16282 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 73 / Monday, April 16, 2018 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE information (e.g., name, address, etc.), total removals of red snapper exceeded confidential business information, or the ABC in 2014, 2015, and 2016 due to National Oceanic and Atmospheric otherwise sensitive information estimates of red snapper that Administration submitted voluntarily by the sender will were incidentally harvested as be publicly accessible. NMFS will while targeting other species, there was 50 CFR Part 622 accept anonymous comments (enter no allowable harvest in 2015 and 2016. ‘‘N/A’’ in required fields if you wish to In 2017, as a result of new scientific RIN 0648–BH39 remain anonymous). information regarding the red snapper of the Caribbean, Gulf of Electronic copies of Amendment 43 stock, NMFS allowed limited Mexico, and South Atlantic; Snapper- may be obtained from commercial and recreational harvest of Grouper of the South Atlantic www.regulations.gov or the Southeast red snapper by a temporary rule through Region; Amendment 43 Regional Office website at http:// emergency action (82 FR 50839, sero.nmfs.noaa.gov. Amendment 43 November 2, 2017). AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries includes an environmental assessment, Status of the Stock Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and regulatory impact review, Regulatory Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Flexibility Act analysis, and fishery The most recent for Commerce. impact statement. South Atlantic red snapper, SEDAR 41 (2017), was completed in 2016 and ACTION: Notice of availability; request FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: subsequently revised in 2017. SEDAR for comments. Frank Helies, NMFS Southeast Regional 41 (2017) evaluated data through 2014 Office, telephone: 727–824–5305, or and determined the red snapper stock SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery email: [email protected]. Management Council (South Atlantic was overfished and that was SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council) submitted Amendment 43 to occurring. The stock assessment Magnuson-Stevens Fishery the Fishery Management Plan for the indicated that overfishing was occurring Conservation and Management Act Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South because the estimated fishing mortality (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each Atlantic Region (FMP) for review, based on the average over the last three regional fishery management council to approval, and implementation by years of the assessment represented in submit FMPs or amendments to NMFS NMFS. Amendment 43 would allow for the model (2012–2014) exceeded the for review and approval, partial the harvest of red snapper in South maximum fishing mortality threshold. approval, or disapproval. The Atlantic Federal waters by revising red Though limited red snapper harvest was Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires snapper commercial and recreational allowed during those years, a large that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or annual catch limits (ACL). The purpose majority of the estimated fishing amendment, publish an announcement of Amendment 43 is to minimize mortality occurred from very large and in the Federal Register notifying the adverse socio-economic effects to uncertain dead discard estimates when public that the FMP or amendment is fishermen and fishing communities that fishermen were targeting red snapper available for review and comment. utilize red snapper as part of the and species that co-occur with red Amendment 43 to the FMP was snapper-grouper fishery, while snapper, such as vermilion snapper, gag, prepared by the South Atlantic Council preventing overfishing from occurring red grouper, black sea bass, gray and, if approved, would be and continuing to rebuild the red triggerfish, greater amberjack, and implemented by NMFS through snapper stock. scamp. The review of the SEDAR 41 regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the stock assessment indicated the estimate DATES: Written comments on authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. of recreational discards was the greatest Amendment 43 must be received by Background source on uncertainty in the stock June 15, 2018. assessment. It was acknowledged in the ADDRESSES: You may submit comments Harvest of red snapper from South assessment that discarding of red on Amendment 43, identified by Atlantic Federal waters was prohibited snapper has increased over time due to ‘‘NOAA–NMFS–2017–0148,’’ by either in 2010 through a temporary interim changes in minimum landing size to 20 of the following methods: rule and then through Amendment 17A inches (51 cm) in 1992, increases in • Electronic submission: Submit all to the FMP when the stock was abundance of young from above- electronic comments via the Federal determined to be overfished and average year classes in some recent e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to undergoing overfishing (Southeast Data, years, the introduction of the www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D= Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) 15, moratorium in 2010 and 2011, and the NOAA-NMFS-2017-0148, click the 2009)(74 FR 63673, December 4, 2009; small commercial catch limits and ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, complete the 75 FR 76874, December 9, 2010). recreational in the mini required fields, and enter or attach your Amendment 17A also implemented a seasons for 2012 onwards. Because most comments. 