[Federal Register: August 6, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 151)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 47798-47801]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06au04-13]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 040507144-4213-02; I.D.043004A]
RIN 0648-AQ85
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish
Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule, 2004 specifications
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues 2004 specifications for the Atlantic bluefish
fishery, including total allowable harvest levels (TAL), state-by-state
commercial quotas, and a recreational harvest limit and possession
limit for Atlantic bluefish off the east coast of the United States.
The intent of the specifications is to conserve and manage the bluefish
resource and provide for sustainable fisheries.
DATES: Effective September 7, 2004, through December 31, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, including the Environmental
Assessment (EA) and Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), Final Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (FRFA), and Essential Fish Habitat Assessment
(EFHA) are available from: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator,
Northeast Regional Office, NMFS, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930-2298. The EA/RIR/FRFA/EFHA are accessible via the Internet at
http://www.nero.nmfs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst,
978-281-9104, fax 978-281-9135, e-mail myles.a.raizin@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing the FMP
[[Page 47799]]
prepared by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council)
appear at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A and J. Regulations requiring
annual specifications are found at Sec. 648.160. The FMP requires that
the Council recommend, on an annual basis, TAL, which is comprised of a
commercial quota and recreational harvest limit. This rule implements
final specifications for the Atlantic bluefish fishery for 2004 that
are unchanged from the proposed specifications published on May 19,
2004 (69 FR 28875). A complete discussion of the development of these
specifications is included in the proposed rule and is not repeated
here. These measures are the same as those implemented for 2004 by the
states under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's
Interstate FMP.
Final Specifications
TAL
For the 2004 fishery, the stock rebuilding program in the FMP
restricts F to 0.31. However, the 2002 fishery (the most recent fishing
year for which F can be calculated) produced an F of only 0.184.
Therefore, in accordance with the FMP, the measures established for
2004 were developed to achieve F=0.184. Projection results indicate
that the bluefish stock will increase to an estimated biomass of
165.853 million lb (365.504 million kg) in 2004. This biomass can
produce a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) of 34.215 million lb (15.5
million kg) in 2004 at F=0.184. The TAL for 2004 is derived from this
value by subtracting estimated discards of 2.365 million lb (1.06
million kg) from the TAC. This results in a TAL for 2004 of 31.85
million lb (14.45 million kg).
Commercial Quota and Recreational Harvest Limit
Consistent with the FMP and regulations governing the bluefish
fishery, NMFS has transferred 5.085 million lb (2.036 million kg) from
the initial 2004 recreational allocation of 26.435 million lb (11.990
million kg) to the commercial fishery, resulting in a 2004 recreational
harvest limit of 21.350 million lb (9.684 million kg) and a commercial
quota of 10.5 million lb (4.76 million kg). The 2004 commercial quota
would be the same as was allocated in 2003 and also as implemented by
the states for 2004 under the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission's Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Bluefish.
A Notice of Request for Proposals was published in the Federal Register
to solicit research proposals for 2004 that could utilize research set-
aside (RSA) TAC authorized by the FMP, based on research priorities
identified by the Council (January 27, 2003; 68 FR 3864). One research
project that would utilize bluefish RSA has been approved by the NOAA
Grants Office. Therefore, a 297,750-lb (135,057-kg) RSA is specified.
Due to the allocation of the bluefish RSA, the adjusted commercial
quota for 2004 is 10.401 million lb (4.718 million kg) and the adjusted
recreational harvest limit is 21.150 million lb (9.59 million kg).
Recreational Possession Limit
A recreational possession limit of 15 fish will be maintained for
the 2004 fishing year.
State Commercial Allocations
The annual commercial quota for bluefish will be distributed to the
states (See Table 1.), based on the percentages specified in the FMP,
less the proposed RSA allocation.
Table 1.--Annual Bluefish State Commercial Quotas
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2004 Commercial 2004 Commercial
State % of quota 2004 Commercial 2004 Commercial Quota (lb) With Quota (kg) With
Quota (lb) Quota (kg) Research Set-Aside Research Set-Aside
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ME........................................ 0.6685 70,193 31,839 69,536 31,541
NH........................................ 0.4145 43,523 19,742 43,116 19,557
MA........................................ 6.7167 705,254 319,901 698,660 316,907
RI........................................ 6.8081 714,851 324,254 708,168 321,220
CT........................................ 1.2663 132,962 60,311 131,719 59,747
NY........................................ 10.3851 1,090,436 494,619 1,080,242 489,990
NJ........................................ 14.8162 1,555,701 705,661 1,541,158 699,058
DE........................................ 1.8782 197,211 89,454 195,367 88,617
MD........................................ 3.0018 315,189 142,969 312,242 141,631
VA........................................ 11.8795 1,247,348 565,793 1,235,687 560,498
NC........................................ 32.0608 3,366,384 1,526,982 3,334,913 1,512,691
SC........................................ 0.0352 3,696 1,676 3,661 1,661
GA........................................ 0.0095 998 453 988 448
FL........................................ 10.0597 1,056,269 479,121 1,046,394 474,636
Total..................................... 100.0000 10,500,015 4,762,727 10,401,851 4,744,652
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Comments and Responses
One set of comments was received during the comment period on the
proposed rule, as follows:
Comment: The commenter opposes the transfer of allocation from the
recreational sector to the commercial sector because he believes it is
unfair to anglers who endure strict regulations. He believes it fails
to reward recreational fishers who do not fully attain their allocation
and negates the conservation benefits their underharvest creates.
