[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 29, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61243-61244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-29164]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 112195C]
Workshops on Limited Access for Atlantic Swordfish and Atlantic
Shark Fisheries
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of meeting.
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SUMMARY: On December 6-8, 1995, NMFS will conduct the first in a series
of workshops to design potential limited access management systems for
the Atlantic swordfish and Atlantic shark fisheries.
DATES: December 6 and 7, 1995, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and December 8, 1995,
8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the Quality Hotel, 8727
Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910; Telephone (301) 589-5200.
Send comments to Richard B. Stone, Chief, Highly Migratory Species
Management Division (FCM4), Office of Fisheries Conservation and
Management, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela Mace, Sarah McLaughlin or John
Kelly, telephone: (301) 713-2347, Fax (301) 713-0596.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Over the past few years, NMFS has received increasing numbers of
comments from fishermen and other stakeholders who think that some form
of limited access is essential for effective management of highly
migratory species (HMS) fisheries. In response to this input, NMFS
prepared an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on July 28,
1995 (60 FR 38785) announcing the availability of a Concept Paper
entitled ``Towards Rationalization of Fisheries for Atlantic Highly
Migratory Species'' and two Supplemental Papers detailing options for
establishing an interim permit moratorium and eligibility criteria for
the Atlantic swordfish and Atlantic shark fisheries. For swordfish and
sharks, NMFS has designed a two-phase process: (1) A proposed rule to
implement a moratorium on the issuance of permits for the Atlantic
shark and swordfish commercial fisheries, based on comments on the ANPR
and discussion papers; and (2) limited access workshops, which will
commence before the outcome of the permit moratorium rulemaking process
is known but could be modified depending on whether a permit moratorium
is actually implemented. NMFS staff is currently drafting fishery
management plan amendments and associated documents required to
implement the permit moratorium for each species.
The limited access workshops are viewed as input to long-term
management strategies, whereas a permit moratorium is seen as a stopgap
measure to temporarily restrict new entrants. NMFS plans to schedule
the limited access workshops to last 2-3 days each, and to occur
approximately once every 2 months for a period of approximately 1 year,
with provision to continue into a second year if necessary.
Participants in the workshops will provide input to NMFS on the pros
and cons of various limited access options. NMFS will prepare written
summaries of the discussions at each workshop and make these freely
available to the public. NMFS also expects that industry
representatives and others who attend the workshops will report to
their associates and by this means solicit additional input that can be
presented at the next workshop. In addition, NMFS will accept written
suggestions and comments at any time beginning December 6, 1995.
Comments should be sent to (see ADDRESSES).
Ultimately, NMFS will prepare a ``strawman'' proposal for long-term
management strategies that could replace permit moratoria for swordfish
and sharks, if the moratoria are implemented. The strawman proposal is
likely to include identification of viable options for each component
of the proposal, based on input received during and between the
workshops, and may form the basis for a concept paper or a proposed
rule. In either case, NMFS will conduct extensive public hearings on
the proposal over a prolonged period to maximize the opportunity for
comment from the broadest possible cross-section of the fishing
industry and other stakeholders.
Participation
There are more than 1,200 permit holders in the Atlantic swordfish
fishery, and more than 2,000 current permit holders in the Atlantic
shark fishery, as well as many other types of stakeholders. NMFS
considers it to be impractical to work through the large number of
complex issues associated with limited access with several hundred
participants at any given time. NMFS believes that the number of
participants in a working group setting should not exceed about 20-25,
including NMFS staff. Therefore, NMFS has requested that specific
commercial fishermen's organizations (both harvesters and dealers),
recreational organizations, marine conservation groups, Fishery
Management Councils, and Marine Fisheries Commissions each select one
representative to attend and participate in the workshops. The
[[Page 61244]]
organizations expected to participate include:
Commercial Fishermen's Organizations
Blue Water Fishermen's Association
National Fisheries Institute
Southern Offshore Fishermen's Association
Directed Shark Fishery Association
North Carolina Commercial Fisheries Association
New Jersey Seafood Harvesters' Association
Northeast Atlantic Swordfish Net Association
Recreational Groups
National Fishing Association
A representative from the charter/headboat industry
Marine Conservation Group
Ocean Wildlife Campaign
Fishery Management Councils
New England Fishery Management Council
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
Caribbean Fishery Management Council
Marine Fisheries Commissions
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission
NMFS staff and members of the academic community will also be
invited to participate as needed.
The criteria used by NMFS to specify the commercial and
recreational organizations included the size of the membership of
fishermen or dealers/processors who target swordfish or sharks, and
geographic representation. NMFS has already provided preliminary,
informal notifications and requests for comments about the suggested
composition of the workshops in two open letters distributed via the
HMS Fax network on October 10, 1995 and November 3, 1995. There was
very little response to the first open letter, but subsequently NMFS
has received several additional requests to attend and participate in
the first workshop. Therefore, NMFS is extending the invitation to
attend the first workshop to other organizations or associations that
are directly involved in the Atlantic swordfish or Atlantic shark
fisheries. NMFS requests that each such organization or association
limit the number of representatives to one individual and that everyone
who plans to attend the workshop should notify (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT) no later than November 30, 1995. Format and
representation in future workshops will be one of the agenda items for
the first workshop.
In future workshops, if any organizations or individuals feel their
views are not represented, and that other opportunities for providing
comment and input are inadequate, they may attend all or a part of a
workshop, provided they give NMFS at least 2 weeks notice so that an
appropriate meeting room can be organized. Such organizations or
individuals may attend the meeting as observers and/or may request a
specific time slot to present their views.
Objectives and Format
The objectives of the first workshop are:
(i) Information exchange: What general types of limited access have
previously been proposed or implemented; what are their biological,
economic, social, legal and enforcement implications; what practical
lessons can be learned from systems already implemented in the United
States?
(ii) Scoping of options: Is limited access an essential part of any
long-term management strategy for Atlantic swordfish and Atlantic shark
fisheries; if so, what is the range of options that are relevant or
viable for these fisheries?
Two other important issues that are considered beyond the scope of
the workshops and will not be discussed in these workshops are the
annual quotas for Atlantic swordfish and shark fisheries and
allocations of annual quotas between user groups and geographic
regions.
The first two workshops will include several presentations by
invited speakers knowledgeable about various forms of limited access.
Other speakers will be invited as the need arises. NMFS staff will also
collate important background papers and summaries concerning limited
access. Background documents may be provided in advance of the
workshops. The workshops will use a moderated, open-discussion
framework to present and discuss issues and options. At the end of each
workshop, participants will discuss a preliminary agenda for the next
workshop. There will be no consensus recommendation from the workshops.
NMFS staff will summarize workshop discussions as quickly as
possible and disseminate them via the HMS Fax Network, and upon written
or verbal request from members of the public. NMFS staff will finalize
the agenda for each upcoming workshop at least one week prior to the
workshop, and disseminate it by the same means. The objectives of the
workshops will not be subject to substantive change, but the format and
procedures adopted to ensure orderly progress in the workshops may be
modified over time.
Special Accommodations
This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities.
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids
should be directed to John Kelly at (301) 713-2347 at least 5 days
prior to the meeting date.
Dated: November 22, 1995.
Richard H. Schaefer,
Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, National
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-29164 Filed 11-24-95; 3:17 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
