[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 27297-27300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12548]
[[Page 27297]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 170413393-8487-02]
RIN 0648-BG83
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Modifications to Individual
Fishing Quota Programs
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: NMFS implements management measures described in Amendment 36A
to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources of the
Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) (Amendment 36A), as prepared by the Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). This final rule requires
owners or operators of federally permitted commercial Gulf reef fish
vessels landing any commercially harvested, federally managed reef fish
from the Gulf to provide notification prior to landing and to land at
approved locations; requires shares from the red snapper individual
fishing quota (IFQ) (RS-IFQ) program and the groupers and tilefishes
IFQ (GT-IFQ) program that are in non-activated IFQ accounts to be
returned to NMFS for redistribution; and allows NMFS to withhold a
portion of IFQ allocation at the start of a fishing year equal to an
anticipated commercial quota reduction. The purpose of this final rule
is to improve compliance and increase management flexibility in the RS-
IFQ and GT-IFQ programs, and increase the likelihood of achieving
optimum yield (OY) for Gulf reef fish stocks managed under these
programs.
DATES: This final rule is effective July 12, 2018, except for the
addition of Sec. 622.26(a)(2), which is effective on January 1, 2019.
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of Amendment 36A, which includes an
environmental assessment, a fishery impact statement, a regulatory
impact review, and a Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis may be
obtained from the Southeast Regional Office website at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/2017/A36A_comm_IFQ/am36Aindex.html.
Written comments regarding the burden-hour estimates or other
aspects of the collection-of-information requirement contained in this
final rule may be submitted to Adam Bailey, NMFS Southeast Regional
Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701; or to the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) by email to
[email protected], or by fax to 202-395-5806.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Hood, NMFS Southeast Regional
Office, telephone: 727-824-5305, email: [email protected]; IFQ
Customer Service, telephone: 1-866-425-7627, Monday through Friday from
8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., eastern time.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and the Council manage the Gulf reef
fish fishery under the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the Council and is
implemented by NMFS through regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the
authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
On February 21, 2018, NMFS published a notice of availability (NOA)
for Amendment 36A and requested public comment (83 FR 7447). On March
21, 2018, NMFS published a proposed rule for Amendment 36A and
requested public comment (83 FR 12326). The proposed rule and Amendment
36A outline the rationale for the actions contained in this final rule.
A summary of the management measures described in Amendment 36A and
implemented by this final rule is provided below.
Management Measures Contained in This Final Rule
This final rule requires that the owner or operator of a commercial
reef fish permitted vessel landing any commercially harvested Gulf reef
fish, or Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf, to
notify NMFS between 3 and 24 hours in advance of landing and to land at
approved locations. In addition, this final rule permanently returns to
NMFS any IFQ shares contained in RS-IFQ or GT-IFQ accounts that have
not been activated since the current web-based system was put in place
on January 1, 2010. Finally, this final rule allows NMFS to withhold
distribution of IFQ allocation on January 1, the beginning of the
fishing year, if a reduction in the commercial quota for any IFQ
species or multi-species group is expected to be implemented in that
same fishing year. The amount of IFQ allocation withheld from
distribution would equal the amount of the expected commercial quota
reduction.
Landing Notification
This final rule expands the requirement for an advance landing
notification to all commercial trips that land Gulf reef fish species
or Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf even if no
IFQ species are on board.
The vessel owner or operator is required to notify NMFS at least 3
hours, but no more than 24 hours, in advance of landing on each trip.
The landing notification will report the vessel identification number,
the date and time of landing, and the approved landing location. This
notification will be submitted via the vessel's existing onboard vessel
monitoring system (VMS), but could also be submitted by other NMFS
approved methods (e.g., by phone) if they are developed at a later
time. NMFS expects that requiring a notification in advance of landing
any federally managed reef fish from the Gulf will help deter fishermen
from illegally landing IFQ species or reporting IFQ species as another
species (e.g., red snapper reported as vermilion snapper), because law
enforcement and port agents will be informed in advance of all reef
fish trips returning to port and can meet vessels to inspect landings.
If any IFQ species are to be landed, all regulations under the
applicable IFQ program must be followed, including the more extensive
advance notice of landing report. Only one IFQ advance landing
notification covering both IFQ and non-IFQ Gulf reef fish species or
Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf is required on
such a trip.
