[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]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F