[Federal Register: January 31, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 20)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 4458-4461]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31ja07-15]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
RIN 0648-AT67
[Docket No. 061109296-7009-02; I.D. 110606A]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish
Fisheries; 2007 Atlantic Bluefish Specifications; Quota Adjustment;
2007 Research Set-Aside Project
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule; final specifications for the 2007 Atlantic bluefish
fishery.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues final specifications for the 2007 Atlantic
bluefish fishery, including state-by-state commercial quotas, a
recreational harvest limit, and recreational possession limits for
Atlantic bluefish off the east coast of the United States. The intent
of these specifications is to establish the allowable 2007 harvest
levels and possession limits to attain the target fishing mortality
rate (F), consistent with the stock rebuilding program contained in
Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), as
well as ensuring compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). This action
will publish final specifications that are modified from those
contained in the proposed rule.
DATES: This rule is effective March 2, 2007, through December 31, 2007.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the specifications document, including the
Environmental Assessment (EA) and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis (IRFA) are available from Daniel Furlong, Executive Director,
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, Federal Building,
300 South Street, Dover, DE 19901-6790. The specifications document is
also accessible via the Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov. NMFS
prepared a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA), which is
contained in the classification section of this rule. The FRFA consists
of the IRFA, public comments and responses contained in this final
rule, and a summary of impacts and alternatives contained in this final
rule. The small entity compliance guide is available from Patricia A.
Kurkul, Regional Administrator, Northeast Regional Office, National
Marine Fisheries Service, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-
2298, and on the Northeast Regional Office's website at http://www.nero.noaa.gov/nero/nr/
.
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center (Center) 41st Stock
Assessment Review Committee (SARC) Bluefish Assessment Report (updated
for 2006) is available at: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/nefsc/publications/crd/crd0514
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison McHale, Fishery Policy
Analyst, (978) 281-9103, or Michael Pentony, Supervisory Policy
Analyst, (978)281-9283.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Atlantic bluefish fishery is cooperatively managed by the Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States
Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission). The management unit for
bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is the U.S. waters of the western
Atlantic Ocean.
The FMP requires that the Council recommend, on an annual basis,
total allowable landings (TAL) for the fishery, consisting of a
commercial quota and recreational harvest limit (RHL). A research set
aside (RSA) quota is deducted from the bluefish TAL (after any
applicable transfer) in an amount proportional to the percentage of the
overall TAL as allocated to the commercial and recreational sectors.
The annual review process for bluefish requires that the Council's
Bluefish Monitoring Committee (Monitoring Committee) review and make
recommendations based on the best available data including, but not
limited to, commercial and recreational catch/landing statistics,
current estimates of fishing mortality, stock abundance, discards for
the recreational fishery, and juvenile recruitment. Based on the
recommendations of the Monitoring Committee, the Council makes a
recommendation to the Northeast Regional Administrator (RA). Because
the Bluefish FMP is a joint plan with the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission (Commission), the Commission meets during the
annual specification process to adopt complimentary measures.
In July 2006, the Monitoring Committee met to discuss the updated
estimates of bluefish stock biomass and project fishery yields for
2007. In August 2006, the Council approved the Monitoring Committee's
recommendations and the Commission's Bluefish Board (Board) adopted
complementary management measures. Detailed background information
regarding the status of the bluefish stock and the development of the
2007 specifications for this fishery was provided in the proposed
specifications (71 FR 68524, November 27, 2006). That information is
not repeated here.
RSA Quota
A request for proposals was published on December 23, 2005, to
solicit research proposals to utilize RSA in 2007 based on research
priorities identified by the Council (70 FR 76253). One research
project that would utilize 363,677 lb (164,961 kg) of bluefish RSA has
been conditionally approved by NMFS and is currently awaiting notice of
award. Therefore, this final rule implements a 363,677-lb (164,961-kg)
RSA quota for the 2007 bluefish fishery. If this project is not
approved by the NOAA Grants Office, the research quota associated with
the disapproved proposal will be restored to the bluefish TAL through
publication in the Federal Register.
Final Specifications
The FMP specifies that the bluefish stock is to be rebuilt to
BMSY over a 9-year period and requires the Council to
recommend, on an annual basis, a level of total allowable catch (TAC)
consistent with the rebuilding program in the FMP. An estimate of
annual discards is deducted from the TAC to calculate the TAL that can
be made during the year by the commercial and recreational fishing
sectors combined. The FMP rebuilding program requires the TAC for any
given year to be set based either on the target F resulting from the
stock rebuilding schedule specified in the FMP (0.31 for 2007), or the
F estimated in the most recent fishing year (F2005 = 0.15),
whichever is lower. An overall TAC of 32.033 million lb (14,530 mt) is
recommended as the coastwide TAC by the Council at its August 2006
meeting to achieve the target fishing mortality rate (F = 0.15) in
2007, consistent with the rebuilding schedule specified in Amendment 1.
