[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 158 (Friday, August 14, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 49602-49606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17707]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 200807-0210]
RIN 0648-BJ54
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast
Multispecies Fishery; Fishing Year 2020 Recreational Management
Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This rule sets fishing year 2020 recreational management
measures for Gulf of Maine cod and haddock. This action is necessary to
respond to updated catch and other scientific information. The measures
are intended to ensure the recreational fishery achieves, but does not
exceed, fishing year 2020 catch limits.
DATES: This action is effective August 13, 2020. Comments must be
received on or before September 14, 2020.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by
NOAA-NMFS-2020-0105, by the following method:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
1. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2020-0105,
2. Click the ``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields,
and
3. Enter or attach your comments.
Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period,
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying
information (e.g., name, address, etc.),
[[Page 49603]]
confidential business information, or otherwise sensitive information
submitted voluntarily by the sender will be publicly accessible. NMFS
will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if
you wish to remain anonymous).
Copies of the analyses supporting this rulemaking, including the
Framework Adjustment 59 environmental assessment (EA) prepared by the
New England Fishery Management Council are available from: Michael
Pentony, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, 55
Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. The supporting documents
are also accessible via the internet at: http://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/northeast-multispecies or http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Spencer Talmage, Fishery Management
Specialist, phone: 978-281-9232; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The recreational fishery for Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod and haddock is
managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP).
The multispecies fishing year starts on May 1 and runs through April 30
of the following calendar year. The FMP sets sub-annual catch limits
(sub-ACL) for the recreational fishery each fishing year for both
species. These sub-ACLs are a fixed proportion of the overall catch
limit for each stock. The FMP also includes proactive recreational
accountability measures (AM) to prevent the recreational sub-ACLs from
being exceeded and reactive AMs to correct the cause or mitigate the
effects of an overage if one occurs.
The proactive AM provision in the FMP allows the Regional
Administrator, in consultation with the New England Fishery Management
Council, to develop recreational management measures for the upcoming
fishing year to ensure that the recreational sub-ACL is achieved, but
not exceeded. The provisions authorizing this action can be found in
the FMP's implementing regulations at 50 CFR 648.89(f)(3).
The 2020 recreational sub-ACL for GOM cod is 193 metric tons (mt)
and 6,210 mt for GOM haddock.
Using the 2020 sub-ACLs and a peer-reviewed bioeconomic model
developed by NMFS's Northeast Fisheries Science Center that predicts
fishing behavior under different management measures, we estimated 2020
recreational GOM cod and haddock removals under various combinations of
minimum sizes, possession limits, and closed seasons. The bioeconomic
model considers measures for the two stocks in conjunction because cod
are commonly caught while recreational participants are targeting
haddock, linking the catch and effort for each stock to the other.
Preliminary estimates of GOM cod and haddock catch for fishing year
2019 indicate that the recreational fishery will not exceed the sub-ACL
of either stock.
For each of the sets of management measures, 100 simulations of the
bioeconomic model were conducted, and the number of simulations which
yielded mortality estimates under the sub-ACL was used as an estimate
of the probability that set of measures will not result in an overage
of the sub-ACL. Several sets of measures considered using the
bioeconomic model were rejected because the measures failed to exceed a
50-percent probability of removals remaining under the GOM cod sub-ACL.
Two sets of possible measures resulted in model-estimated removals
under the sub-ACL greater than 50 percent of the time. These were the
status quo measures, Option 1, and an alternative, Option 2, which
included the status quo measures and added an April 15 through 30 open
season for cod (Table 1).
The bioeconomic model projects that measures for both GOM cod and
haddock can be liberalized somewhat without the 2020 recreational
fishery's sub-ACLs being exceeded. With any given model, however, there
exists some level of uncertainty in the accuracy of model predictions.
As in past years, we are using preliminary data from the Marine
Recreational Information Program (MRIP) for this fishing year.
Incorporation of new waves, or data updates, may result in changes in
model estimates. MRIP data can be uncertain and highly variable from
year to year. This is the first year in which the new, mail-based
Fishing Effort Survey metrics were able to be used directly in the
bioeconomic model to predict mortality. This reduced uncertainty
relative to last year, which was caused by back-calibration of the MRIP
estimates to the old Coastal Household Telephone Survey metrics.
Table 1--Summary of the Measures Analyzed by the Bioeconomic Model
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Haddock Cod
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2020 options Predicted Simulations Predicted Simulations
Possession Minimum size Open season catch under haddock Possession Minimum size Open season catch under cod sub-
limit (mt) sub-ACL (%) limit (mt) ACL (%)
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1 (Status Quo)....... 15 17 inches (43.18 cm). May 1-February 28, 1,092 100 1 21 inches (53.34 cm) September 15-30..... 185 67
April 15-30.
