[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 27, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-31649]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: December 27, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 628

[I.D. 120994B]

 

Atlantic Bluefish Fishery; Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the intention of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (Council) to prepare an EIS for proposed Amendment 1 
to the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Current stock 
assessment information indicates that bluefish are overfished, and the 
FMP contains no fishing mortality rate reduction strategy. Additional 
management measures are necessary for both the recreational and the 
commercial fisheries. In the development of Amendment 1, the Council 
proposes to consider additional management measures for both 
recreational and commercial fisheries along with a reevaluation of 
existing management objectives. The Council also announces a public 
process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for 
identifying the significant issues relating to revising the management 
of bluefish. The purpose of this document is to inform the public of 
the commencement of a scoping process and to provide the opportunity 
for public participation in the development of Amendment 1 to the FMP. 
All persons affected by, or otherwise interested in, the proposed 
amendment are invited to participate in determining the scope of 
significant issues to be considered in the EIS by submitting written 
comments. The scoping process also will identify and eliminate from 
detailed study issues that are not significant.

DATES: The Council will discuss Amendment 1 at regularly scheduled 
meetings. The public will be notified (by a Federal Register document) 
of the specific agendas and starting times at least 2 weeks prior to 
Council meetings. The currently scheduled scoping meetings will be held 
on December 21, 1994, and throughout January 1995 (see SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION).

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on the scoping process and the scope 
of the EIS to David R. Keifer, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, Room 2115 Federal Building, 300 South New Street, 
Dover, DE 19904-6790.
    The meetings will be held in NJ, FL, NC, NY, VA, RI, MA, and MD 
(see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION). As additional meetings are scheduled, 
they will be announced in the Federal Register. Public hearings will be 
scheduled after completion of the Draft EIS; notification of the 
hearings will be published in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David R. Keifer, Executive Director, 
302-674-2331; FAX: 302-674-5399.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The scheduled scoping meetings are as 
follows:
    1. December 21, 1994, 7 p.m., Long Branch--Hilton, 1 Ocean Blvd., 
Long Branch, NJ
    2. January 4, 1995, 6 p.m., Stuart--Stuart City Hall, 121 SW. 
Flagler Ave., Stuart, FL
    3. January 9, 1995, 7 p.m., Washington--Beaufort County Community 
College, Hwy. 264, Washington, NC
    4. January 9, 1995, 7:30 p.m., Ronkonkoma--Holiday Inn, 3845 
Veterans Memorial Hwy., Ronkonkoma, NY
    5. January 10, 1995, 7 p.m., Norfolk--Quality Inn Lake Wright, 6280 
Northampton Blvd., Norfolk, VA
    6. January 10, 1995, 7 p.m., Galilee--Dutch Inn, 307 Great Island 
Road, Galilee, RI
    7. January 11, 1995, 7 p.m., Cape May--Cape May Extension Office, 
Dennisville Road, Cape May, NJ
    8. January 11, 1995, 5 p.m., Danvers--Kings Grant Inn, Rt. 128, 
Danvers, MA
    9. January 12, 1995, 7 p.m., Ocean City--Carousel, 118th St. & 
Coastal Highway, Ocean City, MD
    The management unit for Atlantic bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is 
all bluefish in U.S. waters in the western Atlantic Ocean. Current 
stock assessment information indicates that bluefish are overfished. 
Based on the overfishing definition in the FMP, the exploitation rate 
would have to be reduced by 50 percent to end overfishing. Because the 
FMP contains no strategy for reducing fishing mortality, additional 
management measures are necessary in both the recreational and the 
commercial fisheries.
    Bluefish management is further complicated by the multi-species/
multi-gear nature of the fishery. Any management program developed for 
this Amendment must recognize that bluefish may continue to be caught 
and killed if these gears continue to be fished, even though their use 
may be directed at other species.

