Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Approval of 2021 and 2022 Sector Operations Plans and Allocation of 2021 Northeast Multispecies Annual Catch Entitlements

• Published date: 31 March 2021
• Citation: 86 FR 16686
• Record Number: 2021-06513
• Section: Proposed rules
• Court: National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration

16686

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Proposed Rules

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

PRA@fcc.gov or contact Nicole Ongele at

(202) 418–2991.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

:

Correction

In proposed rule FR Doc. 2021–03043,

beginning on page 9894 in the issue of

February 17, 2021, make the following

correction in the Dates section. On page

9894 in the second column, the second

sentence is corrected to read:

‘‘Written comments on the Paperwork

Reduction Act proposed information

collection requirements must be

submitted by the public, Office of

Management and Budget (OMB), and

other interested parties on or before

June 1, 2021.’’

Federal Communications Commission.

Marlene Dortch,

Secretary, Office of the Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2021–06451 Filed 3–30–21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket No. 21–71; RM–11887; DA 21–

269; FR ID 17576]

Television Broadcasting Hannibal,

Missouri

AGENCY

: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION

: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY

: The Video Division has before

it a petition for rulemaking filed

November 27, 2020 (Petition) by KHQA

Licensee, LLC (Licensee), the licensee of

KHQA–TV (CBS), channel 7, Hannibal,

Missouri. The Licensee requests the

substitution of channel 22 for channel 7

at Hannibal, Missouri in the digital

television (DTV) Table of Allotments.

DATES

: Comments must be filed on or

before April 30, 2021 and reply

comments on or before May 17, 2021.

ADDRESSES

: Federal Communications

Commission, Office of the Secretary, 45

L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. In

addition to filing comments with the

FCC, interested parties should serve

counsel for petitioner as follows: Paul

A. Cicelski, Esq., Lerman Senter PLLC,

2001 L Street NW, Washington, DC

20036.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

Joyce Bernstein, Media Bureau, at (202)

418–1647 or Joyce Bernstein@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

: In support

of its channel substitution request, the

Licensee states that the Commission has

recognized that VHF channels have

certain propagation characteristics

which may cause reception issues for

some viewers, and that the reception of

VHF signals require larger antennas

relative to UHF channels. According to

the Licensee, KHQA–TV has received

numerous complaints from viewers

unable to receive its signal and the

Licensee’s channel substitution

proposal will result in more effective

building penetration for indoor antenna

reception and greatly improve the

Station’s ability to provide ATSC 3.0

service to homes, vehicles, and portable

devices. The Licensee further states that

there would be no loss of service. We

believe that the Licensee’s channel

substitution proposal warrants

consideration. Channel 22 can be

substituted for channel 7 at Hannibal,

Missouri as proposed, in compliance

with the principal community coverage

requirements of the Commission’s rules

at coordinates 39–58–22.0 N and 91–19–

55.0 W. In addition, we find that this

channel change meets the technical

requirements set forth in our

regulations.

This is a synopsis of the

Commission’s Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 21–71;

RM–11887; DA 21–269, adopted March

4, 2021, and released March 4, 2021.

The full text of this document is

available for download at https://

www.fcc.gov/edocs. To request materials

in accessible formats (braille, large

print, computer diskettes, or audio

recordings), please send an email to

FCC504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer &

Government Affairs Bureau at (202)

418–0530 (VOICE), (202) 418–0432

(TTY).

This document does not contain

information collection requirements

subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995, Public Law 104–13. In addition,

therefore, it does not contain any

proposed information collection burden

‘‘for small business concerns with fewer

than 25 employees,’’ pursuant to the

Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of

2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(4). Provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of 1980, 5 U.S.C. 601–

612, do not apply to this proceeding.

Members of the public should note

that all ex parte contacts are prohibited

from the time a notice of proposed

rulemaking is issued to the time the

matter is no longer subject to

Commission consideration or court

review, see 47 CFR 1.1208. There are,

however, exceptions to this prohibition,

which can be found in § 1.1204(a) of the

Commission’s rules, 47 CFR 1.1204(a).

See §§ 1.415 and 1.420 of the

Commission’s rules for information

regarding the proper filing procedures

for comments, 47 CFR 1.415 and 1.420.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

Television.

Federal Communications Commission.

Thomas Horan,

Chief of Staff, Media Bureau.

Proposed Rule

For the reasons discussed in the

preamble, the Federal Communications

Commission proposes to amend 47 CFR

part 73 as follows:

PART 73—RADIO BROADCAST

SERVICE

■1. The authority citation for part 73

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 155, 301, 303,

307, 309, 310, 334, 336, 339.

■2. In § 73.622 (i) amend the Post-

Transition Table of DTV Allotments

under Missouri by revising the entry for

Hannibal to read as follows:

§ 73.622 Digital television table of

allotments.

* * * * *

(i) * * *

Community Channel No.

*****

Missouri

*****

Hannibal ................................ 22

*****

[FR Doc. 2021–06405 Filed 3–30–21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 210324–0065]

RIN 0648–BK26

Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;

Fisheries of the Northeastern United

States; Northeast Multispecies

Fishery; Approval of 2021 and 2022

Sector Operations Plans and

Allocation of 2021 Northeast

Multispecies Annual Catch

Entitlements

AGENCY

: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

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16687

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Proposed Rules

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION

: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY

: We propose to approve sector

operations plans and contracts, and

grant regulatory exemptions for fishing

years 2021 and 2022, provide

preliminary Northeast multispecies

annual catch entitlements to approved

sectors for fishing year 2021, amend

regulations required to administer

electronic monitoring, and announce

2021 default specifications for seven

Northeast multispecies stocks. Approval

of sector operations plans and contracts

is necessary to allocate annual catch

entitlements to the sectors for sectors to

operate. This action is intended to allow

limited access permit holders to

continue to operate or form sectors, as

authorized under the Northeast

Multispecies Fishery Management Plan,

and to exempt sectors from certain effort

control regulations to improve the

efficiency and economics of sector

vessels. We also announce our

determination that electronic

monitoring is sufficient for use instead

of at-sea monitors to meet sector

monitoring and reporting requirements.

Lastly, we announce default

specifications for Gulf of Maine winter

flounder, Southern New England/Mid-

Atlantic winter flounder, redfish, ocean

pout, Atlantic wolffish, Eastern Georges

Bank cod, and Eastern Georges Bank

haddock.

DATES

: Written comments must be

received on or before April 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES

: You may submit comments

on this document, identified by NOAA–

NMFS–2021–0024, by the following

method:

•Electronic Submission: Submit all

electronic public comments via the

Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to

www.regulations.gov and enter NOAA–

NMFS–2021–0024 in the Search box.

Click on the ‘‘Comment’’ icon, complete

the required fields, and enter or attach

your comments.

Instructions: 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 by NMFS. 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, etc.),

confidential business information, or

otherwise sensitive information

submitted voluntarily by the sender will

be publicly accessible. NMFS will

accept anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/

A’’ in the required fields if you wish to

remain anonymous).

Copies of each sector’s proposed

operations plan and contract are

available from the NMFS Greater

Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office:

Contact Claire Fitz-Gerald at Claire.Fitz-

Gerald@noaa.gov and Kyle Molton at

Kyle.Molton@noaa.gov. These

documents are also accessible via the

Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov.

To review Federal Register

documents referenced in this rule, you

can visit: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/management-

plan/northeast-multispecies-

management-plan.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

Claire Fitz-Gerald, Fishery Policy

Analyst, (978) 281–9255.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

:

Background

The Northeast Multispecies Fishery

Management Plan (FMP) defines a

sector as a group of persons holding

limited access Northeast multispecies

permits who have voluntarily entered

into a contract and agree to certain

fishing restrictions for a specified period

of time, and which has been granted a

TAC(s) [sic] in order to achieve

objectives consistent with applicable

FMP goals and objectives. A sector must

be comprised of at least three Northeast

multispecies permits issued to at least

three different persons, none of whom

have any common ownership interest in

the permits, vessels, or businesses

associated with the permits issued [to]

the other two or more persons in that

sector. Sectors are self-selecting,

meaning each sector can choose its

members.

The Northeast multispecies sector

management system allocates a portion

of the Northeast multispecies stocks to

each sector. These annual sector

allocations are known as annual catch

entitlements (ACE) and are based on the

collective fishing history of a sector’s

members. Sectors may receive

allocations of large-mesh Northeast

multispecies stocks with the exception

of Atlantic halibut, windowpane

flounder, Atlantic wolffish, and ocean

pout, which are non-allocated species

managed under separate effort controls.

ACEs are portions of a stock’s annual

catch limit (ACL) available to

commercial Northeast multispecies

vessels. A sector determines how to

harvest its ACE.

Because sectors elect to receive an

allocation under a quota-based system,

the FMP grants sector vessels several

‘‘universal’’ exemptions from the FMP’s

effort controls. These universal

exemptions apply to: Trip limits on

allocated stocks; Northeast multispecies

days-at-sea (DAS) restrictions; the

requirement to use a 6.5-inch (16.5-

centimeters (cm)) mesh codend when

fishing with selective gear on Georges

Bank (GB); and portions of the Gulf of

Maine (GOM) Cod Protection Closures.

The FMP prohibits sectors from

requesting exemptions from permitting

restrictions, gear restrictions designed to

minimize habitat impacts, and most

reporting requirements.

In addition to the approved sectors,

there are several state-operated permit

banks, which receive allocations based

on the history of the permits owned by

the states. The final rule implementing

Amendment 17 to the FMP allowed a

state-operated permit bank to receive an

allocation without needing to comply

with the administrative and procedural

requirements for sectors (77 FR 16942;

March 23, 2012). Instead, permit banks

are required to submit a list of

participating permits to us, as specified

in the permit bank’s Memorandum of

Agreement, to determine the ACE

allocated to the permit bank. These

allocations may be leased to fishermen

enrolled in sectors. State-operated

permit banks are no longer approved

through the sector approval process, but

current state-operated permit banks

contribute to the total allocation under

the sector system.

