Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Fishery; 2025 Specifications, 20128-20131 [2025-08268]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 90 (Monday, May 12, 2025)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 20128-20131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-08268]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 250506-0079; RTID 0648-XE827]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Spiny 
Dogfish Fishery; 2025 Specifications

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing specifications for the 2025 Atlantic 
spiny dogfish fishery, as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic and New 
England Fishery Management Councils. This action is necessary to 
establish allowable harvest levels for the Atlantic spiny dogfish 
fishery to prevent overfishing while enabling optimum yield, using the 
best scientific information available.

DATES: Effective May 9, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Supplemental Information Report (SIR) and 
other supporting documents for this action are available upon request 
from Dr. Christopher M. Moore, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, Suite 201, 800 North State Street, Dover, DE 19901. 
These documents are also accessible via the internet at: https://www.mafmc.org/supporting-documents.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura Deighan, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
[email protected] or (978) 281-9184.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils 
(collectively, the Councils) jointly manage the Atlantic Spiny Dogfish 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP), with the Mid-Atlantic Council serving as 
the administrative lead. Additionally, the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission (Commission) manages the spiny dogfish fishery in 
state waters from Maine to North Carolina through a separate, 
interstate fishery management plan. The Federal FMP requires the 
specification of an acceptable biological catch (ABC), annual catch 
limit (ACL), annual catch target (ACT), total allowable landings (TAL), 
and a coastwide commercial quota. These limits and other related 
management measures may be set for up to five fishing years at a time, 
with each fishing year running from May 1 through April 30. This action 
implements Atlantic spiny dogfish specifications for fishing year 2025, 
as recommended by the Councils. The Commission voted to implement 
complementary specifications on February 4, 2025, during its winter 
meeting.
    At their respective December 2024 meetings, both Councils voted to 
adopt 2025 spiny dogfish specifications using an ABC of 7,626 metric 
tons (mt), as provided by the Mid-Atlantic Council's Scientific and 
Statistical Committee (SSC) at its November 20, 2024, meeting. The 
Councils determined that a 50-percent probability of overfishing (i.e., 
an ABC equal to the overfishing limit (OFL)) was an acceptable level of 
risk for the 2025 specifications given: (1) Industry testimony that 
reductions in the commercial quota risk the sustainability of the 
commercial spiny dogfish industry, and (2) that the stock

[[Page 20129]]

is expected to increase to 113 percent of its biomass target in 2026 
(from 101 percent in 2022) under these catch limits. After accounting 
for estimated catch from other sources (i.e., Canadian landings, 
domestic discards, and recreational landings), this results in a 
commercial quota of 4,236 mt. This action includes no changes to other 
management measures, such as trip limits.
    The proposed rule for this action published in the Federal Register 
on March 26, 2025 (90 FR 13724), and comments were accepted through 
April 10, 2025. NMFS received seven comments from the public, and no 
changes were made to the final rule because of those comments (see 
Comments and Responses for additional detail). Additional background 
information regarding the development of these specifications was 
provided in the proposed rule and is not repeated here.

Final 2025 Specifications

    This action implements the Councils' recommendations for the 2025 
Atlantic spiny dogfish catch specifications (table 1), which are 
consistent with the ABC provided by the Mid-Atlantic Council's SSC in 
November and the best available science. The resulting coastwide 
commercial quota is 4,236 mt, which is an 18-percent decrease from the 
initial 2024 commercial quota. It is a 9-percent decrease from the 
current 2024 commercial quota, which was reduced on September 30, 2024, 
(89 FR 79452) to account for an ACL overage in 2023. The decrease from 
2024 is the result of a higher, corrected 2022 discard estimate; 
discards that were higher than expected in 2023; and a more 
precautionary discard estimate for 2025. This action makes no changes 
to the 7,500-pound (lb; 3,402-kilogram) trip limit.

