[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 165 (Thursday, August 26, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46634-46635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22215]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[I.D. 080999E]
RIN 0648-AM15
Fisheries of the South Atlantic; Pelagic Sargassum Habitat in the
South Atlantic; Fishery Management Plan
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a fishery management plan for the
pelagic Sargassum habitat of the South Atlantic Region; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has
submitted a Fishery Management Plan for the Pelagic Sargassum Habitat
Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) for review, approval, and
implementation by NMFS. The FMP would establish the management unit for
Sargassum; specify optimum yield (OY) for pelagic Sargassum as zero
harvest; specify overfishing levels as occurring when the fishing
mortality rate is greater than zero; identify essential fish habitat
(EFH) for Sargassum; establish habitat areas of
[[Page 46635]]
particular concern (HAPC) for Sargassum; and phase out the harvest or
possession of pelagic Sargassum in or from the exclusive economic zone
off the southern Atlantic states starting January 1, 2001, or when
50,000 lb (22,680 kg) wet weight is harvested, whichever occurs first.
DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 25, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be mailed to the Southeast Regional Office,
NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
Requests for copies of the FMP, which includes a Final
Environmental Impact Statement, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis, a Regulatory Impact Review, and a Social Impact Assessment/
Fishery Impact Statement, should be sent to the South Atlantic
Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC
29407-4699. Phone: 843-571-4366; fax: 843-769-4520; e-mail:
safmc@noaa.gov. Additional information may be obtained from the
Council's website at http://www.safmc.nmfs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Sadler, 727-570-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires Regional Fishery
Management Councils to submit any proposed fishery management plan or
plan amendment to NMFS for review, approval, and implementation. The
Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving such plan
or plan amendment, immediately publish a document in the Federal
Register stating that the plan or plan amendment is available for
public review and comment.
The FMP addresses conservation and management of pelagic Sargassum
off the U.S. Atlantic coast from the North Carolina/Virginia border
through the east coast of Florida, including the Atlantic side of the
Florida Keys.
Need for Management
Pelagic Sargassum is an abundant brown algae that occurs near the
surface in warm waters of the western North Atlantic that supports a
diverse assemblage of marine organisms, including over 100 species of
fish, fungi, micro- and macro-epiphytes, at least 145 species of
invertebrates, five species of sea turtles, and numerous marine birds.
The Council has designated pelagic Sargassum as EFH and as an HAPC for
snapper-grouper species and coastal migratory pelagic species.
The FMP indicates that the standing crop of pelagic Sargassum in
the North Atlantic Ocean may be 4 to 11 million metric tons (roughly 9
to 24 billion lb). One company has harvested a total of 448,000 lb
(203,213 kg) of pelagic Sargassum off the southern Atlantic states from
1976 to the present. Section 303(a)(7) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
requires that the Councils minimize, to the extent practicable, adverse
effects on EFH caused by fishing. Even though there is no indication
that the harvest, to date, has had an adverse impact on Sargassum EFH,
the Council concluded that any removal of pelagic Sargassum constitutes
a net loss of EFH off the southern Atlantic states, and thus is
contradictory to the goals and objectives of the Council's
Comprehensive Habitat Plan for the South Atlantic Region.
Data are insufficient to calculate a maximum sustainable yield
(MSY) for pelagic Sargassum, and the Council chose not to specify an
MSY in the FMP. Nevertheless, section 303(a)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act requires that a fishery management plan ``assess and specify the
present and probable future condition of, and the maximum sustainable
yield and optimum yield from, the fishery, and include a summary of the
information utilized in making such specification.'' MSY is a necessary
fundamental FMP component, upon which such other FMP measures as an MSY
control rule, as specified in NMFS guidelines (see 50 CFR 600.310),
would depend.
With the inability to estimate MSY for pelagic Sargassum with any
certainty and to meet other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act
concerning the requirements of an FMP, the Council may wish to pursue
alternative management actions that would achieve its goals to conserve
and maintain sustainable pelagic Sargassum habitat. Therefore, NMFS
invites comments specifically on this aspect of the FMP and the
propriety of control rule measures such as an OY specification of zero
in the absence of any specification of MSY.
Endangered and Threatened Species Issues
In compliance with requirements of the Endangered Species Act, NMFS
evaluated the impact of harvesting Sargassum on endangered or
threatened species. That consultation concluded that continued harvest
of pelagic Sargassum until January 1, 2001, or until the 50,000 lb
(22,680 kg) wet weight cap is reached, is not likely to jeopardize the
continued existence of any listed species under NMFS purview, although
the loggerhead, green, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, and hawksbill sea
turtles are likely to be adversely affected by the action. As part of
the consultation, NMFS developed an incidental take statement that
included reasonable and prudent measures necessary to minimize the
impacts of the takings.
NMFS will consider comments received by October 25, 1999 in its
decision to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the FMP. NMFS
will not consider comments received after that date in this decision;
NMFS will address all comments received on the FMP in the preamble of
the final rule.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: August 20, 1999.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-22215 Filed 8-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