Additional information about approved landing locations and
submitting additional landing locations to NMFS for approval is
described later in this final rule.
Non-Activated IFQ Shareholder Accounts
This final rule also addresses RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ shareholder
accounts that received shares through the initial apportionment when
each IFQ program began, but the accounts have never been accessed by
the shareholder since January 1, 2010, the initiation of the current
IFQ system. NMFS and the Council have attempted to notify account
holders with these non-activated IFQ accounts through phone calls,
certified letters, and discussion at public meetings. Although shares
in the non-activated accounts represent a small fraction of the total
shares, annual allocation assigned to these non-activated IFQ accounts
is not landed, and therefore, may prevent achieving
[[Page 27298]]
OY if not made available for use. This final rule will return the
shares from non-activated RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ accounts to NMFS for
redistribution. The Council intends to redistribute these shares to IFQ
program participants through a mechanism determined in Amendment 36B to
the FMP, which is currently under development.
For more information on how to activate an existing non-activated
IFQ account before this final rule is effective, persons may call the
IFQ Customer Service line at 1-866-425-7627, and select option 2 during
weekday business hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., eastern time (see FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section). In April 2018, NMFS sent
additional notification to holders of the non-activated IFQ accounts
via certified mail to advise them of this action and to provide an
opportunity for those individuals to activate their accounts.
Allocation
Finally, this final rule addresses how to distribute allocation to
IFQ shareholders in years in which there is an anticipated reduction of
the commercial quota. As a result of the time involved to develop
documents, consider alternatives, and solicit public feedback, this
situation would generally occur if the Council approved an action to
reduce the commercial quota of any IFQ species or multi-species share
category but NMFS could not complete the associated rulemaking before
January 1, the start of the fishing year. Under the IFQ programs,
annual allocation is distributed to IFQ shareholders on January 1, and
most IFQ program participants begin to use or transfer their allocation
early in each year. After shareholders begin transferring or landing
allocation, NMFS is not able to retroactively withdraw allocation from
shareholder accounts if a quota decrease became effective after the
beginning of the fishing year. This final rule allows NMFS to
anticipate a decrease in the quota of any IFQ species or multi-species
share categories after the start of a fishing year and withhold
distribution of quota equal to the amount of the expected decrease in
commercial quota. NMFS would distribute the remaining portion of the
annual allocation to shareholders on January 1. If a final rule to
implement the associated commercial quota reduction is not effective by
June 1 in the same fishing year, then NMFS would distribute the
withheld quota back to the current shareholders, as determined on the
date the withheld IFQ allocation is distributed.
Approved Landing Locations
As explained previously, this final rule requires vessel owners or
operators on commercial trips who harvest non-IFQ Gulf reef fish
species or Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf to
land at an approved landing location. To comply with this requirement,
current and potential fishery participants may submit additional
landing locations to NMFS for approval. Landing locations can be
submitted by calling IFQ Customer Service at any time (see contact
information above), or by submitting a Landing Location Request Form to
NMFS, which is available from http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/ifq/documents/pdfs/landing_location_request_form.pdf.
A list of currently approved landing locations for the IFQ programs
can be found at the IFQ website (portal.southeast.fisheries.noaa.gov/cs/main.html), under View Landing Locations. Any landing locations that
have been approved for use in the IFQ programs will also be approved to
land non-IFQ Gulf reef fish species or Florida Keys/East Florida
hogfish harvested in the Gulf. Therefore, NMFS suggests persons check
the list to determine if desired landing locations are currently in use
prior to submitting a landing location for approval.
Approved landing locations must be publicly and freely accessible
by land and water, and must have a street address or, if a particular
landing location has no street address on record, global positioning
system (GPS) coordinates for an identifiable geographic location
provided in degrees and decimal minutes. Other criteria used by NOAA's
Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) when approving locations are listed at
50 CFR 622.21(b)(5)(v) and 622.22(b)(5)(v), and are added by reference
to Sec. 622.26(a)(2)(v) through this final rule.