    Table 1--Final 2025 Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Fishery Specifications
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Million   Metric
                                                         lb       tons
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABC.................................................     16.81     7,626
ACL = ACT...........................................      16.8     7,622
TAL.................................................      9.58     4,347
Commercial Quota....................................      9.34     4,236
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While these specifications result in a reduction in the commercial 
quota, they are based on the highest ABC allowable under the National 
Standard 1 requirements that NMFS prevent overfishing with at least a 
50-percent probability. The 2025 commercial quota is slightly higher 
than landings in recent years (i.e., 8.5 million lb (3,855 mt) in 2023, 
with fishing year 2024 catch currently trending lower than that of 
2023).

Comments and Responses

    The public comment period for the proposed rule ended on April 10, 
2025. Four individual members of the public, one non-governmental 
organization, and four commercial fishermen commented on the proposed 
rule. Three commercial fishermen submitted a single comment, resulting 
in seven unique comments. One comment from a member of the public was 
not germane to this action, and one comment from a member of the public 
did not provide sufficient context and information for NMFS to respond. 
In total, five unique comments were relevant to the action and are 
addressed below. No changes were made to the final rule as a result of 
these comments.
    Comment 1: Four commercial fishermen opposed the reduction in the 
Atlantic spiny dogfish commercial quota. These commenters cited 
concerns about the impact of reduced quotas on an already declining 
industry, the risk that the industry may permanently lose access to 
some markets, the negative economic impact on associated industries 
(e.g., shipping, processing), and the negative ecological impacts of 
increased spiny dogfish predation on other species under reduced 
quotas.
    Response: National Standard 1 requires NMFS to prevent overfishing, 
and the National Standard 1 guidelines require at least a 50-percent 
probability of doing so. These specifications include the highest 
allowable ABC expected to prevent overfishing with a 50-percent 
probability. While the Mid-Atlantic Council's risk policy would 
typically require a lower ABC with a 46-percent probability of 
overfishing for a stock just above its target (e.g., Atlantic spiny 
dogfish), the Councils took into account industry testimony regarding 
the potential economic impacts of quota reductions and set the 
specifications based on the highest allowable ABC.
    To ensure the ABC is not exceeded, the specifications must consider 
expected catch from other sources when setting the commercial quota. 
The 2025 specifications use reasonable estimates for other sources of 
fishing mortality: The most recent three-year average of Canadian 
landings; the most recent five-year average of recreational landings; 
and a discard set-aside that is the mid-point of the most recent five-
year average and the previously accepted ``model-based projection'' 
(generated by applying the 2022 ratio of discards to total catch to the 
year-specific ABC). The Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Committee recommended 
using the average of these two estimates as a reasonable approach to 
deal with uncertainty, as Atlantic spiny dogfish discards can be highly 
variable. The use of a lower and less precautionary discard estimate 
would result in a higher quota, but would increase the risk of an ACL 
overage in 2025. The Atlantic Spiny Dogfish FMP and regulations at 50 
CFR 648.233(c) require a reduction in a future-year ACL, and thus the 
commercial quota, when an overage occurs. The 2025 commercial quota is 
intended to provide the industry with the highest allowable quota while 
minimizing the risk of a quota reduction in a future fishing year due 
to an ACL overage.
    Comment 2: One commercial fisherman opposed to the specifications 
also stated that ``take'' should only include dogfish landings and not 
live discards.
    Response: ``Catch, take, or harvest'' is defined under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act as including, but is not limited to, ``any 
activity that results in killing any fish or bringing any live fish on 
board a vessel'' (Sec.  600.10). While ``take'' may be defined 
differently under other statutes, those definitions do not apply to 
these specifications or catch accounting within the Atlantic spiny 
dogfish fishery and are not discussed further.
    The performance of the Atlantic spiny dogfish fishery is evaluated 
based on total dead catch (i.e., commercial and recreational landings 
and dead discards). Live discards are not included in the calculation 
of total dead catch. The estimates of dead discards, and the methods 
used to calculate them, are considered the best scientific information 
available. First, observer data is used to generate ratios of Atlantic 
spiny dogfish discards-to-total-catch by stock area, gear, and mesh 
size annually. These ratios are applied to total catch reported on 
dealer reports to generate estimates of total Atlantic spiny dogfish 
discards (i.e., both live and dead discards) by stock area and gear 
type. The estimated dead discards are then calculated by applying a 
stock area- and gear-specific discard mortality rate to the total 
discards by gear and area. This estimate of dead discards is included 
in the calculation of total dead catch that is compared to the catch 
limits.
    Comment 3: Three commercial fishermen who opposed the 
specifications raised concerns with the information that factored into 
the 2025 quota being lower than that of 2024 (i.e., the higher, 
corrected 2022 discard estimate; discards that were higher than 
expected in 2023; and a more

