[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 48 (Friday, March 11, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-5762]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 11, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 669

[Docket No. 940372-4072; ID 123093H]

 

Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

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

ACTION: Final rule, technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this technical amendment to correct and clarify 
the specification of the minimum mesh sizes allowed in fish traps used 
in the exclusive economic zone around Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 
Islands. The intent of this action is to correct and clarify the 
regulations and carry out the intent of the Caribbean Fishery 
Management Council (Council).

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 11, 1994.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Georgia Cranmore, 813-893-3161.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef fish fishery of Puerto Rico and the 
U.S. Virgin Islands is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for 
the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (FMP). 
The FMP was prepared by the Council and is implemented through 
regulations at 50 CFR part 669 under the authority of the Magnuson 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
    Under the FMP's framework procedure for making regulatory changes, 
the Council may initiate and NMFS may change, among other things, the 
minimum allowable mesh sizes in fish traps. In accordance with that 
framework procedure, the mesh sizes were substantively changed by a 
final rule published September 26, 1991 (56 FR 48755). Since that final 
rule, the regulations specify a minimum mesh size of 2 inches (5.1 cm) 
for fish traps constructed of material other than bare wire, such as 
coated wire or plastic, measured in the smallest dimension of the 
opening, rather than measured between centers of strands (currently 
codified at 50 CFR 669.23(b)(1)). When the Council recommended changes 
in the minimum allowable mesh sizes in fish traps, it intended that the 
minimum allowable mesh sizes for all fish traps be measured between 
centers of strands, regardless of construction material. Wire 
manufacturers produce trap mesh in accordance with this measurement 
procedure. Fishermen have been using coated-wire fish traps constructed 
with mesh of this standard size. The difference in the mesh openings 
between industry standard bare wire and coated wire is approximately 
0.23 inch (5.84 mm), which is considered insignificant for purposes of 
fishery conservation. Accordingly, this final rule, technical 
amendment, corrects the regulations so that all fish trap mesh is 
measured between centers of strands. In addition, this final rule, 
technical amendment clarifies the regulations by specifying that 
measurements are to be made between the centers of opposite strands.

Classification

    This technical amendment is issued as a final rule under 50 CFR 
part 669.
    This rule is minor and technical and does not change regulatory 
impacts that were previously reviewed and analyzed.
    Because this rule (1) makes a non-substantive correction and a 
clarification to the regulations; (2) will not necessitate a change in 
operating practices in the fishery; and (3) relieves a restriction, the 
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, under section 553(b) (B) 
and (d) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) for good 
cause finds that it is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest 
to provide notice and public comment on this rule or to delay for 30 
days its effective date.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 669

    Fisheries, Fishing, Puerto Rico, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Virgin Islands.

    Dated: March 8, 1994.
Charles Karnella,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 50 CFR part 669 is 
amended as follows:

PART 669--REEF FISH FISHERY OF PUERTO RICO AND THE U.S. VIRGIN 
ISLANDS

    1. The authority citation for part 669 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 669.23, paragraph (b)(1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 669.23  Gear restrictions.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) Mesh size. A bare-wire fish trap used or possessed in the EEZ 
that has hexagonal mesh openings must have a minimum mesh size of 1.5 
inches (3.8 cm), in the smallest dimension measured between centers of 
opposite strands. A bare-wire fish trap used or possessed in the EEZ 
that has other than hexagonal mesh openings or a fish trap of other 
than bare wire, such as coated wire or plastic, used or possessed in 
the EEZ must have a minimum mesh size of 2.0 inches (5.1 cm), in the 
smallest dimension measured between centers of opposite strands.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 94-5762 Filed 3-10-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P