[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 248 (Monday, December 28, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 80686-80689]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-32555]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 131108946-5999-02]
RIN 0648-BD76
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery Off the Atlantic States and Snapper-Grouper
Fishery of the South Atlantic Region; Amendments 7/33
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS issues regulations to implement Amendment 7 to the
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery off the
Atlantic States (Dolphin and Wahoo FMP) and Amendment 33 to the FMP for
the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Snapper-
Grouper FMP) (Amendments 7/33), as prepared and submitted by the South
Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule revises
the landing fish intact provisions for vessels that lawfully harvest
dolphin, wahoo, or snapper-grouper in or from Bahamian waters and
return to the U.S exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The U.S. EEZ as
described in this final rule refers to the Atlantic EEZ for dolphin and
wahoo and the South Atlantic EEZ for snapper-grouper species. The
purpose of this final rule is to improve the consistency and
enforceability of Federal regulations with regards to landing fish
intact provisions for vessels transiting from Bahamian waters through
the U.S. EEZ and to increase the social and economic benefits related
to the recreational harvest of these species.
DATES: This final rule is effective January 27, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of Amendments 7/33, which includes an
environmental assessment, regulatory impact review, and Regulatory
Flexibility Act analysis, may be obtained from the Southeast Regional
Office Web site at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/s_atl/generic/2015/dw7_sg33/index.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nikhil Mehta, telephone: 727-824-5305,
or email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The dolphin and wahoo fishery is managed
under the Dolphin and Wahoo FMP and the snapper-grouper fishery is
managed under the Snapper-Grouper FMP. The FMPs were prepared by the
Council and are implemented through regulations at 50 CFR part 622
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
On September 17, 2015, NMFS published a notice of availability for
Amendments 7/33 and requested public comment (80 FR 55819). On October
7, 2015, NMFS published a proposed rule for Amendments 7/33 and
requested public comment (80 FR 60601). The proposed rule and
Amendments 7/33 outline the rationale for the actions contained in this
final rule. A summary of the actions implemented by Amendments 7/33 and
this final rule is provided below.
Current Federal regulations require that dolphin or wahoo or
snapper-grouper species onboard a vessel traveling through the U.S. EEZ
be maintained with the heads and fins intact and not be in fillet form.
However, as implemented through Amendment 8 to the Snapper-Grouper FMP,
an exemption applies to snapper-grouper species that are lawfully
harvested in Bahamian waters and are
[[Page 80687]]
onboard a vessel returning to the U.S. through the U.S. EEZ (63 FR
38298, July 16, 1998). That exemption allows that in the South Atlantic
EEZ, snapper-grouper lawfully harvested in Bahamian waters are exempt
from the requirement that they be maintained with head and fins intact,
provided valid Bahamian fishing and cruising permits are on board the
vessel and the vessel remains in transit through the South Atlantic
EEZ.
The Bahamas does not allow for the commercial harvest of dolphin,
wahoo, or snapper-grouper by U.S. vessels in Bahamian waters.
Therefore, the measures in this final rule only apply to the
recreational harvest of these species by vessels returning from The
Bahamas to the U.S. EEZ. This final rule will not change potential
liability under the Lacey Act, which makes it unlawful to import,
export, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase fish that are taken,
possessed, transported or sold in violation of any foreign law.
Management Measures Contained in This Final Rule
This final rule revises the landing fish intact provisions for
vessels that lawfully harvest dolphin, wahoo, or snapper-grouper in
Bahamian waters and return to the U.S. EEZ. This final rule allows for
dolphin and wahoo fillets to enter the U.S. EEZ after lawful harvest in
The Bahamas; specifies the condition of any dolphin, wahoo, and
snapper-grouper fillets; describes how the recreational bag limit is
determined for any fillets; explicitly prohibits the sale or purchase
of any dolphin, wahoo, or snapper-grouper recreationally harvested in
The Bahamas; specifies the required documentation to be onboard any
vessels that have these fillets, and specifies transit and stowage
provisions for any vessels with fillets.
Landing Fish Intact
Currently, all dolphin or wahoo in or from Atlantic EEZ are
required to be maintained with head and fins intact. This final rule
allows for dolphin or wahoo lawfully harvested in Bahamian waters to be
exempt from this provision when returning through the Atlantic EEZ
under certain circumstances. Allowing these vessels to be exempt from
the landing fish intact regulations increases the social and economic
benefits for recreational fishers returning to the U.S. EEZ from
Bahamian waters. This final rule also provides increased consistency
between the dolphin and wahoo and snapper-grouper regulations for
vessels possessing fillets of these species and transiting from
Bahamian waters through the U.S. EEZ.
