[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 177 (Friday, September 12, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48047-48048]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-24202]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 970828210-7210-01; I.D. 080697H]
RIN 0648-AK37
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel,
Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Control Date for Atlantic Mackerel
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; notice of control date
for the Atlantic mackerel fishery.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that anyone entering the commercial Atlantic
mackerel fishery after September 12, 1997 (control date) will not be
assured of future access to the Atlantic mackerel resource in Federal
waters if a management regime is developed and implemented under the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) that limits the number of participants in the fishery.
This announcement is intended to promote awareness of potential
eligibility criteria for future access to the commercial Atlantic
mackerel fishery and to discourage new entries into this fishery based
on economic speculation, while the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management
Council (Council) contemplates whether and how access to that portion
of the Atlantic mackerel fishery in Federal waters should be
controlled. The potential eligibility criteria may be based on
historical participation, defined as any number of trips having any
documented amount of Atlantic mackerel landings. If such a regime is
implemented, fishery participants may need to preserve records that
substantiate and verify their participation in the Atlantic mackerel
fishery in Federal waters.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by October 14, 1997.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to David R. Keifer, Executive
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 South New
Street, Dover, DE 19904.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst,
508-281-9104.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) is a migratory species that
supports important recreational and commercial fisheries along the
Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. The Fishery Management
Plan for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (FMP) was developed
by the Council to provide for the development of the U.S. Atlantic
mackerel, squid, and butterfish fisheries. An initial notice
establishing a control date of August 13, 1992, was issued for the
Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish fisheries (57 FR 36384, August
13, 1992), which stated that as of that date no vessel would be
guaranteed entry into a limited access fishery, if the Council chose to
implement one. This control date was rescinded for Atlantic mackerel on
September 27, 1994 (59 FR 49235), because the Council and NMFS believed
that information regarding biomass levels, fishing levels, fishing
effort, and catch indicated that the mackerel fishery would not require
limited-entry management in the foreseeable future. Removal of the
control date also removed a barrier to access to this underutilized
resource to vessel owners who were facing severe restrictions in other
Northeast fisheries. In Amendment 5 to the FMP, the Council included a
provision that would require the Secretary of Commerce to publish a
control date for the Atlantic mackerel fishery when commercial landings
reached 50 percent of allowable biological catch (ABC). NMFS did not
[[Page 48048]]
include this provision in the proposed rule because, as explained in
the preamble to that rule (60 FR 65618, December 20, 1995), it was not
considered to be a management measure to be implemented by regulation.
Rather, it was viewed as a statement of Council intent. NMFS further
noted that the Council could recommend the publication of a notice of
control date when it deemed the action necessary. At its May 1997
meeting, the Council requested that NMFS issue an advance notice of
proposed rulemaking reestablishing a control date for Atlantic
mackerel. The Council stated that such action by NMFS would discourage
new entries into the fishery based on economic speculation while the
Council considers a limited access system for the fishery. The Council
intends to consider, in the near future, a management program that
would control the rate of capitalization in the fishery and promote the
diversification of existing fishermen in the Atlantic mackerel
industry.
Discussion of reinstatement of a control date was prompted by news
that a large factory trawler was undergoing conversion to enter this
fishery. Council members noted that, although the fishery is currently
underexploited, a substantial increase in exploitation could be
effected in a short period of time by the introduction of a factory
trawler fleet. To prevent overcapitalization, Council members expressed
the need to implement a management program for this fishery that
allowed for controlled expansion. Amendment 5 to the FMP estimated that
the hold capacity for vessels issued Atlantic mackerel, squid, and
butterfish permits approached 50,000 mt if each vessel made just one
trip at full capacity. Although all of these vessels do not have an
interest or ability to expand into the mackerel fishery, there is a
high level of existing capital in the region. The Council members noted
that this capital, along with the possible addition of factory
trawlers, raised concerns because the current estimate of long-term
potential yield for this fishery is 150,000 mt. Further, both NMFS and
the Council have indicated that first preference for entry into this
fishery should be afforded to Northeast region vessels as an
alternative to traditional fisheries that have been severely
overfished. For these reasons, the Council voted to request publication
of a control date for Atlantic mackerel.
At the May 1997 meeting, the Council committed to begin work
shortly on Amendment 7 to the FMP. Amendment 7 would address whether
and how to limit entry of commercial vessels into this fishery.
Publication of a control date is intended to discourage speculative
entry into the Atlantic mackerel fishery while potential management
regimes to control access into the fishery are discussed and possibly
developed by the Council. Establishment of a control date will help to
distinguish established participants from speculative entrants to the
fishery. Although participants are notified that entering the fishery
after the control date will not assure them of future access to the
Atlantic mackerel resource on the grounds of previous participation,
additional and/or other qualifying criteria also may be applied. The
Council may choose different and variably weighted methods to qualify
fishermen, based on the type and length of participation in the fishery
or on the quantity of landings.
This notice hereby establishes September 12, 1997 for potential use
in determining historical or traditional participation in the Atlantic
mackerel fishery. This action does not commit the Council to develop
any particular management regime or to use any specific criteria for
determining entry to the fishery. The Council may choose a different
control date, or may choose a management program that does not make use
of such a date. The Council may choose also to take no further action
to control entry or access to the fishery. Any action by the Council
will be taken pursuant to the requirement for FMP development
established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 5, 1997.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service
[FR Doc. 97-24202 Filed 9-12-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
