[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 112 (Monday, June 10, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 29339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-14494]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 641
[I.D. 052096A]
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Public hearings; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will
convene five public hearings on Draft Amendment 14 to the Fishery
Management Plan for Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) and
a draft environmental assessment (EA).
DATES: Written comments will be accepted until July 1, 1996. The public
hearings will be held from June 17 to June 21, 1996. See SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION for specific dates and times.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to and copies of the draft
amendment are available from Mr. Wayne E. Swingle, Executive Director,
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 5401 West Kennedy Boulevard,
Tampa, FL 33609.
The hearings will be held in Florida. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
for locations of the hearings and public accommodations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne E. Swingle, 813 228-2815.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council will be holding public hearings
on Draft Amendment 14 to the FMP and its draft EA. Amendment 14
includes management alternatives for regulating the fish trap fishery.
Alternatives under consideration include: (1) Creation of a commercial
vessel license system limiting participants in the trap fishery along
with provisions for the transfer of vessel permits, (2) extending the
current moratorium on the issuance of fish trap endorsements for 4 more
years, (3) limiting permits to current trap fishery participants and
phasing out the trap fishery after 10 years, and (4) evaluating the
effectiveness of enforcement of trap rules over 2 years before taking
further action. The current moratorium on new fish trap endorsements
expires in February 1997. Amendment 14 also includes several
alternatives related to area prohibitions on the use of fish traps
including prohibiting: (1) The use of fish traps south of 24 deg.54' N.
lat. (i.e., off Dry Tortugas, FL);
(2) use of traps in the Gulf of Mexico west of Cape San Blas, FL
(Appalachicola area); (3) use of traps on Riley's Hump (a 20 square
mile (51 km) spawning aggregation site, south of Dry Tortugas); and (4)
all fishing on Riley's Hump year round, making it a marine sanctuary.
Amendment 14 would modify the provisions for tending traps and
establish compliance conditions for the trap permit.
Additional management measures in Amendment 14 include: (1)
Modifying the FMP framework procedure for specifying total allowable
catch by allowing the Regional Director, in addition to being able to
open and close a commercial fishery, to reopen a closed commercial
fishery if needed to ensure that the fishery quota is harvested; (2)
modifying the transfer provisions for reef fish vessel permits (under
the reef fish commercial vessel permit moratorium) to allow transfers
of permits to an income qualifying operator; also allowing a vessel
owner 1 year to meet the income qualifications if the permit has been
issued based on income qualifications of the operator; and (3)
prohibiting the harvest of Nassau grouper in the Gulf of Mexico because
of resource declines.
The hearings are scheduled from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. as follows:
1. Monday, June 17, 1996--Holiday Inn Beachside, 3841 North
Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West, FL 33040
2. Tuesday, June 18, 1996--Naples Depot Civic-Cultural Center, 1051
Fifth Avenue South, Naples, FL 33940
3. Wednesday, June 19, 1996--Plantation Inn and Golf Resort, West
Fort Island Trail (CR 44W), Crystal River, FL 34423
4. Thursday, June 20, 1996--Steinhatchee Elementary School, First
Avenue South, Steinhatchee, FL 32359
5. Friday, June 21, 1996--Crawfordville Board of County
Commissioners Conference Room, Old Aaron Road (behind the Courthouse),
Crawfordville, FL 32326
Special Accommodations
These hearings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to Anne Alford at the Council (see
ADDRESSES) by June 12, 1996.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 3, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-14494 Filed 6-7-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
