[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 13, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67624-67626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27543]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 121022572-2572-01]
RIN 0648-XC318
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring
Fishery; Adjustment to 2013 Annual Catch Limits
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Through this action NMFS proposes to reduce the 2013 annual
catch limits (ACLs) for the Atlantic herring (herring) fishery to
account for catch overages in 2011 and to prevent overfishing.
DATES: Public comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., Eastern
Standard Time, on December 13, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Copies of supporting documents, the 2010-2012 Herring
Specifications and Amendment 4 to the Herring Fishery Management Plan
(FMP) are available from: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New
England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2,
Newburyport, MA 01950, telephone (978) 465-0492. These documents are
also accessible via the Internet at http://www.nero.nmfs.gov.
You may submit comments, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2012-0197, by any
one of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal www.regulations.gov. To
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, first click the ``submit a
comment'' icon, then enter NOAA-NMFS-2012-0197 in the keyword search.
Locate the document you wish to comment on from the resulting list and
click on the ``Submit a Comment'' icon on the right of that line.
Mail: NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, 55 Great Republic
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope
``Comments on Adjustment to 2013 Herring Catch Limits.''
Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Lindsey Feldman.
Instructions: Comments must be submitted by one of the above
methods to ensure that the comments are received, documented, and
considered by NMFS. 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. 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) submitted voluntarily by the sender
will 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). Attachments to electronic comments will be
accepted in Microsoft Word or Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF formats
only.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lindsey Feldman, Fishery Management
Specialist, 978-675-2179, fax 978-281-9135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) developed
herring specifications for 2010-2012, which were approved by NMFS on
August 12, 2010 (75 FR 48874). The stock-wide herring ACL (91,200 mt)
is divided among three management areas, one of which has two sub-
areas. Area 1 is located in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and is divided into
an inshore section (Area 1A) and an offshore section (Area 1B). Area 2
is located in the coastal waters between Massachusetts and North
Carolina, and Area 3 is on Georges Bank (GB). The herring stock complex
is considered to be a single stock, but there are inshore (GOM) and
offshore (GB) stock components. The GOM and GB stock components
segregate during spawning and mix during feeding and migration. Each
management area has its own sub-ACL to allow greater control of the
fishing mortality on each stock component. The management area sub-ACLs
established for 2010-2012 were: 26,546 mt for Area 1A, 4,362 mt for
Area 1B, 22,146 mt for Area 2, and 38,146 mt for Area 3.
Amendment 4 to the Herring FMP (Amendment 4) (76 FR 11373, March 2,
2011) revised the specification-setting process, bringing the Herring
FMP into compliance with ACL and accountability measure (AM)
requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (MSA). Under the FMP, if NMFS determines catch will
reach 95 percent
[[Page 67625]]
of the sub-ACL allocated to a management area or seasonal period, then
NMFS prohibits vessels from fishing for, possessing, catching,
transferring, or landing more than 2,000 lb (907.2 kg) of herring per
trip from that area or period. This AM slows catch to prevent or
minimize catch in excess of a management area or seasonal period sub-
ACL. As a way to account for ACL overages in the herring fishery,
Amendment 4 established an AM that provided for overage deductions. If
the catch of herring in any given fishing year exceeds any ACL or sub-
ACL, the overage will subsequently be deducted from the corresponding
ACL/sub-ACL. A range of reasonable alternatives to the current AMs will
be considered as a part of the 2013-2015 specifications process. Until
then, the current AMs, including the overage deduction addressed in
this proposed rule, are still in place.
Fishing year 2010 was the first year that NMFS monitored herring
catch against the management area sub-ACLs. Herring catch from Areas 1B
and 1A exceeded their 2010 allocations by 1,639 mt and 1,878 mt
respectively. NMFS deducted the 2010 overages from the 2012 herring
specifications in a final rule, which became effective on February 24,
2012 (77 FR 10978). Due to the overages that occurred in 2010, NMFS had
previously revised vessel reporting requirements to obtain more timely
catch reports (76 FR 54385, September 1, 2011). Accordingly, limited
access herring vessels are now required to report herring catch daily
via vessel monitoring systems (VMS), open access herring vessels are
required report catch weekly via the interactive voice response system
(IVR), and all herring-permitted vessels are required to submit vessel
trip reports (VTRs) weekly.
The 2011 Atlantic herring fishing year began on January 1 and ended
on December 31, 2011. Based on dealer, VTR, and observer data, 2011
herring catch exceeded the sub-ACL in Area 1A by 1,425 mt. There were
no sub-ACL overages in the other herring management areas. Therefore,
NMFS is required to deduct the Area 1A overage in 2011 from the 2013
Area 1A sub-ACL. At the time of this proposed rule, the Atlantic
herring 2013 specifications have not yet been finalized. The 2013-2015
herring specifications are currently in development and are not likely
to be effective prior to the 2013 herring fishing year, which begins on
January 1, 2013.