Response: The poundage transfer provision was included in Amendment
1 to the FMP (Amendment 1) to ensure that commercial landings would not
be unnecessarily reduced if the recreational fishery is not expected to
attain its harvest limit. The FMP stipulates that such a transfer may
be made if the recreational fishery is not projected to land its
harvest limit for the upcoming year. Recreational landings from the
last several years were much lower than the recreational allocation for
2004, ranging between 8.30 and 15.5 million lb (3.74 and 7.05 million
kg). Since the recreational fishery is not projected to land its
harvest limit in 2004, this allows the specification of a commercial
quota of up to 10.5 million lb (4.76 million kg). The TAL for 2004 is
31.85 million lb (14.45 million kg). This is consistent with an F of
0.184 which is actually less than the maximum level of F of 0.310
specified in the FMP as the rebuilding target for 2004. A commercial
harvest of 10.5 million lb (4.76 million kg) does not result in
overfishing based on the
[[Page 47800]]
overfishing definition in the FMP. Overfishing occurs when F is greater
than Fmsy = 0.310 (the F that produces maximum sustainable yield).
Since the stock condition is improving, and the overall TAL maintains a
very low F, there is no reason to reduce allowed landings by the
commercial sector. The transfer is not constraining to recreational
fishermen, since the remaining recreational harvest limit is more than
double the average recreational landings over the last several years.
Comment: The commenter believes that the proposed rule is not
written in plain English since most readers would not know what F
represents.
Response: F is defined as ``fishing mortality rate'' in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of the proposed rule.
Classification
This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 648 and has been
determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), pursuant to section
604 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), has prepared a final
regulatory flexibility analysis (FRFA) in support of the 2004 bluefish
specifications. The FRFA describes the economic impact that this final
rule will have on small entities.
The FRFA incorporates the economic impacts summarized in the
initial regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) summary found in the
Classification section of the proposed rule, the comments on, and
responses to the proposed rule, and the corresponding economic analyses
prepared by Council for these specifications. For the most part, those
impacts are not repeated here. A copy of the IRFA, the FRFA, the RIR
and the EA are available from NMFS, Northeast Regional Office and on
the Northeast Regional Office Website (see ADDRESSES). A description of
the reasons why this action is being considered, and the objectives of,
and legal basis for, the final rule is found in the preamble to the
final rule and is not repeated here.
One set of comments was submitted on the proposed rule, but it was
not specific to the IRFA or the economic impact 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 comments received.
An active participant in the commercial bluefish fishery sector is
defined as being any vessel that reported having landed one or more
pounds of bluefish to NMFS-permitted dealers during calendar year 2002.
Vessels fishing for bluefish with a Federal permit intending to sell
their catch must do so to NMFS-permitted dealers. All vessels affected
by this rulemaking have gross receipts less than $3.5 million and are
considered to be small entities under the RFA. Since there are no large
entities participating in this fishery, there are no disproportionate
effects resulting from small versus large entities. Since costs are not
readily available, vessel profitability cannot be determined directly.
Therefore, changes in gross revenue were used as a proxy for
profitability. Of the active, Federally-permitted vessels in 2002, 928
landed bluefish from Maine to North Carolina. Dealer data do not cover
vessel activity from South Carolina to Florida. South Atlantic Trip
Ticket Report data indicate that 1,004 vessels landed bluefish in North
Carolina, including those with Federal permits and those fishing only
in state waters. These data also indicate that bluefish landings in
South Carolina and Georgia represented less than 1/10 of 1 percent of
total landings. Therefore, it was assumed that no vessels landed
bluefish from those states. According to South Atlantic Trip Ticket
Report data, 101 commercial vessels landed bluefish to dealers on
Florida's east coast in 2002.