Snapper-grouper possessed in the South Atlantic EEZ are currently
exempt from the landing fish intact requirement under certain
conditions if the vessel lawfully harvested the snapper-grouper in The
Bahamas. Amendments 7/33 and this final rule retain this exemption and
revise it to include additional requirements.
The Council and NMFS note that this exemption only applies to the
landing fish intact provisions for fish in the U.S. EEZ, and does not
exempt fishers from any other Federal fishing regulations such as
fishing seasons, recreational bag limits, and size limits.
Condition of Fillets
To better allow for identification of the species of any fillets in
the U.S. EEZ, this final rule requires that the skin be left intact on
the entire fillet of any dolphin, wahoo, or snapper-grouper carcass on
a vessel in transit from Bahamian waters through the U.S. EEZ. This
requirement is intended to assist law enforcement in identifying
fillets to determine whether they are the species lawfully exempted by
this final rule.
Recreational Bag Limits
Currently, all dolphin, wahoo, and snapper-grouper species
harvested or possessed in or from the U.S. EEZ are required to adhere
to the U.S. bag and possession limits. This final rule does not revise
the bag and possession limits, but specifies how fillets are counted
with respect to determining the number of fish onboard a vessel in
transit from Bahamian waters through the U.S. EEZ and ensuring
compliance with U.S. bag and possession limits. This final rule
specifies that for any dolphin, wahoo, or snapper-grouper species
lawfully harvested in Bahamian waters and onboard a vessel in the U.S.
EEZ in fillet form, two fillets of the respective species of fish,
regardless of the length of each fillet, are equivalent to one fish.
This measure will assist law enforcement in enforcing the relevant U.S.
bag and possession limits.
Sale and Purchase Restrictions of Recreationally Harvested Dolphin,
Wahoo or Snapper-Grouper
This final rule explicitly prohibits the sale or purchase of any
dolphin, wahoo, or snapper-grouper species recreationally harvested in
Bahamian waters and returned to the U.S. through the U.S. EEZ. The
Council determined that establishing a specific prohibition on the sale
or purchase of any of these species from The Bahamas was necessary to
ensure consistency with the current Federal regulations that prohibit
recreational bag limit sales of these species.
Required Documentation
This final rule revises the documentation requirements for snapper-
grouper species and implements documentation requirements for dolphin
and wahoo harvested in Bahamian waters and onboard a vessel in transit
through the U.S. EEZ. For dolphin, wahoo, or snapper-grouper fillets
lawfully harvested in Bahamian waters and on a vessel transiting
through the U.S. EEZ, this final rule requires that valid Bahamian
fishing and cruising permits are onboard and additionally requires that
all vessel passengers have valid government passports with current
stamps and dates. Requiring valid Bahamian fishing and cruising permits
on the vessel and requiring each vessel passenger to have a valid
government passport with current stamps and dates from The Bahamas
increases the likelihood that the vessel and passengers were lawfully
fishing in The Bahamas, and thereby increases the likelihood that any
dolphin, wahoo, or snapper-grouper fillets on the vessel were lawfully
harvested in Bahamian waters and not in the U.S. EEZ.
Transit and Stowage Provisions
This final rule revises the snapper-grouper transit provisions,
applies the transit provisions to vessels operating under the exemption
for dolphin and wahoo, and requires fishing gear to be appropriately
stowed on a vessel transiting through the U.S. EEZ with fillets of
these species. The definition for ``fishing gear appropriately stowed''
means that ``terminal gear (i.e., hook, leader, sinker, flasher, or
bait) used with an automatic reel, bandit gear, buoy gear, handline, or
rod and reel must be disconnected and stowed separately from such
fishing gear. Sinkers must be disconnected from the down rigger and
stowed separately.'' The Council determined that specifying criteria
for transit and fishing gear stowage for vessels returning from The
Bahamas with fillets of dolphin, wahoo, or snapper-grouper species
would assist with the enforceability of the regulations and increase
consistency with the state of Florida's gear stowage regulations.
Comments and Responses
A total of three comment submissions were received on Amendments 7/
33 and the proposed rule from individuals and a state agency. The state
agency stated that it strongly supported the actions in
[[Page 80688]]
Amendments 7/33 and the proposed rule. Specific comments in the two
other comment submissions related to the actions contained in
Amendments 7/33 and the proposed rule, and NMFS' respective responses,
are summarized below.
Comment 1: Large-sized dolphin may be filleted into more than two
pieces per fish. The average size of dolphin fillets is large, and
therefore, these large fillets cannot be transported properly from The
Bahamas without destroying the quality of the meat.
