40 0.02
MA.............................................................. 6.82046 599,507 271.93
RI.............................................................. 15.68298 1,378,507 625.28
CT.............................................................. 2.25708 198,394 89.99
NY.............................................................. 7.64699 672,157 304.89
NJ.............................................................. 16.72499 1,470,098 666.83
DE.............................................................. 0.01779 1,564 0.71
MD.............................................................. 2.03910 179,233 81.30
VA.............................................................. 21.31676 1,873,707 849.90
NC.............................................................. 27.44584 2,412,443 1,094.27
-----------------------------------------------
Total....................................................... 100 8,789,830 3,987.02
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Initial quotas do not account for any previous overages.
This action makes no changes to the current commercial management
measures, including the minimum fish size (14-inch (36-centimeters
(cm)) total length), gear requirements, and possession limits. This
action also proposes no changes to the recreational management
measures. Any such changes would take place through a separate action.
Black Sea Bass Specifications
At the August 2024, meeting, the Council and the Commission's Black
Sea Bass Board were unable to agree on the 2025 black sea bass
specifications. The Black Sea Bass Board adopted a coastwide quota for
black sea bass that is the same as the 2024 quota, while the Council
adopted a quota that represents a 20-percent reduction from 2024. If
implemented, the differing quotas
[[Page 83442]]
would likely have significant negative socioeconomic impacts on Federal
black sea bass permit holders. The regulations at 50 CFR 648.143(e)
require that, in the case of different specifications, the Regional
Administrator will take administrative action to align measures to
prevent these differential effects on Federal permit holders. Given the
current status of the black sea bass stock, which is well above the
FMP's definition of the biomass capable of producing maximum
sustainable yield, and the potentially significant social and economic
harm to Federal permit holders that would result from divergent state
and Federal quotas, we are proposing to implement 2025 black sea bass
specifications consistent with those adopted by the Commission.
The proposed 2025 black sea bass catch and landings limits are
shown in table 3.
Table 3--2025 Black Sea Bass Catch and Landings Limits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifications Million lb mt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL..................................... 17.01 7,716
ABC..................................... 16.66 7,557
Expected Commercial Discards............ 1.50 680
Expected Recreational Discards.......... 2.89 1,311
Commercial ACL = ACT.................... 7.50 3,401
Commercial Quota........................ 6.00 2,721
Recreational ACL = ACT.................. 9.16 4,156
RHL..................................... 6.27 2,845
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This action proposes no changes to the other commercial management
measures for black sea bass, including the commercial minimum fish size
(11-inch (27.94-cm) total length) and gear requirements. This action
also proposes no changes to the recreational management measures. Any
such changes to recreational management measures for black sea bass
would occur through a separate action.
On October 1, 2024 (89 FR 79778), we implemented Amendment 23 to
the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP, which changes the
Federal coastwide commercial in-season accountability measure such that
the black sea bass commercial fishery will now close when the quota
plus an additional buffer of up to 5 percent is projected to be landed.
The intent of this buffer is to minimize negative economic impacts when
the coastwide quota is reached before all states have fully harvested
their allocations due to overages in individual states.
Pursuant to Amendment 23, each year, through the specification
process, the Council and Board will recommend and NMFS will establish a
buffer from 0 to 5 percent. For 2025, the Council and Board have
recommended a 5-percent commercial in-season closure buffer, and this
action proposes this buffer. Given recent patterns in the fishery, an
in-season closure is not expected for 2025; however, in the unlikely
event it is needed, a 5-percent buffer could have socioeconomic
benefits with little risk to stock status.
Scup Specifications
The Council and Board-recommended 2025 scup catch and landings
limits are shown in table 4.
Table 4--2025 Scup Catch and Landing Limits
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifications Million lb mt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL..................................... 42.19 19,135
ABC..................................... 41.31 18,740
Expected Commercial Discards............ 7.38 3,318
Expected Recreational Discards.......... 2.08 944
Commercial ACL = ACT.................... 26.85 12,181
Commercial Quota........................ 19.54 8,863
Recreational ACL = ACT.................. 14.46 6,559
RHL..................................... 12.31 5,585
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass FMP established three
commercial fishery quota periods with corresponding percentages of the
total quota for each period. Applying those percentages, which NMFS
does not propose to change via this action, to the quota provided in
Table 4 results in the allocations to quota periods outlined in table
5.