We received operations plans and

preliminary contracts for fishing years

2021 and 2022 from 16 sectors. The

operations plans are similar to

operations plans and contracts

previously approved for prior fishing

years. The operations plans include 19

exemptions previously requested by

sectors, and approved by NMFS, in

fishing year 2020. One sector’s

operations plan also includes a new

exemption request for fishing year 2021.

We have made a preliminary

determination that the 16 sector

operations plans and contracts that we

received, and the 19 previously

approved regulatory exemptions

requested, are consistent with the FMP’s

goals and objectives, and meet sector

requirements outlined in the regulations

at § 648.87. We are not approving the

new sector exemption requested for

fishing year 2021. Copies of the

operations plans and contracts, and the

environmental assessment (EA), are

available at: http://www.regulations.gov

and from NMFS (see

ADDRESSES

).

This rulemaking also announces our

determination that electronic

monitoring (EM) is sufficient for use

instead of at-sea monitors (ASM) to

meet sector monitoring requirements.

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Proposed Rules

This action implements minor

regulatory changes required to

administer EM. These changes are

implemented under our section 305(d)

authority in the Magnuson-Stevens Ace

to make changes necessary to carry out

the FMP. We are implementing these

changes in conjunction with the sector

rule for expediency purposes.

Catch Limits for Fishing Year 2021

Previously Established Catch Limits

Last year, Framework 59 to the FMP

set fishing year 2021 catch limits for 15

groundfish stocks (85 FR 45794; July 30,

2020). The 2021 catch limits for most

stocks remain the same as, or similar, to

2020 limits. Framework 59 did not

specify a 2021 catch limit for GOM

winter flounder, Southern New

England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) winter

flounder, redfish, ocean pout, Atlantic

wolffish, Eastern GB cod, or Eastern GB

haddock. Eastern GB cod and haddock

are management units of the GB cod and

GB haddock stocks that NMFS manages

jointly with Canada, and the shared

quota is set annually.

This year, in Framework 61 to the

FMP, the Council adopted new or

adjusted fishing year 2021 catch limits

for: GB haddock; GB yellowtail

flounder; GB winter flounder; GOM

winter flounder; SNE/MA winter

flounder; redfish; Northern

windowpane flounder; Southern

windowpane flounder; ocean pout;

Atlantic halibut; and Atlantic wolffish.

Framework 61 would set 2021 catch

limits for the two U.S./Canada stocks

(Eastern GB cod and Eastern GB

haddock). It would adjust the

breakdown of sub-components for GB

cod, GOM cod, SNE/MA yellowtail

flounder, CC/GOM yellowtail flounder,

witch flounder, and white hake.

Framework 61 also included the

exemption for sector vessels to target

redfish with codend mesh as small as

5.5 inches (13.97 cm) as a universal

exemption. We are working to publish

a proposed rule to request comments on

the Framework 61 measures once the

Council submits the action to us for

review and approval. We do not expect

we will not be able to implement

Framework 61 measures, if approved,

before May 1, 2021.

As a result, this rule announces the

2021 catch limits set in Framework 59

that would be effective on May 1, 2021,

including preliminary sector and

common pool allocations based on final

2020 fishing year rosters (Table 1). If we

approve Framework 61, the 2021 catch

limits announced in this rule for these

stocks will change.

The Framework 59 fishing year 2021

ACL for GB yellowtail flounder is 95.4

metric tons (mt), which will be in place

on May 1. The Council recommended a

fishing year 2021 ACL of 63.6 mt for GB

yellowtail flounder in Framework 61.

This is a 33-percent decrease, which

will go into effect after May 1 if

Framework 61 is approved. The Council

also revised the fishing year 2021 ACL

for GOM cod to 270.4 mt. This a 2-

percent decrease from the fishing year

2021 ACL previously set in Framework

59. The adjustments are based on the

recommendation of the Transboundary

Management Guidance Committee,

which is the joint U.S./Canada

management body that meets annually

to recommend shared quotas for the

three transboundary stocks. The

Council’s recommendations will be

further discussed in the Framework 61

proposed rule. We are highlighting these

changes in this rule because the GB

yellowtail flounder and GOM cod sector

allocations proposed in this rule are

based on the higher 2021 catch limits

previously approved in Framework 59.

If the Council’s recommended catch

limits become final with no changes,

ACE for these stocks will be reduced

when Framework 61 is implemented.

Default Catch Limits

This rule also announces default

catch limits for GOM winter flounder,

SNE/MA winter flounder, redfish, ocean

pout, Atlantic wolffish, Eastern GB cod,

and Eastern GB haddock. These stocks

do not already have a catch limit in

place for fishing year 2021. The

groundfish regulations implement

default catch limits for any stock for

which final specifications are not in

place by the beginning of the fishing

year on May 1. The FMP’s default

specifications provision sets catch at 35

percent of the previous year’s (2020)

catch limits, except in instances where

the default catch limit would exceed the

Council’s recommendation. The fishing

year 2021 state waters and other sub-

components specified for redfish in

Framework 59 exceed the Council’s

fishing year 2021 redfish

recommendation in Framework 61.

These sub-components would be

reduced accordingly. The default catch

limit would be effective from May 1

through July 31, or until the final rule

for Framework 61 is implemented if

prior to July 31. To comply with these

regulations and minimize impacts on

the fishery we are announcing these

default specifications. If Framework 61

is not in place on or before July 31, all

fishing for these stocks would be

prohibited beginning August 1.

T

ABLE

1—N

ORTHEAST

M

ULTISPECIES

C

ATCH

L

IMITS FOR

2021

Stock Total ACL

Groundfish

sub-ACL

Preliminary

sector

sub-ACL

Preliminary

common pool

sub-ACL

Recreational

sub-ACL

Midwater

trawl

fishery

Scallop

fishery Small-mesh

fisheries State waters

sub-component Other

sub-component

GB Cod* .................................. 1,234 1,073 1,041 31 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 19 142

GOM Cod* ............................... 523 468 267 9 193 ..................... ..................... ..................... 48 7

GB Haddock* ........................... 72,699 70,892 69,465 1,428 ..................... 1,424 ..................... ..................... 0 383

GOM Haddock* ....................... 15,843 15,575 10,022 258 5,295 156 ..................... ..................... 56 56

GB Yellowtail Flounder* .......... 116 95 92 3 ..................... ..................... 19 2 0 0

SNE/MA Yellowtail Flounder* .. 21 15 12 3 ..................... ..................... 2 ..................... 0 4

CC/GOM Yellowtail Flounder* 787 688 656 32 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 58 41

American Plaice* ..................... 2,740 2,682 2,611 71 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 29 29

Witch Flounder* ....................... 1,414 1,310 1,275 35 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 44 59

GB Winter Flounder* ............... 545 522 502 21 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 0 22

GOM Winter Flounder* ............ 151 100 95 5 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 48 2

SNE/MA Winter Flounder* ...... 245 189 166 22 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 13 43

Redfish* ................................... 3,973 3,931 3,880 51 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 0 0

White Hake* ............................ 2,041 2,019 1,995 24 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 11 11

Pollock* .................................... 21,047 19,282 19,092 190 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 882 882

N. Windowpane Flounder* ...... 55 38 na 38 ..................... ..................... 12 ..................... 1 5

S. Windowpane Flounder* ...... 412 48 na 48 ..................... ..................... 143 ..................... 26 196

Ocean Pout* ............................ 42 32 na 32 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 0 9

Atlantic Halibut* ....................... 102 77 na 77 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 21 4

Atlantic Wolffish ....................... 29 29 na 29 ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... 0 0

*These catch limits are based on fishing year 2021 Framework 59 and/or default specifications, and will be replaced when the final rule for Framework 61 becomes effective, if approved.

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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Proposed Rules

Sector Allocations

The sector allocations proposed in

this rule are based on the 2021 catch

limits established in Framework 59 and

final fishing year 2020 sector rosters.

Regulations require that sectors submit

membership information to us on

December 1 prior to the start of the

fishing year, unless instructed

otherwise. The Regional Administrator

has determined that the December 1

enrollment deadline is not possible

because we had yet to distribute the

annual letter describing each vessel’s

potential contribution to a sector’s quota

for the upcoming fishing year. We

distributed the letters in early February

2021. The deadline to enroll in a sector

is approximately 4 weeks later, on

March 8, 2021, although sectors may set

a more restrictive deadline for their

members. Because sector enrollment has

been stable and consistent since the

sector program was enacted, we are

using fishing year 2020 rosters as a

proxy for fishing year 2021 sector

membership to calculate fishing year

2021 projected allocations in this

proposed rule.

Any permits that change ownership

after the enrollment deadline

determined by the Regional

Administrator as described above retain

the ability to join a sector through April

30, 2021. All permits enrolled in a

sector, and the vessels associated with

those permits, have until April 30, 2021,

to withdraw from a sector and fish in

the common pool for fishing year 2021.

For fishing year 2022, we will set

similar roster deadlines, notify permit

holders of the fishing year 2022

deadlines, and allow permit holders to

change sectors separate from the annual

sector operations plans approval

process.

We calculate the sector’s allocation

for each stock by summing its members’

potential sector contributions (PSC) for

a stock and then multiplying that total

percentage by the available commercial

sub-ACL for that stock. Table 2 shows

the projected total fishing year 2021 PSC

by stock for the 16 sectors approved to

operate in fishing year 2020 that

submitted operations plans for 2021.

Tables 3 and 4 show the initial

allocations that each sector would be

allocated for fishing year 2021 based on

their final fishing year 2020 rosters and

the fishing year 2021 Framework 59 and

default specifications. At the start of the

2021 fishing year, we provide final

allocations, to the nearest pound, to

each sector based on their final May 1

rosters. We use these final allocations,

along with later adjustments for ACE

transfers, reductions for overages, or

increases for carryover from fishing year

2020, to monitor sector catch. We have

included the preliminary common pool

sub-ACLs in tables 2 through 4 for

comparison. These tables do not

represent the final allocations for the

2021 fishing year.

