[Federal Register: March 1, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 41)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 11028-11029]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01mr00-26]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[I.D. 021500A]
RIN 0648-AM75
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Amendment 12 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Coastal
Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic
(Amendment 12)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of Amendment 12; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic
Fishery Management Councils (Councils) have submitted Amendment 12 for
review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 12 contains a
single action that would extend the expiration date of the commercial
king mackerel vessel permit moratorium through October 15, 2005.
Written comments are requested from the public.
DATES: Comments must received at the appropriate address or fax number,
(see ADDRESSES), no later than 5:00 p.m., eastern standard time, on May
1, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Steve Branstetter,
Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St.
Petersburg, FL 33702. Comments also may be sent via fax to 727-570-
5583. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or
Internet.
Requests for copies of Amendment 12, which includes an
environmental assessment and a regulatory impact review, may be
obtained from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Suite
1000, 3018 U.S. Highway 301 North, Tampa, FL 33619; telephone: 813-228-
2815; fax: 813-225-7015; e-mail: gulf.council@noaa.gov; or from the
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Southpark Building, One
Southpark Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 29407-4699; telephone: 843-
571-4366; fax: 843-769-4520; e-mail: safmc@noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Branstetter, 727-570-5305; fax
727-570-5583; e-mail: steve.branstetter@noaa.gov.
[[Page 11029]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each Regional
Fishery Management Council to submit an FMP or amendment to NMFS for
review and approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-
Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or
amendment, immediately publish a document in the Federal Register
stating that the amendment is available for public review and comment.
Amendment 8 to the FMP for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources
of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic established the commercial
king mackerel vessel permit moratorium in March 1998. Amendment 12
would extend the moratorium from its current expiration date of October
15, 2000, to October 15, 2005, or until the moratorium can be replaced
with a license limitation, limited access, and/or individual fishing
quota or individual transferrable quota system, whichever occurs
earlier. The intended effects of extending the permit moratorium
through the proposed action are to prevent increases in fishing effort,
to possibly reduce the number of permittees in the king mackerel
fishery, and to stabilize the economic performance of current
participants while protecting king mackerel from overfishing.
Currently, various hook-and-line and run-around gillnet fisheries
for king mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic region
are subject to closures when the quotas are filled before the end of
their respective fishing years. Such closures in recent years indicate
that fleet size and fishery effort still exceed that needed to harvest
the allowable quotas. The Councils are concerned that allowing the
current moratorium to expire would increase the number of participants
in the king mackerel fishery, thereby negating any reductions in effort
that have been achieved as a result of the current moratorium. An
increase in participants would exacerbate the current derby fisheries
that occur in the western Gulf zone and in the Florida west coast
gillnet fishery, would lead to even earlier closures, and would have an
adverse impact on the economic returns to the current participants.
Increased participation would also compound the complexity of the
Councils' future task in developing a controlled access system for this
fishery. For example, if the future assignment of fishing privileges
under a new limited access system is weighted more toward historical
rather than current participation, new fishery entrants may lose a good
part of their new investments.
In accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the
proposed rule to implement Amendment 12 to determine if it is
consistent with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable
law. If that determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish the
proposed rule in the Federal Register for public review and comment.
NMFS will consider comments received by May 1, 2000, whether
specifically directed to Amendment 12 or its proposed rule, in its
decision to approve, disapprove, or partially disapprove the amendment.
NMFS will address all the comments received during the respective
comment periods for Amendment 12 and its proposed rule in the preamble
of the final rule.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 24, 2000.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-4911 Filed 2-29-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F