[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 148 (Monday, August 3, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 41205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20538]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 630
[I.D. 072398A]
North Atlantic Swordfish Fishery; Closure
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Closure.
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SUMMARY: NMFS has projected that the driftnet directed fishery quota of
41.6 metric tons (mt) dressed weight (dw) for the 1998 North Atlantic
swordfish season (opens August 1, 1998) will be reached on or before
August 12, 1998. Consequently, NMFS closes the driftnet directed
fishery for the North Atlantic swordfish management unit, effective
11:30 p.m. on August 14, 1998. All swordfish must be offloaded by
driftnet vessels by the time of the closure.
DATES: The closure is effective at 11:30 p.m. local time on August 14,
1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Stevenson, (301) 713-2347.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The North Atlantic swordfish fishery is
managed under the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Swordfish and
its implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 630 under the authority of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1801 et seq.) and the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA) (16 U.S.C.
971 et seq.). Regulations issued under the authority of ATCA carry out
the recommendations of International Commission for the Conservation of
Atlantic Tunas.
The regulations governing the Atlantic swordfish fisheries at 50
CFR 630.24 provide for a specified annual quota to be landed by the
driftnet directed fishery. NMFS is required, under Sec. 630.25(a)(1),
to monitor the catch and landings statistics and, on the basis of these
statistics, to project a date when the catch will equal the quota, and
to publish a Federal Register document announcing the closure at least
14 days in advance.
The North Atlantic swordfish driftnet fishery was closed on
December 5, 1996, under an emergency rule to protect the endangered
northern right whale. That fishery remained closed through November 26,
1997, while NMFS considered fishery management alternatives to reduce
bycatch in the fishery and to address other fishery management issues.
On December 1, 1997 (62 FR 63467), NMFS implemented a temporary time/
area closure under the authority of the Endangered Species Act to avoid
the likelihood that this fishery would jeopardize the continued
existence of the northern right whale. As a result of these
rulemakings, the driftnet fishery has not operated in the North
Atlantic Ocean for swordfish since the summer of 1996.
Closure of the Fishery
The average daily landings of swordfish in the driftnet fishery in
the first semiannual season of 1996 were greater than 14,000 lb dw (6.4
mt dw). However, NMFS considered a number of factors that are likely to
slow the daily catch rates in the 1998 fishery. Based on previous
landings and other factors, it is expected that the driftnet directed
harvest quota of 41.6 mt dw for the entire directed fishery (which
opens on August 1, 1998) would be reached on or about August 12, 1998.
To allow for travel time from the fishing grounds and time for
offloading, NMFS announces that the directed fishery for swordfish is
closed at 11:30 p.m. on August 14, 1998. All vessels must be in port
and offloaded on or before this closing date. This notice provides more
than a 14 day period during which swordfish vessel owners can plan
their fishing and sale of landings prior to the closure deadline.
During the closure of the directed swordfish driftnet fishery, on
board a vessel using or having on board a driftnet, a person may not
fish for swordfish from the north Atlantic stock, and no more than 2
swordfish, caught incidentally while fishing for other species, may be
possessed in the North Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and
Caribbean Sea, north of 5 deg. N. latitude, or landed in an Atlantic,
Gulf of Mexico, or Caribbean state. Driftnets are not permitted for use
in the South Atlantic swordfish fishery.
Classification
This action is taken under 50 CFR 630.24 and 50 CFR 630.25 (a) and
is exempt from review under E.O. 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.
Dated: July 28, 1998.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-20538 Filed 7-28-98; 4:33 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
