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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 88 / Monday, May 10, 2021 / Rules and Regulations prey food source, bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are an important component of the marine environment in the Atlantic. There is no stock assessment for dolphin, wahoo, bullet mackerel, or frigate mackerel. In Atlantic Federal waters, dolphin and wahoo are targeted both commercially and recreationally. Annual reported commercial and recreational landings of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are low along the entire Atlantic coastline.
Regulations implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Act define EC
species as stocks that a Council or the Secretary has determined do not require conservation and management, but desire to list in a FMP in order to achieve ecosystem management objectives 50 CFR 600.305d13.
National Standards NS General guidelines state that a Council should consider a non-exhaustive list of 10
factors when deciding whether additional stocks require Federal conservation and management 50 CFR
600.305c1. The EC designation for bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel was recommended to the Council by the Councils Scientific and Statistical Committee SSC, their Dolphin Wahoo Advisory Panel AP, and the Habitat Protection and Ecosystem-Based Management Habitat AP, and received extensive positive comments from the public during scoping of Amendment 12. The Dolphin Wahoo AP and Habitat AP members acknowledged that wahoo, in particular, target these mackerel species as prey. The AP members also stated that the Council should consider a conservative approach to ensure there are no major increases in the harvest of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel in the foreseeable future as a result of any EC designation. This designation addresses the Councils growing emphasis on developing ecosystem management approaches to fisheries management and advancing ecosystem management objectives in the Dolphin Wahoo FMP.
The extent to which the low landings of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel occur within the dolphin and wahoo fishery is unknown; however, it is unlikely that these species are often harvested in conjunction with efforts to target dolphin and wahoo, especially in the commercial sector. Bullet and frigate mackerel have largely been landed commercially in the Mid-Atlantic region using gill net, pound net, float trap, and otter trawl gear, none of which are allowable gear types in the dolphin and wahoo fishery. Recreational landings of bullet and frigate mackerel have largely occurred in the South Atlantic Region, with some limited catches reported from
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the Mid-Atlantic Region. Furthermore, recreational fishermen have also noted that these species are used as bait for tuna and billfish, such as blue marlin.
NMFS and the Council have determined that bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are currently not in need of conservation and management, making them eligible for consideration as EC
species. This eligibility determination was done after consideration of the provisions within the NS Guidelines and requirements of the MagnusonStevens Act. Furthermore, adding bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP as EC species meets the FMPs ecosystem management objectives 50 CFR 600.305c5 and 600.310d1.
Management Measures Contained in This Final Rule This final rule adds bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP and designates them as EC
species. This final rule adds no additional management measures to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP as a result of this EC species designation, either for bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel, or for dolphin and wahoo.
The final rule is expected to result in potential indirect benefits such as increased awareness among the fishermen, fishing communities, data collecting agencies, and regulatory entities managing dolphin, wahoo, bullet mackerel, and frigate mackerel. If landings for these two mackerel species were to greatly increase in the future to unsustainable levels, fisheries managers could be made aware of the changing stock status before the stocks are depleted, which may have subsequent beneficial effects on populations of several economically important predatory fish species, including dolphin, wahoo, blue marlin, and yellowfin tuna.
Comments and Responses NMFS received 24 comments during the public comment period on the notice of availability and proposed rule for Amendment 12. Comment submissions were from the general public, sport-fishing associations, and non-governmental organizations. The majority of the comments were in support of adding bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the Dolphin Wahoo FMP as EC species. NMFS
acknowledges the comments in favor of the action in the notice of availability and proposed rule and agrees with them. One comment was outside the scope of Amendment 12 and is not responded to in this final rule.
Comments in opposition and that
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requested additional information about the action contained in the notice of availability and proposed rule are summarized below, along with NMFS
responses.
Comment 1: NMFS and the Council should consider more proactive methods of monitoring the conditions of bullet and frigate mackerel and collect more data to study abundance and population trends.
Response: NMFS agrees that more data would aid in obtaining a better understanding of abundance and population trends for bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel. However, these species are not directly targeted by commercial and recreational fishers in the Atlantic. Commercial landings of bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel have been variable, but typically are relatively low, averaging 4,395 lb 1,994
kg, round weight, annually over the past 20 years of available data 1999
through 2018, 1,569 lb, 712 kg, round weight, annually over the past 10 years 2009 through 2018, and 1,939 lb 880
kg, round weight, over the past 5 years 2014 through 2018. Recreational landings have been variable and sporadic, averaging 1,189 lb 539 kg, round weight, for bullet mackerel, and 3,569 lb 1,619 kg, round weight, for frigate mackerel annually over the past 20 years of available data 1999 through 2018.
In terms of data collection, vessels with Federal commercial dolphin wahoo permits already report all landings that are sold to a federally permitted dealer, including species that are not federally managed. Beginning January 4, 2020, the final rule for the South Atlantic for-hire electronic reporting program requires that federally permitted for-hire snappergrouper, dolphin wahoo, and coastal migratory pelagic vessels in the Atlantic report all landings including species that are not subject to Federal management 85 FR 47917; August 7, 2020. The Marine Recreational Information Program captures information on all species caught by recreational fishers. Furthermore, North Carolina has introduced fish identification codes in its state trip ticket forms for these mackerel species since 2018. Public education and awareness of the EC designation may encourage fishers to report landings of these two mackerel species more than before, thereby providing more data. If landings for bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel were to increase in the future, further proactive and active measures within the Councils jurisdiction could be explored in a future amendment.

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