2.................... 15 17 inches (43.18 cm). May-February 28, 1,094 100 1 21 inches (53.34 cm) September 15-30, 187 65
April 15-30. April 15-30.
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The results of the bioeconomic model run were shared with the
Council and its Recreational Advisory Panel (RAP) and Groundfish
Committee for review. At its January meeting, the Council voted to
recommend a set of measures that added an April 1-14 season for cod and
extend the haddock open season to April 1. The Council expects this
recommendation to result in catch of cod that would not exceed the sub-
ACL. This was based on an assumption that the estimates for mortality
under Option 2 could be used as an upper bound estimate for mortality
for their recommendation. The Council recommendation would not allow
fishing for cod from April 15-30, which was included in the bioeconomic
model run for Option 2. A recommendation for an open cod season in that
time period was disapproved in 2019 due to our and the public's concern
about adverse impacts on spawning cod.
We intended to propose the Council recommendation from January.
However, on April 29, 2020, we received a letter from the Council which
stated that it planned on revisiting its recommendations at its June
meeting to address unexpected disruptions to the for-hire recreational
fishery. These included state restrictions on the operation of for-hire
recreational fishing vessels.
At its June Meeting, the Council revised its recommended
recreational GOM cod measures for fishing year 2020 to expand the fall
open season by two additional weeks, to occur from September 8 through
October 7, 2020, for the for-hire recreational fishery only.
[[Page 49604]]
The open season for GOM cod for private recreational fleet would remain
unchanged. The Council intends for this recommendation to allow the
for-hire fleet to use the fall season to make up for the loss of access
to the fishery in the spring.
As part of its recommendation, the Council noted that travel and
other restrictions imposed by states in March and April effectively
closed the for-hire fishery. While state restrictions of for-hire
fishing have been lifted, limits on the number of people who may gather
are still in place, limiting the number of passengers on vessels.
We used Vessel Trip Report (VTR) data to examine changes in
activity among party/charter vessels in May and June 2020. These data
indicate that the number of weekly party/charter trips and weekly mean
number of anglers on party/charter VTRs have been reduced in 2020 in
comparison to past years, both region-wide and in the GOM. (Table 2).
The data examined in this analysis is limited to trips with a submitted
VTR; trips that are missing a VTR submission and/or vessels that do not
have a VTR requirement (i.e., vessels without a Federal permit and
participating in the state waters fisheries) are not captured by this
analysis. As such, while the report is informative of changes in
recreational fishing effort in 2020, it does not capture all the
recreational for-hire fishing that has occurred in the GOM this year.
Table 2--Number of Trips and Average Number of Anglers Reported by Vessel Trip Reports in May and June, 2016-
2020
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Number of Average number
Year Month trips of anglers
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2016.......................................... May............................. 466 17
June............................ 711 18.2
2017.......................................... May............................. 385 16.8
June............................ 725 18
2018.......................................... May............................. 431 16.2
June............................ 735 17.6
2019.......................................... May............................. 430 17.2
June............................ 665 19.1
2020.......................................... May............................. 153 10.5
June............................ 271 14.4
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The private recreational fleet has been allowed to access the GOM
haddock fishery during the spring and early summer fishery, and so the
lack of access that supports expanding the fall season for the party/
charter fleet does not apply to the private recreational fishery.
Based on the analysis using the bioeconomic model and other
available information, this rule implements the measures as recommended
by the Council at its June meeting, as follows:
--GOM haddock:
[cir] Possession Limit: 15 fish
[cir] Minimum Size: 17 inches (43.18 cm)
[cir] Open Season: May 1-February 28, April 1-30
--GOM cod:
[cir] Possession Limit: 1 fish
[cir] Minimum Size: 21 inches (53.34 cm)
[cir] Open season (Private): September 15-30, April 1-14
[cir] Open Season (For-Hire) September 8-October 7, April 1-14
Classification
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA) has made a
determination that this interim final rule is consistent with the
Northeast Multispecies FMP, other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law, subject to further consideration after
public comment.
The AA finds that prior notice and the opportunity for public
comment, pursuant to authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), would
be contrary to the public interest. The Council's revised
recommendation for recreational GOM cod and haddock measures at its
June meeting prevented NMFS from publishing a proposed rule in time to
implement final measures by September 8, 2020, which is the start of
the open cod season for party/charter fishing vessels. The revised
measures provide opportunities to mitigate adverse economic impacts
from lost opportunities to fish in the spring due to state and local
health and safety restrictions. The recommended additional weeks of
open-season were subject to public comment at several meetings,
including the Council's June meeting. The public, including the for-
hire fleet, is anticipating an expanded open-season this fall given the
public recommendations voted on by the Council at the June meeting. We
are accepting additional public comments on this rule. The delay
required for comments on these measures prior to their implementation
would undermine the benefit intended by these measures. For these
reasons, prior notice and the opportunity for public comment, pursuant
to authority set forth at U.S.C. 553(b)(B), would be contrary to the
public interest.
