[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34759-34760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16521]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[I.D. 060899B]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Spiny Dogfish
Fishery
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a fishery management plan for spiny
dogfish; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery
Management Councils (Councils) have submitted the Fishery Management
Plan for Spiny Dogfish (FMP) for Secretarial review and are requesting
comments from the public. The FMP proposes management measures to
control fishing mortality, a definition of overfishing, a 5-year
rebuilding schedule, and an identification and description of essential
fish habitat (EFH). The purpose of the FMP is to conserve spiny dogfish
to achieve optimum yield from this resource. The FMP will achieve this
overall goal primarily by eliminating overfishing and rebuilding the
spiny dogfish stock to meet the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).
DATES: Comments on the FMP must be received on or before August 30,
1999.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator,
National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional Office, One
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-3799. Mark the outside of the
envelope: ``Comments on Spiny Dogfish FMP.''
Copies of the FMP including the final environmental impact
statement, regulatory impact review, and supplement of May 1999, are
available from Daniel Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, Room 2115 Federal Building, 300 S. New Street,
Dover, DE 19904-6790.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard A. Pearson, Fishery Policy
Analyst, at 978-281-9279.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Domestic landings of spiny dogfish (Squalus
acanthias) on the East Coast rapidly increased from 9.92 million lb
(4,500 metric tons (mt)) in 1989 to 61.72 million lb (28,000 mt) in
1996, then declined to approximately 41.89 million lb (19,000 mt) in
1997. During this period, the fishing mortality rate (F) rose from
below 0.1 during the 1980's to 0.3 in 1997. In addition to the overall
increase in landings, the landings disproportionately contain females,
because they grow to a larger size than males and are, therefore,
preferred for processing. Because of the directed fishing effort on
adult female spiny dogfish, including discard mortality, the spawning
stock biomass (SSB) has severely declined.
The spiny dogfish, a common small shark, inhabits the temperate and
sub-Arctic latitudes of the North Atlantic Ocean. In the Northwest
Atlantic, they range from Labrador to Florida, but are most abundant
from Nova Scotia to Cape Hatteras. They migrate seasonally, moving
north in spring and summer and south in fall and winter. Spiny dogfish
are considered a unit stock in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. The
management unit for this FMP is the entire spiny dogfish stock along
the Atlantic coast of the United States.
Spiny dogfish is a long-lived, slow growing species. Fifty percent
of the female population is mature at 12 years of age. This species
bears live young after a 2-year gestation period. Litter sizes range
from 2 to 15 pups. Therefore, a small spawning stock produces
correspondingly low recruitment, making spiny dogfish especially
vulnerable to overfishing.
The 26th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW 26) in
March 1998 concluded that spiny dogfish are overexploited. SAW 26
reported that minimum biomass estimates of mature females (
80 cm) have declined by over 50 percent since 1989 and that recruitment
of juvenile dogfish was the lowest on record in 1997. The combination
of increased fishing mortality, declining biomass of mature females,
and low recruitment have contributed to the overfished condition of the
stock.
NMFS notified the Councils on April 3, 1998, that spiny dogfish was
being added to the list of overfished stocks in the Report on the
Status of the Fisheries of the United States, prepared pursuant to
section 304 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The Magnuson-Stevens Act
requires remedial action for stocks that are designated overfished, and
requires the Regional Fishery Management Councils to prepare measures
within 1 year of notification to end overfishing and to rebuild the
overfished stock.
The FMP proposes management measures to control fishing mortality,
a definition of overfishing, a 5-year stock rebuilding schedule, and
identification and description of EFH. The FMP was developed jointly by
the Councils. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Mid-Atlantic
Council) has the administrative lead on the FMP.
The proposed management measures to control fishing mortality
include: (1) Permit and reporting requirements for owners of commercial
vessels, operators, and dealers; (2) the establishment of a Spiny
Dogfish Monitoring Committee; (3) a framework adjustment process; (4)
an annual commercial quota; (5) seasonal (semi-annual) allocation of
the commercial quota; (6) a prohibition on finning; and (7) annual FMP
review.
The FMP would eliminate overfishing and rebuild the spiny dogfish
stock through a two-step reduction in F. The first step would reduce F
from current levels (approximately 0.3) to 0.2 beginning the second
quota period of year one (November 1999-April 2000). F would be reduced
to 0.03 for the remaining 4 years of the rebuilding schedule.
The primary management measure in the FMP is an annual commercial
quota that would be allocated semi-annually, based upon the percentage
of commercial landings for each semi-annual period during the years
1990-1997. The first period (May 1-Oct. 31) would receive 57.9 percent
of the annual commercial quota; the second period (Nov. 1-April 30)
would receive the remaining 42.1 percent of the annual commercial
quota.