Possible Management Measures

    Current Management Objectives. Part of the scoping process is the 
possible reevaluation of the existing objectives. The major goal of the 
FMP is to conserve the bluefish resource along the Atlantic coast. Five 
major objectives have been adopted to achieve this goal:
    1. Increase understanding of the stock and of the fishery.
    2. Provide the highest availability of bluefish to U.S. fishermen 
while maintaining, within limits, traditional uses of bluefish (defined 
as the commercial fishery not exceeding 20 percent of total catch).
    3. Provide for cooperation among the coastal states, the various 
Regional Marine Fishery Management Councils, and Federal agencies 
involved along the coast to enhance the management of bluefish 
throughout its range.
    4. Prevent recruitment overfishing.
    5. Reduce waste in both commercial and recreational fisheries.
    Fishery Management Measures. Possible management measures for the 
commercial fishery include, but are not limited to, minimum and/or 
maximum fish size, minimum mesh size, closed seasons and areas, quotas 
(including adjustments among states), a moratorium on vessels, 
individual transferable quotas, dealer and vessel permits and reports, 
operator permits, trip limits, and gear restrictions.
    Possible management measures for the recreational fishery 
(including that sector of the fishery that carries recreational 
fishermen for hire) include, but are not limited to, minimum and/or 
maximum fish size, maximum possession limit, closed seasons and areas, 
gear restrictions, quotas (including adjustment among states), 
restrictions on the sale of recreationally caught fish, dealer and 
vessel permits and reports, and operator permits.
    It is anticipated that permits would be mandatory for: Vessels 
landing bluefish for sale; dealers purchasing bluefish from permitted 
vessels; party and charter boats in the Atlantic bluefish fishery. 
Further, it is anticipated that vessels landing bluefish for sale would 
need to submit logbooks; dealers purchasing bluefish from permitted 
commercial vessels would need to submit reports; and operators of 
charter and party boats would need to submit logbooks.
    In the Paperwork Reduction Act forms (SF-83) prepared by NMFS for 
Amendment 2 to the Summer Flounder FMP, the Dealer Purchase Report was 
estimated to involve 1,255 respondents and 26+ responses per respondent 
per year, for a total of 33,135 responses at 0.0448 hours per response, 
for a total of 1,485 burden hours. The Vessel Logbook was estimated at 
1,314 respondents, 12 responses per respondent, at 0.08 hours per 
response, for a total of 1,261 burden hours. The Vessel Permit was 
estimated at 24,943 annual responses at 0.2878 hours per response, for 
a total of 7,179 burden hours.
    Similar burden hours should be experienced through bluefish 
management. There may be a reduction because vessels with summer 
flounder permits may qualify for the bluefish fishery. Currently, 
operating permits are required in the Northeast Multispecies, Atlantic 
Sea Scallop, and Summer Flounder FMPs. It is expected that the burden 
hours for the operator permit will be similar to those estimated for 
the Summer Flounder Operator Permit.

Timetable for EIS Preparation and Decisionmaking

    The Council has adopted a tentative amendment preparation, review, 
and approval schedule for Amendment 1. Under this schedule, the Draft 
EIS is planned for completion prior to the Council's September 1995 
meeting. If an acceptable Draft is completed, the Council would decide 
at that meeting whether to submit the draft EIS for public review. Oral 
comments to the Council on their decision could be made at that 
meeting. If the Council's decision is affirmative, public review of the 
draft EIS would occur during 45 days in October and November 1995. At 
its January 1996 meeting, the Council would decide on any revisions to 
the proposed management regime of bluefish, and oral comments on the 
decision could be made to the Council at that meeting. If the Council's 
decision is affirmative, the EIS would be made final and submitted with 
the amendment recommendation and other rulemaking documents to NMFS for 
review and approval. The Council reserves the right to modify or 
abandon this schedule if necessary.
    Under the Magnuson Act, NMFS review and approval of a proposed 
amendment is completed in no more than 95 days and includes concurrent 
public comment periods on the amendment and proposed regulations. If 
approved by NMFS under this schedule, the revised bluefish management 
measures would be effective in 1996.

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

    Dated: December 20, 1994.
David S. Crestin,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service
[FR Doc. 94-31649 Filed 12-23-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F