[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 206 (Monday, October 26, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 57093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28602]
[[Page 57093]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Parts 285, 630, and 678
[I.D. 071698B(2)]
RIN 0648-AJ67
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft fishery management plan
(FMP); request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the submission of the draft Fishery Management
Plan for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) for Secretarial
review. The draft HMS FMP integrates existing management for the
Atlantic tunas, swordfish, and shark fisheries, defines overfishing
criteria, develops rebuilding management strategies, describes and
identifies essential fish habitat (EFH), and establishes framework
procedures for regulatory changes.
DATES: Written comments on the draft HMS FMP must be received on or
before January 25, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the draft HMS FMP should be sent to, and
copies of the document are available from, Rebecca Lent, Chief, Highly
Migratory Species Management Division, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway,
Silver Spring, MD, 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin at (301) 713-2347.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning January 1, 1992, the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary) was granted the authority to manage Atlantic tunas
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). To date, no FMP has
been implemented for tunas, and Atlantic tunas have been managed under
the authority of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA, 16 U.S.C. 971
et seq.). Atlantic tunas regulations are found at 50 CFR part 285. The
Atlantic swordfish fishery is managed under an FMP implemented on
September 18, 1985, and its implementing regulations at 50 CFR part
630, under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. Atlantic
sharks are managed under an FMP, implemented on February 25, 1993,
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, with regulations
published at 50 CFR part 678.
Upon implementation of the HMS FMP, the Secretary will issue
Atlantic tunas and North Atlantic swordfish regulations under the
authority of both the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. Regulations issued
under the authority of ATCA carry out the recommendations of the
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
(ICCAT). The South Atlantic swordfish stock is not included in this
draft FMP because its range does not extend into the Exclusive Economic
Zone of the United States. Therefore, the South Atlantic swordfish will
be managed solely under ATCA. Because Atlantic sharks are not subject
to ICCAT management recommendations, they will continue to be managed
solely under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
If approved, the HMS FMP will integrate management for Atlantic
tunas, swordfish, and sharks, replacing the existing FMPs. This draft
FMP was developed in coordination with the development of Amendment 1
to the Atlantic Billfish FMP. The HMS FMP will define overfishing
status determination criteria, which designate western Atlantic bluefin
tuna, North Atlantic swordfish, and large coastal sharks of the
Atlantic as overfished. NMFS has developed a domestic rebuilding
strategy that identifies biomass and fishing mortality targets, and
proposes a suite of management alternatives designed to reduce fishing
mortality, bycatch, and bycatch mortality. Preferred alternatives
include measures to rebuild overfished fisheries in timeframes
consistent with guidelines for implementation of national standard 1 of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to control fishing effort and allocate
domestic landing quotas, and to address issues of safety at sea,
enforcement, permitting, reporting, and catch monitoring. NMFS does not
identify a preferred alternative for bluefin tuna stock rebuilding in
the draft FMP because new information on stock status and/or recovery
trajectories from the recent 1998 assessment, as well as negotiations
at the 1998 ICCAT meeting, could result in development of new
rebuilding alternatives for the bluefin tuna stock. The preferred
alternative for bluefin tuna rebuilding will be identified following
the November 1998 ICCAT meeting. NMFS will publish the preferred
alternative and associated analyses as an addendum to the draft FMP,
and will propose measures to implement the preferred alternative in a
separate rulemaking. In addition, EFH is described and identified for
Atlantic tunas, sharks, and swordfish.
All existing management measures are retained under the draft FMP.
Modifications to measures are proposed as preferred alternatives.
Should NMFS determine that further changes are necessary once the FMP
is final, they will be made through the FMP amendment process or
through rulemaking as described in the FMP framework provisions.
In a separate document to be published in the Federal Register,
NMFS will propose regulations to implement the preferred alternatives
specified in the draft HMS FMP. During the comment period on the
proposed rule, NMFS will hold public hearings on the draft FMP and on
the proposed implementing regulations. The dates and locations of these
public hearings will be published in the Federal Register at a later
date. In addition to the other measures, NMFS specifically requests
comments on the designation of Sargassum as EFH for Atlantic HMS, and
on the effect of spotter plane use on bluefin tuna catch rates. The
draft FMP does not propose measures relating to spotter planes;
however, NMFS is conducting further analyses and is collecting
information on the issue. NMFS also seeks determinations from coastal
states on whether the preferred management measures would be consistent
with the existing or planned state regulations and should be applicable
in state waters. All comments on the FMP or on the proposed rule during
their respective comment periods will be addressed in the final rule.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. and 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.
Dated: October 21, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-28602 Filed 10-21-98; 1:16 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