Comments and Responses
A total of 12 comments from 11 individuals were received on the
notice of availability and proposed rule for Amendment 36A. Three
comments supported the actions in Amendment 36A and the proposed rule
and four comments were not relevant to Amendment 36A or the proposed
rule. Specific comments related to the actions in Amendment 36A and the
proposed rule are grouped as appropriate and summarized below, followed
by NMFS' respective responses.
Comment 1: No change should be made to the IFQ program unless all
Federal reef fish permit holders can vote on the issue.
Response: NMFS disagrees. The RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ programs were
approved through referenda as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
However, there is no requirement that NMFS conduct a referendum before
the Council revises the IFQ programs as implemented through this final
rule. Federal Gulf reef fish permit holders as well as any other
interested persons were provided opportunities to submit written
comments or provide testimony at Council meetings and public hearings
as part of the Council's decision-making process. Further, NMFS
provided opportunities for public comment on Amendment 36A and the
proposed rule. These opportunities for comment were solicited not only
through the Federal Register, but also through Council and NMFS
outreach materials. All comments received were considered by the
Council and NMFS in the development of Amendment 36A and implementation
of the associated regulations.
Comment 2: The landing notification requirement for trips with non-
IFQ reef fish species is unnecessary, because VMS already documents
vessel position, and there are already reporting requirements in place
for fishermen and dealers. The landing notification requirement creates
an additional burden for commercial fishermen that make only 1-day
trips and will make landings more difficult.
Response: NMFS disagrees that the notification requirement is
unnecessary. The 5-year review of the RS-IFQ program identified
improving enforcement as a priority, and the landing notification is
designed to aid enforcement of both IFQ programs. Requiring additional
notification in advance of landing non-IFQ reef fish species or Florida
Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf means that law
enforcement will be alerted in advance of all reef fish trips returning
to port, and therefore can meet vessels to inspect landings. This is
expected to help to deter fishermen from illegally landing IFQ species
or reporting IFQ species as another species (e.g., red snapper reported
as vermilion snapper). NMFS does not expect this requirement to result
in a significant burden to fishermen. As described in Amendment 36A,
from 2007 to 2015, 80 to 91 percent of trips landing reef fish species
also landed IFQ species. Trips with IFQ species on board already have
to provide an advance notice of landing under the regulations for the
applicable IFQ program. Thus, this new
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requirement will apply to a relatively small percentage of additional
trips.
NMFS estimates that an advance notice of landing will take
approximately 3 minutes to complete for each trip. Therefore, NMFS does
not expect the advance landing notification to substantially affect
fishing operations for Gulf reef fish. The landing notification may be
amended, if necessary, as provided for in the regulatory text of this
final rule at 50 CFR 622.26(a)(2)(iv). In addition, because the window
for an advance landing notification is from 3 to 24 hours prior to
landing, flexibility is provided for fishermen that make only daily
trips to complete the advance landing notification when time permits.
Comment 3: Shares from non-activated RS-IFQ and GT-IFQ shareholder
accounts returned to NMFS should be redistributed by auction or issued
to owners of commercial Gulf reef fish permitted vessels who do not
have shares or allocation.
Response: As stated in the NOA and proposed rule for Amendment 36A,
the method for redistribution of the shares returned to NMFS is being
considered in Amendment 36B. Amendment 36B is under development by the
Council, which is currently considering alternatives for determining
how shares should be redistributed and who should receive those shares.
Classification
The Regional Administrator for the NMFS Southeast Region has
determined that this final rule is consistent with Amendment 36A, the
FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable laws.
This final rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of Executive Order 12866.
The Magnuson-Stevens Act provides the statutory basis for this
final rule. No duplicative, overlapping, or conflicting Federal rules
have been identified. A description of this final rule, why it is being
implemented, and the purposes of this final rule are contained in the
SUMMARY and SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION sections of this preamble. The
objectives of this rule are to prevent overfishing; to achieve, on a
continuing basis, the OY from federally managed reef fish stocks; and
to rebuild the red snapper stock that has been determined to be
overfished.
The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration (SBA) during the proposed rule stage that this final
rule, if adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a
substantial number of small entities. NMFS did not receive any comments
from SBA's Office of Advocacy or the public regarding the economic
analysis of Amendment 36A or the certification in the proposed rule. No
changes to this final rule were made in response to public comments.
