[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 184 (Friday, September 23, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23616]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: September 23, 1994]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 285 and 678

[I.D. 091494B]

 

Atlantic Shark and Tuna Fisheries

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

ACTION: Public hearings and scoping meetings; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: NMFS will hold 14 combination public hearing and scoping 
meetings to receive comments from fishery participants and other 
members of the public on bluefin tuna, yellowfin and other tuna, and 
Atlantic shark management issues. The purpose of this document is to 
notify the public of hearings and provide for public participation in 
the management process.

DATES: Hearings and meetings will be held October 3 through 6 and 
October 12 through 13, 1994. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific 
dates and times of these combination meetings. Input for the issues/
options statement should be submitted by September 28, 1994. Written 
comments on the issues must be received on or before November 22, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Richard H. Schaefer, 
Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management (F/CM), 
National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910. Clearly mark the outside of the envelope ``Atlantic 
Tuna Comments'' and/or ``Shark Comments.'' Input for the issues/options 
statement may also be provided to the same address, or by sending a fax 
to Richard B. Stone at 301-713-0596. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for 
the addresses of these combination meeting locations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John D. Kelly for Atlantic tunas or 
general information, telephone: 301-713-2347, fax: 301-713-0596; C. 
Michael Bailey for sharks, telephone: 301-713-2347, fax: 301-713-0596.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico 
shark fisheries are managed under authority of the Magnuson Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). Fishing by 
U.S. vessels is governed by regulations implementing the fishery 
management plan (FMP) at 50 CFR part 678. The Atlantic tuna fisheries 
are managed under regulations at 50 CFR part 285 implementing the 
Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.), regulating the 
harvest of Atlantic tunas by persons and vessels subject to U.S. 
jurisdiction.
    Issues for each combination meeting are:
    1. Public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(DEIS) for Atlantic bluefin tuna.
    2. Scoping meeting on the Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery quota 
adjustments, allocation by user group, delayed season, moratorium on 
entry, and other issues.
    3. Scoping meeting on the other Atlantic tunas, including 
permitting and reporting requirements for dealers and fishermen, 
changes in minimum size, catch levels, and special management zones.
    4. Scoping meeting on the Atlantic shark fishery quota adjustment.

Atlantic Tunas, Bluefin

    NMFS released a DEIS for Atlantic bluefin tuna in April 1994. One 
purpose of these announced meetings is to obtain comments on the DEIS 
in a public hearing. The DEIS examines a wide range of quota allocation 
alternatives under different levels of total quota, and should serve as 
background for discussion for a proposed 1995 rule. Copies of the DEIS 
are available upon request (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT).
    These meetings will also provide a forum for open discussions on 
issues related to the 1995 Atlantic tunas rule. Recommendations from 
the 1993 meetings of the International Commission for the Conservation 
of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) call for reduction of the western Atlantic 
bluefin tuna quota in 1995 of 55 percent from 1991 levels, unless ICCAT 
scientific information indicates otherwise. This reduction would result 
in a U.S. quota of 743.2 metric tons. The management alternatives 
presented in the DEIS should provide the basis for discussions on 
options for the 1995 fishery.
    Specific management issues for the bluefin tuna fishery that will 
be discussed include: Moratorium on new permits for all commercial gear 
categories, definition of a harpoon vessel, modifications to the 
relative shares of various user-group categories, and issues raised in 
the petitions for rulemaking.

Other Atlantic Tunas

    Recommendations from the 1993 meetings of ICCAT call for countries 
to maintain fishing effort for yellowfin tuna at 1992 levels, since 
yellowfin stocks are now considered fully exploited, other specific 
management issues to be considered for Atlantic yellowfin, bigeye, and 
skipjack tunas include: Permitting and reporting requirements for 
fishermen and dealers, changes in the minimum size, and establishment 
of catch levels.

Petitions for Rulemaking

    NMFS has received two petitions for rulemaking within the past 
year. A petition received from the National Fishing Association 
addresses the establishment of special management zones for 
recreational fisheries for Atlantic tunas, as well as other issues. The 
petition from the General Category Tuna Association requests a larger 
allocation of Atlantic bluefin tuna to the General category, 
prohibition of incidental catch of bluefin tuna, and modification of 
the definition of ``benefit'' in benefit-cost analyses such that 
employment be considered a benefit rather than a cost. The proposals in 
these petitions will also be discussed at the scoping meetings on 
Atlantic tunas.