The TAL for 2007 is derived by subtracting an estimate of discards
of
[[Page 4459]]
4.271 million lb (1,937 mt), the average discard level from 2001-2005,
from the TAC. After subtracting estimated discards, the 2007 TAL is
approximately 12 percent greater than the 2006 TAL, or 27.762 million
lb (12,593 mt). Based strictly on the percentages specified in the FMP
(17 percent commercial, 83 percent recreational), the commercial quota
for 2007 would be 4.720 million lb (2,141 mt), and the RHL would be
23.043 million lb (10,452 mt) in 2007. In addition, up to 3 percent of
the TAL may be allocated as RSA quota. The discussion below describes
the allocation of TAL between the commercial and recreational sectors
that is being implemented in this final rule, and its proportional
adjustment downward to account for the bluefish RSA quota.
Council Recommendation: Commercial Quota and Recreational Harvest Limit
As described in the proposed rule, based on the best information
available at the time, the Council recommended that 4.780 million lb
(2,168 mt) be transferred from the initial recreational allocation of
23.043 million lb (10,452 mt) resulting in a 2007 commercial quota of
9.500 million lb (4,309 mt) and a RHL of 18.262 million lb (8,284 mt).
These allocations were also recommended by the Commission to be
implemented by the states for fisheries within state waters.
Final 2007 Commercial Quota and Recreational Harvest Limit
Although the Council recommendation was based on the best
information available at the time, more recent information not
available at the time of the Council's recommendation or at the time of
publication of the proposed rule was used to develop a new landings
projection for the 2007 fishing year. This new projection indicates
that the initial transfer amount would exceed the amount allowable
under the regulations. Based on data provided by the Marine
Recreational Fisheries Statistic Survey (MRFSS) program, projected
recreational landings in 2006 equal 18,823,384 lb (8,538 mt). Using
this amount as the most reasonable proxy for expected landings in 2007,
this final rule will reduce the amount of the transfer from the
recreational to the commercial sector by 810,780 lb (367,764 kg) from
4,780,000 lb (2,168 mt) to 3,969,220 lb (1,800 mt), commensurate with
the increase in projected recreational landings. Therefore, the initial
recreational allocation of 18,262,270 lb (8,284 mt) will be reduced by
3,969,220 lb (1,800 mt) resulting in a post-transfer commercial quota
of 8,688,760 lb (3,941 mt) and a recreational harvest limit of
19,073,240 lb (8,651 mt). After adjusting for the RSA quota, the
resulting 2007 specifications will include a commercial quota of
8,574,939 lb (3,890 mt) and a recreational harvest limit of 18,823,384
lb (8,538 mt). The RSA quota will remain unchanged at 363,677 lb
(164,961 kg).
Adjustment Additional 2005 New York Overage
In accordance with the regulations found at 50 CFR 648.160(f)(4),
NMFS published an in-season adjustment to New York's commercial
bluefish quota on May 15, 2006 (71 FR 27977), as the result of an
overage of 51,397 lb (23,313 kg) that occurred during FY 2005. Since
the publication of that in-season adjustment, updated landings
information for FY 2005 indicates an additional bluefish quota overage
for New York in the amount of 6,238 lb (2,829 kg), resulting in a total
2005 bluefish quota overage of 57,635 lb (26,143 kg) for the state.
This final rule adjusts the 2007 bluefish quota for New York downward
by 6,238 lb (2,829 kg) to account for this additional 2005 overage,
from 890,516 lb (403,931 kg) to 884,278 lb (401,106 kg).
Final State Commercial Allocations
The 2007 commercial quota is allocated by state as shown in Table 1
below, according to the percentages specified in the FMP. Table 1 shows
the allocations both before and after the deductions made to reflect
the RSA quota allocation, and also accounts for the carryover quota
overage for New York from FY 2005.
Table 1. Final Bluefish Commercial State-by-State Allocations for 2007
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2007 Commercial Quota Carryover 2005 Overages 2007 Commercial Quota
States Quota Percent -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Share (lb) (kg) (lb) (kg) (lb) (kg)
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ME 0.6685 58,084 26,347 .............. .............. 57,323 26,002
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NH 0.4145 36,015 16,336 .............. .............. 35,543 16,122
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MA 6.7167 583,598 264,718 .............. .............. 575,953 261,251
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RI 6.8081 591,539 268,321 .............. .............. 583,790 264,806
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CT 1.2663 110,026 49,907 .............. .............. 108,584 49,254
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NY 10.3851 902,336 409,297 6,238 2,830 884,278 401,106
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NJ 14.8162 1,287,344 583,935 .............. .............. 1,270,480 576,286
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DE 1.8782 163,192 74,024 .............. .............. 161,055 73,054
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MD 3.0018 260,819 118,307 .............. .............. 257,403 116,757
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VA 11.8795 1,032,181 468,194 .............. .............. 1,018,660 462,061
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NC 32.0608 2,785,686 1,263,579 .............. .............. 2,749,194 1,247,026
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SC 0.0352 3,058 1,387 .............. .............. 3,018 1,369
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GA 0.0095 825 374 .............. .............. 815 370
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FL 10.0597 874,063 396,472 .............. .............. 862,613 391,279
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[[Page 4460]]
Total 100.0001 8,688,769\(1)\ 3,941,200 6,238 2,830 8,568,710\(2)\ 3,886,741
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\(1)\ The sum of the individual states does not add up to the final commercial quota of 8,688,760 lb due to rounding.
