648.120—Catch quotas and other restrictions.
(a) Review.
The Scup Monitoring Committee shall review each year the following data, subject to availability, unless a TAL already has been established for the upcoming calendar year as part of a multiple-year specification process, provided that new information does not require a modification to the multiple-year quotas: Commercial, recreational, and research data; current estimates of fishing mortality; stock status; recent estimates of recruitment; virtual population analysis results; levels of noncompliance by fishermen or individual states; impact of size/mesh regulations; impact of gear on the mortality of scup; discards; and any other relevant information. This review will be conducted to determine the allowable levels of fishing and other restrictions necessary to achieve the F that produces the maximum yield per recruit (F[=E T=8142]max).
(b) Recommended measures.
Based on this review and requests for research quota as described in paragraph (e) of this section, the Scup Monitoring Committee shall recommend the following measures to the Demersal Species Committee of the MAFMC and the Commission to ensure that the exploitation rate specified in paragraph (a) of this section will not be exceeded:
(1)
Research quota set from a range of 0 to 3 percent of the maximum allowed to achieve the specified exploitation rate.
(2)
The commercial quota for each of the three periods specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, to be set from a range of 0 to the maximum allowed to achieve the specified exploitation rate, set after the deduction for research quota. The commercial quota will be established by estimating the annual total allowable catch (TAC), allocating it into the three periods, and deducting the discard estimates for each period.
(3)
Possession limits for the Winter I and Winter II periods, including possession limits that result from potential rollover of quota from Winter I to Winter II. The possession limit is the maximum quantity of scup that is allowed to be landed within a 24-hour period (calendar day).
(4)
Percent of landings attained at which the landing limit for the Winter I period will be reduced.
(5)
All scup landed for sale in any state during a quota period shall be applied against the coastwide commercial quota for that period, regardless of where the scup were harvested, except as provided in paragraph (d)(5) of this section.
(7)
Recreational possession limit set from a range of 0 to 50 scup to achieve the specified exploitation rate, set after the reduction for research quota.
(8)
Recreational minimum fish size set from a range of 7 inches (17.8 cm) TL to 10 inches (25.4 cm) TL.
(13)
Changes, as appropriate, to the Northeast Region SBRM, including the CV-based performance standard, fishery stratification, and/or reports.
(c) Fishing measures.
The Demersal Species Committee shall review the recommendations of the Scup Monitoring Committee. Based on these recommendations and any public comment, the Demersal Species Committee shall recommend to the MAFMC measures necessary to assure that the specified exploitation rate will not be exceeded. The MAFMC's recommendation must include supporting documentation, as appropriate, concerning the environmental and economic impacts of the recommendations. The Regional Administrator shall review these recommendations and any recommendations of the Commission. After such review, NMFS will publish a proposed rule to implement a commercial quota in the Federal Register, specifying the amount of quota allocated to each of the three periods, possession limits for the Winter I and Winter II periods, including possession limits that result from potential rollover of quota from Winter I to Winter II, the percentage of landings attained during the Winter I fishery at which the possession limits will be reduced, a recreational harvest limit, and additional management measures for the commercial fishery. If the Regional Administrator determines that additional recreational measures are necessary to assure that the specified exploitation rate will not be exceeded, he or she will publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register to implement additional management measures for the recreational fishery. After considering public comment, the Regional Administrator will publish a final rule in the Federal Register to implement annual measures.
(d) Distribution of Commercial Quota.
(1)
The annual commercial quota will be allocated into three periods, based on the following percentages:
| Period | Percent |
|---|---|
| Winter I—January-April | 45.11 |
| Summer—May-October | 38.95 |
| Winter II—November-December | 15.94 |
(2)
The commercial quotas for each period will each be distributed to the coastal states from Maine through North Carolina on a coastwide basis.
(3)
The Regional Administrator will monitor the harvest of commercial quota for the Winter I period based on dealer reports, state data, and other available information and shall determine the total amount of scup landed during the Winter I period. In any year that the Regional Administrator determines that the landings of scup during Winter I are less than the Winter I quota for that year, he/she shall increase, through publication of a notification in the Federal Register, provided such rule complies with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Winter II quota for that year by the amount of the Winter I underharvest. The Regional Administrator shall also adjust, through publication of a notification in the Federal Register, the Winter II possession limits consistent with the amount of the quota increase, based on the possession limits established through the annual specifications-setting process.
(4)
All scup landed for sale in any state during a quota period shall be applied against the coastwide commercial quota for that period, regardless of where the scup were harvested, except as provided in paragraph (d)(5) of this section. Any current year landings in excess of the commercial quota in any quota period will be deducted from that quota period's annual quota in the following year as prescribed below:
(i)
For the Winter I and Summer quota periods, landings in excess of the allocation will be deducted from the appropriate quota period for the following year in the final rule that establishes the annual quota. The overage deduction will be based on landings for the current year through October 31, and on landings for the previous calendar year that were not included when the overage deduction was made in the final rule that established the period quotas for the current year. If the Regional Administrator determines during the fishing year that any part of an overage deduction was based on erroneous landings data that were in excess of actual landings for the period concerned, he/she will restore the overage that was deducted in error to the appropriate quota allocation. The Regional Administrator will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the restoration.
(ii)
For the Winter II quota period, landings in excess of the allocation will be deducted from the Winter II period for the following year in a notice published in the Federal Register during July of the following year. The overage deduction will be based on landings information available for the Winter II period as of June 30 of the following year. If the Regional Administrator determines during the fishing year that any part of an overage deduction was based on erroneous landings data that were in excess of actual landings for the period concerned, he/she will restore the overage that was deducted in error to the appropriate quota allocation. The Regional Administrator will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the restoration.
(5)
During a fishing year in which the Winter I quota period is closed prior to April 15, a state may apply to the Regional Administrator for authorization to count scup landed for sale in that state from April 15 through April 30 by state-only permitted vessels fishing exclusively in waters under the jurisdiction of that state against the Summer period quota. Requests to the Regional Administrator to count scup landings in a state from April 15 through April 30 against the Summer period quota must be made by letter signed by the principal state official with marine fishery management responsibility and expertise, or his/her designee, and must be received by the Regional Administrator no later than April 15. Within 10 working days following receipt of the letter, the Regional Administrator shall notify the appropriate state official of the disposition of the request.
[61 FR 43426, Aug. 23, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 27984, May 22, 1997; 65 FR 33497, May 24, 2000; 66 FR 12911, Mar. 1, 2001; 66 FR 42161, Aug. 10, 2001; 66 FR 45187, Aug. 28, 2001; 67 FR 6880, Feb. 14, 2002; 68 FR 62253, Nov. 3, 2003; 69 FR 62822, Oct. 28, 2004; 70 FR 310, Jan. 4, 2005; 73 FR 4756, Jan. 28, 2008]