Table 5--Commercial Scup Quota Allocations for 2025 by Quota Period
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quota period Percent share lb mt
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I....................................................... 45.11 8,814,300 3,998
Summer......................................................... 38.95 7,610,663 3,452
Winter II...................................................... 15.94 3,114,608 1,413
------------------------------------------------
Total...................................................... 100.00 19,539,570 8,863
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 83443]]
The current quota period possession limits are not changed by this
action and are outlined in table 6.
Table 6--Commercial Scup Possession Limits by Quota Period
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal possession limits (per
trip)
Quota period Percent share -------------------------------
lb kg
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Winter I....................................................... 45.11 50,000 22,680
Summer......................................................... 38.95 N/A N/A
Winter II...................................................... 15.94 12,000 5,443
------------------------------------------------
Total...................................................... 100.0 N/A N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Winter I scup commercial possession limit is proposed to drop
to 1,000 lb (454 kg) when 80 percent of that period's allocation is
landed. If the Winter I quota is not fully harvested, the remaining
quota would be transferred to Winter II. The Winter II possession limit
may be adjusted (in association with a transfer of unused Winter I
quota to the Winter II period) via announcement in the Federal
Register. The regulations specify that the Winter II possession limit
would increase to different levels consistent with any increase in the
quota as described in table 7.
Table 7--Potential Increase in Winter II Possession Limits Based on the Amount of Unused Scup Rolled Over From Winter I to Winter II
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Initial Winter II possession limit Rollover from Winter I to Winter Increase in initial Winter II Final Winter II possession limit
------------------------------------------------ II possession limit after rollover from Winter I to
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter II
lb kg ---------------------------------
lb kg lb kg lb kg
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12,000....................... 5,443........... 0-499,999....... 0-226,796....... 0............... 0.............. 12,000......... 5,443
12,000....................... 5,443........... 500,000-999,999. 226,796-453,592. 1,500........... 680............ 13,500......... 6,123
12,000....................... 5,443........... 1,000,000-1,499, 453,592-680,388. 3,000........... 1,361.......... 15,000......... 6,804
999.
12,000....................... 5,443........... 1,500,000-1,999, 680,389-907,184. 4,500........... 2,041.......... 16,500......... 7,484
999.
12,000....................... 5,443........... 2,000,000- * 907,185-1,133,98 6,000........... 2,722.......... 18,000......... 8,165
2,500,000. 1.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* This process of increasing the possession limit in 1,500 lb (680 kg) increments would continue past 2,500,000 lb (1,122,981 kg), but we end here for
the purpose of this example.
This action proposes no changes to the 2025 commercial management
measures for scup, including the minimum fish size (9-inch (22.9-cm)
total length), gear requirements, and quota period possession limits.
This action also proposes no changes to the 2025 recreational
management measures. Any such changes would take place through a
separate action.
Bluefish Specifications
The Council and Board-recommended 2025 bluefish catch and landings
limits are shown in table 8.
Table 8--Summary of 2025 Bluefish Fishery Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifications Million lb mt
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OFL..................................... 27.49 12,467
ABC..................................... 21.83 9,903
Commercial ACL = ACT.................... 3.06 1,386
Commercial Quota........................ 3.03 1,375
Recreational ACL = ACT.................. 18.78 8,517
Recreational Harvest Limit.............. 15.70 7,121
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The coastwide commercial quota is allocated to coastal states from
Maine to Florida based on percent shares specified in the Bluefish FMP.
Table 9 provides the proposed commercial state allocations based on the
Council-recommended coastwide commercial quota for 2025 and the phased-
in changes to the percent share allocations to the states specified in
Amendment 7. No states exceeded their allocated quota in 2023, or are
projected to do so in 2024; therefore, no accountability measures for
the commercial fishery are required for the 2025 fishing year based on
the data available at this time.
[[Page 83444]]
Table 9--2025 Bluefish State Commercial Quota Allocations
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Percent share Quota (lb) Quota (kg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maine.......................................................... 0.35 10,582 4,800
New Hampshire.................................................. 0.30 9,123 4,138
Massachusetts.................................................. 8.66 262,663 119,142
Rhode Island................................................... 8.41 255,061 115,694
Connecticut.................................................... 1.16 35,309 16,016
New York....................................................... 15.74 477,518 216,598
New Jersey..................................................... 14.26 432,630 196,238
Delaware....................................................... 1.09 32,990 14,964
Maryland....................................................... 2.38 72,265 32,779
Virginia....................................................... 8.44 256,125 116,176
North Carolina................................................. 32.04 972,012 440,897
South Carolina................................................. 0.07 2,250 1,021
Georgia........................................................ 0.06 1,897 860
Florida........................................................ 7.04 213,625 96,899
------------------------------------------------
Total...................................................... 100 3,033,561 1,376,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This action proposes no changes to the 2025 commercial or
recreational management measures for bluefish.
Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the
NMFS Assistant Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is
consistent with the Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass FMP, the
Bluefish FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
This action is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted, would not have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
The basis for the certification follows.
We conducted an evaluation of the potential socioeconomic impacts
of the proposed measures in conjunction with the EAs and a SIR. The
proposed action would set the 2025 catch and landings limits for summer
flounder, scup, black sea bass, and bluefish.
Vessel ownership data were used to identify all individuals who own
fishing vessels. Vessels were then grouped according to common owners.
The resulting groupings were then treated as entities, or affiliates
for purposes of identifying small and large businesses that may be
affected by this action.
Affiliates were identified as primarily commercial fishing
affiliates if the majority of their revenues in 2023 came from
commercial fishing. Some of these affiliates may have also held party/
charter permits. Affiliates were identified as primarily for-hire
fishing affiliates if the majority of their revenues in 2023 came from
for-hire fishing. Some of these affiliates may have also held
commercial permits. Affiliates were identified as small or large
businesses based on their average revenues during 2019-2023.
A total of 915 affiliates derive the majority of their revenue from
commercial fishing operations. Of these affiliates, 905 are classified
as small businesses, and 10 are classified as large businesses. A total
of 362 primarily for-hire affiliates were identified as potentially
impacted by this action. All 362 of these for-hire affiliates were
categorized as small businesses.
Expected Impacts on Commercial Entities
The 10 potentially impacted primarily commercial large business
affiliates had average total annual revenues of $19.1 million and
$303,600 on average in annual revenues from summer flounder, scup,
black sea bass, and/or bluefish during 2019-2023. On average, summer
flounder, scup, black sea bass, and/or bluefish accounted for about 2
percent of total annual revenues for these ten large businesses.
The 905 potentially impacted primarily commercial small business
affiliates had average total annual revenues of $719,300 and $37,500 on
average in annual revenues from commercial landings of summer flounder,
scup, black sea bass, and/or bluefish during 2019-2023. Summer
flounder, scup, and/or black sea bass accounted for an average of 5
percent of the total revenues for these 905 small businesses.
The proposed 2025 quotas for black sea bass and summer flounder are
constant compared to 2024. The proposed 2025 bluefish quota is
approximately 25 percent higher than the 2024 quota. The proposed 2025
quota for scup would decrease by approximately 7 percent compared to
2024. This decrease in the scup quota is the only plausible pathway for
the proposed rule to have an adverse impact on small entities. However,
the proposed 2025 scup commercial quotas are expected to result in
similar levels of commercial scup landings and revenues as the past
several years. Commercial scup landings appear to be influenced more by
market factors than the annual commercial quota. The proposed 2025 scup
quota is higher than recent commercial landings which have ranged
between 12 and 13 million lb since 2018. It is unlikely that commercial
effort or landings would change given recent trends.
Expected Impacts on Recreational Entities
As previously stated, 362 for-hire fishing affiliates were
identified as potentially impacted by this action based on the
definition above. All these affiliates were categorized as small
businesses based on their average 2019-2023 revenues. These 362 small
businesses had average total annual revenues of $133,500 during 2019-
2023. Their average revenues from recreational for hire fishing (for a
variety of species) was $132,500. On average, recreational fishing
accounted for 99 percent of the total revenues for these 362 small
businesses.
It is not possible to derive what proportion of the for-hire
revenues came from fishing activities for an individual species.
Nevertheless, given the popularity of summer flounder, scup, black sea
bass, and bluefish as recreational species, revenues generated from
these species are likely important
[[Page 83445]]
to many of these businesses, at least at certain times of the year.
For-hire revenues are impacted by a variety of factors, including
demand for for-hire trips for summer flounder, scup, black sea bass,
bluefish, and other potential target species, as well as weather, the
economy, and other factors. Recreational measures (possession, season
and size limits) for 2025 will remain the same as measures implemented
in 2024 for summer flounder, scup, and bluefish. Potential changes for
black sea bass recreational measures will be considered in a separate
action, but with an unchanged recreational quota it is unlikely that
any changes would significantly affect revenues. In any event, any
changes to the black sea bass recreational measures will be evaluated
when they are developed.
This action is not expected to adversely impact revenues for
commercial and recreational vessels that fish for summer flounder,
scup, black sea bass, and bluefish. Because this proposed rule, if
adopted, will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis is
not required and none has been prepared.
This proposed rule contains no information collection requirements
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: October 10, 2024.
Jennifer Leigh Quan,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2024-23841 Filed 10-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
