[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 212 (Thursday, October 31, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 56125-56126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27903]



[[Page 56125]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

15 CFR Part 902

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 960520141-6277-04; I.D. 073096D]
RIN 0648-AH05


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 8 to the 
Summer Flounder and Scup Fishery Management Plan; Resubmission of 
Disapproved Measures

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this final rule to implement three provisions of 
Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Summer Flounder and 
Scup Fisheries (FMP) that were initially disapproved, but that have 
been revised and resubmitted by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council (Council). These measures establish criteria under which 
vessels under construction or being rerigged for the scup fishery on 
January 26, 1993, can qualify for a moratorium permit; define scup pots 
and traps; and require the consideration of recreational landings in 
the process of setting annual recreational harvest limits. The intent 
of Amendment 8 is to reduce fishing mortality and to allow the stock to 
rebuild.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 2, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Copies of Amendment 8, the final environmental impact 
statement, the regulatory impact review, and other supporting documents 
are available from David R. Keifer, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South New 
Street, Dover, DE 19901.
    Comments regarding burden-hour estimates for collection-of-
information requirements contained in this final rule should be sent to 
Dr. Andrew A. Rosenberg, Regional Administrator, One Blackburn Drive, 
Gloucester, MA 01930 and the Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Washington, D.C. 20503 
(Attention: NOAA Desk Officer).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David M. Gouveia, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 508-281-9280.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Council submitted Amendment 8 to the FMP on April 23, 1996. 
NMFS, on behalf of the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), disapproved 
six measures proposed in Amendment 8 upon preliminary evaluation of the 
amendment as authorized under section 304(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Magnuson 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act). The measures, 
which were found to be inconsistent with the national standards and 
other applicable law, would have: (1) Conferred moratorium permit 
eligibility upon vessels that were rerigging on January 26, 1993, and 
landed scup prior to the implementation of the FMP; (2) required 
vessels to keep scup catches of less than 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) (the 
level at which the minimum mesh requirement is triggered) in 100-lb 
(45.36 kg) boxes to enhance enforcement; (3) accepted state dealer 
permits in lieu of the required Federal permit; (4) denied access to 
the exclusive economic zone to vessels from states that do not 
implement recreational measures equivalent to those specified in the 
Federal plan; (5) used state regulations to define scup pots for the 
residents of that state; and (6) established annual recreational 
harvest limits and deducted catches in excess of those limits from the 
limits for the following year. The remainder of Amendment 8 was 
approved by NMFS on behalf of the Secretary on July 29, 1996. A final 
rule implementing the approved measures in Amendment 8 was published on 
August 23, 1996 (61 FR 43420). It was effective on September 23, 1996.
    The Council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's 
Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board met on May 15, 1996, to 
review the disapproved measures and, pursuant to section 304(b)(3)(A) 
of the Magnuson Act, voted to resubmit three provisions: The rerigging 
measure, the scup pot and trap definition, and the annual recreational 
harvest limit. The remaining disapproved measures were not resubmitted.

Resubmitted Measures

    For the purposes of moratorium eligibility, the resubmitted 
provision requires that a vessel under construction for, or being 
rerigged for, use in the directed fishery for scup on January 26, 1993, 
must have landed scup for sale by January 26, 1994. For the purpose of 
this paragraph, ``under construction'' means that the keel had been 
laid or the vessel was under written agreement for construction or the 
vessel was under written contract for purchase. ``Being rerigged'' 
means physical alteration of the vessel or its gear has begun to 
transform the vessel into one capable of fishing commercially for scup.
    Scup pots and traps are defined as pots or traps used in catching 
and retaining scup. Harvesters will be required to mark such gear with 
numbers assigned by the Regional Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS 
(Regional Administrator) and/or identification markings as required by 
the vessel's home port state.
    A coastwide harvest limit will be specified in the second year of 
implementation of the amendment at a level that will reduce the 
exploitation rate to the level specified in the rebuilding schedule. 
This harvest limit will be allocated 78 percent to the commercial 
fishery, via a coastwide commercial quota, and 22 percent to the 
recreational fishery, via a recreational harvest limit. The coastwide 
harvest limit will be set annually following the Monitoring Committee 
process set forth in the amendment. Any landings in excess of the 
commercial quota will be deducted from the following year's quota. Any 
landings in excess of the commercial quota would be deducted from the 
following year's quota. Any landings in excess of the target harvest 
level will be considered in the process of setting a recreational 
harvest limit in the following year.

Comments and Responses

    The proposed rule was published on August 26, 1996 (61 FR 43725), 
and provided a comment period that concluded on September 16, 1996. No 
comments were received on the proposed rule.

