[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 19, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11181-11182]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6479]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 659

[I.D. 031196A]


Shrimp Fishery Off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 1

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of an amendment to a fishery management 
plan and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the South Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 1 to the Fishery Management 
Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) for 
review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Written comments are 
requested from the public.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 9, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be sent to the Southeast Regional Office, 
NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
    Requests for copies of Amendment 1, which includes an environmental 
assessment, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis, a social impact 
analysis, and a regulatory impact review, should be sent to the South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 1 Southpark Circle, Suite 306, 
Charleston, SC 29407-4699, telephone (803) 571-4366, FAX (803) 769-
4520.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter J. Eldridge, 813-570-5305.


[[Page 11182]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson Act) requires that a council-prepared 
amendment to a fishery management plan be submitted to NMFS for review 
and approval, disapproval, or partial disapproval. The Magnuson Act 
also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment, immediately 
publish a document in the Federal Register stating that the amendment 
is available for public review and comment.
    Amendment 1 would: (1) Add rock shrimp to the management unit of 
the FMP; (2) prohibit trawling for rock shrimp between 27 deg.30' N. 
lat. and 28 deg.30' N. lat. in the area extending shoreward of the 100-
fathom (183-m) depth contour (as shown on the latest edition of NOAA 
chart 11460) to 80 deg.00' W. long.; (3) require dealers involved in 
the rock shrimp fishery to obtain an annual dealer permit; (4) require 
an annual vessel operator's permit; (5) require an annual vessel permit 
for a person on board a vessel to harvest or possess rock shrimp in or 
from the exclusive economic zone (EEZ); (6) require permitted dealers 
to maintain and submit basic information essential for proper 
management of the fishery; and (7) require that the initial sale, 
trade, barter, or transfer of rock shrimp harvested from the EEZ occur 
only between permitted dealers and permitted vessels.
    Based on a preliminary evaluation of the amendment, the Director, 
Southeast Region, NMFS, (Regional Director) has disapproved the 
provision requiring a vessel operator permit because it is not a matter 
of sufficient scope and substance warranting review under section 
304(a)(1)(A) of the Magnuson Act. The vessel operator permit was 
intended to provide vessel operators with greater responsibility and 
accountability regarding compliance with fishery regulations. The 
Regional Director determined that adequate regulatory compliance can be 
achieved via the existing penalty schedule without incurring the 
additional costs and public paperwork burdens of implementing a new 
class of permits. The vessel operator permit does not minimize costs 
and, therefore, is inconsistent with the Magnuson Act's national 
standard 7, which requires that management measures shall, where 
practicable, minimize costs and avoid unnecessary duplication.
    Proposed regulations to implement the remaining management measures 
of Amendment 1 are scheduled for publication within 15 days.

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

    Dated: March 13, 1996.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Fisheries Conservation and Management, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-6479 Filed 3-13-96; 5:04 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F