In addition, in 2002, approximately 2,063 party/charter vessels
caught bluefish in either state or Federal waters. All of these vessels
are considered small entities under the RFA having gross receipts of
less than $5 million annually. Since the possession limits would 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.
There are no recordkeeping, reporting, or other compliance
requirements associated with these final specifications that would
increase costs and negatively impact profitability of vessels
prosecuting the bluefish fishery. In addition, none of the alternatives
to these final specifications would further mitigate the economic
impacts to vessels prosecuting the fishery. Therefore, there are no
opportunities for vessels to further increase profits from
implementation of alternatives other than those published as part of
this rule.
The Council analyzed three alternatives. The TAL recommendation and
RSA are unchanged in the alternatives, as the TAL is the level that
would achieve the target F in 2004, and the RSA is the amount allocated
through the grants process. The difference between the preferred
alternative (Alternative 1) and Alternatives 2 and 3, therefore,
relates only to the manner in which the overall TAL is allocated
between the commercial and recreational components of the bluefish
fishery. Under Alternative 1, the commercial quota allocation is 10.401
million lb (4.718 million kg), with a recreational harvest limit of
21.150 million lb (9.68 million kg). Under Alternative 2, the
commercial quota allocation is 5.363 million lb (2.433 million kg) with
a recreational harvest limit of 26.188 million lb (11.878 million kg).
Under Alternative 3, the commercial quota allocation is 9.493 million
lb (4.346 million kg) with a recreational harvest limit of 22.058
million lb (10.100 million kg).
The preferred commercial quota represents a less than 1-percent
decrease from the 2003 commercial quota, with the decrease due to the
amount specified for the RSA. The 2004 recreational harvest limit would
be 21 percent lower than the recreational harvest limit specified for
2003. However, the recreational harvest limit would still be about
twice the recreational landings for 2002. Bluefish landings for the
2000-2002 period ranged from 29 to 59 percent lower than the
recreational harvest limits specified in those years, and a projection
based on preliminary recreational data for 2003 indicates that landings
will be 46 percent lower than the recreational harvest limit specified
for 2003. Therefore, under this alternative, no vessels would realize
significant revenue reductions. A total of 928 vessels were projected
to incur revenue losses as a result of the proposed commercial quota
allocation, with 95 percent of those estimated to incur losses of less
than 1 percent, and none to incur losses greater than 5 percent. The
affected entities would be mostly smaller vessels that land bluefish in
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina. In addition,
economic analysis of South Atlantic Trip Ticket Report data indicated
that, on average, the slight reduction in the commercial quota from
2003 to 2004 would be expected to result in small reductions in revenue
for fishermen that land bluefish in North Carolina (0.05 percent) and
Florida (0.03 percent).
The allocations specified in Alternative 2 represent a 49-percent
decrease in the commercial quota from the 2003 commercial quota, and a
2-percent decrease in the recreational harvest limit from the 2003
recreational harvest limit. The 2004 recreational harvest limit would
be more than twice the 2003 projected recreational
[[Page 47801]]
landings. The reduction in the commercial quota would cause 15 vessels
to have revenue losses of 50 percent or more, while 123 would have
revenue losses from 5 to 49 percent. An additional 790 vessels would
incur revenue losses of less than 5 percent of their total ex-vessel
revenue. Also, evaluation of South Atlantic Trip Ticket Reports
indicates an average of 4.43 and 0.03-percent reductions in revenue for
fishermen that land bluefish in North Carolina and Florida,
respectively.
Alternative 3 represents a 9-percent decrease in the total
allowable commercial landings for bluefish in 2003 versus 2004. The
2004 recreational harvest limit would be 17 percent lower than the
estimated recreational landings in 2003. Under this scenario, a total
of 53 vessels would incur revenue losses from 5 to 19 percent due to
the reduction in the commercial quota. An additional 875 commercial
vessels would incur revenue losses of less than 5 percent of their
total ex-vessel revenue. Also, evaluation of South Atlantic Trip Ticket
Reports indicate reduction in revenues of 0.82 and 0.05-percent for
fishermen that land bluefish in North Carolina and Florida,
respectively.
The Council further analyzed the impacts on revenues of the
proposed RSA specified in all three alternatives. 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 $101,235 dockside, based on a 2002 price of
$0.34 per pound for bluefish. Assuming an equal reduction among all 928
active dealer reported vessels, this could mean a reduction of about
$109 per individual vessel. Changes in the recreational harvest limit
would be insignificant (less than 1 percent decrease), if 2 percent of
the TAL is used for research. It is unlikely that there would be
negative impacts. A copy of this analysis is available from the Council
(see ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated:August 2, 2004.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 04-18050 Filed 8-5-04; 8:45 am]
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