[Federal Register: November 18, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 222)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 69502-69503]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18no02-16]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 635
[I.D. 110102J]
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fisheries; Atlantic Bluefin
Tuna; Petition for Rulemaking
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of a petition for rulemaking; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces receipt of, and requests public comment on, a
petition from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
(Petitioner)
[[Page 69503]]
to initiate rulemaking to amend the current Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT)
allocation criteria and to create a winter time-period subquota. The
Petitioner has requested that NMFS commence the rulemaking process as
soon as possible.
DATES: Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., Eastern Standard
Time, on December 18, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the petition should be sent to Brad
McHale, Highly Migratory Species Management Division, National Marine
Fisheries Service, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. Mark
on the outside of the envelope: ``Comments on Petition for
Rulemaking.'' Comments may also be sent via a facsimile (fax) to (978)
281-9340. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the
Internet. Copies of the letter constituting the petition are available
upon request at the address mentioned above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad McHale, Fishery Management
Specialist, (978) 281-9260.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Petition for Rulemaking
On October 16, 2002, the Petitioner submitted a request to NMFS to
initiate rulemaking for a regulatory amendment to 50 CFR 635.27 that
would allocate 23 percent of the General category BFT quota to a new
December 1 through January 31 time-period subquota. In 2002, the
initial General Category quota equaled 647 mt, thus 23 percent would
equal 150 mt. The Petitioner states that the quota allocated to the
late season General category fishery does not provide reasonable
opportunity to harvest BFT when they appear off the South Atlantic
coast. The Petitioner believes that there is inequity in the current
General category BFT management scheme and that it is necessary to
create a General category December through January subquota to ensure
fair and equitable treatment to all General category permit holders.
The Petitioner explains that the current allocation of General category
quota disadvantages General category permit holders who wish to
commercially pursue BFT in the South Atlantic, confounds the collection
of fishery data, and confounds management for optimum yield.
The Petitioner notes that the proposed amendment could remedy the
above inequities, address concerns over National Standard 4, benefit
all U.S. BFT fishermen, and have significant economic benefits to South
Atlantic fishing communities. The Petitioner also recognizes the
proposed amendment could have some negative effects on participants who
exploit available quota during earlier time-period subquotas. However,
the Petitioner believes that the negative impacts could be mitigated if
New England fishermen elect to pursue the BFT as they move south of the
South Atlantic states.
The Petitioner acknowledges that operating under the National
Standards set forth in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act is a NOAA priority and policy. To that end, the
Petitioner believes that the proposed amendment addresses serious
issues related to several National Standards. The Petitioner also
believes that the proposed amendment is consistent with specific
objectives contained in the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas,
Swordfish and Sharks (HMS FMP), including improved coordination of
domestic conservation and management of the highly migratory species
fisheries, considering the multi-species nature of these fisheries,
overlapping regional and individual participation, international
management concerns, and other relevant factors, as well as maintaining
the fishing season and geographic range of the fishery within its
historic context to improve scientific monitoring and enhance fishing
opportunities. In addition, the Petitioner notes that the 2002 quota
specifications and General category effort controls acknowledge that
the BFT fishery has changed in recent years with higher catch rates in
the fall/winter. According to Petitioner, the proposed amendment would
allow more time to harvest the General category subquota and minimize
the need to increase harvest limits to levels that could negatively
affect prices to U.S. fishermen in international markets.
Issue Background
The request made by the Petitioner has been recently discussed in
several public forums. During the development of the issue of opening a
southern commercial handgear BFT fishery, the HMS Advisory Panel and
public extensively discussed establishing a set-aside quota for a North
Carolina General category fishery. However, the HMS AP did not reach
consensus on whether or not to allow a new southern commercial fishery.
At that time, NMFS maintained its position that allowing new gear types
and large scale fisheries for BFT would not be consistent with
rebuilding overfished stocks and preventing overfishing. In analyzing a
variety of long-term effort controls in the BFT fishery, the HMS FMP
concluded that the status quo management regime for the General
category would assist attainment of optimum yield and address
allocation issues by lengthening the season over time and space in a
category with high participation and catch rates.
During the 2002 HMS AP meeting, representatives from North Carolina
presented a proposal to allocate General category BFT quota during a
time and/or in an area so that North Carolina fishermen would have
local access to the commercial handgear fishery. The HMS AP again
extensively discussed the issue but did not reach consensus.
During the comment period for the 2002 BFT Quota Specifications and
General Category Effort controls, NMFS received numerous comments,
stating that North Carolina should have its own winter General category
set-aside quota. These comments also stated that the current General
category allocation scheme discriminates between residents of different
states and fails to provide equitable fishing opportunities across
different geographical areas. Commenters also requested that there be a
December through January time-period subquota established for southern
states.
At that time, NMFS maintained the current quota allocation scheme
and did not implement a specific set-aside quota for North Carolina.
NMFS stated it would continue to assess the order of magnitude and
scope of the fishing activities that would be associated with a North
Carolina General category BFT fishery and would continue to work with
the HMS AP to address potential solutions.
Request for Comments
This document solicits comments from the public regarding the need
to proceed with rulemaking to amend the current General category BFT
quota allocation schedule and the provision that closes the General
category BFT fishery on December 31 of each year. NMFS is specifically
requesting that the public provide comments on the social, economic,
and biological impacts this regulatory amendment would have on the
General category BFT Fishery. NMFS will consider this information in
determining whether to proceed with the development of amended
regulations requested by the petition.
Dated: November 12, 2002.
John H. Dunnigan,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 02-29215 Filed 11-15-02; 8:45 am]
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