We do not assign a permit separate

PSCs for Eastern GB cod or Eastern GB

haddock; instead, we assign each permit

a PSC for the GB cod stock and GB

haddock stock. Each sector’s GB cod

and GB haddock allocations are then

divided into an Eastern ACE and a

Western ACE, based on each sector’s

percentage of the GB cod and GB

haddock ACLs. For example, if a sector

is allocated 4 percent of the GB cod ACL

and 6 percent of the GB haddock ACL,

the sector is allocated 4 percent of the

commercial Eastern U.S./Canada Area

GB cod total allowable catch (TAC) and

6 percent of the commercial Eastern

U.S./Canada Area GB haddock TAC as

its Eastern GB cod and haddock ACEs.

These amounts are then subtracted from

the sector’s overall GB cod and haddock

allocations to determine its Western GB

cod and haddock ACEs. A sector may

only harvest its Eastern GB cod and

haddock ACEs in the Eastern U.S./

Canada Area, but may ‘‘convert,’’ or

transfer, its Eastern GB cod or haddock

allocation into Western GB allocation

and fish that converted ACE outside the

Eastern GB area.

At the start of fishing year 2021, we

may withhold 20 percent of each

sector’s fishing year 2021 allocation

until we finalize fishing year 2020 catch

information. We expect to finalize 2020

catch information in summer 2021. We

allow sectors to transfer fishing year

2020 ACE for 2 weeks upon our

completion of year-end catch

accounting to reduce or eliminate any

fishing year 2020 overages. If necessary,

we reduce any sector’s fishing year 2021

allocation to account for a remaining

overage in fishing year 2020. Each year

of the operations plans, we notify the

Council and sector managers of this

deadline in writing and announce our

final ACE determination on our website

at: https://

www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/

ro/fso/reports/h/groundfish_catch_

accounting.

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

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Table 2 -- Preliminary Cumulative PSC (percentage) Each Sector Would Receive by Stock for Fishing Year 2021 *

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87 2 32!)37125

11

91789444 3 13835995 8.99483874 1.77876418 1 49862532 3.67613525 12.28186554 9.69843127 1 01112055 3.72925957 l.83983235 8.58318455 13.21670847 12 62269930

Sector

lvfmnl."1

II

0.13361103 1.15503867 0.04432773 1.124556')9 0.01377701 0.03180705 0.31794656 J.16407583 0.72688452 0.00021715 0.42662327 0.01789120 0.82190532 1.65422882 1.69505501

Penn.it

Bank

Mooncusscr 40

II

. 87 404994 3.36592802 3.72602983 3.03406286 0.38302570 0.32527727 2.58549375 0.76474219 1.71821481 0.89399263 2.48392191 2.26957436 2.65202110 5.80626985 5.44388052

Sector

NEFS 1 0 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000 0.00000000

NEPS2

133 6.50870665 26 86079901 10.68754273 22.47357871 1.90743001 1.67879303 25.10661815 11.13325653 14.58958286 3.21717811 24.59966320 4.21649557 15.44784480 9.36636752 14.83240039

NhFS 3

IJ

IJ.OOOUOOUO

IJUUOOOOOIJ

0 00000000

O.UOOUOOOO

0.0001.X.IOOO

0 00000000 0.00000000 000000000 0.00000000 0 00000000

U.OOOUOUI.XJ

IJ.OOOOCIOIJO

o.01.x,00000 0.00000000 U.00000000

NEF~4

:rn

7.4027.:'i"i(i~

11

14488493 5 81741902 R.87479953 2.16178984 2 26424~35 6.38868785

951518694

8.85677985 0 69256854 7.430117(,4 0.99121910 6.67292639 8.26903:)03 6.86546011

NEPS5

24 0.47997081 0.00066296 0.81554785 0.00357898 1.27619665 20.04779653 0.20523908 0.43227120 0.56080437 0.43636655 0.01160596 12.03962035 0.01449126 0.09437284 0.04251818

NEFS6

26 3.15560673 3.15154289 3 58637352 4.40638800 3.30346794 5 I 1479613 4.55077429 4.58294817 6.04426428 l 72190050 5.09998622 1.90633661 6.81202484 4.52299523 3.66855030

NEFS7

17 2.89058595 0.84079975

2.3%93176

1.81427506 6.88397295 2.02256417 1.26281381 3.01032328 2.10346784 7.91584447 0.28463030 2.91360294 2.57070048 2.12307674 1.70828132

NEPS 8 40 8.34044028 1.21575070 7.74350356 0.72774894 17.07029411 7.05653219 6.55708012 3.26180750 3.67577507 23.88261584 4.91594306 9.67002429 0.91411640 1.06857986 1.20397607

NbFS9

IJ

O.UOUUOOUCI

U.00000000

O.OIJUOOOOO

U.00000000

0.IJOOIXIO(Xl

0.01.XJOOOOO

0 00000000

0.000000IJO

0.00000000

O.OOOOIJOOO

0.00000000

O.IJOOIJOOIJU

0.00000000

O.OOOOOIJOO

0.00000000

NEFS 10 29 0.52585127 2.47089688 0.17673209 1.28209390

0.001148%

0.54787117 4.28071114 1.08110101 2.04602297 0.01083157 9.10588148 0.60104122 0.33492862 0.65504438 0.76337027

NEFS

II

48

0.39910GG6

12

35489458 0.03485940 2.86948621 0.00149117 0.01948622 2 5229(,479 1.69908958 1.65447336 0.00312600 2.13298790 0.02150471 1.94330395 4.50I05141 8.90553361

NEFS 12

18

0.62875353 2.87032463 0.09374416 1.01358987 0.00042969 0.01049524 7.83711822 0.50289768 0.56773096 0.00043899 7.53967496 0.21702876 0.22673972 0.28137128 0.77537672

NEFS

13

68 11.82302597 0.78011183 20.47977361 0.96907999 34.78618838 23.37086366 6.51655862 8.51808436 9.23122094 17.35427814 2.14366875 15.64328752 4.38538903 2.22785146 2.64551911

New

Ilampshire 4 0.00082216 J.14528578 0.00003406 0.03234858 0.00002026 0.00001788 0.02180780 0.02847784 0.00615970 0.00000324 0.06070430 0.00003630 0.01940243 0.08135658

O.lll35191

PennitBank

Susrn1mi.ble

Ilarvest

22

2.27065603 2.97394879 2.26814141 3.82333744 0.75985178 0.11191776 2.17301939

5.361%512

3.86767505 5.63770961 3.29020132 0.74983812 2.99124424 4.43171281 2.68939055

Sector 1

Sustmnable

Harvest 38 2.44932546 4.83857136 1.24018013 3.09928041 3.54799768 3.07190342 4.16162984 3.38856383 2.96435822 3.62980206 4.32153323 3.45263749

3.106381%

5.94749853 6.25026810

Sector 2

Sustainable

Harvc'31

86 23 33212075 9.i:,0613498 33.86808278 32.73554226 21.72815141 13.23469673 15.09948417

30

10337722 27.81948208 29.53444092 4.67473756 30.47574019 40.62768063 33.48494809 25.40530189

Sector 3

Common 492 2

92."i2.:'i913

3 17251626 2 01406318 2.513.52916 3549451:)5 18.87228114 4.59210862 2.65208869 2.70543337 3 9858(,655 5.05174830

11

.77607805

1307087H

1.21216525 0.98552021

Pool • The data in this table arc based on final fishing year 2020 sector rosters.

16691

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Proposed Rules

VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:49 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4725 E:\FR\FM\31MRP1.SGM 31MRP1

EP31MR21.001</GPH>

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS

Table

3 --

Preliminary

ACE

(in 1,000 lbs),

by

Stock,

for

Each

Sector

for

Fishing

Year

2021

*#A

--

-"=

.,.

..

~

~

..

i

~

"'

"

""

" " =

..

--(=•

::,::

:;:::

..

>"

~

::, 0 C

-"=

" "

..

.2l

.. g

..

:;

-=

u

"C

""-

::,::

~

E "

"'

oS~

"

-=

"'

= "

"Ct:

~

-"C

_.,...,,

" "

""

-~

"C

~]

""C

-=

""

"C

""

~

>"

~

§ Q

~

=

~]

s

Sector

Name

C 0

::,::

"'"

=~

0""

"

~

= ·;; ~ =

~

s

""

u u 0

::C:1"'1

"

"C

~

s

:z

=

::,

u~s

i5:

~]

~,.Si

::,::

:;

1';j

~

r£

&!

t'.s

t'.5

t'.s

~

~~

fl.);:~

u~~

0~

t'.5

Q

r-

"

r-

~

FGS

18

278 4 240 2,758 47 2 0

33

31

34

I 28 5 49

MCCS 3 52 72 392 4,513 2,039 4 I 56 726 280

12

8 8 744

MPB 0 3 7 6 64 255 0 0 5 69

21

0 I 0

71

Mooncusser 17 264 20 466 5,358 688 I 0 39 45

50

10

5 9 230

NEFS I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NEFS2

9 144 163 1,336 15,368 5,094 4 1

381

658

421

37 54 18 1,339

NEFS 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NEFS4

11

164 68 727 8,365

2,011

5 1 97 563 256 8

16

4 578

NEFS 5 1

11

0 102 1,173 1 3 7 3 26

16

5 0

50

1

NEFS6

5 70 19 448 5,157 999 7 2 69

271

175 20

11

8 590

NEFS7

4 64 5 293 3,375

411

14 1 19 178

61

91

1

12

223

NEFS 8

12

185 7 968

11134

165 36 2 99 193 106 275

11

40 79

NEFS 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NEFS

10

I 12

15

22 254

291

0 0

65

64

59

0 20 2 29

NEFS

11

I 9

75

4

50

650 0 0

38

100 48 0 5 0 168

NEFS

12

I 14 17 12 135 230 0 0 119 30 16 0 17 1 20

NEFS

13

17 262 5 2,560 29,448 220 73 8 99 504 267 200 5 65 380

NHPB

0 0 7 0 0 7 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2

SHS 1 3 50 18 284 3,261 867 2 0

33

317 112

65

7 3 259

SHS2

4 54 29

155

1,783 702 7 1 63 200

86

42

10 14

269

SHS 3

34

518

55

4,234 48,699 7,420 46 4 229 1,780 804 340 10 127 3,521

Common Pool 4

65

19

252 2,896 570 7 6 70 157

78

46

II

49

113

Sector Total

141

2,155 588 12,248 140,895 22,096 203 27 1,447 5,756 2,810 1,106 210 367 8,553

* The data in this table are based on final fishing year 2020 sector rosters.

ft

Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.