The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) met on
September 13, 2012, to recommend acceptable biological catch (ABC)
levels for the herring fishery. The Council is expected to take final
action at its November meeting, and a proposed and final rule will
follow. Although the 2013 herring specifications won't be in place on
January 1, 2013, the regulations at Sec. 648.200(d) include a
provision that allows the previous years' specifications to roll over
when the specifications are delayed past the start of the fishing year.
Therefore, the 2012 herring specifications will be in place on January
1, 2013, until the 2013-2015 specifications are finalized, and the 2011
overage will be deducted initially from the 2011 herring
specifications. Once the 2013-2015 specifications are final, the 2011
overage will be deducted from that amount as part of the rulemaking for
the 2013-2015 specifications.
Proposed Measures
In accordance with regulations at Sec. 648.201(a)(3), this action
proposes to deduct the 1,425-mt 2011 overage in Area 1A from the 2013
Area 1A sub-ACL. Since the 2012 herring specifications will not be in
place on January 1, 2013, this action proposes adjusting the rolled
over sub-ACL in Area 1A until the 2013-2015 specifications are
finalized. Therefore, on January 1, 2013, the sub-ACL for Area 1A would
be revised from 26,546 mt to 25,121 mt (a reduction of 1,425 mt) to
account for the 2011 catch overage. When the 2013 specifications are
finalized, we will deduct the 1,425-mt overage from the final 2013 Area
1A sub-ACL.
NMFS determined 2011 herring landings based on dealer reports
(Federal and state) containing herring purchases, supplemented with
VTRs (Federal and State of Maine) containing herring landings. NMFS
compared dealer reports to VTRs for all trips that landed herring in
2011. Because VTRs are generally a hail weight or estimate of landings,
with an assumed 10 percent margin of error, dealer reports are a more
accurate source of landings data. However, if the amount of herring
reported via VTR exceeded by 10-percent or more the amount of herring
reported by the dealer, it was assumed that the dealer report for that
trip was in error. In those instances, the amount of herring reported
via VTR was used to determine the amount of herring landed on that
trip. Herring landings in the VTR database were checked for accuracy
against the scanned image of the paper VTRs submitted by the owner/
operator of the vessel. VTR landings were also verified by comparing
reported landings to harvesting potential and applicable possession
limits for each vessel. Federal dealer reports and state reports for
2011 were finalized in June 2012.
Herring landings reported on VTRs were assigned to herring
management areas using latitude and longitude coordinates. VTRs with
missing or invalid latitude/longitude coordinates were manually
corrected using the statistical area reported on the VTR. If no
statistical area was reported on the VTR, then a combination of recent
fishing activity and a review of the scanned images of the original VTR
were used to assign landings to a herring management area. Dealer
reports without corresponding VTRs were prorated to a herring
management area using the proportion of total herring landings
stratified by week, gear type, and management area.
NMFS resolved data errors resulting from misreporting. This was
done by reviewing the 2011 herring data, and comparing VMS daily catch
reports. Common dealer reporting issues included: Missing dealer
reports; incorrect or missing VTR serial numbers; incorrect or missing
vessel permit numbers; and misidentification of pair trawling vessels
landing catch. VMS daily catch reports and VTRs had similar errors.
Common VMS daily catch report errors included: Missing reports; data
entry mistakes (including too many or not enough zeros); and missing
kept all data reported by haddock stock area. Common VTR reporting
issues included: Missing VTRs; missing or incorrect dealer information;
incorrect amounts of landed herring; incorrect dates; and missing or
incorrect statistical area. The quality of herring landings data is
affected by unresolved data errors; therefore, NMFS strongly encourages
vessel owner/operators and dealers to double check reports for accuracy
and ensure reports are submitted on a timely basis.
Discards of herring in 2011 were determined by extrapolating
Northeast Fisheries Observer Program (observer) data to the entire
herring fishery. The amount of observed herring discards (``Atlantic
herring'' and ``herring unknown'') was divided by the amount of
observed fish (all species) landed. That discard ratio was then
multiplied by the amount of all fish landed for each trip to calculate
total amount of herring discards in 2011. The amount of discards was
determined for each management area and gear type. Observer data for
2011 were finalized on March 30, 2012.
