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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 60 / Wednesday, March 31, 2021 / Proposed Rules Atmospheric Administration NOAA, Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule.
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/MidAtlantic winter flounder, redfish, ocean pout, Atlantic wolffish, Eastern Georges Bank cod, and Eastern Georges Bank haddock.

SUMMARY:

Written comments must be received on or before April 15, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by NOAA
NMFS20210024, 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
NMFS20210024 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/

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A in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous.
Copies of each sectors proposed operations plan and contract are available from the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office:
Contact Claire Fitz-Gerald at Claire.FitzGerald@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/managementplan/northeast-multispeciesmanagement-plan.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Claire Fitz-Gerald, Fishery Policy Analyst, 978 2819255.
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 TACs 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 sectors 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 stocks 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 FMPs
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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 16.5centimeters 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 banks 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 sectors 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 FMPs 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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