In

some cases, this table shows an allocation

of

0, but that sector may

be

allocated a small amount

of

that stock in tens

or

lnmdreds pounds.

A The data in the table represent the preliminary total allocations to each sector. Final allocations will be determined using final fishing year 2021 rosters.

"

-"=

"

-"=

= "

0

..;!

';

:a

i:i..

~

47 1,439

588 5,366

74 721

258 2,314

0 0

417 6,305

0 0

368 2,919

4 18

201 1,559

95

726

48 512

0 0

29 325

200 3,786

13

330

99 1,125

4 47

197 1,143

265 2,657

1,491 10,800

54 419

4,398 42,091

16692

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Proposed Rules

VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:49 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\31MRP1.SGM 31MRP1

EP31MR21.002</GPH>

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS

Table 4 -- Preliminary ACE (in metric tons), by Stock, for Each Sector for Fishing Year 2021

*#A

~

..

..

...

..

~ ~

"

=;

"'

..

.a

.,

:rJ

"Ct

" " 0

~

=

..

"Ct

..

"'

.SI

'"

..

~

0 0 0

'0

i

~

~

';

..

§

a~

....

,SJ

f-l

u

:g

~

"Ct

..

'0

..

~

0

!!

~

"'

.SI"

~

-1:l

::,

"Ct

.SI

-ct

~]

"Ct

"Ct

"Ct.,

~

li<l

~

=

~j§

" 0

a=

Sector

Name

0 0

~

..

"'

..

"'

= = ·.;

Ji:

~

§ i g

'0

u u

::C:f'<1

==~

~

~

6 z = 6

u-o

it

-5

=::,

~

g

~

~

~ ~ ~

=

Ji:

(ll;;:

Ji:

u~~

-1=

~Ji:

OJ!.:

~Ji:

~ ~

~

~

(ll

FGS 8 126 2 109 1,251 21 1 0

15

14

15

0

13

2

22

MCCS 2 23 33 178 2,047 925 2 0 25 329 127 5 4 3

337

MPB

0 1 3 3

29

116 0 0 2

31

10 0 0 0 32

Moon cusser 8 120 9 211 2,430 312 0 0 18

21

23 5 2 4 104

NEFS I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NEFS2

4 66

74

606 6 971 2 310 2 0 173 299

191

17 25 8 607

NEFS 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

NEFS4

5 75

31

330 3 794 912 2 0 44 255 116 4 7 2 262

NEFS 5 0 5 0 46 532 0 1 3 1 12 7 2 0 23 1

NEFS6

2 32 9 203 2 339 453 3 1

31

123 79 9 5 4 268

NEFS7

2

29

2 133 1,531 187 7 0 9

81

28

41

0 5 101

NEFS 8 6 84 3 439 5,050 75 16 1 45

87

48 125 5 18 36

NEFS9

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Nfl,f/S

10 0 5 7 10 115 132 0 0

29 29

27

0 9 1 13

NEFS

11

0 4 34 2 23 295 0 0 17 46

22

0 2 0

76

NEFS 12 0 6 8 5

61

104 0 0 54

13

7 0 8 0 9

NEFS

13

8 119 2 1

161

13

357

100 33 4 45 228 121

91

2

29

172

NHPB

0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

SHS 1 1 23 8 129

1479

393 1 0

15

144

51

29

3 1 118

SHS2

2 25 13

70

809 319 3 0

29

91

39 19 4 7 122

SHS 3 15 235

25

1 920

22090

3 365

21

2 104

807

364 154 5

57

1597

Common

Pool

2

29

9 114

1314

258 3 3 32

71

35

21

5

22

51

Sector

Total

64 977

267

5 556 63 909 10 022 92 12 656 2 611 1.275 502 95 166 3 880

• The data in this table are

based

on

final fishing year 2020 sector rosters.

"Numbers arc rounded

to

the nearest metric ton, but allocations arc made in pounds,

In

some cases, this table shovvs a sector allocation

of

O metric tons,

but

that

sector may

be

allocated a small amount

of

that

stock in pounds,

"The

data in the table represent the preliminary total allocations to

each

sector. Final allocations

v,i.11

be

detennined using final fishing

year

2021 rosters.

"'

~

..

~

= "

.s

~

-=

£

~

21

653

267

2,434

33 327

117 1,050

0 0

189 2 860

0 0

167

1324

2 8

91

707

43 329

22

232

0 0

13 147

91

1717

6 150

45 510

2

21

89 519

120 1.205

676 4 899

24

190

1995

19 092

16693

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Proposed Rules

BILLING CODE 3510–22–C

Announcement of our Electronic

Monitoring Determination

Using the process and authority

granted to us in Amendment 16 to the

Northeast Multispecies FMP, and as

described in regulations at

§ 648.87(b)(1)(v)(B), we have determined

that the EM audit model is sufficient for

use instead of ASM. In December 2019,

we notified the New England Fishery

Management Council of our intent to

expand EM and allow sectors to submit

an EM plan as part of the fishing years

2021–2022 sector operations plan

approval process. Since 2016, we have

worked with members of industry and

other stakeholders to develop EM as a

tool to meet sector monitoring

requirements. We evaluated two models

using exempted fishing permits (EFP):

The audit model and maximized

retention. Under the audit model, the

captain records an estimated weight for

all groundfish discards on an electronic

vessel trip report (eVTR) and adheres to

catch handling protocols at sea to

ensure collection (e.g., groundfish

discard measurements) of discard

information from the EM data. EM data

are the data created in the collection of

fishery-dependent data by EM systems,

including the video, images, sensor

data, and metadata for a trip. Under

maximized retention, vessels retain and

land all allocated groundfish catch,

including fish below the minimum size.

EM data is used to confirm the vessel’s

adherence to the catch retention

requirements, and a dockside monitor

meets the vessel at the dock to collect

catch data shoreside. Based on the data

collected under the EFPs, we have

determined that the EM audit model is

sufficient to verify a vessel’s submission

of information on groundfish discards

and other relevant information (e.g.,

date and time, gear category, location)

for the purpose of ACE accounting,

provided that the vessel’s captain and

crew adhere to catch handling and

reporting requirements as described in

the vessel-specific monitoring plan

(VMP). VMPs detail specific fish

handling protocols, policies and

procedures, as well as the number and

location of cameras. VMPs are reviewed

and approved by NMFS prior to a vessel

enrolling in EM to ensure the set-up is

adequate to support data collection

needs and requirements. NMFS will

provide a template to assist providers in

developing VMPs that include the

required components. Vessels may use

the EM audit model to meet monitoring

and reporting requirements while

fishing with hook, gillnet, or trawl gear

in any of the four broad stock areas. The

maximized retention program will

continue to operate under an EFP for

fishing year 2021. This will allow us to

further evaluate the sufficiency of the

program for catch accounting.

In order to facilitate the adoption of

the EM audit model by sector vessels,

we offered a NMFS-designed audit

model program for sectors to include in

their proposed operations plans. Under

the NMFS-designed audit model

program, vessels would be required to

measure groundfish discards in view of

cameras and use designated discard

control points for all discards. The

captain and crew would have the option

to use subsampling protocols for high

volumes of discards if included in the

vessel’s NMFS-approved VMP.

Participating vessels would submit EM

data from all trips to their sector’s

contracted third-party service provider

in accordance with the timeline

specified by NMFS (currently 7 days). A

subset of trips would be selected for

review. Third-party service provider

staff would review and annotate EM

data for selected trips, and submit a

report detailing the results to NMFS, in

accordance with program requirements.

NMFS would compare the third-party

service provider’s report to the eVTR

submitted by the captain to understand

the accuracy of self-reporting by EM

vessels. Estimates of groundfish

discards reported by the captain on the

eVTR and EM data collected by the

third-party service provider would serve

as the basis for catch accounting .

We are announcing our determination

and supporting rationale in this

proposed rule to facilitate public review

of, and comment on, the monitoring

plans included in the sector operations

plans and contracts proposed in the

following section. We will approve or

disapprove each plan based on its

sufficiency for sector catch accounting.

Any EM program employed by a sector

to meet monitoring and reporting

requirements must adhere to the EM

program standards described in the

Fishing Years 2021–22 Sector

Operations Plan, Contract, and EA

Requirements guidance document

located on our website: https://

www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-

mid-atlantic/commercial-fishing/

fishing-year-2020-sectors.

We are also making regulatory

adjustments, implemented under our

section 305(d) authority in the

Magnuson-Stevens Act to make changes

necessary to carry out the FMP. We are

making these adjustments to clarify the

use of EM for sector monitoring as

described in the regulations at § 648.87

and to ensure the FMP is implemented

in accordance with the Magnuson-

Stevens Act.

Sector Operations Plans and Contracts

There were 16 active groundfish

sectors in fishing year 2020. All 16

active sectors submitted operations

plans and contracts for approval for

fishing years 2021 and 2022. We are

proposing to approve 16 sector

operations plans and contracts for

fishing years 2021 and 2022. In order to

approve a sector’s operations plan for

fishing years 2021 and 2022, we

consider whether a sector’s plan is

consistent with regulatory requirements

and FMP objectives, and whether it has

been compliant with reporting

requirements from previous years,

including the year-end reporting

requirements found at

§ 648.87(b)(1)(vi)(C). Approved

operations plans, provided on our

website as a single document for each

sector, not only contain the rules under

which each sector would fish, but also

provide the legal contract that binds

each member to the sector for the length

of the sector’s operations plan. Each

sector’s operations plan, and each

sector’s members, must comply with the

regulations governing sectors, found at

§ 648.87. In addition, each sector must

conduct fishing activities as detailed in

its approved operations plan.

