[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 5, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8495-8496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4999]
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[[Page 8496]]
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 655
[Docket No. 951211295-6035-02; I.D. 111595C]
RIN 0648-XX37
Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Final 1996
Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final specifications for the 1996 Atlantic mackerel, squid, and
butterfish fisheries.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues the final initial specifications for the 1996
fishing year for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish (SMB).
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1996, through December 31, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment are available from
the Northeast Regional Office, NMFS, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA
01930. Copies of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's quota
paper and recommendations are available from David R. Keifer, Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, Federal
Building, 300 South New Street, Dover, DE 19901.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, 508-281-9104.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing the Fishery
Management Plan for the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish
Fisheries (FMP) prepared by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
(Council) appear at 50 CFR part 655. These regulations require NMFS to
publish a document specifying the initial annual amounts of the initial
optimum yield (IOY) as well as the amounts for allowable biological
catch (ABC), domestic annual harvest (DAH), domestic annual processing
(DAP), joint venture processing (JVP), and total allowable levels of
foreign fishing (TALFF) for the species managed under the FMP. No
reserves are permitted under the FMP for any of these species.
Procedures for determining the initial annual amounts are found in
Sec. 655.22.
These specifications are unchanged from the proposed specifications
that were published in the Federal Register on December 21, 1995 (60 FR
66249). The following table contains the final 1996 initial
specifications for Atlantic mackerel, Loligo and Illex squids, and
butterfish.
Final Initial Specifications For Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish for the Fishing Year January 1 Through
December 31, 1996 (mt)
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Squids
Specifications -------------------------- Atlantic Butterfish
Loligo Illex Mackerel
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Max OY\1\................................................... 44,000 30,000 \2\N/A 16,000
ABC \3\..................................................... 30,000 30,000 1,175,500 7,200
IOY......................................................... 25,000 21,000 105,500 5,900
DAH......................................................... 25,000 21,000 \4\105,500 5,900
DAP......................................................... 25,000 21,000 50,000 5,900
JVP......................................................... 0 0 35,000 0
TALFF....................................................... 0 0 0 0
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\1\ Max optimum yield (OY) as stated in the FMP.
\2\ Not applicable, see the FMP.
\3\ IOY can increase to this amount.
\4\ Contains 20,500 mt projected recreational catch based on the formula contained in the regulations (50 CFR
part 655).
This document also announces four special conditions that would
affect any foreign joint venture fishery for Atlantic mackerel, should
one occur in 1996: (1) Joint ventures are allowed south of 37 deg.30'
N. lat., but river herring bycatch may not exceed 0.25 percent of the
over-the-side transfers of Atlantic mackerel; (2) the Regional
Director, Northeast Region, NMFS, will monitor fishing operations and
manage harvest to reduce impacts on marine mammals in prosecuting the
Atlantic mackerel fishery; (3) the mackerel OY may be increased during
the year as described under Sec. 655.21(b)(2)(v), in consultation with
the Council, but the total should not exceed 125,500 mt; and (4)
applications from a particular nation for a joint venture for 1996 will
not be approved until the Regional Director determines, based on an
evaluation of performances, that the nation's purchase obligations for
previous years have been fulfilled. There were no comments received
regarding these conditions.
Comment and Response
One comment was received during the public comment period
concerning the proposed IOY specifications for both Illex and Loligo
squid.
Comment: The commenter urged the rejection of the proposed
specifications for the squids due to the differences of 5,000 mt and
9,000 mt between the IOY and the ABC specifications for the Loligo and
Illex fisheries, respectively. The commenter believed that both IOYs
should be set at 30,000 mt, the ABC, because the proposed IOYs would be
deleterious to New England vessels wishing to harvest squid.
Response: The Council provided a firm biological rationale for IOY
reductions, noting that the 17th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment
Workshop concluded that both squids have an annual lifespan and are
susceptible to recruitment overfishing. Furthermore, the IOY is not
allocated by region and New England vessels have the same harvest
rights as others participating in the fishery. Should events occur in
these fisheries that would require additional IOY, the regulations at
Sec. 655.22 give the Regional Director authority to raise or lower IOY
if it is beneficial to the Nation.
Classification
This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 655, and these final
specifications are exempt from review under E.O. 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: February 27, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-4999 Filed 3-4-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
