[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70780-70781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23203]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[I.D. 111605A]
RIN 0648-AS15
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 13
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Availability of Fishery Management Plan amendment; request for
comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 13 to the FMP for review,
approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 13 would revise Federal
permitting requirements for the shrimp fishery of the Gulf of Mexico
exclusive economic zone (EEZ), including the establishment of a
moratorium on the issuance of Federal commercial shrimp vessel permits;
revision of existing regulations regarding reporting and recordkeeping
in the shrimp fishery; and establishment of stock status criteria for
the various shrimp stocks. The intended effects of Amendment 13 are to
stabilize participation in the shrimp fishery of the Gulf of Mexico EEZ
and provide better information by which to manage the fishery.
DATES: Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern
time, on January 23, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the subject
line the following document identifier: 0648-AS15-NOA.
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Steve Branstetter, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS,
263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Fax: 727-824-5308, Attention: Steve Branstetter.
Copies of Amendment 13, which includes an Environmental Assessment,
a Regulatory Impact Review, and an Initial Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis, are available from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council, 2203 North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, FL 33607; phone:
813-348-1630; fax: 813-348-1711; e-mail: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Steve Branstetter, 727-824-5305;
fax: 727-824-5308; e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each Regional
Fishery Management Council to submit any fishery management plan or
amendment to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial
approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon
receiving a plan or amendment, publish an announcement in the Federal
Register notifying the public that the plan or amendment is available
for review and comment.
Amendment 13, if implemented, would establish a requirement for
royal red shrimp vessels fishing in the Gulf of Mexico EEZ to possess a
royal red shrimp endorsement to their Gulf of Mexico Federal shrimp
vessel permit. The royal red shrimp fishery in the Gulf of Mexico is a
very small component of the overall shrimp fishery, and there are very
limited data on this fishery on which to make management decisions.
Specifically identifying royal red shrimp harvesters through a permit
endorsement would provide the opportunity to gather needed biological,
social, and economic data to appropriately manage this fishery.
Amendment 13 proposes the establishment of a 10-year moratorium on
the issuance of new Federal shrimp vessel permits. If implemented,
permits under the moratorium would be fully transferable, allowing
permittees the flexibility to enter or exit the fishery as they choose.
To be eligible for a commercial shrimp vessel permit under the
moratorium, vessels must have been issued a valid commercial shrimp
vessel permit by NMFS prior to and including December 6, 2003.
Additionally, an owner who sold his qualified vessel, had his qualified
vessel repossessed, or otherwise lost use of his qualified vessel
(i.e., damage, sinking, unaffordable repairs), but who obtained a valid
commercial shrimp vessel permit for the same vessel or another vessel
equipped for offshore shrimp fishing (at least 5 net tons) prior to the
date of publication of the final rule implementing this amendment would
be eligible to renew such permit under the moratorium.
Amendment 13, if implemented, would establish a standardized method
to regularly monitor, report, and estimate the bycatch in the shrimp
fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, in compliance with Sec. 303(a)(11) of
the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Amendment 13 proposes to establish a program
whereby a sample of Federally permitted shrimp vessels would be
equipped with electronic logbooks (ELBs) provided by NMFS, and a sample
of Federally permitted shrimp vessels would carry observers. The ELB
program would provide better information regarding effort, and the
observer program would provide information on catch, effort, and
bycatch. Amendment 13 also proposes to revise data collection
requirements to include mandatory reporting of landings and vessel and
gear characteristics.
Finally, to better comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Act
requirements,
[[Page 70781]]
Amendment 13 proposes to establish or modify biological reference
points for brown, pink, and white shrimp, and stock status
determination criteria for royal red shrimp. The Magnuson-Stevens Act
requires that each FMP define reference points in the form of maximum
sustainable yield (MSY) and optimum yield (OY), and specify objective
and measurable criteria for identifying when the fishery is overfished
and/or undergoing overfishing. Status determination criteria include a
minimum stock size threshold (MSST) to indicate when a stock is
overfished and a maximum fishing mortality threshold (MFMT) to indicate
when a stock is undergoing overfishing. Together, these four parameters
(MSY, OY, MSST, and MFMT) provide fishery managers with the tools to
determine the status of a fishery at any given time and assess whether
management measures are achieving established goals.
A proposed rule that would implement measures outlined in Amendment
13 has been received from the Council. In accordance with the Magnuson-
Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the proposed rule to determine whether
it is consistent with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other
applicable law. If that determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish
the proposed rule in the Federal Register for public review and
comment.
Comments received by January 23, 2006, whether specifically
directed to the amendment or the proposed rule, will be considered by
NMFS in its decision to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the
amendment. Comments received after that date will not be considered by
NMFS in this decision. All comments received by NMFS on the amendment
or the proposed rule during their respective comment periods will be
addressed in the final rule.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: November 17, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-23203 Filed 11-22-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S