[[Page 20130]]

precautionary discard estimate for 2025). Specifically, the commenters 
took issue with the use of discard estimates, rather than actual 
numbers. The commenters raised concerns with the correction to the 2022 
discards and that the correction was made ``3 years later.''
    Response: When setting forward-looking specifications and 
commercial quotas (i.e., 2025 catch limits), other sources of fishing 
mortality must be estimated because actual catch information is not yet 
available. The estimates used to set the 2025 specifications, including 
the dead discards, are based on data from previous fishing years and 
represent reasonable estimates (see Comment 1).
    When calculating catch for previous years, the total number of 
discards and dead discards are estimated because fishermen and fishery 
observers cannot record all discards or directly observe all discard 
mortality. Previous years' discard estimates, and the methods used to 
calculate them, are based on the best scientific information available 
(see Comment 2).
    Final 2022 data for Atlantic spiny dogfish became available in 
calendar year 2023. In 2024, NMFS identified a difference between the 
area- and gear-specific discard mortality rates used in Atlantic spiny 
dogfish catch accounting and the stock assessment. The discard 
mortality rates used in the Catch Accounting and Monitoring System were 
updated to those used in the assessment. The updated discard mortality 
rates were applied to the 2022 catch information available at that time 
(i.e., inclusive of any late data), resulting in a higher estimate of 
2022 dead discards. This discard estimate, along with actual 
information on 2023 catch and 2024 catch limits that became available 
in 2024, was incorporated into the projections that informed the 2025 
ABC and catch limits. These updates contributed to the 2025 ABC and 
quota being lower than those of 2024. This difference is not the result 
of a payback from the 2025 quota, but 2025 catch limits based on 
current projections that reflect the best estimates of stock biomass 
and productivity. These updates ensure the catch limits comply with 
National Standard 2 requirements to use the best scientific information 
available and National Standard 1 requirements to prevent overfishing.
    Comment 4: Three commenters opposed to the specifications suggested 
unused 2024 quota should be rolled over to 2025, noting that the 2024 
quota was reduced to account for an overage in 2023 and 2024 catch is 
trending below the 2024 quota.
    Response: The Atlantic spiny dogfish fishery is managed under the 
Atlantic Spiny Dogfish FMP with implementing regulations at Sec.  648 
subpart L. The FMP and regulations at Sec.  648.233(c) require a 
subsequent fishing year ACL be reduced by the amount the ACL is 
exceeded. The FMP does not authorize the rollover of unused quota in a 
subsequent fishing year. However, actual catch information is 
incorporated into stock assessments and projections that inform future 
catch limits.
    Comment 5: One non-governmental organization commented that NMFS 
should not set the commercial quota any higher than the proposed 9.3 
million lb (4,236 mt). The commenter expressed concerns that NMFS 
endorsed the Mid-Atlantic Council setting the specifications higher 
than what was originally discussed at its October 2024 meeting and that 
the Council suspended its risk policy based on industry requests for 
higher quota. The commenter cautioned against the erosion of 
precautionary buffers for spiny dogfish, which is a slow-growing 
species, and disagreed that the specifications include sufficient 
precaution.
    Response: NMFS is implementing a quota at, and not greater than, 
the proposed 9.3 million lb (4,236 mt). Catch specifications must 
comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standards and their 
