[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 169 (Thursday, September 1, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21650]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 1, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 081194B]

 

Atlantic Tuna Fisheries

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

ACTION: Notice of control date.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that anyone entering any Atlantic tuna 
fishery after September 1, 1994 (control date), may not be assured of 
future access to the commercial tuna fishery in the Atlantic Ocean, 
Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean under Federal regulations. This document is 
intended to promote awareness of potential eligibility criteria for 
access to the Atlantic tuna 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 tuna resources should be limited. This control date includes 
fishing for the following species:
    Albacore tuna--Thunnus alalunga
    Bigeye tuna--Thunnus obesus
    Bluefin tuna--Thunnus thynnus
    Skipjack tuna--Katsuwonus pelamis; and
    Yellowfin tuna--Thunnus albacares

EFFECTIVE DATE: The control date established by this action is 
September 1, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the control date established herein should be 
directed to: Richard B. Stone, Chief, Highly Migratory Species 
Management Division (F/CM4), National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 
East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD, 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard B. Stone, 301-713-2347, FAX 
301-713-0596, Raymond E. Baglin, 508-281-9140, Kevin Foster, 508-281-
9260 or Rodney C. Dalton, 813-893-3161.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic tuna fisheries are defined and 
managed under regulations at 50 CFR part 285 implementing the 
recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of 
Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and issued under the authority of the under the 
Atlantic Tunas Convention Act, 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.
    The Atlantic tunas listed above are all considered to be either 
already overutilized or approaching an overutilized or fully-utilized 
condition. Western Atlantic bluefin tuna are believed to be well below 
the biomass that can produce the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). 
Bigeye and albacore are considered to be fully utilized, and yellowfin 
and skipjack are considered to be at or approaching full utilization. 
Analyses conducted by the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics 
of ICCAT suggest that Atlantic yellowfin tuna biomass may even be 
slightly below the level that can produce the MSY. Fishing effort needs 
to be controlled on all species simultaneously because fishing pressure 
directed at less popular species may quickly increase if effort is 
displaced from more heavily exploited species.
    One of the concerns of participants in the Atlantic tuna fisheries, 
and of the Secretary, is that management restrictions on the fisheries 
that may be necessary to prevent overfishing or to rebuild stocks, may 
cause economic hardship in the short term before future benefits 
accrue. Continuation of the open access status of these fisheries may 
exacerbate these short-term economic problems and impede the 
effectiveness of management restrictions aimed at rebuilding stocks.
    To avoid speculative entry into fisheries that are, or may be 
becoming, overutilized and may be overcapitalized, the Secretary is 
establishing a control date for possible limited entry. The date 
selected is the date of publication of this document. Vessels which 
have not entered a particular fishery prior to this date may not be 
allowed entry into the fishery should a limited entry program, based on 
any of numerous potential criteria (such as individual catch levels or 
gear type used) be developed. Also, vessels already in the fisheries 
may not meet eligibility criteria depending on which criteria are 
eventually established. For the purposes of this document, NMFS has not 
developed specific criteria to define entry into the tuna fisheries. In 
most cases, entry into the fisheries means either purchase of a tuna 
vessel, application for a fishery permit, investment in the 
construction or modification of a vessel or gear for the purpose of 
fishing for Atlantic tuna (directly or incidentally), the documented 
landing of a specified quantity of a managed species of Atlantic tuna, 
or a specified number of Atlantic tuna landings. The Secretary, after a 
public review process, may adopt one or more of these definitions of 
entry into a particular fishery at the time a limited access regime is 
proposed, but may choose other options as well.
    To help distinguish established Atlantic tuna fishermen from 
speculative entrants to the fisheries, a control date may be set before 
beginning discussions and planning of limited access regimes. As a 
result, fishermen are hereby notified that entering an Atlantic tuna 
fishery after that date will not necessarily assure them of future 
access to the fishery resource on grounds of previous participation.
    Establishment of a control date does not commit the Secretary to 
any particular management regime or criterion for entry into Atlantic 
tuna fisheries. Fishermen are not guaranteed future participation in 
the Atlantic tuna 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. 971 et seq.

    Dated: August 26, 1994.
Nancy Foster, Ph.D.,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 94-21650 Filed 8-31-94; 8:45 am]
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