Changes in the Final Rule from the Proposed Rule

    This final rule implements provisions of Amendment 8 by amending 50 
CFR part 648, Fisheries of the Northeastern United States. The proposed 
rule would have amended 50 CFR part 625, the Summer Flounder Fishery, 
which, as part of the President's Regulatory Reinvention Initiative, 
was consolidated into part 648. As a result of this regulatory 
consolidation, and to clarify the intent of this rule, the final rule 
does not use the same regulatory language as the proposed rule, but the 
measures are substantively the same. In some cases, fisheries in 
addition to scup that are managed under part 648 may be referenced in 
the regulatory language. The regulations governing these other 
fisheries have not been amended here. Their mention in the regulatory

[[Page 56126]]

language is merely to reduce confusion for the reader.
    In 648.2, a change has been made to the language of the definition 
for ``scup pot or trap'' in the proposed rule. The words ``used in'' 
have been inserted to emphasize that the vent size requirements and 
other gear restrictions implemented for the directed scup pot fishery 
would pertain only to pots used in that fishery. In addition, a 
definition for ``under construction'' has been added to the regulatory 
text.
    Under NOAA Administrative Order 205-11, 7.01, dated December 17, 
1990, the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere has delegated, to 
the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, the authority to sign 
material for publication in the Federal Register.

Classification

    The Regional Administrator has determined that this final rule is 
necessary for the conservation and management of the scup fishery and 
that it is consistent with the Magnuson Act and other applicable law.
    This action has been determined to be not significant for purposes 
of E.O. 12866.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements 
of the PRA unless that collection of information displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.
    This rule contains a collection-of-information requirement subject 
to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). This collection-of-information 
requirement has been approved by OMB. The requirement to mark traps and 
pots has been approved under OMB Control Number 0648-0305. The marking 
of traps and pots is estimated to take 1 minute per trap or pot.
    The estimated response time includes the time needed for reviewing 
instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
collection of information. Send comments regarding burden estimates, or 
any other aspect of this data collection, including suggestions for 
reducing the burden, to NMFS and OMB (see ADDRESSES).
    The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation of the 
Department of Commerce certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration that this rule would not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
The reasons were discussed in the proposed rule published in the 
Federal Register on August 26, 1996 (61 FR 43725). No comments were 
received regarding this certification. As a result, a regulatory 
flexibility analysis was not prepared.

List of Subjects

50 CFR Part 902

    Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

50 CFR Part 648

    Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: October 25, 1996.
Nancy Foster,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 15 CFR chapter IX and 50 
CFR chapter VI are amended as follows:

15 CFR CHAPTER IX

PART 902--NOAA INFORMATION COLLECTION REQUIREMENT UNDER THE 
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT: OMB CONTROL NUMBERS

    1. The authority citation for part 902 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

    2. In Sec. 902.1, in paragraph (b), the table is amended by adding, 
in numerical order, the following entry is added to read as follows:


Sec. 902.1  OMB control numbers assigned pursuant to the Paperwork 
Reduction Act.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *

                                                                        
                                                                        
                                                                        
CFR part                          Current OMB control number (all       
section where the information      numbers begin with 0648-)            
 collection requirement is                                              
 located                                                                
                                                                        

* * * * *

50 CFR

* * * * *

Sec. 648.123              -0305

* * * * *

50 CFR CHAPTER VI

PART 648--FISHERIES OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

    3. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as 
follows:

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

    4. In Sec. 648.2, the definitions for ``Scup pot or trap'' and 
``Under construction'' are added in alphabetical order to read as 
follows:


Sec. 648.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Scup pot or trap means a pot or trap used in catching and retaining 
scup.
* * * * *
    Under construction means that the keel had been laid or the vessel 
was under written agreement for construction or the vessel was under 
written contract for purchase.
* * * * *
    5. In Sec. 648.4, paragraph (a)(6)(i)(A)(3) is added to read as 
follows:


Sec. 648.4  Vessel Permits.

    (a) * * *
    (6) * * *
    (i) * * *
    (A) * * *
    (3) The vessel was under construction for, or was being rerigged 
for, use in the directed fishery for scup on January 26, 1993, provided 
the vessel landed scup for sale by January 26, 1994.
* * * * *
    6. In Sec. 648.14, paragraph (k)(12) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 648.14  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (k) * * *
    (12) Use a scup trap or pot that is not marked in accordance with 
Sec. 648.123(b)(3).
* * * * *
    7. In Sec. 648.123, paragraph (b)(3) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 648.123  Gear restrictions.

* * * * *
    (b) * * *
    (3) Pot and trap identification. Pots or traps used in fishing for 
scup must be marked with a code of identification that may be the 
number assigned by the Regional Director and/or the identification 
marking as required by the vessel's home port state.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 96-27903 Filed 10-28-96; 9:18 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P