Similarly, the need to implement these measures in a timely manner
to put this interim final rule in place prior to September 8, 2020,
constitutes good cause under authority contained in 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3),
to establish an effective date less than 30 days after date of
publication. The revised measures remove restrictions on fishing. Delay
in implementing this rule would prevent party/charter fishing vessels
from fishing for GOM cod during the recommended open season that will
assist the for-hire recreation fishery adjust to impacts of state
restrictions on the for-hire fleet carrying passengers in May and June
this year. Plus, the for-hire fleet should benefit from the certainty
from the immediate implementation of these measures upon publication.
The certainty will provide additional time for the for-hire fleet to
prepare for and take advantage of the opportunity to recruit and carry
passengers for the recommended additional weeks this fall by enabling
earlier advertisement to customers of available trips.
This interim final rule has been determined to be not significant
for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
This interim final rule is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory
action because this rule is not significant under Executive Order
12866.
This interim final rule is exempt from the procedures of the
Regulatory
[[Page 49605]]
Flexibility Act because the rule is issued without opportunity for
prior notice and opportunity for public comment.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Dated: August 10, 2020.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is amended
as follows:
PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
0
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 648.89, revise paragraphs (c)(1) and (2) as follows:
Sec. 648.89 Recreational and charter/party vessel restrictions.
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(c) * * *
(1) Private recreational vessels. Persons aboard private
recreational fishing vessels during the open season listed in the
column titled ``Open Season'' in Table 2 to this paragraph (c), may not
possess more fish in or from the EEZ than the amount listed in the
column titled ``Possession Limit'' in Table 2 to this paragraph (c).
(i) Closed season. Persons aboard private recreational fishing
vessels may not possess species, as specified in the column titled
``Species'' in Table 2 to paragraph (c), in or from the EEZ during that
species closed season as specified in the column titled ``Closed
Season'' in Table 2 to paragraph (c).
Table 2 to Paragraph (c)
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Stock Open season Possession limit Closed season
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GB Cod............................... All Year............... 10..................... N/A.
GOM Cod.............................. September 15-30, April 1...................... April 15-September 14,
1-14. October 1-March 31.
GB Haddock........................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
GOM Haddock.......................... May 1-February 28 (or 15..................... March 1-March 31.
29), April 1-30.
GB Yellowtail Flounder............... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
SNE/MA Yellowtail Flounder........... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
CC/GOM Yellowtail Flounder........... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
American Plaice...................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
Witch Flounder....................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
GB Winter Flounder................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
GOM Winter Flounder.................. All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
SNE/MA Winter Flounder............... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
Redfish.............................. All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
White Hake........................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
Pollock.............................. All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
N Windowpane Flounder................ Closed................. No retention........... All Year.
S Windowpane Flounder................ Closed................. No retention........... All Year.
Ocean Pout........................... Closed................. No retention........... All Year.
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Atlantic Halibut..................... See paragraph (c)(3) of this section
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Atlantic Wolffish.................... Closed................. No retention........... All Year.
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(ii) [Reserved]
(2) Charter or Party Boats. Persons aboard party or charter boats
during the open season listed in the column titled ``Open Season'' in
Table 3 to this paragraph (c), may not possess more fish in or from the
EEZ than the amount listed in the column titled ``Possession Limit'' in
Table 3 to this paragraph (c).
Table 3 to Paragraph (c)
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Species Open season Possession limit Closed season
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GB Cod............................... All Year............... 10..................... N/A.
GOM Cod.............................. September 8-October 7, 1...................... April 15-September 7,
April 1-14. October 8-March 31.
GB Haddock........................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
GOM Haddock.......................... May 1-February 28 (or 15..................... March 1-March 31.
29), April 1-30.
GB Yellowtail Flounder............... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
SNE/MA Yellowtail Flounder........... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
CC/GOM Yellowtail Flounder........... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
American Plaice...................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
Witch Flounder....................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
GB Winter Flounder................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
GOM Winter Flounder.................. All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
SNE/MA Winter Flounder............... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
Redfish.............................. All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
White Hake........................... All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
Pollock.............................. All Year............... Unlimited.............. N/A.
N Windowpane Flounder................ Closed................. No retention........... All Year.
S Windowpane Flounder................ Closed................. No retention........... All Year.
Ocean Pout........................... Closed................. No retention........... All Year.
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Atlantic Halibut..................... See Paragraph (c)(3) of this section
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Atlantic Wolffish.................... Closed................. No retention........... All Year.
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[FR Doc. 2020-17707 Filed 8-13-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P