[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 235 (Thursday, December 5, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64497-64498]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30973]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 656
[Docket No. 950915230-6327-04; I.D. 110196E]
RIN 0648-AH57
Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: NMFS withdraws the September 27, 1995, proposed rule to remove
a Federal moratorium on the harvest or possession of Atlantic striped
bass in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), offshore from Maine to
Florida, and the implementation of a minimum size limit for Atlantic
striped bass possessed in the EEZ. The proposed rule is withdrawn
because of specific recommendations not considered at the time of
proposed rulemaking.
DATES: This proposed rule is withdrawn on December 4, 1996.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Meyer, 301-427-2014.
[[Page 64498]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A proposed rule was published on September
27, 1995 (60 FR 49821), under section 6 of the Atlantic Striped Bass
Conservation Act (Striped Bass Act), Public Law 100-589, reproduced at
16 U.S.C. 1851 note, to: (1) Remove the current moratorium on the
harvest and possession of striped bass in the EEZ, (2) prohibit the
possession of striped bass in the EEZ of less than 28 inches (71.1 cm)
total length, and (3) provide that state regulations apply to any
striped bass being transported into a state's jurisdiction from the
EEZ.
Comments received during the proposed rule comment period (ending
October 27, 1995) at nine public hearings and from numerous letters
indicated substantial public concern on the following: (1) The stock
was not fully recovered and the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary)
should wait until the 2-year transitional period is completed (January
1, 1997) before reopening the EEZ, (2) reopening the EEZ would create
law enforcement loopholes, and (3) a large percentage of the public
objected to any commercial fishing for striped bass in the EEZ. In
addition, NMFS received specific recommendations from both the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (MAFMC) to delay removal of the moratorium in the
EEZ until the ASMFC moved from the transitional fishery mortality rate
(F) target of (F = 0.33) to a ``fully restored'' fishery (F = 0.40),
which was scheduled to occur on January 1, 1997.
On May 29, 1996, the ASMFC's Striped Bass Stock Assessment
Committee (SBSAC) presented preliminary data to the ASMFC's Striped
Bass Management Board (Board) that suggests that, on a coast-wide
basis, striped bass fisheries may be occurring at or above the
prescribed transitional fishing mortality rate (F = 0.33) contained in
Amendment 5 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic
Striped Bass (Plan). Based on these data, the SBSAC recommended to the
Board that the transitional F (0.33) remain operable for at least 1
more year (until January 1, 1998). The Board unanimously adopted this
recommendation and provided additional supplementary guidance to
certain states, and to NMFS, directed at strengthening the regulatory
regime.
On September 25, 1996, the Board approved a motion (nine to eight)
to freeze the quotas for striped bass along the Atlantic coast,
including the important spawning areas represented by Chesapeake Bay
and other estuaries, until January 1, 1998. As a result of that vote,
many of the technical issues placed before the Board by the Striped
Bass Technical Committee were left unresolved. In an effort to resolve
them, the Board met again on October 21, 1996, and decided to have
ASMFC staff prepare an addendum to the Plan. Consequently, no
determination will be made on possible quota increases for striped bass
until January 1997, following public hearings.
In addition, the President signed into law the Sustainable
Fisheries Act of 1996 (SFA) on October 11, 1996. The SFA added three
new national standards to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). These new national standards
were not considered at the time of proposed rulemaking. Regulations
under the Striped Bass Act must be consistent with the national
standards.
The Striped Bass Act provides authority to the Secretary to
implement regulations that are necessary to ensure the effectiveness of
state regulations to implement the ASMFC's Plan. The proposed rule was
designed to complement the ASMFC's Plan while meeting this legal
requirement. Based on the current uncertainty about the interim fishing
mortality rate target (F = 0.33) being achieved, the ASMFC's action to
postpone going to a full (F = 0.40) fishery until January 1, 1998, the
ongoing work to identify and correct some potential enforcement
loopholes, the ASMFC's decision to prepare an addendum to Amendment 5
to address the 1997 fishery, and the addition of three new national
standards to the Magnuson-Stevens Act not considered at the time of
proposed rulemaking, the Secretary is withdrawing the proposed rule to
allow NMFS and the ASMFC additional time to address these concerns
before considering reinitiation of rulemaking on or about January 1,
1998.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1851 note.
Dated: November 27, 1996.
Gary C. Matlock,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 96-30973 Filed 12-4-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