The factual basis for the certification was published in the proposed
rule and is not repeated here. Because this final rule is not expected
to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small
entities, a final regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and
none has been prepared.
This final rule contains a collection-of-information requirement
that has been approved by OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA),
temporary control number 0648-0761. NMFS will merge the collection-of-
information requirement implemented by this final rule with the
existing, approved information collection under OMB Control Number
0648-0551, Southeast Region IFQ Programs. This final rule requires an
owner or operator of a vessel with a commercial Gulf reef fish permit
to submit a notification to NMFS on each trip prior to landing
exclusively non-IFQ Gulf reef fish species or Florida Keys/East Florida
hogfish harvested in the Gulf. Public reporting burden for the
requirement is estimated to average 3 minutes per applicable trip,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data
sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection information. Send comments on this burden
estimate or any other aspects of the collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing the burden, to the NMFS Southeast
Regional Office at the ADDRESSES above; or to OMB by email to
[email protected], or by fax to 202-395-5806.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is
required to respond to, and no person will be subject to penalty for
failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA, unless that collection of information displays
a currently valid OMB control number. All currently approved
collections of information may be viewed at http://www.cio.noaa.gov/services_programs/prasubs.html.
Changes to Codified Text From the Proposed Rule
In this final rule, NMFS modifies the language in Sec. Sec.
622.21(a)(4) and 622.22(a)(4) to more succinctly explain the amount of
IFQ allocation that NMFS may withhold at the beginning of a fishing
year if a reduction in the commercial quota of an IFQ species or multi-
species share category is expected to be implemented between January 1
and June 1 in the same fishing year. If this situation is expected to
occur, then the amount withheld will be equal to the expected reduction
of the commercial quota.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 622
Commercial, Fisheries, Fishing, Grouper, Gulf of Mexico, Individual
fishing quota, Red snapper, Tilefish.
Dated: June 6, 2018.
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 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. 622.21, revise paragraph (a)(4) and add paragraph (a)(6) to
read as follows:
Sec. 622.21 Individual fishing quota (IFQ) program for Gulf red
snapper.
(a) * * *
(4) IFQ allocation. IFQ allocation is the amount of Gulf red
snapper, in pounds gutted weight, an IFQ shareholder or allocation
holder is authorized to possess, land, or sell during a given fishing
year. IFQ allocation is derived at the beginning of each year by
multiplying a shareholder's IFQ share times the annual commercial quota
for Gulf red snapper. If the quota is increased after the beginning of
the fishing year, then IFQ allocation is derived by multiplying a
shareholder's IFQ share at the time of the quota increase by the amount
the annual commercial quota for red snapper is increased. If a
reduction in the commercial quota specified in Sec. 622.39(a)(1)(i) is
expected to occur after January 1, the beginning of the fishing year,
but before June 1 in that same fishing year, NMFS will withhold
distribution of IFQ allocation on January 1 in the amount equal to that
reduction. If a final rule to implement the commercial quota reduction
is not published in the Federal Register and effective by June 1, NMFS
will distribute withheld IFQ allocation of red snapper commercial quota
to current
[[Page 27300]]
shareholders based on shareholdings on the date the withheld IFQ
allocation is distributed.
* * * * *
(6) Returning IFQ shares. Any shares contained in IFQ accounts that
have never been activated since January 1, 2010, in the IFQ program are
returned permanently to NMFS on July 12, 2018.
* * * * *
0
3. In Sec. 622.22, revise paragraph (a)(4) and add paragraph (a)(9) to
read as follows:
Sec. 622.22 Individual fishing quota (IFQ) program for Gulf groupers
and tilefishes.
