[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 198 (Thursday, October 14, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55688-55689]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26838]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[I.D. 092799B]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Petition for
Rulemaking for Seasonal Area Closures, Bycatch Quotas, and Related
Measures to Reduce Scup Bycatch
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of receipt of petition for rulemaking; request for
comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces receipt of, and requests public comment on, an
amended petition for rulemaking to: Reduce scup bycatch through
seasonal area closures and a bycatch quota; monitor the Loligo fishery
through a vessel monitoring system (VMS) and observers; and develop new
gear designs. The Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental
Defense Fund, the Center for Marine Conservation, the National Audubon
Society, and the American Oceans Campaign (Petitioners) have petitioned
NMFS and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) to
implement these measures beginning November 1999, to reduce the amount
of scup caught incidentally in the Loligo squid fishery.
DATES: Comments on the amended petition are requested on or before
November 15, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the amended petition for rulemaking are available
upon request from Gary C. Matlock, Ph.D., Director, Office of
Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD
20910. Comments on the amended petition should be directed to Dr. Gary
C. Matlock at the above address. Please mark the outside of the
envelope ``Scup Petition for Rulemaking.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark R. Millikin, 301-713-2341.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The fisheries affected by this petition for
rulemaking and the petition's amendment are primarily the scup (or
porgy, Stenotomus chrysops) fishery, which is managed jointly by the
Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission under the
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP)
and the Loligo squid fishery, which is managed by the Council under the
Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish FMP. The Secretary of Commerce
has management authority for these species in the exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). The management unit for the scup
fishery is scup in the U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean from
35 deg.15.3' N. lat., the latitude of Cape Hatteras Light, N.C.,
northward to the U.S.-Canadian border. Regulations governing the scup
fishery in the EEZ are found at 50 CFR part 648, subparts A and H.
Regulations governing the Loligo squid fishery in the EEZ are found at
50 CFR part 648, subparts A and B.
The Petitioners assert that incidentally-caught juvenile scup are
discarded in several small mesh fisheries, in particular the Loligo
squid fishery. Discarded scup is ``bycatch,'' according to the
Magnuson-Stevens Act, because it is not landed and sold or kept for
personal use. For the commercial fishery, the FMP requires the discard
of scup: (1) smaller than a minimum size of 9 inches (22.9 cm), and (2)
when the amount of scup on board exceeds the poundage threshold
requiring a minimum mesh size in the codend of the net (either 100 or
200 lb (45.4 or 90.7 kg), depending on the season).
The Petitioners contend that because bycatch in small-mesh
fisheries is a significant problem, management of the directed scup
fishery alone is inadequate to rebuild the overfished scup stock. In
addition, the Petitioners note that NMFS recently partially disapproved
Amendment 12 to the FMP because it failed to address adequately the
bycatch issue. Consequently, the Petitioners argue, ``there are no
legally sufficient measures in place to protect the scup from this
major source of mortality.''
Thus, in order to protect the scup stock, the Petitioners proposed
two different actions (either one or both) to be implemented in 1999,
and further actions to be implemented in 2000 and beyond. For 1999, the
Petitioners proposed (a) a closure of the Loligo fishery in NMFS
Northeast Statistical Area 613 (area 613) for the Winter II (November-
December) season, (b) the imposition of a scup bycatch quota throughout
the Loligo management unit for the Winter II season, or (c) both
options (a) and (b). The Petitioners note that combining the two
management measures could eliminate ``hotspots'' of discards and
protect scup from being discarded on Loligo trips redirected into other
open areas.
Since submitting their original petition for rulemaking, the
Petitioners amended their request based upon new information. The
Petitioners reference an analysis of the 1997 and 1998 vessel trip
report data conducted by Council staff for presentation to the FMP's
Scup Monitoring Committee. These data showed high scup discards in
statistical areas 537 and 539 in the Loligo fishery during the Winter
II (November-December) season, as well as in area 613. Further, the
data showed high scup discard rates in statistical areas 616 and 622
for the Loligo fishery during the Winter I (January-April) season.
These areas were included in the Monitoring Committee's August 1999
recommendations for area closures of the Loligo fishery to prevent
bycatch of scup. Since the Council did not recommend closure of those
areas to Loligo fishing, the Petitioners have requested in their
amended petition immediate implementation of the Monitoring Committee's
recommendation in order to reduce scup bycatch. The Petitioners also
request that the above measures (time/area closures, bycatch quota, or
both) be part of the specifications for the 2000 Loligo squid fishery.
