95-30988. South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 245 (Thursday, December 21, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66247-66249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30988]



=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 642 and 659

[I.D. 120695B]


South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Public hearings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
hold 13 public hearings on Draft Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management 
Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and 
South Atlantic (FMP). In conjunction with these hearings, the Council 
will also hold seven public hearings to solicit comments on management 
measures for Draft Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan for the 
Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). Both Draft Amendment 
8 and 

[[Page 66248]]
Draft Amendment 2 include Supplemental Environmental Impact Statements 
(SEISs).

DATES: Written comments will be accepted until 5 p.m., January 19, 
1996. The hearings will be held from January 1 to January 5, 1996, and 
from January 8 to January 12, 1996. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 
specific dates and times.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft amendments are available from Susan 
Buchanan, Public Information Officer, at [phone]. Written 
comments may be faxed or sent to Bob Mahood, Executive Director, South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, 
Charleston, SC 29407. Fax: [phone]. The draft amendments will be 
available to the public at the hearings.
    The hearings for draft Amendment 8 (Coastal Pelagics) will be held 
in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, 
Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. The hearings for draft Amendment 2 
(Shrimp) will be held in South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and North 
Carolina. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for locations of the hearings 
and special accommodations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Buchanan, 803-571-4366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The hearings are scheduled to begin at 7 
p.m. and will end when all business is completed. The dates and 
locations are scheduled as follows:
    1. Tuesday, January 2, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics) Ft. Pierce--Holiday 
Inn, 7151 Okeechobbe Road, Ft. Pierce, FL; telephone: [phone];
    2. Tuesday, January 2, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics & Shrimp) Murrell's 
Inlet--Murrell's Inlet Community Center, 4450 Murrell's Inlet Road, 
Murrell's Inlet, SC; telephone: [phone];
    3. Wednesday, January 3, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics & Shrimp) 
Jacksonville--Sea Turtle Days Inn, 10 Ocean Blvd., Atlantic Beach, FL; 
telephone: [phone];
    4. Wednesday, January 3, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics & Shrimp) 
Wilmington--Holiday Inn, 1706 N. Lumina Avenue, Wrightsville Beach, NC; 
telephone: [phone];
    5. Thursday, January 4, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics & Shrimp) 
Brunswick--Comfort Inn--I95, 5308 New Jesup Highway,
    Brunswick, GA; telephone: [phone];
    6. Thursday, January 4, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics & Shrimp) Morehead 
City--Carteret Community College, 3505 Arendell Street, Morehead City, 
NC; telephone: [phone];
    7. Friday, January 5, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics & Shrimp) Savannah--
Holiday Inn-Mid-Town, 7100 Abercorn Street,
    Savannah, GA; telephone: [phone];
    8. Monday, January 8, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics & Shrimp) 
Charleston--Town & Country Inn, 2008 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC; 
telephone: [phone];
    9. Monday, January 8, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics) Ronkonkoma--Holiday 
Inn, 3845 Veterans Memorial Highway, Ronkonkoma, NY; telephone: (516) 
585-9500;
    10. Tuesday, January 9, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics) Tom's River--
Holiday Inn, 290 Route 37 East, Tom's River, NJ; telephone: (908) 244-
4000;
    11. Wednesday, January 10, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics) Salisbury--
Holiday Inn, 2625 N. Salisbury Blvd., Salisbury, MD; telephone: (410) 
742-7194;
    12. Thursday, January 11, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics) Norfolk--Quality 
Inn Lake Wright, 6280 Northampton Blvd, Norfolk, VA; telephone: (804) 
461-6251;
    13. Friday, January 12, 1996, (Coastal Pelagics) Manteo--North 
Carolina Aquarium, Airport Road, Manteo, NC; telephone: [phone];

Draft Amendment 8 to the Coastal Migratory Pelagic FMP

    The South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Councils will hold public hearings on draft Amendment 8 to 
the FMP and the draft SEIS. Amendment 8 proposes management measures 
for the fisheries for king and Spanish mackerel, cobia, and dolphin 
(fish). Amendment 8 proposes measures that (1) apply only to the South 
Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic Council's jurisdiction, (2) apply only to the 
Gulf Council's jurisdiction, or (3) apply to the three Councils' 
jurisdictions.
    Proposed actions that would affect only the stocks and area under 
the jurisdiction of the South Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic Council are as 
follows: Harvest Spanish mackerel only with hook and line, run-around 
nets and stab nets (nets shall not exceed 600 yd (549 m) in length), 
and along Florida's east coast nets are limited to 1 hour soak time; 
harvest king mackerel with hook and line only; allow the harvest of 
other directed coastal pelagics with surface longline, hook and line 
including manual, electric, or hydraulic rod and reels, and bandit gear 
only; allow the use of cast nets and other nets with mesh sizes no 
larger than 2 1/2-inch (6.35 cm) stretch mesh and no longer than 50 yd 
(46 m) for the purpose of catching bait; allow the introduction of 
experimental gear; provide that non-conforming gear be limited to the 
bag limit for species with a bag limit; allow the transfer at sea of 
Spanish mackerel between permitted vessels; establish a 5-year 
moratorium beginning on October 16, 1995 on the issuance of commercial 
vessel permits with a king mackerel endorsement; provide for the 
transfer of vessel permits to other vessels; require that anyone 
applying for a commercial vessel permit demonstrate that 25 percent of 
annual income or $5,000 is from commercial fishing; require that as a 
condition for a Federal commercial or charter vessel permit, the 
applicant comply with the more restrictive of state or Federal rules 
when fishing in state waters; extend the range of cobia management 
through New York; establish the following commercial trip limits for 
Atlantic king mackerel of 3,500 lb (1.6 mt) for Volusia/Flagler County, 
FL to the New York/Connecticut border from April 1 - March 31, a 3,500 
lb (1.6 mt) limit for Volusia/Flagler to Brevard/Volusia, FL from April 
1 to October 31, and a 50-fish limit for Brevard/Volusia to Dade/
Monroe, FL from April 1 to October 31.
    Amendment 8 also includes the following measures that apply to the 
three Councils' jurisdictions: Require commercial dealer permits to buy 
and sell coastal pelagic fish managed under the FMP and require that 
dealers keep and make available records of purchase by vessel; 
recreational bag and commercial trip limit alternatives for cobia and 
dolphin (fish); retention of king mackerel damaged by barracuda bites 
by vessels under commercial trip limits; an alternative trip limit for 
Atlantic group king mackerel for Monroe County, FL of 125 fish from 
April 1 to October 31; changes to procedures used to set total 
allowable catch; and changes to definitions of overfishing and optimum 
yield.
    Proposed measures in Amendment 8 applying only to the area and 
stocks under the jurisdiction of the Gulf of Mexico Council were 
published in the Federal Register on December 5, 1995.