Participating vessels are required to

comply with all pertinent Federal

fishing regulations, except as

specifically exempted in the letter of

authorization (LOA) issued by the

Regional Administrator, which details

any approved sector exemptions from

the regulations. If, during a fishing year,

or between fishing years 2021 and 2022,

a sector requests an exemption that we

have already granted, or proposes a

change to administrative provisions, we

may amend the sector operations plans.

Should any such amendments require

modifications to LOAs, we would

include these changes in updated LOAs

and provide them to the appropriate

sectors.

As in previous years, we retain the

right to revoke exemptions in-season if:

We determine that the exemption

jeopardizes management measures, FMP

objectives, or rebuilding efforts; the

exemption results in unforeseen

negative impacts on other managed fish

stocks, habitat, or protected resources;

the exemption causes enforcement

concerns; catch from trips using the

exemption cannot be adequately

monitored; or a sector is not meeting

certain administrative or operational

requirements. If it becomes necessary to

revoke an exemption, we will do so

VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:49 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 253001 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4702 Sfmt 4702 E:\FR\FM\31MRP1.SGM 31MRP1

jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with PROPOSALS

16694

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Proposed Rules

through a process consistent with the

Administrative Procedure Act.

Each sector is required to ensure that

it does not exceed its ACE during the

fishing year. Sector vessels are required

to retain all legal-sized allocated

Northeast multispecies stocks, unless a

sector is granted an exemption allowing

its member vessels to discard legal-sized

unmarketable fish at sea. Catch (defined

as landings and discards) of all allocated

Northeast multispecies stocks by a

sector’s vessels count against the

sector’s allocation. Groundfish catch

from a sector trip targeting non-

groundfish species would be deducted

from the sector’s ACE because these are

groundfish trips using gear capable of

catching groundfish. Catch from a non-

sector trip in an exempted fishery does

not count against a sector’s allocation

and is assigned to a separate ACL sub-

component to account for any

groundfish bycatch that occurs in non-

groundfish fisheries.

Each sector contract details the

method for initial ACE sub-allocation to

sector members. For fishing years 2021

and 2022, each sector has proposed that

each active sector member could harvest

an amount of fish equal to the amount

each individual member’s permit

contributed to the sector, as modified by

the sector for reserves or other

management measures. Each sector

operations plan submitted for fishing

years 2021 and 2022 states that the

sector would withhold an initial reserve

from the sector’s ACE sub-allocation to

each individual member to prevent the

sector from exceeding its ACE. A sector

and sector members can be held jointly

and severally liable for ACE overages,

discarding legal-sized fish, and/or

misreporting catch (landings or

discards). Each sector contract provides

procedures for sector enforcement of its

rules, explains sector monitoring and

reporting requirements, provides sector

managers with the authority to issue

stop fishing orders to sector members

who violate provisions of the operations

plan and contract, and presents a

schedule of penalties that managers may

levy on members for sector plan

violations.

Sectors are required to monitor their

allocations and catch. To help ensure

that a sector does not exceed its ACE,

each sector operations plan explains

sector monitoring and reporting

requirements, including a requirement

to submit weekly catch reports to us. If

a sector reaches an ACE threshold

(specified in the operations plan), the

sector must provide us with sector

allocation usage reports on a daily basis.

Once a sector’s allocation for a

particular stock is caught, that sector is

required to cease all sector fishing

operations in that stock area until it

acquires more ACE, likely by an ACE

transfer between sectors. Within 60 days

of when we complete year-end catch

accounting, each sector is required to

submit an annual report detailing the

sector’s catch (landings and discards),

sector enforcement actions, and

pertinent information necessary to

evaluate the biological, economic, and

social impacts of each sector.

Industry-Funded Monitoring Programs

Sectors are responsible for designing,

implementing, and funding a

monitoring program that will provide

the level of ASM coverage specified by

NMFS for that year. We are required to

determine a level of ASM coverage

using a process described in Framework

55 (81 FR 26412; May 2, 2016) that

provides a reliable estimate of overall

catch by sectors needed for monitoring

ACEs and ACLs while minimizing the

cost burden to sectors and NMFS to the

extent practicable. Sectors are

responsible for the at-sea portion of

costs associated with the sector’s

monitoring program(s), even in years

when reimbursement funds are

available.

In fishing years 2010 and 2011, we

funded an ASM program with a target

ASM coverage level of 30 percent of all

trips. In addition, we provided 8-

percent observer coverage through the

Northeast Fishery Observer Program

(NEFOP), which helps to support the

Standardized Bycatch Reporting

Methodology (SBRM) and stock

assessments. This resulted in an overall

target coverage level of 38 percent for

fishing years 2010 and 2011, from the

combined ASM and NEFOP. Beginning

in fishing year 2012, we have conducted

an annual analysis to determine the

total target coverage level. Table 5

depicts the annual target coverage

levels. Industry has been required to pay

for their ASM coverage costs since 2012,

while we continued to fund NEFOP

coverage. However, we were able to

fund the industry’s portion of ASM

costs and NEFOP coverage in fishing

years 2012 through most of 2015.

Industry paid for their portion of the

ASM program beginning in March 2016.

In June 2016, after determining that the

SBRM monitoring program could be

fully funded with additional funding

remaining, we announced that we had

funds available to offset some of

industry’s costs of the groundfish ASM

program in 2016. We reimbursed sectors

for 85 percent of their ASM costs for 10

months of the fishing year, distributed

through a grant by the Atlantic States

Marine Fisheries Commission. In fishing

year 2017, using leftover funds from the

2016 grant, we reimbursed sectors for 60

percent of industry costs in fishing year

2017. Fishing effort was lower than

expected in the first few months of the

fishing year, and we were ultimately

able to retroactively reimburse sectors

for an additional estimated 25 percent of

industry’s 2017 costs, which exhausted

the remaining available SBRM funds. In

fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021,

Congress appropriated $10.3 million for

groundfish ASM. With these funds, we

were able to fully reimburse industry

costs in fishing years 2018, 2019, and

2020.

T

ABLE

5—H

ISTORIC

T

ARGET

C

OVERAGE

L

EVEL FOR

M

ONITORING

Fishing year Total target

coverage level

(percent)

ASM target

coverage level

(percent)

NEFOP target

coverage level

(percent)

2010 ................................................................................................................................. 38 30 8

2011 ................................................................................................................................. 38 30 8

2012 ................................................................................................................................. 25 17 8

2013 ................................................................................................................................. 22 14 8

2014 ................................................................................................................................. 26 18 8

2015 ................................................................................................................................. 16 12 4

2016 ................................................................................................................................. 14 10 4

2017 ................................................................................................................................. 16 8 8

2018 ................................................................................................................................. 15 10 5

2019 ................................................................................................................................. 31 (*) (*)

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T

ABLE

5—H

ISTORIC

T

ARGET

C

OVERAGE

L

EVEL FOR

M

ONITORING

—Continued

Fishing year Total target

coverage level

(percent)

ASM target

coverage level

(percent)

NEFOP target

coverage level

(percent)

2020 ................................................................................................................................. 40 (*) (*)

* Beginning in fishing year 2019, assignment of NEFOP coverage changed in a way that no longer provided a single coverage target across all

sectors. As a result, the total target coverage level was no longer partitioned into fixed ASM and NEFOP target coverage levels.

On March 20, 2020, we issued a fleet-

wide observer waiver in response to

local travel restrictions and limits on

gatherings. During this time, we worked

with monitoring service providers to

develop observer redeployment plans,

finalize internal policies to promote safe

and effective redeployment, and

conduct outreach to industry. We

initiated the redeployment process on

August 14, 2020. We are currently

operating under two national level

observer waivers. A vessel receives a

waiver if an observer or ASM is not

available for deployment; or the

observer provider cannot meet the safety

protocols imposed by a state on the

commercial fishing crew or by the

vessel or vessel company on its crew.

Service provider companies have

experienced significant staff attrition

this year as a result of the limited

amount of work available, and will need

to hire additional staff to meet future

specified coverage levels. Given the

circumstances, we do not expect sectors

to meet the 40 percent target coverage

level in fishing year 2020. We expect to

work with sectors and service provider

companies through the remainder of the

year to increase coverage levels to the

extent possible, and to ensure they meet

the specified coverage level when

normal operations resume.

As announced in the previous section,

we have determined that the EM audit

model is sufficient to be used by vessels

instead of ASM to meet sector

monitoring requirements. Sector vessels

may choose to use either ASM or the

EM audit model to meet monitoring

requirements, provided that the sector

has a corresponding monitoring

program approved as part of its

operations plans, and we will no longer

implement the EM audit model using an

EFP. On January 26, 2021, we

announced that the total target ASM

coverage level will be 40 percent for

fishing year 2021. Vessels that choose to

use ASM to meet monitoring

requirements would have a target

coverage level of 40 percent for all

sector groundfish trips. Vessels that

choose to use EM to meet monitoring

coverage requirements would use

cameras and adhere to catch handling

protocols as described in the VMP for

all groundfish trips. Only a subset of the

submitted trips would be selected for

review to monitor groundfish discards

for catch accounting. For fishing year

2021, NMFS would randomly select 50

percent of trips for review by a third-

party service provider. A subset of the

selected trips would undergo a

secondary review by NMFS to monitor

the third-party service provider’s

performance. The vessel owner or

operator and the third-party service

provider must provide the EM data for

any given trip to NMFS, and its

authorized officers and designees, upon

request including, but not limited to,

trips selected for secondary review. The

fishing year 2022 selection rate for

third-party review would be announced

during fishing year 2021. The selection

rate may vary annually based on vessel

performance and less than 100 percent

of trips would be reviewed, consistent

with regulations at 50 CFR

648.87(b)(1)(v)(B)(1). Although the exact

costs of groundfish monitoring for

fishing year 2021 are not known at this

time, we expect we will have sufficient

funds to fully reimburse industry’s costs

for ASM and EM based on our

experience in previous fishing years.

Proposed Industry-Funded Monitoring

Programs

The draft operations plans submitted

in October 2020 include industry-

funded monitoring plans for fishing year

2021. As in previous years, we gave

sectors the option to design their own

monitoring program(s) in compliance

with regulations or elect to adopt the

NMFS-designed ASM and/or EM audit

model program(s). The NMFS-designed

ASM program is the same program that

we have used in previous fishing years.

