[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 159 (Thursday, August 18, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-20220]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 18, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 638

[Docket No. 940821-4221; I.D. 072694B]
RIN 0648-AG65

 

Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico and the South 
Atlantic

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

ACTION: Emergency interim rule; extension of effectiveness with 
modifications.

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SUMMARY: An emergency interim rule is in effect through August 14, 
1994, to control the taking of live rock in the exclusive economic zone 
(EEZ) of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) off Florida and Alabama. At the 
request of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Gulf 
Council), NMFS extends the emergency interim rule, with modifications, 
for an additional 90 days. As modified, this emergency interim rule 
prohibits all taking of live rock in the EEZ off Alabama; prohibits the 
taking of live rock by chipping in the Gulf EEZ from the Pasco/Hernando 
County line in Florida to the Florida/Alabama boundary; prohibits the 
taking of live rock by chipping with power-assisted tools in the Gulf 
EEZ south of the Pasco/Hernando County line; and establishes a daily 
vessel limit in the Gulf EEZ off Florida. The intended effect of this 
rule is to protect live rock resources and fishery habitat in the Gulf.

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 15, 1994, through November 12, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Copies of documents supporting this action, including an 
environmental assessment, may be obtained from Georgia Cranmore, 
Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive, St. 
Petersburg, FL 33702.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Georgia Cranmore, 813-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Coral and coral reefs in the EEZ off the 
southern Atlantic states and in the Gulf are managed under the Fishery 
Management Plan for Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico and the 
South Atlantic (FMP). The FMP was prepared by the Gulf Council and the 
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and is implemented through 
regulations at 50 CFR part 638 under the authority of the Magnuson 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act).
    Under section 305(c)(2)(B) and (c)(3) of the Magnuson Act, NMFS 
published an emergency interim rule (59 FR 25344, May 16, 1994) 
effective for 90 days (May 16 through August 14, 1994) to prohibit the 
taking of live rock in the Gulf EEZ from the Pasco/Hernando County line 
in Florida to the Alabama/Mississippi boundary; and, in the Gulf EEZ 
off Florida south of the Pasco/Hernando County line, to prohibit the 
use of power-assisted tools to break up or dislodge pieces of live rock 
and to establish a daily vessel harvest and possession limit for live 
rock of 25 5-gallon (19-liter) buckets.
    The Gulf Council requested an extension of the current emergency 
interim rule published May 16, 1994, with modifications that would: (1) 
Reopen the area from the Pasco/Hernando County line to the Alabama/
Florida boundary to the harvest and possession of loose rubble rock 
only, with no chipping allowed; and (2) extend throughout the Gulf EEZ 
off Florida the current emergency rule's daily vessel harvest and 
possession limit for live rock of 25 5-gallon (19-liter) buckets. The 
current prohibitions on taking live rock in the EEZ off Alabama and on 
the use of power-assisted tools to break up or dislodge pieces of live 
rock south of the Pasco/Hernando County line would remain in effect.
    The measures in this modified emergency rule conform with 
management options adopted by the Gulf Council for Amendment 2 to the 
FMP. If approved, Amendment 2 will implement the modified emergency 
measures on a permanent basis and include a phaseout schedule for all 
wild live rock harvests. The Gulf Council and the South Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council expect to submit Amendment 2 in August 1994 
for Secretarial review, approval, and implementation.
    Based on public testimony and a review of written comments, the 
Gulf Council determined that the usual harvest practices and number of 
participants north of the Pasco/Hernando County line in Florida do not 
threaten the integrity of the natural hard bottoms and banks in the EEZ 
in that area, at least in the short-term, provided that chipping is not 
allowed and a daily vessel limit is established. Harvesters provided 
charts of natural hard bottom areas, showed videos of reef complexes, 
and testified that there is sufficient loose rock in this area to 
support a commercial fishery. They stated that it is not their usual 
practice to chip rock off the ledges and that without access to live 
rock during the phaseout period through 1996, they would be financially 
unable to convert to aquaculture operations.
    The EEZ off Alabama, the only other Gulf state to report landings 
of live rock, would remain closed to harvest because of the scarcity of 
live rock resources in that area. As currently proposed in Amendment 2, 
harvest and possession of live rock would be prohibited throughout the 
Gulf EEZ, except off Florida. Live rock harvests in the EEZ off Florida 
would be phased out and replaced by aquaculture.
    NMFS concurs with the Gulf Council's request and extends the 
emergency interim rule, with the requested modifications, for an 
additional 90 days in accordance with section 305(c)(3)(B) of the 
Magnuson Act.
    Details concerning the basis for the emergency interim rule and the 
classification of the rulemaking are contained in the preamble to the 
initial emergency interim rule and are not repeated here.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 638

