[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 173 (Thursday, September 8, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-22060]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 8, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR 638, 642, and 659

[I.D. 082994D]

 

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Meetings and Hearings

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting, public hearings, and public scoping 
meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) is 
holding public hearings to solicit comments on coral-related issues and 
on developing regulations for the rock shrimp fishery. A public scoping 
meeting will be held to solicit comments on controlled access options 
for Atlantic Spanish mackerel in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and 
on proposed Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coastal 
Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic 
(FMP).

DATES: Written comments on the coral-related issues and on rock shrimp 
regulations must be received by October 3, 1994. Written comments on 
controlled access options for Atlantic Spanish mackerel and on proposed 
Amendment 8 to the FMP must be received by October 3, 1994. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for times and dates of public hearings and 
meetings.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Robert K. Mahood, Executive 
Director, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, One Southpark 
Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 29407-4699 (FAX: 803-769-4520). See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for locations of hearings and meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carrie Knight, Public Information 
Officer, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 803-571-4366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public hearings will be held to solicit 
comments on coral-related issues concerning aquaculture of live rock 
and octocoral harvest in the South Atlantic EEZ and on the effects of 
anchoring vessels in the Oculina Bank habitat area of particular 
concern (HAPC). The Oculina Bank HAPC has been designated recently as 
an experimental closed area to snapper-grouper fishing and encompasses 
a 23 by 4 nautical mile strip located approximately 15 nautical miles 
offshore at its nearest point in the vicinity of Fort Pierce, FL. The 
Council's Coral Advisory Panel is scheduled to meet on Saturday, 
September 24, 1994, Banana Bay, 4590 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL, to 
discuss these topics. The public hearings will be held from 7 p.m. to 
10 p.m. and are scheduled on the following dates at the following 
locations:
    1. Monday, September 19, 1994--Holiday Inn Midtown, 7100 Abercorn 
Street, Savannah, GA.
    2. Thursday, September 22, 1994--Brazilian Court, 301 Australian 
Avenue, Palm Beach, FL.
    3. Friday, September 23, 1994--Banana Bay, 4590 Overseas Highway, 
Marathon, FL.
    The Council is holding public hearings to solicit comments on 
developing regulations for the rock shrimp fishery. The main focus will 
be on area restrictions to prevent habitat damage, controlling effort 
through possible license limitation, and exploring shared management 
with the industry. The hearings on rock shrimp will be held from 7 p.m. 
to 10 p.m. and are scheduled on the following dates at the following 
locations:
    1. Tuesday, September 20, 1994--Ponce de Leon Golf and Resort, 4000 
U.S. 1 North, St. Augustine, FL.
    2. Wednesday, September 21, 1994--Holiday Inn, 1300 N. Atlantic 
Avenue, Cocoa Beach, FL.
    A public scoping meeting will be held to solicit comments on 
controlled access options for the Atlantic Spanish mackerel fishery in 
the South Atlantic EEZ and on proposed Amendment 8 to the FMP. The 
Council is considering the following options for controlling access 
into the Atlantic Spanish mackerel fishery: (1) no action; (2) 
community or group-based quotas; (3) territorial use rights (TURFs); 
(4) effort-limit controls; (5) license limitation; (6) individual 
transferable quotas (ITQs); (7) ITQs with a period during which no 
share sales are allowed; (8) ITQs with modifications such as 
restrictions on sale, requirements for use, ownership caps, and other 
possible modifications; (9) ITQs with provisional license limitation 
period; and (10) nontransferable individual quotas. The Council is also 
considering the following options for proposed Amendment 8 to the FMP: 
(1) commercial trip limits for Atlantic king mackerel; (2) Federal 
dealer permits for coastal pelagics; (3) extend management of cobia 
through the Mid-Atlantic region and review cobia trip limits; (4) allow 
transfer at sea of Spanish mackerel; (5) determine a fixed boundary 
between Gulf and South Atlantic stocks of king mackerel; (6) develop 
alternative requirements for obtaining a coastal pelagics permit, i.e., 
income, threshold level, age, etc.; (7) limit vessels to one net with a 
maximum length of 600 yards and one hour soak time along either the 
Florida coast or the entire management range; (8) changes the 
recreational/commercial allocation of Atlantic group Spanish mackerel; 
and (9) add African pompano to the management unit. The public scoping 
meeting on controlled access options for Atlantic Spanish mackerel and 
on proposed Amendment 8 to the FMP will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. 
on Wednesday, September 28, 1994, at the Holiday Inn-Sunshine Parkway, 
7151 Okeechobee Road, Fort Pierce, FL.
    The Council will also solicit additional public comments on coral-
related issues, rock shrimp regulations, controlled access options for 
Atlantic Spanish mackerel, and proposed Amendment 8 to the FMP during 
its October 24-28, 1994, meeting at the Holiday Inn, 1706 N. Lumina 
Avenue, Wrightsville Beach, NC. Specific meeting times will be 
advertised at a later date.
    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Carrie Knight at the above Council 
address by September 12, 1994.

    Dated: September 1, 1994.
David S. Crestin,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 94-22060 Filed 9-7-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F