[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 5, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 8495-8496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-4999]



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[[Page 8496]]



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
50 CFR Part 655

[Docket No. 951211295-6035-02; I.D. 111595C]
RIN 0648-XX37


Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Final 1996 
Specifications

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

ACTION: Final specifications for the 1996 Atlantic mackerel, squid, and 
butterfish fisheries.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues the final initial specifications for the 1996 
fishing year for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish (SMB).

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1996, through December 31, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Environmental Assessment are available from 
the Northeast Regional Office, NMFS, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 
01930. Copies of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's quota 
paper and recommendations are available from David R. Keifer, Executive 
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, Federal 
Building, 300 South New Street, Dover, DE 19901.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, 508-281-9104.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish 
Fisheries (FMP) prepared by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 
(Council) appear at 50 CFR part 655. These regulations require NMFS to 
publish a document specifying the initial annual amounts of the initial 
optimum yield (IOY) as well as the amounts for allowable biological 
catch (ABC), domestic annual harvest (DAH), domestic annual processing 
(DAP), joint venture processing (JVP), and total allowable levels of 
foreign fishing (TALFF) for the species managed under the FMP. No 
reserves are permitted under the FMP for any of these species. 
Procedures for determining the initial annual amounts are found in 
Sec. 655.22.
    These specifications are unchanged from the proposed specifications 
that were published in the Federal Register on December 21, 1995 (60 FR 
66249). The following table contains the final 1996 initial 
specifications for Atlantic mackerel, Loligo and Illex squids, and 
butterfish.

Final Initial Specifications For Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish for the Fishing Year January 1 Through
                                             December 31, 1996 (mt)                                             
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       Squids                                   
                       Specifications                        --------------------------   Atlantic    Butterfish
                                                                 Loligo       Illex       Mackerel              
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Max OY\1\...................................................       44,000       30,000       \2\N/A       16,000
ABC \3\.....................................................       30,000       30,000    1,175,500        7,200
IOY.........................................................       25,000       21,000      105,500        5,900
DAH.........................................................       25,000       21,000   \4\105,500        5,900
DAP.........................................................       25,000       21,000       50,000        5,900
JVP.........................................................            0            0       35,000            0
TALFF.......................................................            0            0            0           0 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Max optimum yield (OY) as stated in the FMP.                                                                
\2\ Not applicable, see the FMP.                                                                                
\3\ IOY can increase to this amount.                                                                            
\4\ Contains 20,500 mt projected recreational catch based on the formula contained in the regulations (50 CFR   
  part 655).                                                                                                    

    This document also announces four special conditions that would 
affect any foreign joint venture fishery for Atlantic mackerel, should 
one occur in 1996: (1) Joint ventures are allowed south of 37 deg.30' 
N. lat., but river herring bycatch may not exceed 0.25 percent of the 
over-the-side transfers of Atlantic mackerel; (2) the Regional 
Director, Northeast Region, NMFS, will monitor fishing operations and 
manage harvest to reduce impacts on marine mammals in prosecuting the 
Atlantic mackerel fishery; (3) the mackerel OY may be increased during 
the year as described under Sec. 655.21(b)(2)(v), in consultation with 
the Council, but the total should not exceed 125,500 mt; and (4) 
applications from a particular nation for a joint venture for 1996 will 
not be approved until the Regional Director determines, based on an 
evaluation of performances, that the nation's purchase obligations for 
previous years have been fulfilled. There were no comments received 
regarding these conditions.

Comment and Response

    One comment was received during the public comment period 
concerning the proposed IOY specifications for both Illex and Loligo 
squid.
    Comment: The commenter urged the rejection of the proposed 
specifications for the squids due to the differences of 5,000 mt and 
9,000 mt between the IOY and the ABC specifications for the Loligo and 
Illex fisheries, respectively. The commenter believed that both IOYs 
should be set at 30,000 mt, the ABC, because the proposed IOYs would be 
deleterious to New England vessels wishing to harvest squid.
    Response: The Council provided a firm biological rationale for IOY 
reductions, noting that the 17th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment 
Workshop concluded that both squids have an annual lifespan and are 
susceptible to recruitment overfishing. Furthermore, the IOY is not 
allocated by region and New England vessels have the same harvest 
rights as others participating in the fishery. Should events occur in 
these fisheries that would require additional IOY, the regulations at 
Sec. 655.22 give the Regional Director authority to raise or lower IOY 
if it is beneficial to the Nation.

Classification

    This action is authorized by 50 CFR part 655, and these final 
specifications are exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

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

    Dated: February 27, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-4999 Filed 3-4-96; 8:45 am]
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