[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 117 (Monday, June 19, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 31949-31951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-14827]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 646 and 659

[I.D. 060695D]


Shrimp and Calico Scallop Fisheries Off the Southern Atlantic 
States and the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic; Public 
Scoping Meetings and Public Hearing

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

ACTION: Notice of public scoping meetings and public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) is 
holding public scoping meetings to solicit comments on the following 
issues: Sale of fish caught under the recreational bag limit (all 
species); Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 
Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Shrimp FMP) dealing with 
fishery bycatch issues; the development of an FMP for the calico 
scallop fishery; and the issue of recreational catch and the commercial 
bycatch of wreckfish under the FMP for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of 
the South Atlantic. The Council is also holding a public hearing to 
solicit comments on management options for Amendment 1 to the Shrimp 
FMP that would add rock shrimp to the management unit, prohibit shrimp 
trawling in certain areas, and establish permitting and reporting 
requirements for this fishery. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section for additional information on the hearing and scoping meetings.

DATES: The public scoping meetings are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on 
Monday, June 19, 1995, at Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
    The hearing is scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday, June 
22, 1995, at Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

ADDRESSES: The public scoping meetings and public hearing will be held 
in conjunction with the South [[Page 31950]] Atlantic Council public 
meetings at the Palm Beach Gardens Marriott, 4000 RCA Boulevard, Palm 
Beach Gardens, FL 33410; telephone: (407) 622-8888.
    Requests for copies of the public scoping and hearing documents 
should be sent to the Council at the following address: South Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, 
Charleston, SC 29407-4699.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon Coste (Council staff); 
telephone: 803-571-4366; fax: 803-769-4520.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A public scoping meeting will be held to 
solicit comments on the sale of fish caught under the recreational bag 
limit (all species). The Council has considered this issue on numerous 
occasions over the past several years, and both commercial and 
recreational fishermen have expressed concerns about this matter. 
Currently, all of the Council's FMPs allow for the sale of fish taken 
under a legal bag limit. The issue regarding the sale of fish caught 
under bag limits involves several considerations including: (1) The 
definitions of recreational and commercial fishermen; (2) the ethical 
question of a ``recreational'' fisherman selling his catch; and (3) the 
impacts on a commercial quota from selling fish caught under the bag 
limit. The Council will consider prohibiting the sale of fish by 
recreational anglers.
    The Council will also hold a public scoping meeting to solicit 
comments on Amendment 2 to the Shrimp FMP to address the issue of 
finfish bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery. The Council prepared the 
Shrimp FMP in 1992 and NMFS approved and implemented it in 1993. At the 
time the Shrimp FMP was implemented, the Council was concerned about 
finfish bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery, and intended to begin 
developing management measures through an FMP amendment that would 
reduce bycatch. The Council's goal for bycatch reduction was delayed by 
the 1990 amendments to the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act, which mandated a 3-year research program to assess the impacts of 
shrimp trawl bycatch on fishery resources under management of the 
Council. The results of this research program have been recently 
summarized in a NMFS report to Congress titled ``A Report to Congress--
Cooperative Research Program Addressing Finfish Bycatch in the Gulf of 
Mexico and South Atlantic Shrimp Fisheries--April 1995.''
    These research results will be considered by the Council as an 
important basis for any specific management actions. Recent advances in 
gear development through cooperative efforts between Federal and state 
governments and the shrimp industry have produced Bycatch Excluder 
Devices (BRDs) that successfully exclude juvenile fish from shrimp 
trawls with a minimum of shrimp loss. At its October 1994 meeting in 
Wrightsville Beach, NC, the Council recommended that NMFS emphasize the 
development of efficient and effective BRDs in its bycatch reduction 
research efforts in the South Atlantic; this would provide the Council 
and the South Atlantic states with expanded options to reduce finfish 
bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery. Both the Council and the South 
Atlantic states have requested that NMFS proceed as rapidly as possible 
to obtain the research information needed to identify and assess 
options for requiring the use of BRDs under the Shrimp FMP and under 
coastal fishery management plans (CFMPs) developed by the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission), under provisions of 
the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act of 1993 
(Atlantic Coastal Act).
    The Council has asked NMFS to conduct a bycatch characterization of 