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: August 11, 1994.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.

    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 638 is amended 
as follows:

PART 638--CORAL AND CORAL REEFS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO AND THE SOUTH 
ATLANTIC

    1. The authority citation for part 638 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    2. In Sec. 638.5, paragraphs (o) through (q) and (u) are added 
to read as follows:


Sec. 638.5  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (o) Harvest or possess live rock in the EEZ of the Gulf of Mexico 
from 87 deg.31'06''W. long. west to 88 deg.23'12''W. long., as 
specified in Sec. 638.27(b).
    (p) Harvest live rock by chipping in the EEZ of the Gulf of Mexico 
from 87 deg.31'06''W. long. east and south to 28 deg.26'N. lat., or 
possess in that area live rock taken by chipping; as specified in 
Sec. 638.27(c)(1).
    (q) Harvest live rock by chipping with a power-assisted tool in the 
EEZ of the Gulf of Mexico south of 28 deg.26'N. lat., or possess in 
that area live rock taken by chipping with a power-assisted tool; as 
specified in Sec. 638.27(c)(2).
* * * * *
    (u) Exceed the daily vessel harvest and possession limit applicable 
to the harvest or possession of live rock in or from the EEZ of the 
Gulf of Mexico east and south of 87 deg.31'06''W. long., as specified 
in Sec. 638.27(d).
    3. In subpart B, Sec. 638.27 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 638.27  Live rock.

    (a) Definitions. (1) Chipping means breaking up reefs, ledges, or 
rocks into fragments, usually by means of a chisel and hammer.
    (2) EEZ of the Gulf of Mexico means that portion of the EEZ from 
the Texas/Mexico border to the boundary between the Atlantic Ocean and 
the Gulf of Mexico, as specified in Sec. 601.11(c) of this chapter.
    (3) Live rock means living marine organisms, or an assemblage 
thereof, attached to a hard substrate, including dead coral or rock 
(excluding mollusk shells).
    (b) Closed area. No person may harvest or possess live rock in the 
EEZ of the Gulf of Mexico from 87 deg.31'06''W. long. (extension of the 
Alabama/Florida boundary) west to 88 deg.23'12''W. long. (a line due 
south from the seaward terminus of the Alabama/Mississippi state line).
    (c) Gear limitations. (1) No person may harvest live rock by 
chipping in the EEZ of the Gulf of Mexico from 87 deg.31'06''W. long. 
east and south to 28 deg.26'N. lat. (extension of the Pasco/Hernando 
County, Florida, boundary) and no person may possess in that area live 
rock taken by chipping.
    (2) No person may harvest live rock by chipping with a power-
assisted tool in the EEZ of the Gulf of Mexico south of 28 deg.26'N. 
lat. and no person may possess in that area live rock taken by chipping 
with a power-assisted tool.
    (d) Harvest and possession limits. A daily vessel limit of 25 5-
gallon (19-liter) buckets, or volume equivalent, applies to the harvest 
or possession of live rock in or from the EEZ of the Gulf of Mexico 
east and south of 87 deg.31'06''W. long.

[FR Doc. 94-20220 Filed 8-12-94; 4:32 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P