[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 183 (Thursday, September 21, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 48959-48960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23398]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Chapter VI
[I.D. 091195A]
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Public hearings.
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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) will
hold public hearings to solicit comments on management measures for a
new Fishery Management Plan for the Golden Crab Fishery of the South
Atlantic Region (FMP).
DATES: Written comments regarding the issues being discussed at the
hearings will be accepted through October 19, 1995.
The hearings are scheduled as follows:
1. Tuesday, September 26, 1995, 7.00 p.m., Cocoa Beach, FL; 2.
Wednesday, September 27, 1995, 7.00 p.m., Dania, FL; and 3. Thursday,
September 28, 1995, 7.00 p.m., Key West, FL.
ADDRESSES: To send comments, and to request copies of public hearing
documents, write to: Susan Buchanan, Public Information Officer, South
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306,
Charleston, SC 29407-4699. Copies of a revised draft FMP will be
available to the public at the hearings.
The hearings will be held at the following locations:
1. Cocoa Beach--Holiday Inn, 1300 N. Atlantic Avenue, Cocoa Beach,
FL 32931; telephone (407) 783-2271;
2. Dania--Sheraton Design Center Hotel, 1825 Griffin Road, Dania,
FL 33004; telephone (305) 920-3500; and
3. Key West--Holiday Inn Beachside, 3841 N. Roosevelt Blvd., Key
West, SC 29407-4699; telephone (305) 294-2571.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Buchanan, (803) 571-4366; Fax:
(803) 769-4520.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At its meeting of August 21-25, 1995, the
SAFMC decided to make changes in its proposed golden crab management
program, which will be specified in a revised draft FMP. The SAFMC has
decided to hold additional public hearings in order to solicit public
views on the revised management measures for inclusion in the FMP.
The FMP management unit is the population of golden crab occurring
along the U.S. Atlantic coast from the east coast of Florida to the
North Carolina/Virginia border. Other deep-water crabs, such as red
crab and jonah crab, are included in the FMP for data collection
purposes only; no management actions are planned for these species
under the initial FMP. Although all three species of crab are harvested
in the Gulf of Mexico and Mid-Atlantic/New England, it is believed that
the populations are sufficiently separated from one another to be
managed independently.
The following types of management measures for golden crab are
under consideration by the SAFMC for inclusion in its final FMP:
(1) Definition of terms, including: Optimum yield, overfishing, and
crustacean trap;
(2) Gear controls, including: Use of traps only and a limit on
their size, requirements for trap escape gaps, degradable escape
panels, use of rope only as trap main line, and requiring that crabs be
landed whole;
(3) Measures to ensure conservation of the fishery, including: No
retention of females;
(4) Establishment of the following zones in the golden crab
fishery:
(A) Northern Zone--North of the Volusia/Flager Line (29 deg. 25' N.
lat.) to the North Carolina/Virginia border;
(B) Mid Zone--29 deg. 25' to 25 deg. N. lat.; and
(C) Southern Zone--South of 25 deg. N. lat. to the boundary between
the areas of jurisdiction of the SAFMC/Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council;
(5) Measures to limit access to the fishery. Criteria for access
will be as follows: Apply an April 7, 1995, control
[[Page 48960]]
date to limit fishery access in the southern and mid-zones, and apply a
date of September 1, 1995, as a criterion for limiting fishery access
in the northern zone. Criteria for fishery access will be based on
demonstrated landings from the Council's area of jurisdiction prior to
the dates specified;
(6) Area restrictions, including limiting deployment of traps to
depths of 900 ft (295 m) or greater in the northern zone and 700 ft
(230 m) or greater in the middle and southern zones;
(7) Bait restrictions to protect snapper and grouper;
(8) Enforcement provisions, including: Vessel permits, and dealer
permits;
(9) Collection of information requirements for science and research
purposes, such as use of information from sales reports, and logbook
requirements, and;
(10) Framework rulemaking procedures to provide administrative
flexibility to change management measures in a timely manner.
The Council intends to finalize the FMP at its meeting in
Wilmington, NC from October 23-27, 1995. The public will have an
opportunity to comment at the full Council session before the Council
takes final action to adopt the FMP's management measures. Once
finalized, the FMP will be submitted to NMFS for review, approval and
implementation. NMFS will provide for a 60-day public comment period on
the FMP and a 45-day public comment period on the proposed implementing
rule during its 110-day review period.
These hearings are physically accessible to people with
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other
auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office by September
21, 1995.
For special accommodations regarding the hearings, contact the
Council (see ADDRESSES).
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: September 15, 1995.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-23398 Filed 9-18-95; 12:52 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F