the rock shrimp fishery off Cape Canaveral, FL. Concerns still exist 
relative to the impacts of shrimp bycatch on the Spanish and king 
mackerel resources. In addition, under the current Amendment 2 to the 
CFMP for Weakfish, prepared by the Commission under the Atlantic 
Coastal Act, all South Atlantic states must implement management 
measures to reduce the bycatch of weakfish in the shrimp trawl 
fisheries by 50 percent for the 1996 fishing season. Bycatch reduction 
plans must be submitted to the Commission's Weakfish Technical 
Committee by October 1, 1995.
    The Council is closely coordinating its efforts with the marine 
resource agencies of the South Atlantic states and has also initiated 
action on the shrimp trawl bycatch issue by beginning the scoping 
process on the development of Amendment 2 to the Shrimp FMP. Among 
several management alternatives under consideration by the Council are 
the use of BRDs by season and/or area, as well as areal or seasonal 
closures.
    A public scoping meeting will also be held to solicit comments on 
the development of an FMP for the calico scallop fishery. The Council 
may consider the following measures as possible management options for 
this fishery: (1) No action; (2) prohibit calico scallop trawling 
(trawling) south of 28 deg.30' N. lat; (3) prohibit trawling south of 
28 deg. N. lat.; (4) allow trawling south of Cape Canaveral only with 
transponders; (5) prohibit trawling west of Oculina Bank; (6) prohibit 
trawling in depths of less than 120 ft (36.58 m); (7) allow trawling 
with transponders only from Duval County through St. Lucie County; (8) 
limit trawling from Duval County through St. Lucie, County; and (9) 
prohibit trawling south of Cape Canaveral, FL (i.e., south of 
28 deg.35.1' N. lat.).
    A scoping meeting will also be held to solicit comments on 
wreckfish caught by recreational fishermen and the commercial bycatch 
of wreckfish outside of the Blake Plateau. Amendments 3 and 4 to the 
Snapper-Grouper FMP established a management program for wreckfish in 
the South Atlantic region. A framework measure was also included 
allowing the Council to set total allowable catch (TAC) each year and 
at the same time consider other options. Amendment 5 to the Snapper-
Grouper FMP established an individual transferable quota (ITQ) system 
in the wreckfish fishery that only allows ITQ shareholders to land and 
sell wreckfish, and allows only permitted dealers to handle wreckfish 
and to buy wreckfish from ITQ shareholders. Recently, there have been 
reports of wreckfish being caught by recreational fishermen fishing 
primarily for red grouper off Key West, FL, and commercial fishermen, 
especially off south Florida, observing occasional wreckfish bycatch. 
These reports do not indicate frequency or poundage of catches, 
disposition of catches, nor substantial quantities or targeting of 
wreckfish. The Council is considering the following management options 
for regulating this fishery: (1) No action (i.e., do not allow the 
taking or landing of wreckfish in the South Atlantic region except by 
ITQ shareholders; (2) set a recreational bag limit of 1 or 2 fish per 
fisherman per trip; (3) set a recreational bag limit of 1 or 2 fish per 
boat per day; (4) set a recreational bag limit of 1 or 2 fish per boat 
per trip; (5) set an undetermined recreational bag limit; (6) set a bag 
limit of 1 or 2 fish per boat per trip for commercial fishermen in the 
South Atlantic region who are not wreckfish ITQ shareholders; (7) set a 
bag limit of 1 or 2 fish per boat per day for commercial fishermen in 
the South Atlantic region who are not wreckfish ITQ shareholders; (8) 
set a bag limit of 1 or 2 fish per boat per trip for commercial 
fishermen in the south Florida area who are not wreckfish ITQ 
shareholders; (9) set a bag limit of 1 to 2 fish per boat per day for 
commercial fishermen in the south Florida area who [[Page 31951]] are 
not wreckfish ITQ shareholders, (10) allow for an undetermined 
commercial bag limit in the South Atlantic region; and (11) allow for 
an undetermined commercial bag limit only in the South Florida area.
    A final public hearing will be held to solicit comments on 
management options for Amendment 1 to the Shrimp FMP, which proposes to 
add rock shrimp to the management unit, prohibit trawling for rock 
shrimp in designated areas, and implement mandatory permitting and 
reporting requirements for vessels fishing for, and dealers handling, 
rock shrimp in the South Atlantic region. In addition, the Council will 
solicit comments on a mandatory vessel operator license and other 
management measures to enhance law enforcement that it is considering.
    Verbal public comments regarding Shrimp FMP Amendment 1 may be 
presented at the public hearing and will be considered by the Council 
prior to taking its intended final action at the June public meeting. 
Written public comments on the subjects of the scoping meetings, 
including any Council scoping documents made available to the public, 
may be submitted to the Council from the time of the scoping meetings 
until such time as the Council has prepared appropriate and related 
hearing documents that are available for public comment. For copies of 
the public scoping and hearing documents, see ADDRESSES.
    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to the Council office by June 16, 
1995.
    For special accommodations regarding the meetings and hearing, 
contact the Council (see ADDRESSES).

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

    Dated: June 13, 1995.
Richard H. Schaefer,
Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, National 
Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 95-14827 Filed 6-13-95; 3:27 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F