Response: NMFS agrees that dolphin and wahoo can grow to large
sizes, that it is possible to fillet a dolphin into more than two
pieces per fish, and that cooler space may be limited on small boats.
At its March 2014 meeting, the Council's Dolphin Wahoo Advisory Panel
indicated that the quality of dolphin and wahoo caught on trips in The
Bahamas and brought through U.S. Federal waters as fillets would be
improved, because whole fish would not have to be stored with head and
fins intact. In addition, allowing fillets of these species would make
it easier for fishers in small boats to transport dolphin and wahoo
back through the U.S. EEZ from Bahamian waters. The Council also
determined that specifying two fillets as one fish for the purposes of
determining the recreational bag and possession limits will assist law
enforcement in enforcing these limits when applied to fishers with
fillets of dolphin onboard that were harvested in The Bahamas and
transiting through U.S. Federal waters.
Comment 2: Non-compliance with the landing fish intact exemption
will be an issue unless different recreational bag limit options are
considered, such as setting the bag limit by weight of fillets. For
example, a 20 lb (9 kg) per species per person would be a reasonable
bag limit well within the Bahamian recreational catch limits.
Response: NMFS disagrees. In developing Amendments 7/33, the
Council considered using weight of fillets for determining the bag
limit, but testimony from law enforcement officials and the U.S. Coast
Guard established that it is not practical to weigh fish at sea. The
Council discussed the issues of fish size and number of fillets
obtainable from a dolphin, and, given the overall positive public
support for allowing fillets, and balancing the needs for an effective
law enforcement program, the Council determined that the most
appropriate and enforceable means of determining compliance with
recreational bag limits was to count two fillets of dolphin as one
fish.
Comment 3: NMFS is violating the rights of U.S. flagged vessels by
not allowing fishing in U.S. Federal waters while in transit from The
Bahamas.
Response: NMFS disagrees. The final rule implementing Amendments 7/
33 provides an exemption to the existing requirement that dolphin and
wahoo and snapper-grouper species be maintained with the heads and fins
intact in the U.S. EEZ and not be in fillet form. If fishers on U.S.
flagged vessels transiting through the U.S. EEZ from The Bahamas choose
to be exempted from the requirement to maintain those species with
heads and fins intact, they must comply with the conditions of that
exemption, which include a prohibition on fishing in the U.S. EEZ. The
prohibition on fishing in the EEZ being implemented in this final rule
for fishers transiting from The Bahamas and in possession of dolphin
and wahoo fillets will make the regulations for these species
consistent with the existing transit provisions for snapper-grouper
species implemented by the final rule for Amendment 8 to the Snapper-
Grouper FMP (63 FR 38298, July 16, 1998). Additionally, the NMFS Office
of Law Enforcement has stated that it would be difficult to determine
if a U.S. flagged vessel with fillets of dolphin and wahoo on board,
and then fishing in the U.S. EEZ on return from The Bahamas, caught the
fish in The Bahamas.
Classification
The Regional Administrator, Southeast Region, NMFS, has determined
that this final rule is necessary for the conservation and management
of South Atlantic snapper-grouper and Atlantic dolphin and wahoo and is
consistent with the Amendments 7/33, the FMPs, the Magnuson-Stevens
Act, and other applicable law.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this rule would not
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities. The factual basis for this determination was published in the
proposed rule and is not repeated here. No comments were received
regarding the certification and NMFS has not received any new
information that would affect its determination. As a result, a final
regulatory flexibility analysis was not required and none was prepared.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Atlantic, Dolphin, Fillets, Fisheries, Fishing, Snapper-Grouper,
Wahoo.
Dated: December 21, 2015.
Eileen Sobeck,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 622 is amended
as follows:
PART 622--FISHERIES OF THE CARIBBEAN, GULF OF MEXICO, AND SOUTH
ATLANTIC
0
1. The authority citation for part 622 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
0
2. In Sec. 622.186, revise paragraph (b) to read as follows:
Sec. 622.186 Landing fish intact.
* * * * *
(b) In the South Atlantic EEZ, snapper-grouper lawfully harvested
in Bahamian waters are exempt from the requirement that they be
maintained with head and fins intact, provided that the skin remains
intact on the entire fillet of any snapper-grouper carcasses, valid
Bahamian fishing and cruising permits are on board the vessel, each
person on the vessel has a valid government passport with current
stamps and dates from The Bahamas, and the vessel is in transit through
the South Atlantic EEZ with fishing gear appropriately stowed. For the
purpose of this paragraph, a vessel is in transit through the South
Atlantic EEZ when it is on a direct and continuous course through the
South Atlantic EEZ and no one aboard the vessel fishes in the EEZ. For
the purpose of this paragraph, fishing gear appropriately stowed means
that terminal gear (i.e., hook, leader, sinker, flasher, or bait) used
with an automatic reel, bandit gear, buoy gear, handline, or rod and
reel must be disconnected and stowed separately from such fishing gear.