\(2)\ The sum of the individual states does not add up to the final RSA adjusted commercial quota of 8,574,939 lb, less the New York overage of 6,238 lb
(i.e., 8,568,701 lb), due to rounding.
Recreational Possession Limit
In this final rule, NMFS approves the Council's recommendation to
maintain the current recreational possession limit of up to 15 fish per
person to achieve the RHL.
Comments and Responses
The public comment period on the proposed rule ended on December
27, 2006, with only one comment received.
Comment 1: The commenter expressed general support for
environmental reforms and conservation of bluefish for future
generations. The commenter suggested that the TAC be reduced by 50
percent initially, and by 10 percent in each subsequent year.
Response: NMFS acknowledges the importance of the issues raised by
the commenter, but those of a general nature are outside the scope of
this rulemaking. The commenter gave no specific rationale for why the
quotas should be reduced in the manner suggested, and there is no known
scientific basis for the commenter's suggestions. The reasons presented
by the Council and NMFS for recommending the final 2007 bluefish
specifications are discussed in the preambles to both the proposed and
final rules, and sufficient analysis is contained within the supporting
documents.
Classification
This final rule is exempt from review under Executive Order 12866.
Included in this final rule is the FRFA prepared pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 604(a). The FRFA incorporates the IRFA, a summary of the
significant issues raised by the public comments in response to the
IRFA, and NMFS' responses to those comments, and a summary of the
analyses completed to support the action. A copy of the EA/RIR/IRFA is
available from the Council (see ADDRESSES).
The preamble to the proposed rule included a detailed summary of
the analyses contained in the IRFA, and that discussion is not repeated
here.
Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Statement of Objective and Need
A description of the reasons why this action is being taken, and
the objectives of and legal basis for these specifications are
explained in the preambles to the proposed rule and this final rule and
are not repeated here.
Summary of Significant Issues Raised in Public Comments
One comment was submitted on the proposed rule, but it was not
specific to the IRFA or the economic effects of the rule. NMFS has
responded to the comment in the Comments and Responses section of the
preamble to this final rule. No changes were made to the final rule as
a result of the comment received.
Description and Estimate of Number of Small Entities to Which the Rule
will Apply
The Small Business Administration (SBA) defines small businesses in
the commercial fishing and recreational fishing sectors as firms with
receipts (gross revenues) of up to $4.0 million and $6.5 million,
respectively. This rule could affect any vessels that fish for bluefish
in Federal or state waters. The final measures regarding the 2007
quotas could affect any vessels holding an active Federal permit for
bluefish as well as vessels that fish for this species in state waters.
An active participant in the commercial sector was defined as being
any vessel that reported having landed one or more pounds of bluefish
the dealer data during calendar year 2005. Of the active vessels
reported in 2005, 745 known vessels landed bluefish from Maine through
North Carolina. The Northeast Region dealer data do not cover vessel
activity in the South Atlantic. The Northeast Region dealer data
indicate that 148 federally permitted vessels landed bluefish in North
Carolina in 2005. However, the North Carolina landings data for
bluefish may be incomplete is this data system. South Atlantic Trip
Ticket Report data indicate that 882 vessels landed bluefish in North
Carolina in 2005. Some of these vessels may be included among the 148
vessels identified as landing bluefish in the Northeast Region dealer
data. As such, double counting is possible. In addition, up to 620
vessels may have landed bluefish in Florida's east coast in 2005.
Bluefish landings in South Carolina and Georgia were less than a
thousand pounds combined in FY 2005, representing a negligible
proportion of the total bluefish landings along the Atlantic coast in
2005. Therefore, for the purpose of this analysis, it is assumed that
no vessels landed bluefish from South Carolina and Georgia.
In addition, it was estimated that in recent years approximately
2,063 party/charter vessels may have been active and/or caught
bluefish. All of these vessels are considered small entities under the
RFA, having gross receipts of less than $5 million annually. Since the
recreational possession limits will remain at 15 fish per person, there
should be no impact on demand for party/charter vessel fishing, and,
therefore, no impact on revenues earned by party/charter vessels.
Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance
Requirements
No additional reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance
requirements are included in this final rule.
Description of the Steps Taken to Minimize Economic Impact on Small
Entities
Specification of commercial quota, recreational harvest levels, and
possession limits is constrained by the conservation objectives of the
FMP, under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The commercial
quota and RHL contained in this final rule are 8.5 percent lower and
4.4 percent higher, respectively, than the Council's preferred
alternative contained in the proposed rule. Although the commercial
quota under this new alternative is lower than the commercial quota
recommended by the Council, it is 7.7 percent higher than the final
2006 commercial quota (71 FR 9471; February 24, 2006). As a result, all
affected states will receive an increase in their
[[Page 4461]]
individual commercial quota allocation in comparison to their
respective 2006 individual state allocations. However, the magnitude of
that increase varies depending on the state's respective percent share
in the total commercial quota, as specified in the FMP, and depending
on if the state had any additional overages from FY 2005 that needed to
be adjusted for in this final rule (e.g., New York). NMFS considered a
TAL that would have allowed a higher allocation of quota to the
commercial sector, but this alternative, proposed by the Council, would
have been inconsistent with the goals and objectives of the FMP and the
Magnuson-Stevens Act. The new alternative, which will transfer less
quota from the recreational sector to the commercial sector than the
alternative contained in the proposed rule (see Table 2), is being
implemented consistent with recent recreational landings trends and
should ensure that the 2007 RHL is not exceeded. Furthermore, the RHL
being implemented in this final rule is 14.3 percent higher than the
RHL specified in FY 2006. In conclusion, because both the 2007
commercial quota and RHL being implemented in this final rule represent
increases over the 2006 specifications, and because the revised 2007
RHL is consistent with recent trends in recreational landings, no
negative economic impacts are expected relative to the status quo and
the Council's preferred alternative.
The impacts on revenues of the proposed RSA were analyzed. The
social and economic impacts of this proposed RSA are expected to be
minimal. Assuming the full RSA is allocated for bluefish, the set-aside
amount could be worth as much as $120,013 dockside, based on an average
2005 ex-vessel price of $0.33 per pound for bluefish. Assuming an equal
reduction among all 745 active dealer reported vessels, this could mean
a reduction of about $161 per individual vessel. Changes in the
recreational harvest limit would be insignificant (less than a 2-
percent decrease), if 1.3 percent of the TAL is used for research.
There are no anticipated adverse impacts associated with the RSA. In
general, RSAs are expected to yield important long-term benefits
associated with improved data upon which to base management decisions.
Table 2. Comparison of New Alternative to Council Preferred and
2006 Specifications
Table 2. Comparison of New Alternative to Council Preferred and 2006 Specifications
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Post- Post- Adjusted
Transfer Transfer Research Set- Adjusted Recreational
Initial TAL Commercial Recreational Aside Commercial Harvest
Quota Quota Quota Limit
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2007 Final Bluefish Specifications
----------------------------- -------------- -------------
Final Rule 27,762,000 8,688,760 lb 19,073,240 363,677 lb 8,574,939 lb 18,823,384
lb lb lb
Preferred (12,593 mt) (3,941 mt) (8,651 mt) (165 mt) (3,890 mt) (8,538 mt)
Alternative ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............
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Council's Preferred Alternative for 2007 Bluefish Specifications
----------------------------- -------------- -------------
Proposed Rule 27,762,000 9,499,540 lb 18,262,460 363,677 lb 9,375,098 lb 18,023,225
lb lb lb
Preferred (12,593 mt) (4,309 mt) (8,284 mt) (165 mt) (4,252 mt) (8,175 mt)
Alternative ............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............
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2006 Final Bluefish Specifications
----------------------------- -------------- -------------
Preferred 24,798,836 8,081,096 lb 16,717,740 363,677 lb 7,962,586 lb 16,472,573
lb lb lb
Alternative (11,249 mt) (3,666 mt) (7,583 mt) (165 mt) (3,612 mt) (7,472 mt)
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Small Entity Compliance Guide
Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act of 1996 states that, for each rule or group of related rules for
which an agency is required to prepare a FRFA, the agency shall publish
one or more guides to assist small entities in complying with the rule,
and shall designate such publications as ``small entity compliance
guides.'' The agency shall explain the actions a small entity is
required to take to comply with a rule or group of rules. As part of
this rulemaking process, a small entity compliance guide will be sent
to all holders of Federal permits issued for the bluefish fishery. In
addition, copies of this final rule and guide (i.e., permit holder
letter) are available from NMFS (see ADDRESSES) and at the following
website: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/nero/nr/index.html.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: January 24, 2007.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. E7-1544 Filed 1-30-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S