guidelines, which include requirements to prevent overfishing and 
achieve optimum yield (National Standard 1) and to provide for the 
sustained participation of fishing communities and minimize adverse 
economic impacts on such communities (National Standard 8). The 
Councils' decision to consider specifications with a 50-percent 
probability of overfishing was based on industry testimony that 
reductions to the commercial quota would create a significant risk to 
the future of the industry. In 2024, the last remaining southern spiny 
dogfish processor closed. The industry has raised concerns that the 
sole remaining processor, which is critical to the viability of the 
fishery, may close if catch decreases. The Councils further based their 
recommendations on current stock projections, which indicate the stock 
is expected to increase to 113 percent of its target under these catch 
limits. After weighing this information, the Council recommended 
specifications using the highest ABC allowable under National Standard 
1 (i.e., a 50-percent probability of overfishing; Sec.  
600.310(f)(2)(i)) to minimize adverse economic impacts on the industry. 
NMFS agrees that the Councils' recommended specifications balance the 
requirements of National Standards 1 and 8.
    As described in response to Comment 1, the specifications account 
for reasonable estimates of other sources of catch. The highest source 
of uncertainty within the specifications is the discard estimate, as 
annual discards can vary. To account for uncertainty, the 2025 discard 
estimate uses the average of two reasonable methods for estimating 
discards. It represents an increase from the amount set aside for 
discards in 2024. The Councils agreed, and NMFS concurs, that 
substantial precaution is taken, and uncertainty accounted for, within 
these specifications.
    Comment 6: One commenter expressed cautious support for the 
proposed specifications. The commenter noted concerns about the 
economic impacts that reduced quotas may have on the fishing industry, 
particularly small businesses, and suggested NMFS monitor the economic 
impacts on the spiny dogfish industry.
    Response: As noted in response to Comment 5, NMFS must comply with 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act National Standards, including National 
Standards 1 and 8, when setting catch specifications. Typically, the 
Mid-Atlantic Council's risk policy requires an ABC based on a 46-
percent probability of overfishing for a stock just above its biomass 
target, such as Atlantic spiny dogfish. The Mid-Atlantic Council voted 
to waive its risk policy when recommending these specifications due to 
industry testimony about the potential for negative economic impacts 
from quota reductions.
    The National Standard 8 guidelines specify that the requirement to 
account for the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities 
is within the context of the conservation requirements of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act (Sec.  600.345(b)(1)). In other words, the National 
Standard 8 requirements do not supersede the National Standard 1 
requirements to prevent overfishing. An ABC with more than a 50-percent 
probability of overfishing would risk overfishing, stock depletion, 
reduced stock productivity, and lower quotas in future years. 
Sustainable management of the stock, including the prevention of 
overfishing, is intended to ensure the long-term viability of both the 
Atlantic spiny dogfish stock and the industry that relies on that 
stock.
    NMFS collects and analyzes economic and social data on the 
importance of fisheries to communities, as required under National 
Standard 8 (Sec.  600.345(c)). In addition, the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act (RFA)