Draft Amendment 2 to the Shrimp FMP

    At its meeting of August 21-25, 1995, the Council approved draft 
Amendment 2 to the Shrimp FMP for public hearing. At its October 23-27 
meeting, at the request of the Director, Southeast Region, NMFS 
(Regional Director), the Council approved additional options concerning 
a bycatch reduction device (BRD) certification protocol for inclusion 
in Amendment 2.
    The Council is holding public hearings to solicit views on certain 
management measures in the draft amendment that are intended to reduce 

[[Page 66249]]
bycatch in South Atlantic penaeid shrimp fisheries included in the 
amendment.
    Draft Amendment 2 would also modify the management unit to include 
the populations of brown and pink shrimp occurring along the U.S. 
Atlantic coast from the east coast of Florida, including the Atlantic 
side of the Florida Keys, to the North Carolina/Virginia border. This 
amendment includes measures to reduce bycatch only in the penaeid 
shrimp fishery.
    Shrimp trawls have a significant bycatch of non-target finfish and 
invertebrates, most of which are discarded dead. This may reduce 
ecosystem diversity, adversely impact other fauna, and significantly 
reduce yield in other fisheries directed at these discarded species. 
The Council is proposing regulations to address a mandate established 
by the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission to minimize the impact 
of bycatch on Spanish mackerel and weakfish resources.
    Also, the South Atlantic states, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Georgia, and Florida are directed under the interjurisdictional 
weakfish management plan to implement management measures that will 
reduce bycatch of weakfish in shrimp trawls by 50 percent for the 1996 
shrimp season. The Council, in order to create compatible regulations 
with the South Atlantic states, is addressing bycatch in Federal waters 
to ensure effective reduction of weakfish bycatch throughout the range 
of the species.

Management Measures under Consideration

    The following management measures are under consideration by the 
Council for inclusion in Amendment 2 to the Shrimp FMP:
    1. Add brown and pink shrimp to the management unit,
    2. Define overfishing for brown and pink shrimp,
    3. Define optimum yield for the pink and brown shrimp fisheries,
    4. Require the use of certified BRDs in all penaeid shrimp trawls 
in the South Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). All shrimp nets 
(any net with mesh less than 2 1/2 inches (6.35 cm) stretch mesh) and 
all nets greater than 15 ft (4.6 m) in footrope length (or compatible 
with Turtle Excluder Device requirements for try nets) that are used as 
try (test) nets would be required to use a certified BRD.
    A. Upon implementation of Amendment 2, BRDs that have passed the 
operational testing phase of the NMFS cooperative bycatch research 
program (fish eyes, extended funnels and large mesh) are de facto 
certified for use in the EEZ.
    B. Other BRDs will subsequently be certified according to 
procedures and criteria specified in item 5.
    5. Establish a BRD certification process and specify certification 
criteria for new or modified BRDs. The Council is specifically 
requesting input from industry members concerning protocol options for 
future BRD certification of new or modified BRDs:
    A. The following are options for BRD certification protocol being 
considered by the Council:
    Option 1: The Council makes final recommendations for certification 
to the NMFS Regional Director;
    Option 2: The Regional Director makes the decision based on direct 
application to NMFS; and
    Option 3: BRDs developed, tested and approved by state agencies, 
meeting the criteria specified in the amendment, may be used in the EEZ 
in lieu of BRDs certified by NMFS.
    Three geographical sub-options are identified for Option 3 to 
specify where state-approved BRDs would be allowed for use in the EEZ:
    i: Adjacent to the state in which the BRD was approved,
    ii: Throughout the EEZ in the South Atlantic region, or
    iii: In the EEZ by vessels registered in the state where BRDs have 
been approved.
    B. The Amendment will also establish certification criteria for new 
or modified BRDs. New or modified BRDs must be certified or approved by 
NMFS for use in the South Atlantic penaeid shrimp fishery based on the 
following criteria:
    i. The BRD must reduce the bycatch component of fishing mortality 
for Spanish mackerel and weakfish by 50 percent, and
    ii. The shrimp loss rate (by weight) must be acceptable to 
fishermen.
    The Council intends to finalize both Amendments at its meeting in 
St. Augustine, FL, from February 12-16, 1996. The public will have an 
opportunity to comment at the full Council session before the Council 
takes final action to adopt the amendment's management measures. Once 
finalized, the amendment will be submitted to NMFS for review, approval 
and implementation. NMFS will provide a 60-day public comment period on 
the amendment and a 45-day public comment period on the proposed 
implementing rule during its 110-day review period.

Special Accommodations

    These hearings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office (see ADDRESSES) 
by December 27, 1995.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: December 15, 1995.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-30988 Filed 12-20-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F