[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 59 (Tuesday, March 26, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13148-13149]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7185]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 662
[Docket No. 960314075-6077-03; I.D. 031196F]
RIN 0648-AI16
Northern Anchovy Fishery; Removal of Regulations
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Initial decision to withdraw plan approval, proposed rule to
remove regulations, and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces its initial determination to withdraw
Secretarial approval of the Northern Anchovy Fishery Management Plan
(FMP), and proposes to remove the regulations implementing the FMP. The
anchovy fishery would continue to be regulated by the State of
California. This action is being proposed because conditions have
changed significantly since approval of the FMP. Harvests of northern
anchovy have greatly declined since 1982 and this is unlikely to change
in the foreseeable future. The intent of this rulemaking is to remove
regulations that duplicate state management and are no longer
necessary. This rulemaking is in accordance with the President's
Regulatory Reinvention Initiative.
DATES: Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before May
9, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Send comments on the proposed withdrawal and removal, and on
the Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review (EA/RIR) to Ms.
Hilda Diaz-Soltero, Director, Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West Ocean
Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach, CA 90802-4213. A copy of the EA/RIR may
be obtained from the same address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Rodney McInnis or Mr. James Morgan
at (310) 980-4030.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FMP to manage the central subpopulation
of northern anchovy was implemented on September 13, 1978 (43 FR
40868). The
[[Page 13149]]
anchovy resource is a major forage species for marine mammals, other
fish, and birds such as the California brown pelican, which is listed
as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). There have been
six amendments to the FMP.
The FMP was one of the first fishery management plans developed by
the Pacific Fishery Management Council, under the authority of the
Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act. At the time,
substantial reduction fisheries existed in the United States and
Mexico. (Reduction fisheries processed anchovy into fish flour/meal,
oil, fertilizer, or other products not intended for human consumption).
Further, recreational fisheries for kelp/sand bass, white seabass,
bonito, barracuda, yellowtail, and tunas depended on northern anchovy
as live bait for its livelihood, as it still does today. The FMP was
designed to resolve difficult allocation issues. There was, and still
is, no agreement with Mexico on how to manage the fishery.
With the decline in U.S. harvests and little prospect for growth in
the fishery, interjurisdictional and allocation issues, which might
require Federal intervention, no longer exist. In recent years,
virtually the entire fishery has occurred in California waters, and
nearly all harvesters and processors are California citizens utilizing
vessels registered in California. The condition of the fishery is such
that no management authority over this fishery is exercised through
Federal regulations that are beyond those available to the State.
California has management measures in place for anchovy and other
components of the coastal pelagic species complex. Should this proposed
removal of Federal regulations be finalized, NMFS anticipates that
California will broaden its management to include the anchovy fishery
with substantially the same controls as were provided by Federal
regulations. This would also unify management of the coastal species
complex fisheries.
Therefore, Federal management is neither necessary nor appropriate
for this fishery and unnecessarily duplicates the State of California's
management. For these reasons, NMFS proposes to withdraw approval for
the FMP and remove the FMP's implementing regulations (50 CFR part
662), leaving management of the anchovy resource to the State of
California.
Classification
This proposed rule has been determined to be not significant for
purposes of E.O. 12866.
The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the
Department of Commerce has certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy
of the Small Business Administration that this proposed rule, if
adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. We expect that California will regulate
fishing in the same manner that we currently do. Because virtually the
entire anchovy fishery takes place in California waters, conditions in
the fishery should not change.
NMFS is conducting an ESA consultation with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service regarding the effects of this proposed action on the
endangered brown pelican.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 662
Fisheries.
Dated: March 20, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National Marine Fisheries Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, under the authority of 16
U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 50 CFR part 662 is proposed to be removed.
[FR Doc. 96-7185 Filed 3-25-96; 8:45 am]
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