(a) * * *
(4) IFQ allocation. IFQ allocation is the amount of Gulf groupers
and tilefishes, in pounds gutted weight, an IFQ shareholder or
allocation holder is authorized to possess, land, or sell during a
given fishing year. IFQ allocation is derived at the beginning of each
year by multiplying a shareholder's IFQ share times the annual
commercial quota for Gulf groupers and tilefishes. If the quota is
increased after the beginning of the fishing year, then IFQ allocation
is derived by multiplying a shareholder's IFQ share at the time of the
quota increase by the amount the annual commercial quota for groupers
and tilefishes is increased. If a reduction in the applicable
commercial quota specified in Sec. 622.39(a)(1) is expected to occur
after January 1, the beginning of the fishing year, but before June 1
in that same fishing year, NMFS will withhold distribution of IFQ
allocation of the applicable groupers and tilefishes commercial quota
on January 1 in the amount equal to that reduction. If a final rule to
implement the commercial quota reduction is not published in the
Federal Register and effective by June 1, NMFS will distribute withheld
IFQ allocation of the applicable groupers and tilefishes commercial
quota to current shareholders based on the date the withheld IFQ
allocation is distributed.
* * * * *
(9) Returning IFQ shares. Any shares contained in IFQ accounts that
have never been activated since January 1, 2010, in the IFQ program are
returned permanently to NMFS on July 12, 2018.
* * * * *
0
4. In Sec. 622.26, revise paragraph (a) to read as follows:
Sec. 622.26 Recordkeeping and reporting.
(a) Commercial vessel owners and operators. (1) The owner or
operator of a vessel for which a commercial permit for Gulf reef fish
has been issued, as required under Sec. 622.20(a)(1), or whose vessel
fishes for or lands reef fish in or from state waters adjoining the
Gulf EEZ, who is selected to report by the SRD must maintain a fishing
record on a form available from the SRD. These completed fishing
records must be submitted to the SRD postmarked no later than 7 days
after the end of each fishing trip. If no fishing occurred during a
calendar month, a report so stating must be submitted on one of the
forms postmarked no later than 7 days after the end of that month.
Information to be reported is indicated on the form and its
accompanying instructions.
(2) Advance notice of landing--(i) General requirement. For the
purpose of this paragraph (a)(2), landing means to arrive at a dock,
berth, beach, seawall, or ramp. The owner or operator of a vessel
landing Gulf reef fish not managed under an IFQ program or Florida
Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the Gulf is responsible for
ensuring that NMFS is contacted at least 3 hours, but no more than 24
hours, in advance of landing to report the time, date, and location of
landing, and the vessel identification number (e.g., Coast Guard
registration number or state registration number). The vessel must land
at an approved landing location and within 1 hour after the time given
in the landing notification, except as provided in paragraph
(a)(2)(iii) of this section. A vessel landing Gulf reef fish managed
under an IFQ program must also comply with the requirements in
Sec. Sec. 622.21 and 622.22, as applicable.
(ii) Submitting an advance landing notification. Authorized methods
for contacting NMFS and submitting a completed landing notification
include the VMS unit, or another contact method approved by NMFS.
(iii) Landing prior to the notification time. The owner or operator
of a vessel that has completed a landing notification and submitted it
to NMFS may land prior to the notification time, only if an authorized
officer is present at the landing site, is available to meet the
vessel, and has authorized the owner or operator of the vessel to land
prior to the notification time.
(iv) Changes to a landing notification. The owner or operator of a
vessel who has submitted a landing notification to NMFS may make
changes to the notification by submitting a superseding notification.
If the initial superseding notification makes changes to the time of
landing that is later than the original time in the notification, the
vessel does not need to wait an additional 3 hours to land. If the
initial superseding notification makes changes to the landing location,
the time of landing is earlier than previously specified, or more than
one superseding notification is submitted on a trip, the vessel must
wait an additional 3 hours to land, except as provided in paragraph
(a)(2)(iii) of this section.
(v) Approved landing locations. Gulf reef fish not managed under an
IFQ program, and Florida Keys/East Florida hogfish harvested in the
Gulf, must be landed at an approved landing location. Landing locations
must be approved by the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement prior to a
vessel landing these species at these sites. Proposed landing locations
may be submitted to NMFS; however, new landing locations will be
approved only at the end of each calendar-year quarter. To have a
landing location approved by the end of the calendar-year quarter, it
must be submitted at least 45 days before the end of the calendar-year
quarter. NMFS will evaluate the proposed sites based on, but not
limited to, the criteria at Sec. Sec. 622.21(b)(5)(v) and
622.22(b)(5)(v).
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2018-12548 Filed 6-11-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P