In the event that we cannot approve a

proposed monitoring program, we asked

all sectors to include an option to select

a current NMFS-designed monitoring

program as a fail-safe.

All active sectors submitted an ASM

plan as part of their draft operations

plans. Similar to previous years, some

sectors chose to use the NMFS-designed

ASM program while others proposed

programs of their own design. Sector-

designed ASM programs for fishing

years 2021 and 2022 were similar to

those approved in past years.

Sustainable Harvest Sectors 1, 2, and

3; the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector, the

Maine Coast Community Sector, and

Northeast Fishery Sectors (NEFS) 5, 10,

11, and 13 have proposed to use the

NMFS-designed ASM program. We

propose to approve this program for

these sectors because it is consistent

with goals and objectives of monitoring

and regulatory requirements. Sectors

that operate only as permit banks, and

explicitly prohibit fishing in their

operations plans, are not required to

include provisions for an ASM program.

We propose to approve the ASM

programs proposed by the remaining

five active sectors, NEFS 2, 6, 7, 8, and

12, which state that they will: Contract

with a NMFS-approved ASM provider;

meet the specified coverage level; and

utilize the Pre-Trip Notification System

for random selection of monitored trips

and notification to providers. These

ASM programs also include additional

protocols for ASM coverage waivers,

incident reporting, and safety

requirements for their sector managers

and members. We have preliminarily

determined that the proposed programs

are consistent with the goals and

objectives of ASM and regulatory

requirements.

Seven sectors also submitted an EM

plan as part of their draft operations

plans. Of these sectors, six sectors,

Sustainable Harvest Sectors 1, 2, and 3;

the GB Cod Fixed Gear Sector, the

Maine Coast Community Sector, and

Northeast Fishery Sector 5, chose to use

the NMFS-designed EM audit model

program. We propose to approve this

program for these sectors because it is

consistent with goals and objectives of

monitoring and regulatory requirements.

One sector, Northeast Fishery Sector

2, proposed an EM program of its own

design. The proposed program

maintained key elements of the NMFS-

designed EM audit model program as

the basis for its proposed EM program

with modifications. We propose to

approve NEFS 2’s proposed program,

which states that it will: Contract with

an approved service provider; utilize

PTNS as required; run cameras on 100

percent of groundfish trips for EM

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vessels; and audit trips at a rate of 50

percent. The proposed program also

establishes internal protocols and

controls for the sector to manage its

member vessels’ participation in EM.

We propose to approve this program for

this sector because it is consistent with

goals and objectives of monitoring and

regulatory requirements.

Previously Granted Exemptions for

Fishing Years 2021 and 2022

Previously Granted Exemptions Granted

for Fishing Years 2021 and 2022 (1–19)

We are granting exemptions from the

following requirements for fishing years

2021 and 2022, all of which have been

requested and granted in previous years:

(1) 120-day block out of the fishery

required for Day gillnet vessels;

(2) 20-day spawning block out of the

fishery required for all vessels;

(3) limits on the number of gillnets for

Day gillnet vessels outside the GOM;

(4) prohibition on a vessel hauling

another vessel’s gillnet gear;

(5) limits on the number of gillnets

that may be hauled on GB when fishing

under a Northeast multispecies/

monkfish DAS;

(6) limits on the number of hooks that

may be fished;

(7) DAS Leasing Program length and

horsepower restrictions;

(8) prohibition on discarding;

(9) gear requirements in the Eastern

U.S./Canada Management Area;

(10) prohibition on a vessel hauling

another vessel’s hook gear;

(11) the requirement to declare an

intent to fish in the Eastern U.S./Canada

Special Access Program (SAP) and the

Closed Area (CA) II Yellowtail

Flounder/Haddock SAP prior to leaving

the dock;

(12) seasonal restrictions for the

Eastern U.S./Canada Haddock SAP;

(13) seasonal restrictions for the CA II

Yellowtail Flounder/Haddock SAP;

(14) sampling exemption;

(15) 6.5-inch minimum mesh size

requirement for trawl nets to allow a

5.5-inch codend on directed redfish

trips;

(16) prohibition on combining small-

mesh exempted fishery and sector trips

in SNE;

(17) extra-large mesh requirement to

target dogfish on trips excluded from

ASM in SNE and Inshore GB;

(18) requirement that Handgear A

vessels carry a Vessel Monitoring

System (VMS) unit when fishing in a

single broad stock area (BSA); and

(19) limits on the number of gillnets

for Day gillnet vessels in the GOM.

A detailed description of the

previously granted exemptions and

supporting rationale can be found in the

applicable final rules identified in Table

6 below.

T

ABLE

6—E

XEMPTIONS

F

ROM

P

REVIOUS

F

ISHING

Y

EARS

T

HAT

A

RE

G

RANTED IN

F

ISHING

Y

EARS

2021

AND

2022

Exemptions Rulemaking Date of publication Citation

1–2, 4–9 ......... Fishing Year 2011 Sector Operations Final Rule ........................................................... April 25, 2011 ........... 76 FR 23076.

10–11 .............. Fishing Year 2012 Sector Operations Final Rule ........................................................... May 2, 2012 ............. 77 FR 26129.

12–14 .............. Fishing Year 2013 Sector Operations Interim Final Rule ............................................... May 2, 2013 ............. 78 FR 25591.

3, 15–16 ......... Fishing Years 2015–2016 Sector Operations Final Rule ................................................ May 1, 2015 ............. 80 FR 25143.

17 .................... Framework 55 Final Rule ................................................................................................ May 2, 2016 ............. 81 FR 26412.

18 .................... Amendment 18 Final Rule ............................................................................................... April 21, 2017 ........... 82 FR 18706.

19 .................... Fishing Year 2018 Sector Operations Final Rule ........................................................... May 1, 2018 ............. 83 FR 18965.

Northeast Multispecies Federal Register documents can be found at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/management-plan/northeast-multispecies-

management-plan.

New Exemption Requests We Will Not

Approve for Fishing Year 2021

Minimum Mesh Size for Gillnets Fished

in Georges Bank

For fishing year 2021, one sector

requested a new exemption to allow

sector vessels to use 6.0-inch (15.2-cm)

mesh size to target groundfish in the GB

BSA. Under current regulations, vessels

are prohibited from fishing for

groundfish with gillnets with mesh

smaller than 6.5 inches (16.5 cm) in the

GOM and GB Regulated Mesh Areas.

Minimum mesh size restrictions

(§ 648.80(a)(3)(i), (a)(4)(i), (b)(2)(i), and

(c)(2)(i)) were implemented under

previous groundfish actions to reduce

overall mortality on groundfish stocks,

change the selection pattern of the

fishery to target larger fish, improve

survival of sublegal fish, and allow

sublegal fish more opportunity to spawn

before entering the fishery.

Under the requested exemption,

sector vessels would fish with gillnets

as small as 6.0 inches (15.2 cm) in the

GB BSA year-round. Vessels would

restrict fishing activity to the GB BSA

when fishing under the exemption.

Vessels would be restricted to a

maximum of 30 gillnets. Soak time

would not exceed 24 hours and vessels

would retrieve their gear at the end of

each trip. Participating sectors would

monitor exemption usage to ensure that

haddock catch makes up 75 percent or

more of the total catch, based on a

running three trip average. The intent of

the request is to allow vessels fishing

with gillnets to target GB haddock, a

healthy groundfish stock.

We previously approved similar

exemptions in fishing years 2010–2012,

which allowed vessels to use 6.0-inch

(15.2-cm) mesh gillnets to target

haddock in the Gulf of Maine, however,

these exemptions were disapproved in

2013 (78 FR 25591; May 2, 2013) due to

concerns about GOM haddock stock

status, which was poor at the time, and

potential impacts on protected species.

Despite improved stock status of GOM

haddock, we have not re-approved an

exemption in the GOM because of

concerns about bycatch of GOM cod,

which is in poor condition.

We are denying the request in this

year’s sector operations plans. Sectors

submitted a similar exemption request

last year, which we also denied. While

GB haddock is a healthy stock and we

are supportive of efforts to increase

utilization of GB haddock quota, we are

concerned that allowing the use of

gillnets smaller than the 6.5-inch (16.5-

cm) minimum mesh size may have an

impact on GB cod, given that this stock

is overfished and overfishing is

occurring. Although some studies have

shown increased selectivity of haddock

with smaller mesh gillnets, selectivity

curves suggest that smaller mesh

gillnets will catch more smaller-sized

cod and other co-occurring species than

larger mesh nets. Industry and

researchers have conducted studies to

further investigate the selectivity of

different gillnet mesh sizes, but these

studies relied on limited data, did not

directly investigate fishing in the

proposed areas, and have yet to be peer

reviewed. In addition, changes in the

location and intensity of gillnet fishing

may have impacts on protected

resources, particularly North Atlantic

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1

For purposes of this analysis, groundfish limited

access eligibilities held as Confirmation of Permit

History (CPH) are not included because although

they may generate revenue from ACE leasing, they

do not generate any gross sales from fishing activity

and thus would not be classified as commercial

fishing entities.

right whales, which are critically

endangered and are present in the

requested area during certain times of

year. We may reevaluate this exemption

request in a future action, should further

information become available.

Additional Sector Operations Plan

Provisions

Inshore GOM Restrictions

Several sectors have proposed an

operations plan provision to limit and

more accurately document a vessel’s

behavior when fishing in an area they

define as the inshore portion of the

GOM BSA, or the area to the west of 70°

15’ W. long. As in fishing years 2019

and 2020, we are approving this

provision, but a sector may elect to

remove this provision in the final

version of its operations plan, and it is

not a requirement under NMFS

regulations.

Under this provision, a vessel that is

carrying an observer or ASM would

remain free to fish in all areas, including

the inshore GOM area, without

restriction. If a vessel is not carrying an

observer or ASM and fishes any part of

its trip in the GOM west of 70° 15’ W.

long., the vessel would be prohibited

from fishing outside of the GOM BSA.

