[Federal Register: May 10, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 89)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 24494-24495]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10my05-12]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[I.D. 040605D]
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Commercial Shark Management
Measures
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Receipt of a petition for rulemaking; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of, and requests public comment on,
a petition from the North Carolina Department of Environment and
Natural Resources, Division of Marine Fisheries (Petitioner) to
initiate rulemaking to amend the extent of the current time/area
closure for Atlantic sharks off the Mid-Atlantic region.
DATES: Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern
standard time, on July 11, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the petition should be sent to Jackie
Wilson, Highly Migratory Species Management Division:
E-mail: SF1.040605D@noaa.gov.
Mail: 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
Please mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on Petition for
Rulemaking for Sharks.''
Fax: 301-713-1917.
[[Page 24495]]
Federal e-Rulemaing Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Include in the subject line the following identifier: I.D. 040605D.
Copies of the petition are available upon request at the address
specified above and are also available on the internet at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jackie Wilson or Karyl Brewster-Geisz
by phone: 301-713-2347 or by fax: 301-713-1917.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Petition for Rulemaking
On March 7, 2005, NMFS received a request from the Petitioner to
initiate rulemaking for a regulatory amendment to 50 CFR 635.2 in the
definition of the ``Mid-Atlantic shark closed area.'' The proposal
would reduce the current closed area by changing the boundary from 55
fathoms to only include waters out to 15 fathoms coastwide for North
Carolina. The Petitioner has stated that this action would allow North
Carolina fishermen access to the larger sharks in deeper waters from 15
to 55 fathoms and minimize discards of juvenile and protected sharks to
a reasonable extent. The Petitioner states that the available data
suggest that juvenile sharks occur predominately near shore. Thus, the
Petitioner proposes that closing out to 15 fathoms along the entire
North Carolina coastline instead of out to 55 fathoms for the northern
part of North Carolina will still attain the management goal of
protecting juvenile sandbar and prohibited dusky sharks. The Petitioner
believes that the offshore extent of the current closed area
encompasses the primary shark fishing grounds off North Carolina and
severely restricts access to the shark quota off North Carolina,
particularly during the first trimester.
The Petitioner asserts that the current time/area closure off of
North Carolina is not justified based on available data, and has been
implemented in violation of at least three National Standards (e.g.,
4, 8, and 10) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act. The Petitioner notes that the proposed change could
address the above concerns and have positive significant economic
benefits to fishermen, dealers, and fishing communities in the South
Atlantic.
During the proposed rule stage of Amendment 1 (August 1, 2003, 68
FR 45196) of the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan, NMFS
took comment on a much larger time/area closure (31,387 square nautical
miles from VA to SC) than the current time/area closure. Based on
comments from fishermen, NMFS conducted additional analyses and
adjusted the time/area closure's seaward boundary to follow the 60 to
80 fathom contour (4,490 square nautical miles). This area was selected
to include all observed catches of dusky and sandbar sharks while
mitigating social and economic impacts on fishing communities in North
Carolina compared to the originally proposed closed area. The analyses
conducted in Amendment 1 indicated that the current time/area closure
should reduce dusky shark catch by 79 percent, and neonate and juvenile
sandbar shark catch by 55 percent. Because the rebuilding plan for
large coastal sharks (LCS) incorporated the mortality reductions
anticipated for the existing time/area closure, it is possible that
changes to the closure of the magnitude suggested by the Petitioner
would require an amendment to the rebuilding plan.
In the final rule, NMFS also delayed implementation of the time/
area closure for a year to allow fishermen time to adjust to the new
regulations (December 24, 2003, 68 FR 74746). Thus, this closure has
not yet been in place for a full year.
The Petitioner notes that North Carolina's interest in changing the
time/area closure is on record. In addition, on March 23, 2005, the
Petitioner presented this issue to the HMS Advisory Panel (AP), stating
that the time/area closure disproportionately affects fishermen
operating from home ports in the State of North Carolina. AP members
noted that the LCS stock assessments determined that sandbar and dusky
sharks have been overfished and are not currently rebuilt, thus
warranting further management actions to rebuild these stocks. AP
members also stated that any amendment to the current time/area closure
must not increase mortality on large juvenile sandbar or dusky sharks
because rebuilding these stocks requires lowering the mortality rate of
large juveniles. AP members also discussed alternatives, such as the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission working with other East
Coast states for more statewide compliance with regulations at least as
restrictive as Federal regulations.
Request for Comments
NMFS solicits comments from the public regarding the need to
proceed with rulemaking to amend the current Mid-Atlantic shark closed
area. NMFS is specifically requesting that the public provide comments
on the social, economic, and biological impacts that a potential
regulatory amendment to the closure would have on the LCS rebuilding
plan. NMFS will consider this public input in determining the need to
amend regulations.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 3, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-9332 Filed 5-9-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S