NMFS calculated the total herring catch for 2011 by adding the
amount of herring landings to the amount of
[[Page 67626]]
herring discarded. The methodology used by NMFS to calculate the amount
of landed herring and the amount of discarded herring was reviewed and
approved by the Council's Herring Plan Development Team (PDT) in August
2012. The final 2011 herring catch data differs from the catch data
presented on the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Office Web page
(www.nero.noaa.gov) at the end of the 2011 fishing year due to
differences in real-time quota monitoring and end of the year
accounting methods. Herring catch was monitored in real time using
weekly IVR reports supplemented with dealer data until September 8,
2011, when the VMS catch reports were required for limited access
vessels. From September 8, 2011, through the remainder of the fishing
year, herring catch was monitored in real-time using daily VMS catch
reports for limited access herring vessels, and IVR reports for open
access vessels. While using daily VMS catch reports are crucial for
monitoring high volume fisheries such as the herring fishery in real-
time, the final 2011 herring catch estimates used a combination of
dealer and VTR data, which tends to have fewer errors and is more
accurate. In addition, the year-end accounting method includes any late
reported landings. Therefore, the final 2011 herring catch estimates
can differ (sometimes significantly) from the real-time estimates shown
on the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Office Web site.
The following chart contains information on the 2011 herring
fishery:
Total Catch of Atlantic Herring in 2011
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Herring catch
Management area Sub-ACL (mt) Landed Discarded Total herring as percentage
herring (mt) herring (mt) catch (mt) of sub-ACL
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1A.............................. 26,546 30,621 55 30,676 105
1B.............................. 4,362 3,528 2 3,530 81
2............................... 22,146 14,919 81 15,001 68
3............................... 38,146 36,966 71 37,038 97
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Classification
Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the MSA, the NMFS Assistant
Administrator has determined that this proposed rule is consistent with
the Atlantic Herring FMP, other provisions of the MSA, and other
applicable law, subject to further consideration after public comment.
The National Environmental Policy Act analysis to support this
action was completed in Amendment 4 (76 FR 11373, March 2, 2011).
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866. This proposed rule does not contain
a collection-of-information requirement for purposes of the Paperwork
Reduction Act.
The Council prepared an IRFA, as required by section 603 of the
Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) in the Environmental Assessment for
Amendment 4. The IRFA describes the economic impact that herring
accountability measures, including overage deductions, would have on
small entities. A summary of the analysis and additional analysis on
the economic impact of this proposed rule follows. A copy of the
Amendment 4 analysis is available from the Council or NMFS (see
ADDRESSES) or via the Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov.
Statement of Objective and Need
In 2011, there was a herring catch limit overage in herring
management area 1A equal to 1,425 mt. In accordance with regulations at
Sec. 648.201(a)(3), this action proposes to deduct the 2011 management
Area 1A overage from the 2013 management Area 1A catch limits. Since
the 2013 specifications will not be finalized by January 1, 2013, and
the 2012 specifications will be in place at the start of the herring
fishing year, NMFS proposes to revise the rolled over sub-ACL for Area
1A for 2013 from 26,546 mt to 25,121 mt to account for 2011 the catch
overage. When the 2013 herring specifications are finalized, NMFS will
deduct the 1,425 mt from the final 2013 Area 1A sub-ACL.
Description and Estimate of Number of Small Entities to Which the Rule
Will Apply
In 2011, 93 vessels were issued limited access herring permits, and
2,149 were issued open access herring permits. All participants in the
herring fishery are small entities as defined by the SBA under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, as none grossed more than $4 million
annually, so there would be no disproportionate economic impacts on
small entities.
Total herring revenue in 2011 equaled approximately $22.4 million
for limited access vessels and $43,000 for open access vessels. The
reduced sub-ACL in Areas 1A is estimated to equal approximately
$400,000 in lost revenue for the fishery in 2013. While this action
reduces the amount of fish available for harvest, both the fishery-wide
and individual-vessel economic effects are anticipated to be minimal,
because the reduction is relatively minor, as compared with the
fishery's overall revenue, and because it only affects one of the
herring management areas.
Minimizing Significant Economic Impacts on Small Entities
Amendment 4 analyzed the effects of deducting ACL/sub-ACL overages
from the subsequent corresponding ACL/sub-ACL. During a year when the
ACL/sub-ACL is exceeded, fishery participants may benefit economically
from higher catch. In the subsequent year, when the amount of the
overage is deducted from that ACL/sub-ACL and the amount of harvest is
lower, fishery participants may experience negative economic impacts.
Since the participants in the fishery from year to year vary, there
could be a minor economic impact on the fishery participants operating
in Area 1A in 2013 due to the overage deduction from 2011.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 7, 2012.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, performing the
functions and duties of the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-27543 Filed 11-9-12; 8:45 am]
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