Area 613 is defined as Federal waters off Long Island, NY, bounded
by straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated:
NMFS Northeast Statistical Area 613
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point N. Lat. W. Long.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LI1 (\1\ ) 73 deg.00
'
LI2 40 deg.00 73 deg.00
' '
LI3 40 deg.00 71 deg.40
' '
LI4 41 deg.00 71 deg.40
' '
LI5 41 deg.00 (2)
'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The intersection the longitude line with the 3 nautical mile line
south of Patchogue, NY.
\2\ The intersection the latitude line with the 3 nautical mile line
south of Montauk, NY.
Area 537 is defined as Federal waters off Nantucket and Martha's
Vineyard Islands, MA, bounded by straight lines connecting the
following points in the order stated:
NMFS Northeast Statistical Area 537
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point N. Lat. W. Long.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CI1 (1) 70 deg.00
'
CI2 39 deg.50 70 deg.00
' '
CI3 39 deg.50 71 deg.40
' '
CI4 40 deg.50 71 deg.40
' '
CI5 40 deg.50 71 deg.20
' '
[[Page 55689]]
CI6 41 deg.10 71 deg.20
' '
CI7 41 deg.10 71 deg.10
' '
CI8 41 deg.20 71 deg.10
' '
CI9 41 deg.20 (2)
'
CI10 (3)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The intersection the longitude line with the 3 nautical mile line
south of Nantucket Island, MA.
\2\ The intersection the latitude line with the 3 nautical mile line
east of Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard, MA.
\3\ The 3 nautical mile line proceeding easterly along the south of
Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, back to the starting point.
Area 539 is defined as Federal waters off the State of Rhode
Island, bounded by straight lines connecting the following points in
the order stated:
NMFS Northeast Statistical Area 539
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point N. Lat. W. Long.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RI1 (1) 71 deg.10
'
RI2 41 deg.10 71 deg.10
' '
RI3 41 deg.10 71 deg.20
' '
RI4 40 deg.50 71 deg.20
' '
RI5 40 deg.50 71 deg.40
' '
RI6 (2) 71 deg.40
'
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The intersection the longitude line with the 3 nautical mile line
south of approximately Sakonnet, RI.
\2\ The intersection the longitude line with the 3 nautical mile line
south of approximately Quonochontaug, RI.
Area 616 is defined as offshore Federal waters off Southern New
Jersey, bounded by straight lines connecting the following points in
the order stated:
NMFS Northeast Statistical Area 616
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point N. Lat. W. Long.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NJ1 40 deg.00 71 deg.40
' '
NJ2 39 deg.00 71 deg.40
' '
NJ3 39 deg.00 73 deg.00
' '
NJ4 40 deg.00 73 deg.00
' '
NJ1 40 deg.00 71 deg.40
' '
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area 622 is defined as Federal waters off Ocean City, MD, bounded
by straight lines connecting the following points in the order stated:
NMFS Northeast Statistical Area 622
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point N. Lat. W. Long.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OC1 39 deg.00 73 deg.00
' '
OC2 38 deg.00 73 deg.00
' '
OC3 38 deg.00 74 deg.00
' '
OC4 39 deg.00 74 deg.00
' '
OC1 39 deg.00 73 deg.00
' '
------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, the Petitioners request that NMFS institute adequate
enforcement mechanisms and observer coverage for these bycatch
reduction measures. For instance, in closing area 613, the Petitioners
suggest NMFS require a VMS in the Loligo fleet. If a bycatch quota is
implemented, the Petitioners suggest observer coverage be required at
levels sufficient to ensure observations of a statistically significant
percentage of Loligo catch.
In addition, the Petitioners request that, for 2001, NMFS and the
Council oversee the development, testing, and implementation of
appropriately modified gear as an effective and equitable means of
reducing scup bycatch. Such gear, the Petitioners feel, would obviate
the need for the measures proposed by this amended petition.
NMFS requests comments on the amended petition for rulemaking. NMFS
will consider this information in determining whether to proceed with
the development of regulations requested by the amended petition.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: October 7, 1999.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-26838 Filed 10-13-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F