The annual commercial quota would be based upon the recommendations
of the Spiny Dogfish Monitoring Committee, the Joint Spiny Dogfish
Committee, and the Councils. The annual quota would be established by
the Regional Administrator at a level to assure that the target F
specified in the FMP is not exceeded.
Any owner of a vessel wanting to fish for spiny dogfish within the
EEZ for sale, or wanting to transport and deliver for sale any spiny
dogfish taken within
[[Page 34760]]
the EEZ, would be required to obtain a Federal commercial vessel permit
for that purpose. Any dealer of spiny dogfish would be required to
obtain a Federal dealer permit. Anyone who operates a vessel for the
purpose of fishing commercially for spiny dogfish would be required to
obtain an operator's permit. Specific requirements regarding permitting
requirements are discussed in the FMP and proposed rule.
Overfishing Definition
The FMP's overfishing definition consists of two components: (1) A
maximum F threshold and a target F, and (2) a minimum SSB threshold and
an SSB target. The overfishing definition specifies an F threshold
level, whereby F in excess of this level would be defined as
overfishing. The definition also specifies a target F that would allow
stock rebuilding. Overfishing for spiny dogfish occurs when F exceeds
the level associated with a pup-per-recruit ratio of 1.0, designated as
Frep. Frep represents the level that allows for
the production of 1.0 female pup per female recruit to the adult stock;
that is, the level that allows the adult female portion of the stock to
replace itself. Frep is currently estimated to be 0.11. The
current F level of 0.3 exceeds Frep. The target F
(Ftarget) specified in the FMP represents the mortality rate
that would produce an average of 1.5 pups-per-recruit and is estimated
to be 0.08.
The SSB component of the overfishing definition is based upon the
level of adult female SSB that maximizes average recruitment, referred
to as SSBmax. SSBmax was selected as a proxy
value for Bmsy (the biomass level that would produce maximum
sustainable yield). SSBmax was determined to be 440 million
lb (200,000 mt) SSB. Spiny dogfish is defined as overfished when adult
female SSB falls below the threshold level of \1/2\ SSBmax,
which is 220 million lb (100,000 mt) SSB. The Councils have chosen a
biomass rebuilding target of 397 million lb (180,000), which is 90
percent of SSBmax.
The most recent stock assessment data presented by the NMFS
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)(1998) and the Dogfish
Technical Committee indicate that, based upon a 3-year moving average
of NEFSC survey data, the total adult female spiny dogfish SSB is
currently about 280 million lb (127,000 mt). This is below the SSB
rebuilding target specified in the FMP. The FMP proposes to rebuild the
adult female spiny dogfish stock to 396 million lb (180,000 mt) over a
5-year rebuilding period, whereby F is reduced from 0.3 to 0.2
beginning the second quota period of year one (November 1999-April
2000) and then further reduced to 0.03 for the remaining 4 years of the
rebuilding schedule.
Essential Fish Habitat
The FMP includes the Councils' identification and description of
EFH for juvenile and adult spiny dogfish, and evaluation of fishing
activities and non-fishing activities that may adversely affect EFH.
The FMP does not propose any specific management measures to address
adverse effects from fishing, but it makes conservation, enhancement,
and research recommendations to address non-fishing activities. The FMP
states that the Councils intend to review and, if necessary, amend the
EFH designations for spiny dogfish at least every 5 years. The FMP also
authorizes the revision of EFH components using the framework process.
Supplement to the FMP
Following initial review of the Council's FMP submission, NMFS
identified several areas that required clarification or additional
information. These areas included discussion of sections addressing the
Paperwork Reduction Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered
Species Act, EFH, the overfishing definition, and national standard 9.
As a result, the Councils submitted a Supplement to the FMP on May 12,
1999.
This NOA requests comments on the FMP, including comments on the
amended biomass rebuilding target and the associated 5-year rebuilding
schedule. A proposed rule that would implement the FMP will be
published in the Federal Register for public comment after NMFS has
evaluated it under the procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Public
comments on the proposed rule must be received by August 30, 1999, the
end of the comment period on the FMP, to be considered in the decision
concerning approval or disapproval of the FMP. All comments received by
August 30, 1999, whether specifically directed to the FMP or to the
proposed rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision
on the FMP. Comments received after that date will not be considered in
the approval/disapproval decision on the FMP. All comments received on
the FMP or on the proposed rule will be responded to in the preamble to
the final rule.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: June 24, 1999.
George H. Darcy,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-16521 Filed 6-28-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
