[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 151 (Friday, August 5, 2011)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 47492-47493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-19924]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 110218149-1182-01]
RIN 0648-BA86
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel,
Squid, and Butterfish Fishery; Emergency Rule Extension, Revision of
2011 Butterfish Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Temporary final rule; emergency action extension and request
for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS extends the emergency revision to the butterfish
allowable biological catch (ABC) implemented on March 15, 2011, which
is scheduled to expire on September 12, 2011. Specifically, this
temporary rule maintains the increase in the butterfish ABC from 1,500
mt to 1,811 mt, and applies the increase to the butterfish mortality
cap in the Loligo (Doryteuthis) squid fishery, based on the most recent
and best available scientific information. The increase is extended for
an additional 186 days to maintain the increased butterfish ABC through
the end of the 2011 fishing year (i.e., through December 31, 2011), or
until superseded by 2012 MSB specifications.
DATES: The effective date of the interim rule published March 15, 2011
(76 FR 13887), is extended through March 16, 2012, unless superseded by
another action. NMFS will accept comments through September 6, 2011.
ADDRESSES: The supplemental EA is available by request from: Patricia
Kurkul, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service,
Northeast Region, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2276,
or via the Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov.
You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-BA86, by any one of
the following methods:
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking portal http://www.regulations.gov;
Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Aja Szumylo;
Mail to NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Dr, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments
on Extension of the Emergency Rule to Revise the Butterfish
Specifications.''
Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name,
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required
fields, if you wish to remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to
electronic comments in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF
file formats only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aja Szumylo, Fishery Policy Analyst,
(978) 281-9195; fax: (978) 281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This temporary final rule extends the emergency measures
implemented on March 15, 2011 (76 FR 13887), as authorized by section
305(c) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to increase the butterfish ABC from
1,500 mt to 1,811 mt. The March 15, 2011, emergency rule included
detailed information on purpose and need to revise the butterfish ABC
that was initially set in the final 2011 specifications for the MSB
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (76 FR 8306; February 14, 2011). There
was one anonymous comment submitted on the emergency rule. NMFS will
again accept public comment on both the appropriateness of the
emergency action to date, and its extension.
The emergency specifications extended through this final rule
maintain the 2011 butterfish ABC at 1,811 mt, with the increase applied
to the butterfish mortality cap on the Loligo fishery. Other
specifications for butterfish, specifically initial optimum yield
(IOY), domestic annual harvest (DAH), domestic annual processing (DAP),
total allowable level of foreign fishing (TALFF), and research set-
aside (RSA), are unchanged from those set in the final 2011
specifications. Specifications for Atlantic mackerel, Loligo squid, and
Illex squid also remain unchanged.
Amendment 10 to the MSB FMP specified that the butterfish mortality
cap is to be set equal to 75 percent of the butterfish ABC, with the
remaining 25 percent of the butterfish ABC allocated to account for
butterfish catch in other fisheries, but noted that this apportionment
may be revised as necessary to accommodate the Loligo squid fishery.
The additional 311-mt ABC allotment extended through this action is
entirely allocated to the mortality cap. Under the 2011 specifications,
the butterfish mortality cap was 1,125 mt (75 percent of 1,500 mt);
this extension maintains the increase in the 2011 butterfish mortality
cap at 1,436 mt that was implemented in the emergency action.
NMFS policy guidelines for the use of emergency rules (62 FR 44421;
August 21, 1997) specify the following three criteria that define what
an emergency situation is, and justification for final rulemaking: (1)
The emergency results from recent, unforeseen events or recently
discovered circumstances; (2) the emergency presents serious
conservation or management problems in the fishery; and (3) the
emergency can be addressed through emergency regulations for which the
immediate benefits outweigh the value of advance notice, public
comment, and deliberative consideration of the impacts on participants
to the same extent as would be expected under the normal rulemaking
process. NMFS policy guidelines further provide that emergency action
is justified for certain situations where emergency action would
prevent significant direct economic loss, or to preserve a significant
economic opportunity that otherwise might be foregone. As noted in the
March 15, 2011, emergency rule, NMFS determined that it was necessary
to modify the butterfish specifications, consistent with new scientific
advice, in a timely manner in order allow the Loligo squid fleet to
optimize Loligo squid harvest with reduced concern that the fishery
would be closed due to the butterfish mortality cap.
Comments
Comment: One anonymous individual opposed the increase in the
butterfish ABC and stated that this level of taking is not sustainable.
Response: As discussed in the background section of the March 2011
emergency rule, the increased butterfish
[[Page 47493]]
ABC NMFS implemented in the emergency action is consistent with the
best scientific information available. The analysis presented in the
supplemental EA concludes that increasing the butterfish ABC to 1,811
mt is not expected to have any adverse impact on the butterfish stock
when compared to the original 1,500-mt butterfish ABC.
Classification
NMFS has determined that this rule is consistent with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act and other applicable law.
The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause
under section 553(b)(B) of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) that
it is impracticable and contrary to the public interest to provide for
prior notice and opportunity for the public to comment. As more fully
explained above, the reasons justifying promulgation of this rule on an
emergency basis make solicitation of public comment contrary to the
public interest. This action provides the benefit of allowing the
Loligo fleet to optimize its harvest, with less concern that the
fishery could be closed due to the butterfish mortality cap. The
initial emergency action did not allow for prior public comment because
the scientific review process and determination could not have been
completed any earlier, due to the inherent time constraints associated
with the process and the fact that the information on which this action
is based became available after 2011 specifications were finalized.
For the reason above, the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries
finds good cause under section 553(d) of the APA to waive the 30-day
delay in effectiveness.
This emergency rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
This rule is exempt from the procedures of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act to prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis because
the rule is issued without opportunity for prior public comment.
The EA prepared for the initial emergency rule analyzed the impacts
of the emergency specifications for the duration of a year
(Supplemental Environmental Assessment for 2011 Atlantic Mackerel,
Squid, and Butterfish Specifications; February 2011). Therefore, the
impacts of this emergency action extension have been analyzed, and are
within the scope of the Finding of No Significant Impact.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 2, 2011.
Eric C. Schwaab,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-19924 Filed 8-4-11; 8:45 am]
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