[[Page 20131]]

requires NMFS to analyze the impacts of these catch specifications on 
small business entities. Information on the expected impacts of these 
catch specifications, including the basis for certification that this 
action would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities, can be found in the proposed rule and in the 
SIR for this rule. Additional economic analysis of the Atlantic spiny 
dogfish fishery can be found in the 2024-2026 Atlantic Spiny Dogfish 
Specifications Environmental Assessment (EA; both the SIR and EA are 
posted at https://www.mafmc.org/supporting-documents).
    Comment 7: One commenter expressed general support for the 
specifications and noted the importance of protecting fisheries.
    Response: NMFS agrees and is implementing the specifications as 
recommended by the Mid-Atlantic and New England Councils.
    Comment 8: Three members of the commercial fishing industry 
asserted that the reduced quota would have an economic impact on 
commercial fishermen and commercial fishing support industries (e.g., 
shipping). The commenters state that roughly 100 people in the 
Commonwealth of Virginia rely on the spiny dogfish fishery, and the 
fishery makes up the majority of the industry's wintertime work. The 
commenters state that the reduced quota could potentially cause 
financial hardship to these individuals, and assert that this 
contradicts the RFA analysis in the proposed rule for these 
specifications.
    Response: The RFA requires that an agency consider whether an 
action will have a significant impact on a substantial number of small 
businesses entities and ways to minimize impacts on small business 
entities. As provided in the proposed rule, this action would maintain 
spiny dogfish specifications and commercial quota at a level above 
recent landings (i.e., 8.5 million lb (3,855 mt) in 2023, with 2024 
catch currently trending lower than that of 2023). As a result, the 
specifications are expected to have an economic impact similar to 
recent years. There is no information that the action might impact 
small businesses differently than large businesses. Further, as 
discussed throughout this document, these specifications are based on 
the highest allowable ABC under National Standard 1, and there are no 
available alternatives that would reduce impacts on small business 
entities. While the commenters suggest that the reduced quota could 
potentially have a negative economic impact to the fishery and related 
businesses, they do not provide evidence that the proposed 
specifications would be expected to have a significant impact on a 
substantial number of small businesses nor contest the factual basis 
for certification under the RFA. No changes were made as a result of 
these comments.

Classification

    NMFS is issuing this rule pursuant to section 305(d) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(d)). The reason for using this 
regulatory authority is that in a previous action taken pursuant to 
section 304(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1854(b)), the FMP 
and implementing regulations created the process by which 
specifications are developed through a NMFS rulemaking process distinct 
from that of 304(b). See 50 CFR 648.232. As such, NMFS is issuing this 
rule pursuant to section 305(d). The NMFS Assistant Administrator has 
determined that this final rule is consistent with the Atlantic Spiny 
Dogfish FMP and other applicable law.
    There is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day 
delay in effective date. The 2025 fishing year began on May 1, 2025. 
The Commission adopted a complementary coastwide quota, which went into 
effect on May 1, 2025. Under the Commission's Interstate Fishery 
Management Plan for Spiny Dogfish, the coastwide quota is allocated 
among the relevant states. State management agencies implement annual 
management measures intended to achieve the state's allocated quota 
over the fishing year. A delay in the date of effectiveness of the 
Federal quota substantially beyond May 1 would be contrary to the 
public interest as it could create misalignment with state management, 
confusion with state agencies as they prepare their annual management 
measures, and confusion in the spiny dogfish industry around current 
quotas. Furthermore, regulated parties do not require any additional 
time to come into compliance with this rule, and thus, a 30-day delay 
before the final rule becomes effective does not provide any benefit. 
Fishery stakeholders have also been involved in the development of this 
action and are anticipating this rule. For these reasons, there is good 
cause not to delay this final rule's effectiveness, consistent with 5 
U.S.C. 553(d)(3), and to implement this action as soon as possible for 
the 2025 fishing year.
    This final rule is exempt from review under Executive Orders 12866 
and 14192.
    NMFS has determined that this action would not have a substantial 
direct effect on one or more Indian Tribes, on the relationship between 
the Federal Government and Indian Tribes, or on the distribution of 
power and responsibilities between the Federal Government and Indian 
Tribes; therefore, consultation with Tribal officials under E.O. 13175 
is not required, and the requirements of sections (5)(b) and (5)(c) of 
E.O. 13175 also do not apply. A Tribal summary impact statement under 
section (5)(b)(2)(B) and section (5)(c)(2)(B) of E.O. 13175 is not 
required and has not been prepared.
    The Chief Counsel for Regulation of the Department of Commerce 
certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration during the proposed rule stage that this action would 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The factual basis for the certification was published in the 
proposed rule and is not repeated here. We received one comment 
regarding the RFA analysis. The comment did not contest the factual 
basis for the certification. As a result, a regulatory flexibility 
analysis was not required and none was prepared.
    This final rule contains no information collection requirements 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

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

    Dated: May 6, 2025.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-08268 Filed 5-9-25; 8:45 am]
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