35-year red snapper rebuilding plan that of the catch is now discarded, the • Mail: Submit written comments to began in 2010, and set the red snapper number of discards is dependent upon Frank Helies, NMFS Southeast Regional stock ACL at zero. In 2013, Amendment fisher recalls, and these estimates are Office, 263 13th Avenue South, St. 28 to the FMP established a process that expanded based on small sample size; Petersburg, FL 33701. allowed red snapper harvest (ACL thus, the quality of total fishery Instructions: Comments sent by any greater than zero) if total removals removals estimates is poor and other method, to any other address or (landings plus dead discards) were less uncertain, which will impact estimation individual, or received after the end of than the acceptable biological catch of stock size and fishing mortality. the comment period, may not be (ABC) in the previous fishing year (78 In May 2016, the Council’s Scientific considered by NMFS. All comments FR 44461, July 24, 2013). Using the and Statistical Committee (SSC) received are a part of the public record process established through reviewed SEDAR 41 (2017), and had an and will generally be posted for public Amendment 28, limited harvest of red extensive discussion of the uncertainties viewing on www.regulations.gov snapper was allowed in 2012, 2013, and associated with the assessment. The without change. All personal identifying 2014. However, because the estimated SSC stated that the assessment was

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based on the best scientific information uncertainty in the assessment, and Additionally, the ACL proposed in available, but noted the assessment advising the Council that sufficient Amendment 43 is less than the ABC findings were highly uncertain steps had been taken to address provided by the SSC from SEDAR 41, in regarding to what extent overfishing was overfishing of red snapper while accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens occurring (i.e., the actual numerical continuing to rebuild the stock through Act and the National Standard 1 value of the current fishing mortality harvest prohibitions in 2015 and 2016. Guidelines. See 16 U.S.C. 1852(h)(6), 50 estimate), and regarding the measures of This determination is supported by a CFR 600.310(f)(4)(i). discards. The SSC indicated that the significant increase in stock Action Contained in Amendment 43 most significant sources of uncertainty since 2010 to levels not seen since the in the assessment include: The stock- 1970’s, and increasing abundance of Based on the actions in Amendment recruitment relationship, natural older age classes (SEDAR 41 2017). 28, the FMP currently contains total mortality at age, the age structure of the Additional support comes from fishery- ABCs that are then divided, with one unfished population, the composition independent information collected component for landings and another for and magnitude of recreational discards through the Southeast Reef Fish Survey discards. Beginning in 2018, (where dead discards greatly (SERFS) program, and the East Coast Amendment 43 would change the outnumbered the landings during the Fisheries Independent Monitoring process for determining the red snapper years 2012 through 2014), and potential information conducted by Florida Fish ACL and allowable harvest that was changes in (CPUE). and Wildlife Conservation Commission established in Amendment 28. Limited The SSC developed its ABC (FWCC). According to the SERFS, the commercial and recreational harvest recommendations based on SEDAR 41, relative abundance (CPUE) of red would be allowed by implementing a and the total ABC recommendation for snapper has increased since 2009, total ACL of 42,510 fish, which is based 2018 is 53,000 red snapper. reaching the highest level observed in on the landings observed during the The projections of yield streams used the entire time series (1990–2016) in limited red snapper season in 2014. in SEDAR 41 (2017) included both 2016. In addition, the SERFS program This ACL is less than the SSC’s most landings and dead discards, which were notified the Council at the December recent total ABC recommendation of added to obtain an estimate of the total 2017 meeting that red snapper relative 53,000 red snapper, and is less than the removals. The SSC divided its 53,000 abundance, as measured through 79,000 fish landings component of the fish ABC recommendation into landed fishery-independent monitoring, 135,000 fish total ABC projection for 2018 in Amendment 28. The total ACL fish (18,000) and discarded fish increased 18 percent from 2016 to 2017. is divided into a commercial sector ACL (35,000). Because of the recent closures According to the results of FWCC’s of 124,815 lb (56,615 kg), round weight, in the fishery, in January 2017, the study, CPUE for red snapper for hook and a recreational sector ACL of 29,656 Council requested that the NMFS gear (surveyed in 2012, 2014, 2016, and fish, based on the current sector Southeast Fishery Science Center 2017) and the standardized index of allocation ratio developed by the (SEFSC) provide red snapper abundance (surveyed from 2014–2017) Council for red snapper (28.07 percent projections under the assumption that was highest in 2017. The FWCC data commercial and 71.93 percent all fish caught are subsequently also showed a greater number of large recreational). The commercial sector’s discarded, believing that such red snapper and a broader range of ages projections would be more informative ACL is set in pounds of fish because the in recent years, which suggests commercial sector reports landings in for management. The SEFSC advised the