[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 7, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20506-20507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-11271]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 625
[I.D. 042696A]
Summer Flounder and Scup Fishery; Notice of Availability of
Amendment 8
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of an amendment to a fishery management
plan and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this document to advise that the Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 8 to the
Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder and Scup Fisheries
(FMP) for Secretarial review and is requesting comments from the
public. Amendment 8 would initiate management measures for the scup
fishery.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 24, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Dr. Andrew A. Rosenberg, Regional Director,
National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional Office, One
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-3799. Mark the outside of the
envelope ``Comments on Summer Flounder and Scup Plan.''
Copies of proposed Amendment 8, its Regulatory Impact Review (RIR)
and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis contained within the
RIR, and the Final Environmental Impact Statement are available from
David R. Keifer, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council, Room 2115 Federal Building, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE
19904-6790.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Regina L. Spallone, Fishery Policy
Analyst, 508-281-9221.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) (Magnuson Act) requires that
each regional fishery management council submit any fishery management
plan or amendment it prepares to NMFS for review. The Magnuson Act also
requires that NMFS, upon receiving the plan or amendment for review,
immediately make a preliminary evaluation of whether the amendment is
sufficient to warrant continued review, and publish a document that the
plan or amendment is available for public review and comment. NMFS will
consider the public comments received during the comment period in
determining whether to approve the plan or amendment.
Amendment 8, if approved, would revise the Summer Flounder FMP to
institute management measures that would allow the scup (Stenotomus
chrysops) resource to rebuild over a 7-year period. Scup are currently
overexploited and at a low biomass level.
Proposed management measures for scup in Year 1 of management
include: Dealer, charter/party (c/p) vessel, and operator permits;
moratorium vessel permits for the directed commercial fishery; a
requirement that permitted vessels may sell only to permitted dealers;
mandatory reporting for permitted vessels and dealers; escape vents on
scup pots or traps; degradable hinges and fasteners in scup pots or
traps; and maximum size for rollers used in roller rig trawl gear;
minimum fish sizes for the commercial and recreational fisheries; and
minimum codend mesh requirements when possessing more than a threshold
level of scup on board. In Year 2 and beyond, a coastwide quota would
also be implemented with Federal commercial permit holders being
prohibited from landing after the quota had been attained, as well as a
framework to allow time/area closures in order to reduce bycatch and
prevent quota overruns. The proposed amendment also includes a
framework measure to allow future adjustments to minimum fish sizes,
mesh size, and the threshold level of fish on board that triggers the
mesh size, and to implement a recreational possession limit and season.
NMFS disapproved six measures in Amendment 8 before publishing this
notice of availability as authorized under section 304(a)(1)(A) of the
Magnuson Act. These disapproved measures would: (1) Confer moratorium
permit eligibility upon vessels that were re-rigging on January 26,
1993, and land scup prior to the implementation of the FMP; (2) require
vessels to keep scup catches of less than 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) (the
level at which the minimum mesh requirement is triggered) in 100-lb
boxes to enhance enforcement; (3) accept state dealer permits in lieu
of the required Federal permit; (4) deny access to the exclusive
economic zone to vessels from states that do not implement recreational
measures equivalent to those specified in the Federal plan; (5) use
state regulations to define scup pots for the residents of that state;
and (6) establish annual recreational harvest limits and deduct catches
in excess of those limits from the limits for the following year.
Day 1 for this amendment is April 26, 1996. Proposed regulations to
implement this amendment are scheduled to be published within 15 days
of this date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
[[Page 20507]]
Dated: May 1, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-11271 Filed 5-2-96; 11:10 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