Sinkers must be disconnected from the down rigger and stowed
separately. See Sec. 622.187(a)(3) for the limit of snapper-grouper
fillets lawfully harvested from Bahamian waters that may transit
through the South Atlantic EEZ.
0
3. In Sec. 622.187, add paragraph (a)(3) to read as follows:
Sec. 622.187 Bag and possession limits.
(a) * * *
(3) In the South Atlantic EEZ, a vessel that lawfully harvests
snapper-grouper in Bahamian waters, as per Sec. 622.186 (b), must
comply with the bag and possession limits specified in this section.
For determining how many
[[Page 80689]]
snapper-grouper are on board a vessel in fillet form when harvested
lawfully in Bahamian waters, two fillets of snapper-grouper, regardless
of the length of each fillet, is equivalent to one snapper-grouper. The
skin must remain intact on the entire fillet of any snapper-grouper
carcass.
* * * * *
0
4. In Sec. 622.192, add paragraph (k) to read as follows:
Sec. 622.192 Restrictions on sale/purchase.
* * * * *
(k) Snapper-grouper possessed pursuant to the bag and possession
limits specified in Sec. 622.187(a)(3) may not be sold or purchased.
0
5. Revise Sec. 622.276 to read as follows:
Sec. 622.276 Landing fish intact.
(a) Dolphin or wahoo in or from the Atlantic EEZ must be maintained
with head and fins intact, except as specified in paragraph (b) of this
section. Such fish may be eviscerated, gilled, and scaled, but must
otherwise be maintained in a whole condition. The operator of a vessel
that fishes in the EEZ is responsible for ensuring that fish on that
vessel in the EEZ are maintained intact and, if taken from the EEZ, are
maintained intact through offloading ashore, as specified in this
section.
(b) In the Atlantic EEZ, dolphin or wahoo lawfully harvested in
Bahamian waters are exempt from the requirement that they be maintained
with head and fins intact, provided that the skin remains intact on the
entire fillet of any dolphin or wahoo carcasses, valid Bahamian fishing
and cruising permits are on board the vessel, each person on the vessel
has a valid government passport with current stamps and dates from The
Bahamas, and the vessel is in transit through the Atlantic EEZ with
fishing gear appropriately stowed. For the purpose of this paragraph, a
vessel is in transit through the Atlantic EEZ when it is on a direct
and continuous course through the Atlantic EEZ and no one aboard the
vessel fishes in the EEZ. For the purpose of this paragraph, fishing
gear appropriately stowed means that terminal gear (i.e., hook, leader,
sinker, flasher, or bait) used with an automatic reel, bandit gear,
buoy gear, handline, or rod and reel must be disconnected and stowed
separately from such fishing gear. Sinkers must be disconnected from
the down rigger and stowed separately.
0
6. In Sec. 622.277, revise paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) to read as
follows:
Sec. 622.277 Bag and possession limits.
* * * * *
(a) * * *
(1) Dolphin. (i) In the Atlantic EEZ--10, not to exceed 60 per
vessel, whichever is less, except on board a headboat, 10 per paying
passenger.
(ii) In the Atlantic EEZ and lawfully harvested in Bahamian waters
(as per Sec. 622.276(b))--10, not to exceed 60 per vessel, whichever
is less, except on board a headboat, 10 per paying passenger. For the
purposes of this paragraph, for determining how many dolphin are on
board a vessel in fillet form when harvested lawfully in Bahamian
waters, two fillets of dolphin, regardless of the length of each
fillet, is equivalent to one dolphin. The skin must remain intact on
the entire fillet of any dolphin carcass.
(2) Wahoo. (i) In the Atlantic EEZ--2.
(ii) In the Atlantic EEZ and lawfully harvested in Bahamian waters
(as per Sec. 622.276(b))--2. For the purposes of this paragraph, for
determining how many wahoo are on board a vessel in fillet form when
harvested lawfully in Bahamian waters, two fillets of wahoo, regardless
of the length of each fillet, is equivalent to one wahoo. The skin must
remain intact on the entire fillet of any wahoo carcass.
* * * * *
0
7. In Sec. 622.279, add paragraph (d) to read as follows:
Sec. 622.279 Restrictions on sale/purchase.
* * * * *
(d) Dolphin or wahoo possessed pursuant to the bag and possession
limits specified in Sec. 622.277(a)(1)(ii) and (a)(2)(ii) may not be
sold or purchased.
[FR Doc. 2015-32555 Filed 12-24-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P