rebuilding progress of the red snapper Council in February 2017 that the weight, and therefore, weight is a more stock. Additionally, the increase in requested projections were not accurate representation of commercial relative abundance of red snapper appropriate for management because the landings. For the commercial sector, one indicated by the fishery-independent uncertainty in the stock assessment red snapper is equivalent to 9.71 lb CPUE indices has taken place despite inhibits the ability to set an ABC that (4.40 kg), round weight. The ACL for the landings during the limited seasons in can be effectively monitored. The recreational sector is specified in 2012–2014 and despite the large number SEFSC further stated in an April 2017 numbers of fish, because the Council of estimated red snapper dead discards letter to the Council, that the use of an determined that numbers of fish are a during harvest restrictions for red ABC based primarily on fishery discards more reliable estimate for that sector snapper since 2010. for monitoring the effectiveness of than specifying the ACL in weight of management action is likely ineffective As a result of the new scientific fish. Because surveys that estimate due to the high level of uncertainty in information regarding the red snapper recreational landings collect measures of discards. NMFS has stock, NMFS allowed limited harvest of information on numbers of fish and determined that given the extreme red snapper beginning November 2, convert those numbers to weights using uncertainty associated with the red 2017, by a temporary rule through biological samples that are sometimes snapper recreational discard estimates, emergency action (82 FR 50839, limited, the Council believes that there it is not appropriate to rely on those November 2, 2017). The amount of can be uncertainty in estimates of discard estimates for the management of harvest authorized in the temporary rule recreational landings by weight. red snapper, and the division of the was equivalent to the amount of NMFS and the Council have specified SSC’s ABC recommendation of 53,000 observed landings in the 2014 fishing several management measures that fish into landed fish and discarded fish season. Amendment 43 would allow the function as accountability measures is unwarranted. same amount of harvest annually (AMs) to constrain red snapper harvest The results of SEDAR 41 (2017) using beginning in 2018. Therefore, NMFS to these ACLs, including limited data through 2014, indicated that the determined that allowing that same commercial and recreational red red snapper stock was still overfished amount of harvest that occurred in 2014 snapper seasons. The harvest of red but was rebuilding in accordance with is unlikely to result in overfishing or snapper would begin in July, with the the rebuilding plan. NMFS sent the change the red snapper rebuilding time opening and closing of the recreational Council a letter on March 3, 2017, period. NMFS has determined that sector specified before the recreational noting these results, the SEFSC’s Amendment 43 is based on the best season begins and would consist of concerns regarding the substantial scientific information available. weekends only (Friday, Saturday,

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Sunday). The commercial red snapper a tropical storm or hurricane affecting received by June 15, 2018. Comments season would close when the the area of the Council’s jurisdiction. received during the respective comment commercial ACL is met or projected to periods, whether specifically directed to Proposed Rule for Amendment 43 be met. The length of the recreational Amendment 43 or the proposed rule, red snapper season would be projected A proposed rule that would will be considered by NMFS in the and announced before the start of the implement Amendment 43 has been decision to approve, disapprove, or season, based on catch rate estimates drafted. In accordance with the partially approve Amendment 43. from previous years. In addition to Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is Comments received after the comment authorizing commercial and recreational evaluating the proposed rule to periods will not be considered by NMFS harvest by setting sector ACLs and AMs, determine whether it is consistent with in this decision. All comments received Amendment 43 would retain the current the FMP, Amendment 43, the by NMFS on Amendment 43 or the commercial trip limit of 75 lb (34 kg), Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other proposed rule during their respective gutted weight, and the recreational bag applicable laws. If that determination is comment periods will be addressed in limit of 1 fish per person per day. No affirmative, NMFS will publish the the final rule. size limits would be implemented for proposed rule in the Federal Register Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. either sector through Amendment 43 in for public review and comment. an effort to decrease regulatory discards Dated: April 11, 2018. Consideration of Public Comments (fish returned to the water because they Jennifer M. Wallace, are below the minimum size limit). The The Council has submitted Acting Director, Office of Sustainable NMFS Regional Administrator has the Amendment 43 for Secretarial review, Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. authority to delay the opening of red approval, and implementation. [FR Doc. 2018–07866 Filed 4–13–18; 8:45 am] snapper fishing seasons in the event of Comments on Amendment 43 must be BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

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