Also, if a vessel is not carrying an

observer or ASM and fishes any part of

its trip outside the GOM BSA, this

provision would prohibit a vessel from

fishing west of 70° 15’ W. long. within

the GOM BSA. The approved provision

includes a requirement that a vessel

declare whether it intends to fish in the

inshore GOM area through the trip start

hail using its VMS unit prior to

departure. We provide sector managers

with the ability to monitor this

provision through the Sector

Information Management Module, a

website where we also provide roster,

trip, discard, and observer information

to sector managers. A sector vessel may

use a federally-funded NEFOP observer

or ASM on these trips because we

believe this option will not create bias

in discard estimates, as fishing behavior

is expected to be consistent with the

standard fishery requirements such as

minimum gear and fish sizes as a result

of exercising this option.

Prohibition on a Vessel Hauling Another

Vessel’s Trap Gear To Target

Groundfish

Several sectors have requested a

provision to allow a vessel to haul

another vessel’s fish trap gear, similar to

the current exemptions that allow a

vessel to haul another vessel’s gillnet

gear or hook gear. These exemptions

have generally been referred to as

‘‘community’’ gear exemptions.

Regulations at § 648.84(a) require a

vessel to mark all bottom-tending fixed

gear, which includes fish trap gear used

to target groundfish. This requirement

helps protect against illegal hauling of

gear by vessels that do not own the gear

and are not authorized to tend it. To

facilitate enforcement of § 648.84(a) and

use of this exemption, we are requiring

each vessel authorized to haul another’s

gillnet gear to tag that gear, similar to

how this sector operations plan

provision was implemented in fishing

years 2014 through 2020. This allows

one vessel to deploy the trap gear and

another vessel to haul the trap gear,

provided both vessels tag the gear prior

to deployment. This requirement is

included in the sector’s operations plan

to provide the opportunity for the sector

to monitor the use of this provision and

facilitate the Office of Law Enforcement

and the U.S. Coast Guard’s enforcement

of the marking requirement. We do not

expect this provision to increase effort

or the amount of fish trap gear used.

Instead, it would provide an efficiency

and would allow a vessel to retrieve

gear as a convenience.

Classification

Pursuant to section 304(b)(1)(A) of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act

(Magnuson-Stevens Act), the NMFS

Assistant Administrator has

preliminarily determined that this

proposed rule is consistent with the

Northeast Multispecies FMP, other

provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens

Act, and other applicable law, subject to

further consideration after public

comment.

This proposed 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 (SBA)

that this proposed rule, if adopted,

would not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities.

This action proposes to approve

measures submitted in 16 Northeast

multispecies sector operations plans,

including sector regulatory exemptions

intended to provide additional

operational flexibility, at-sea and

electronic monitoring programs, and the

allocation of ACE to sectors. Sectors

must have an approved operations plan

in order to operate, receive ACE

allocations, and authorize member

vessels to fish. Sectors operate under a

series of ‘‘universal’’ regulatory

exemptions that exempt sector vessels

from some of the effort controls in the

fishery management plan, as well as

sector-specific exemptions, which grant

additional operational flexibilities to

sector vessels. Universal exemptions

include exemptions from DAS, seasonal

closures, and trip limits. These

exemptions allow sector participants to

maximize per-trip yields, more fully

harvest healthy stocks, and time the

market.

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)

requires Federal agencies to consider

disproportionality and profitability to

determine the significance of regulatory

impacts. For RFA purposes only, NMFS

established a small business size

standard for businesses, including their

affiliates, whose primary industry is

commercial fishing (see 50 CFR 200.2).

A business primarily engaged in

commercial fishing (NAICS code 11411)

is classified as a small business if it is

independently owned and operated, is

not dominant in its field of operation

(including its affiliates), and has

combined annual receipts less than $11

million for all its affiliated operations

worldwide. The determination of

whether the entity is large or small is

based on the average annual revenue for

the most recent 3 years for which data

are available (from 2017 through 2019).

To participate in the Northeast

Multispecies Sector Program, vessels

must possess a limited access

multispecies permit and operate as part

of a sector. Entities holding one or more

limited access multispecies permits are

potentially impacted by this action.

According to the commercial database,

there were 627 entities that had at least

one valid limited access permit during

2019, the last year for which affiliation

information is available. Of these

entities, 100 did not have revenues.

There were 527 entities that reported

revenues during 2019. Of these, 6 were

classified as large and 521 were

classified as small businesses.

1

The proposed approval of fishing

years 2021 and 2022 operations plans

and the allocation of fishing year 2021

ACE to groundfish sectors will have a

positive impact on all 627 entities, as it

will allow them to participate in the

sector groundfish fishery rather than

fish under the common pool effort

control regulations. Common pool

regulations include limits on DAS, trip

limits, gear restrictions, size limits, and

closures intended to control overall

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fishing mortality. In addition, these

effort controls would be subject to in-

season modifications and fishery

closures based on industry-wide

landings. Conversely, the ability to

participate in the sector fishery would

provide increased efficiency and

flexibility to fishing businesses by

exempting sector members from

common pool limits. The proposed rule

will not have a significant economic

impact on a substantial number of small

entities, and small entities would not be

placed at a competitive disadvantage

relative to large entities. As a result, an

initial regulatory flexibility analysis is

not required and none has been

prepared.

This proposed rule does not contain

a change to a collection of information

requirement for purposes of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The

existing collection of information

requirements would continue to apply

under the following OMB Control

Number(s): 0648–0605; Northeast

Multispecies Amendment 16.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648

Fisheries, Fishing, Recordkeeping and

reporting requirements.

Dated: March 24, 2021.

Samuel D. Rauch, III,

Deputy Assistant Administrator for

Regulatory Programs, National Marine

Fisheries Service.

For the reasons stated in the

preamble, 50 CFR part 648 is proposed

to be amended as follows:

PART 648—FISHERIES OF THE

NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

■1. The authority citation for part 648

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

■2. In § 648.2, add the definitions for

‘‘electronic monitoring data,’’ ‘‘raw,’’

and ‘‘video reviewer’’ in alphabetical

order to read as follows:

§ 648.2 Definitions.

* * * * *

Electronic monitoring data means the

data that are created in the collection of

fishery-dependent data by electronic

monitoring systems during fishing

operations, including the video, images,

and other sensor data, as well as the

metadata that provides information (e.g.,

trip sail date, vessel information) about

the raw data.

* * * * *

Raw, with respect to electronic

monitoring, means the original,

unaltered video footage, images, and

other sensor data collected by an

electronic monitoring system.

* * * * *

Video reviewer means any electronic

monitoring service provider staff

approved/certified by NMFS for

providing electronic monitoring video

review services consistent with

electronic monitoring program

requirements.

* * * * *

■3. In § 648.14, revise paragraph

(k)(14)(x) and add paragraphs

(k)(14)(xii) and (xiii) to read as follows:

§ 648.14 Prohibitions.

* * * * *

(k) * * *

(14) * * *

(x) Leave port to begin a trip before an

at-sea monitor has arrived and boarded

the vessel if assigned to carry an at-sea

monitor for that trip, or without an

operational electronic monitoring

system installed on board, as specified

in § 648.87(b)(5)(iii)(A).

* * * * *

(xii) Fail to comply with the

electronic monitoring system

requirements as specified in

§ 684.87(b)(5)(iii)(A)(2).

(xiii) Fail to comply with the vessel

monitoring plan requirements as

specified in § 648.87(b)(5)(iii)(A)(3).

* * * * *

■4. In § 648.87,

■a. Revise paragraphs (b)(1)(v)(B)

introductory text, (b)(1)(v)(B)(1)

introductory text, (b)(4) introductory

text, (b)(4)(i)(D) through (J), (b)(4)(ii)

introductory text, (b)(4)(ii)(A)(6),

(b)(4)(ii)(B) through (D), (b)(4)(ii)(G), and

(b)(4)(ii)(H)(1);

■b. Add paragraphs (b)(4)(ii)(H)(4) and

(b)(4)(iv); and

■c. Revise paragraphs (b)(5)(iii)(A),

(b)(5)(iii)(B)(2), and (b)(5)(iv)(B).

The revisions and additions to read as

follows:

§ 648.87 Sector allocation.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) * * *

(v) * * *

(B) Independent third-party

monitoring program. A sector must

develop and implement an at-sea or

electronic monitoring program that is

satisfactory to, and approved by, NMFS

for monitoring catch and discards and

utilization of sector ACE, as specified in

this paragraph (b)(1)(v)(B). The primary

goal of the at-sea/electronic monitoring

program is to verify area fished, as well

as catch and discards by species and

gear type, in the most cost-effective

means practicable. All other goals and

objectives of groundfish monitoring

programs at § 648.11(l) are considered

equally-weighted secondary goals. The

details of any at-sea or electronic

monitoring program must be specified

in the sector’s operations plan, pursuant

to paragraph (b)(2)(xi) of this section,

and must meet the operational

standards specified in paragraph (b)(5)

of this section. Electronic monitoring

may be used in place of at-sea monitors

if the technology is deemed sufficient by

NMFS for a specific trip type based on

gear type and area fished, in a manner

consistent with the Administrative

Procedure Act. The level of coverage for

trips by sector vessels is specified in

paragraph (b)(1)(v)(B)(1) of this section.

The at-sea/electronic monitoring

program shall be reviewed and

approved by the Regional Administrator

as part of a sector’s operations plans in

a manner consistent with the

Administrative Procedure Act. A service

provider providing at-sea or electronic

monitoring services pursuant to this

paragraph (b)(1)(v)(B) must meet the

service provider standards specified in

paragraph (b)(4) of this section, and be

approved by NMFS in a manner

consistent with the Administrative

Procedure Act.

