[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 58 (Monday, March 25, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12055-12056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7111]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 640
RIN 0648-AI16
[Docket No. 960314075-6075-01; I.D. 030896A]
Spiny Lobster Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic;
Removal of Regulations
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS proposes to withdraw approval of the Fishery Management
Plan for the Spiny Lobster Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and South
Atlantic (FMP) and remove its implementing regulations. Virtually the
entire commercial and recreational fisheries for spiny lobsters occur
off Florida's coast and State regulations are adequate to protect and
manage the resource. Accordingly, removal of the Federal regulations
eliminates duplication of effort, reduces costs of enforcement and data
collection, and is in accordance with the President's Regulatory
Reinvention Initiative intended to reform Federal regulations.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 9, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposed rule and requests for copies
of the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review on this action
to the Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N.,
St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Georgia Cranmore, 813-570-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP was prepared by the Gulf of Mexico
and South Atlantic Fishery Management Councils (Councils) and was
implemented in 1982 through regulations at 50 CFR part 640 under the
authority of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act
(Magnuson Act).
The spiny lobster fishery managed under the FMP is located
primarily off the coast of Florida. The majority of harvest is from
Florida's waters (0-3 nautical miles (0-5.6 km) off the Atlantic coast
and 0-9 nautical miles (0-16.7 km) off the Gulf coast), and virtually
all of the harvest is landed in Florida's ports. The principal harvest
area is the Florida Keys reef tract. Consequently, the great
preponderance of landings have occurred in Dade and Monroe Counties,
the southernmost counties of Florida. In 1995, 97 percent of the
commercial landings of spiny lobster were in these two counties and 92
percent of those spiny lobster were harvested in Florida's waters. A
Florida license is required for all commercial landings in Florida. The
FMP, as implemented in 1982, and subsequently amended, complemented the
State's management regime. By adopting Florida's rules, the Council and
NMFS accommodated Florida's leading role in regulating this fishery.
The regulations to implement Amendment 4 to the FMP (60 FR 21493,
May 2, 1995) for the first time established management measures other
than Florida's for the spiny lobster fishery off the states of Georgia,
South Carolina, and North Carolina. These regulations opened the
fishery year-round in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off those
states, but established a daily bag or possession limit of two spiny
lobsters per person in or from the EEZ in both the commercial and
recreational fisheries.
Recent commercial landings of spiny lobster off the southern
Atlantic states north of Florida are negligible--not exceeding 45 lb
(20 kg) per year in the years 1990 through 1994. Recreational landings
north of Florida are not known. However, a recent NMFS survey indicated
that only a small number of recreational divers harvested spiny lobster
north of Florida. In addition, scientific debate continues regarding
the biological status and population dynamics of spiny lobsters in
waters north of Florida, including the issues of recruitment and the
fate of larvae from the adult population in this area. Commercial
landings in Gulf states other than Florida are sporadic and minimal,
not exceeding 507 lb (230 kg) in any of the years 1990 through 1994.
The level of recreational fishing for lobsters in these Gulf states is
unknown. For these reasons, lack of Federal management of this fishery
is unlikely to have any significant effect on the status of the
resource or on the conduct of the fishery.
Section 303(a)(1) of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1853 (a)(1))
requires that a fishery management plan contain the measures that are
``necessary and appropriate for the conservation and management of the
fishery to prevent overfishing, and to protect, restore, and promote
the long-term health and stability of the fishery,'' and that are
``consistent with the national standards.'' NMFS has concluded that
Florida's regulations are adequate to protect and manage the spiny
lobster resource off its coast and that the removal of Federal
regulations for the spiny lobster fishery in the EEZ off the other
states should have no significant regulatory or biological effects. If
necessary, other states may implement regulations that will protect and
manage the resource off their coasts. Therefore, NMFS has determined
that Federal regulations for this fishery are not ``necessary and
appropriate.'' Furthermore, continuation of Federal regulations would
not be consistent with the Magnuson Act's National Standard 7 that
requires that ``conservation and management measures shall, where
practicable, minimize costs and avoid unnecessary duplication.''
The FMP also includes a management measure applicable to slipper
lobsters, Scyllarides spp., which are a minor component of the
incidental catch in bottom trawl fisheries. The FMP prohibits taking of
egg-bearing female slipper lobsters but includes no further management
measures for these species. There is no known directed fishery for
slipper lobsters and slipper lobsters are so broadly and sparsely
distributed over the range of the management unit that insufficient
information is available either to monitor their abundance or assess
their status relative to
[[Page 12056]]
overfishing. It is believed that their principal or preferred habitats
are areas of rough and irregular bottom where trawling is not possible;
this may afford them adequate protection against overfishing.
For the reasons summarized above, and in accordance with the
President's Regulatory Reinvention Initiative, NMFS proposes to
withdraw approval of the FMP and to remove its implementing
regulations. If approval of the FMP is withdrawn, a notice establishing
a control date governing entry into the Gulf of Mexico and South
Atlantic spiny lobster fishery under any future limited entry program
(51 FR 5713, February 18, 1986) would no longer be relevant.
NMFS recognizes the states' authority under section 306(a)(3) of
the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C. 1856(a)(3)) to regulate vessels registered
under its laws when such vessels harvest spiny lobsters in the EEZ. If
fishing practices outside the authority of a state should constitute an
emergency situation that jeopardizes effective management of the spiny
lobster fishery or resource in the EEZ, NMFS would consider
promulgating emergency regulations to address the emergency, as
authorized by section 305(c)(1) of the Magnuson Act (16 U.S.C.
1855(c)(1)).
Classification
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of
the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if adopted,
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities. As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not
prepared. Since Florida's regulations on the spiny lobster fishery are
not substantively different from the Federal regulations that would be
removed, conduct of the fishery off Florida would not be significantly
affected. The number of vessels in the spiny lobster fishery off other
states is not a substantial number.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 640
Fisheries, Fishing, Incorporation by reference, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: March 19, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, under the authority of 16
U.S.C. et seq., part 640 is proposed to be removed.
[FR Doc. 96-7111 Filed 3-22-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