Atlantic Sharks

    Final regulations implementing the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 
for Sharks of the Atlantic Ocean became effective on April 26, 1993. 
The FMP concluded that the large coastal species group is overfished 
while the pelagic and small coastal species groups are fully exploited. 
In accordance with the FMP, a stock assessment workshop was held in 
March 1994. Lack of evidence of improvement in the stocks of large 
coastal sharks, combined with further information on life history 
characteristics, resulted in a recommendation from the workshop that 
the quota for large coastal sharks not be increased in 1995 as planned 
in the FMP. NMFS will conduct scoping meetings on the proposed 
modification in the 1995 quota for large coastal sharks. Other shark 
issues may also be addressed at these meetings.

Special Accommodations

    These hearings/meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Richard H. Schaefer by September 
28, 1994, (see ADDRESSES). To accommodate people unable to attend a 
scoping meeting or wishing to provide additional comments, NMFS is also 
soliciting written comments on these and other issues of concern in 
these fisheries, including comments on the DEIS.
    In addition, NMFS requests input, by mail or by fax, to develop an 
issues/options statement prior to the scoping meetings. The issues/
options statement will be used as the basis for discussion at the 
hearing/meetings.

Hearing Meeting Locations

    Each of these hearing/meetings (unless otherwise noted) will 
include a shark discussion from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., a non-bluefin tuna 
discussion from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., and a bluefin discussion from 7:00 
to 10:00 p.m. These scheduled times may be adjusted among the three 
fishery topics depending upon expressed interests of the audience. Such 
adjustments are at the discretion of the Meeting Officer. The meeting 
schedule is as follows:

October 3, 1994, Portland, ME

    Jordan Seafood Restaurant
    700 Main Street
    South Portland, ME 04106

October 3, 1994, Galveston, TX

    San Luis Hotel and Conference Center
    5222 Seawall Blvd.
    Galveston, TX 77551

October 3, 1994, Lake Worth, FL

    Palm Beach Community College
    Allied Health Lecture Hall, Room 101
    4200 Congress Ave.
    Lake Worth, FL 33461-4796

October 4, 1994, Plymouth, MA

    Plymouth High School
    Obery Street
    Plymouth, MA 02360

October 4, 1994, New Orleans, LA

    World Trade Center Building
    Suite 1830, Crescent City Room
    # 2 Canal St.
    New Orleans, LA 70130

October 4, 1994, Manteo, NC

    North Carolina State Aquarium
    Airport Road
    Manteo, NC 27954

October 5, 1994, Selden, NY

    Suffolk Community College
    533 College Road
    Selden, NY 11784

October 5, 1994, Panama City, FL

    NMFS Panama City Lab
    3500 Delwood Beach Rd.
    Panama City, FL 32407

October 5, 1994, Charleston, SC

    South Carolina Wildlife
    and Marine Resources Department (MRRI)
    217 Fort Johnson Road
    Charleston, SC 29422

October 6, 1994, Tom's River, NJ

    Holiday Inn
    290 Rt. 37 East
    Tom's River, NJ 08753

October 6, 1994, Madeira Beach

    Madeira Beach City Hall
    300 Municipal Dr.
    Madeira Beach, FL 33708

October 6, 1994, Norfolk, VA

    Lake Wright Resort and Convention Center
    6280 Northampton Blvd.
    Norfolk, VA 23502

October 12, 1994, Silver Spring, MD (1 - 5 p.m.)

    NMFS/NOAA/Department of Commerce
    Building 4, Lobby Conference Room (1W611)
    Silver Spring Metro Center
    1305 East-West Highway
    Silver Spring, MD 20910

October 13, 1994, Boston, MA

    Hynnes Convention Center
    Auditorium
    900 Boyleston St.
    Boston, MA 02115
    Additional meetings may be announced at a later date in the Federal 
Register.

    Dated: September 20, 1994.
Richard H. Schaefer,
Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 94-23616 Filed 9-20-94; 3:19 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F