[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 22, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-3832]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: February 22, 1994]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 940229-4029; I.D. 120893A]

 

Atlantic Shark Fisheries

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of control date for entry into the Atlantic shark 
fisheries.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces that anyone entering any Atlantic shark 
fishery after February 22, 1994 (control date), may not be assured of 
future access to or an allocation of the shark resource in the Atlantic 
Ocean under the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Sharks (FMP). This 
notice is intended to promote awareness of potential eligibility 
criteria for access to the Atlantic shark fisheries and to discourage 
new entries into the fisheries based on economic speculation while the 
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) contemplates whether and how access 
to the Atlantic shark resources should be controlled.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the control date established herein should be 
directed to: Richard H. Schaefer, Director, Office of Fisheries 
Conservation and Management (F/CM), National Marine Fisheries Service, 
1335 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD, 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: C. Michael Bailey, 301-713-2347, FAX 
301-713-2299, Kevin Foster, 508-281-9260 or Michael E. Justen, 813-893-
3161.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic shark fisheries are defined and 
managed under regulations at 50 CFR part 678 under the authority of the 
Magnuson Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act). The 
Magnuson Act Amendments of 1990, Pub. L. 101-627, transferred 
management authority over the Atlantic shark fisheries to the Secretary 
as of November 28, 1990.
    One of the concerns of the Atlantic shark industry, and the 
Secretary, is that current participants in the fisheries who will bear 
the brunt of the management restrictions on the fisheries, which are 
necessary for stock rebuilding, may not be the ones to whom future 
benefits accrue. To address these concerns, and to avoid speculative 
entry into a fishery that is overfished and may be overcapitalized, the 
Secretary is establishing a control date of February 22, 1994, for 
possible limited entry. The date selected is the date of publication. 
Vessels that have not entered the shark fishery prior to this date may 
not be allowed entry if a limited entry program, based on any criteria 
(such as individual catch levels or gear type used) that is developed. 
Also, NMFS advises that vessels already in the fishery may not meet 
eligibility criteria when and if these criteria are established.
    For the purposes of this notice, NMFS has not developed specific 
criteria to define entry into a shark fishery. Entry into the fishery 
may mean either purchase of a shark vessel or fishery permit, 
investment in the construction or modification of a vessel or gear for 
the purpose of fishing for Atlantic sharks (directly or incidentally), 
the documented landing of a specified quantity of Atlantic sharks, or a 
specified number of Atlantic shark landings. The Secretary, after full 
public process, may adopt one or more of these definitions of entry 
into the shark fishery at the time a limited access regime is proposed, 
but may choose other options as well.
    Speculative entry into a fishery often is responsible for a rapid 
increase in fishing effort in fisheries already fully- or over-
developed. Those seeking possible windfall gain from a potential 
management change can exacerbate the original problems. To help 
distinguish bona fide and established Atlantic shark fishermen from 
speculative entrants into the fishery, a control date may be set before 
beginning discussions and planning of limited access regimes. As a 
result, fishermen are notified that entering an Atlantic shark fishery 
after that date will not necessarily assure them of future access to 
the fishery resource on grounds of previous participation.
    This establishment of a control date does not commit the Secretary 
to any particular management regime or criterion for entry into 
Atlantic shark fisheries. Fishermen are not guaranteed future 
participation in the Atlantic shark fisheries regardless of their date 
of entry or intensity of participation in the fishery before or after 
the control date. The Secretary may subsequently choose a different 
control date, or he may choose a management regime that does not make 
use of such a date. The Secretary is free to apply other qualifying 
criteria for fishery entry. The Secretary may give varying 
considerations to fishermen in the fisheries before and after the 
control date. Finally, the Secretary may choose to take no further 
action to control entry or access to the fisheries.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: February 15, 1994.
Nancy Foster,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 94-3832 Filed 2-18-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P