(1) Coverage levels. Except as

specified in paragraph (b)(1)(v)(B)(1)(i)

of this section, any service provider

providing at-sea or electronic

monitoring services required under this

paragraph (b)(1)(v)(B)(1) must provide

coverage that is fair and equitable, and

distributed in a statistically random

manner among all trips such that

coverage is representative of fishing

activities by all vessels within each

sector and by all operations of vessels

operating in each sector throughout the

fishing year. Coverage levels for an at-

sea or electronic monitoring program,

including video review requirements,

shall be specified by NMFS, pursuant to

paragraph (b)(1)(v)(B)(1)(i) of this

section, but shall be less than 100

percent of all sector trips. In the event

that a NMFS-sponsored observer and a

third-party at-sea monitor are assigned

to the same trip, only the NMFS

observer must observe that trip. If an at-

sea monitor is assigned to a particular

trip, a vessel may not leave port without

the at-sea monitor on board. If a vessel

is using electronic monitoring to comply

with the monitoring requirements of

this part, it may not leave port without

an operational electronic monitoring

system on board.

* * * * *

(4) Independent third-party

monitoring provider standards. Any

service provider intending to provide at-

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sea/electronic monitoring services

described in paragraph (b)(1)(v) of this

section must apply to and be approved/

certified by NMFS in a manner

consistent with the Administrative

Procedure Act. NMFS shall approve/

certify service providers, at-sea

monitors, or video reviewers as eligible

to provide sector monitoring services

specified in this part and can

disapprove/decertify service providers,

individual at-sea monitors, or video

reviewers through notice in writing to

individual service providers/monitors/

video reviewers if the following criteria

are no longer being met:

(i) * * *

(D) A statement, signed under penalty

of perjury, from each owner, board

member, and officer describing any

criminal convictions, Federal contracts

they have had, and the performance

rating they received on the contract, and

previous decertification action while

working as an observer, at-sea monitor,

or video reviewer; or as an observer, at-

sea, or electronic monitoring service

provider;

(E) A description of any prior

experience the applicant may have in

placing individuals or monitoring

equipment in remote field and/or

marine work environments including,

but not limited to, recruiting, hiring,

deployment, equipment installation and

maintenance, and personnel

administration;

(F) A description of the applicant’s

ability to carry out the responsibilities

and duties of a sector monitoring service

provider and the arrangements to be

used, including whether the service

provider is able to offer at-sea or

electronic monitoring services;

(G) Evidence of adequate insurance

(copies of which shall be provided to

the vessel owner, operator, or vessel

manager, when requested) to cover

injury, liability, and accidental death to

cover at-sea monitors (including during

training) and electronic monitoring staff

who provide electronic monitoring

services to vessels; vessel owner; and

service provider. NMFS will determine

the adequate level of insurance and

notify potential service providers;

(H) Proof of benefits and personnel

services provided in accordance with

the terms of each monitor’s or electronic

monitoring staff’s contract or

employment status;

(I) Proof that the service provider’s at-

sea monitors or video reviewers have

passed an adequate training course

sponsored by the service providers to

the extent not funded by NMFS that is

consistent with the curriculum used in

the current yearly NEFOP training

course, unless otherwise specified by

NMFS;

(J) An Emergency Action Plan

describing the provider’s response to an

emergency with any at-sea monitor or

electronic monitoring staff, including,

but not limited to, personal injury,

death, harassment, or intimidation; and

* * * * *

(ii) Service provider performance

requirements. At-sea and electronic

monitoring service providers must be

able to document compliance with the

following criteria and requirements:

(A) * * *

(6) For service providers offering

catch estimation or at-sea or electronic

monitoring services, a service provider

must be able to determine an estimate

of discards for each trip and provide

such information to the sector manager

and NMFS, as required by this section.

(B) The service provider must ensure

that at-sea monitors or video reviewers

remain available to NMFS, including

NMFS Office for Law Enforcement, for

debriefing for at least 2 weeks following

any monitored trip/offload or electronic

monitoring trip report submission.

Electronic monitoring service providers

must ensure that electronic monitoring

data and reports are retained for a

minimum of 12 months after catch data

is finalized for the fishing year. NMFS

will notify providers of the catch data

finalization date each year. The service

provider must provide NMFS access to

electronic monitoring data upon

request;

(C) The service provider must report

possible at-sea or electronic monitoring

staff harassment; discrimination;

concerns about vessel safety or marine

casualty; injury; and any information,

allegations, or reports regarding at-sea or

electronic monitoring staff conflict of

interest or breach of the standards of

behavior to NMFS and/or the sector

manager, as specified by NMFS;

(D) The service provider must submit

to NMFS, if requested, a copy of each

signed and valid contract (including all

attachments, appendices, addendums,

and exhibits incorporated into the

contract) between the service provider

and those entities requiring services

(i.e., sectors and participating vessels)

and between the service provider and

specific dockside, roving, at-sea, or

electronic monitoring staff;

* * * * *

(G) With the exception of a service

provider offering reporting, dockside, at-

sea, or electronic monitoring services to

participants of another fishery managed

under Federal regulations, a service

provider’s owner(s), board member(s),

and officers must not have a direct or

indirect interest in a fishery managed

under Federal regulations, including,

but not limited to, fishing vessels,

dealers, shipping companies, sectors,

sector managers, advocacy groups, or

research institutions and may not solicit

or accept, directly or indirectly, any

gratuity, gift, favor, entertainment, loan,

or anything of monetary value from

anyone who conducts fishing or fishing-

related activities that are regulated by

NMFS, or who has interests that may be

substantially affected by the

performance or nonperformance of the

official duties of service providers;

(H) * * *

(1) At-sea monitor and other approved

monitoring equipment deployment or

video review levels, including the

number of refusals and reasons for such

refusals;

* * * * *

(4) ***

(iv) Standards for individual

electronic monitoring video reviewers.

For an individual to be approved/

certified as an electronic monitoring

video reviewer, the service provider

must demonstrate that each potential

reviewer meets the requirements

described in paragraphs (b)(4)(iii)(A),

(B), (E), and (F) of this section.

* * * * *

(5) * * *

(iii) * * *

(A) Vessel requirements – (1) Pre-trip

notification. In addition to all other

reporting/recordkeeping requirements

specified in this part, to facilitate the

deployment of at-sea monitors and

electronic monitoring equipment

pursuant to paragraph (b)(1)(v)(B)(1) of

this section, the operator of a vessel

fishing on a sector trip must provide at-

sea/electronic monitoring service

providers with at least the following

information: The vessel name, permit

number, trip ID number in the form of

the VTR serial number of the first VTR

page for that trip or another trip

identifier specified by NMFS, whether a

monkfish DAS will be used, and an

estimate of the date/time of departure in

advance of each trip. The timing of such

notice shall be sufficient to allow ample

time for the service provider to

determine whether an at-sea monitor or

electronic monitoring equipment will be

deployed on each trip and allow the at-

sea monitor or electronic monitoring

equipment to prepare for the trip and

get to port, or to be installed on the

vessel, respectively. The details of the

timing, method (e.g., phone, email, etc.),

and information needed for such pre-

trip notifications shall be included as

part of a sector’s yearly operations plan.

If a vessel has been informed by a

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service provider that an at-sea monitor

or electronic monitoring equipment has

been assigned to a particular trip

pursuant to paragraph (b)(5)(iii)(B)(1) of

this section, the vessel may not leave

port to begin that trip until the at-sea

monitor has arrived and boarded the

vessel, or the electronic monitoring

equipment has been properly installed.

(2) Electronic monitoring system

requirements. A vessel operator using

electronic monitoring to meet sector

monitoring requirements must ensure

that the electronic monitoring system is

operational for every trip, including:

(i) Ensuring that the electronic

monitoring system is operating,

recording, and retaining the recording

for the duration of every trip. A vessel

must not fish without an operational

electronic monitoring system recording

and retaining the recording of activity

onboard, unless issued a waiver by

NMFS;

(ii) Conducting a system check of the

electronic monitoring system prior to

departing on a fishing trip to ensure it

is fully operational, including ensuring

there is sufficient video storage capacity

to retain the recording of the entire

fishing trip;

(iii) Ensuring camera views are

unobstructed and clear, including

ensuring lighting is sufficient in all

circumstances to illuminate catch, so

that catch and discards are visible and

may be identified and quantified as

required; and

(iv) Ensuring that no person tampers

with, disconnects, or destroys any part

of the electronic monitoring system,

associated equipment, or recorded data.

(3)Vessel monitoring plan

requirements for electronic monitoring

vessels. A vessel must have a NMFS-

approved vessel monitoring plan to

meet sector monitoring requirements.

(i) The vessel monitoring plan must be

onboard the vessel at all times.

(ii) The vessel operator and crew must

comply with all catch handling

protocols and other requirements

described in the vessel monitoring plan,

including sorting catch and processing

any discards within view of the cameras

and consistent with the vessel

monitoring plan.

(iii) Modifications to any vessel

monitoring plan must be approved by

NMFS prior to such vessel fishing under

the conditions of the new vessel

monitoring plan.

(iv) A vessel owner or operator using

electronic monitoring to meet sector

monitoring requirements must submit

all electronic monitoring data to the

service provider in accordance with the

electronic monitoring program

requirements specified by NMFS.

(v) A vessel owner or operator must

make the electronic monitoring system,

associated equipment, electronic

monitoring data, or vessel monitoring

plan available to NMFS for inspection,

upon request.

* * * * *

(B) * * *

(2) At-sea/electronic monitoring

report. A report detailing area fished

and the amount of each species kept and

discarded shall be submitted

electronically in a standard acceptable

form to the appropriate sector and

NMFS within 48 hour of the completion

of the trip, or as otherwise instructed by

the Regional Administrator. The data

elements to be collected and the format

for submission shall be specified by

NMFS and distributed to all approved

at-sea/electronic monitoring service

providers and sectors. At-sea/electronic

monitoring data shall not be accepted

until such data pass automated NMFS

data quality checks.

(iv) * * *

(B) At-sea monitoring service provider

requirements. An at-sea monitor must

complete a pre-trip vessel safety

checklist provided by NMFS before an

at-sea monitor can leave port onboard a

vessel on a sector trip. If the vessel fails

a review of safety issues pursuant to this

paragraph (b)(5)(iv)(B), an at-sea

monitor cannot be deployed on that

vessel for that trip.

* * * * *

[FR Doc. 2021–06513 Filed 3–30–21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P

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