[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 20, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 59076-59078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29604]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 101096A]


Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact 
statement (SEIS); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the intention of the South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (Council) to prepare an SEIS for its proposed 
Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper 
Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP). Amendment 8 will address 
overfishing and overcapitalization problems in the snapper-grouper 
fishery. The SEIS will assess the environmental impacts of the proposed 
and alternative management measures of Amendment 8 as well as the 
impacts of the snapper-grouper fishery on the human environment 
(including impacts on other fisheries and on protected species).

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the SEIS must be submitted by 
December 16, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the SEIS should 
be sent to Bob Mahood, Executive Director, South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 
29407-4699.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Mahood, 803-571-4366.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Council prepared the FMP and NMFS 
approved and implemented it in 1983 under provisions of the Magnuson 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act. A principal, initial objective 
of the FMP was to prevent overfishing of thirteen species in the 
snapper-grouper complex and to establish a procedure for preventing 
overfishing of other FMP management unit species. Initial measures 
focused on size limits for the more significantly overfished species 
(e.g., red snapper, yellowtail snapper, red grouper, Nassau grouper, 
black sea bass, and vermilion snapper). Subsequent to FMP 
implementation, the Council developed several amendments to address 
overfishing issues regarding additional single species (e.g., jewfish, 
wreckfish, etc.). At the time of FMP implementation, the Council was 
concerned about preventing overfishing of all FMP management unit 
species even though there were limited data on the status of certain 
stocks. The Council intended over the long term to amend the FMP, based 
on acquiring the necessary scientific information, to provide for a 
more comprehensive and appropriate means of preventing overfishing of 
all managed species and stabilizing overall fishing effort.
    The Council has held scoping meetings on overfishing, 
overcapitalization, and other problems in the snapper-grouper fishery 
to determine the scope of significant issues to be addressed in the 
SEIS and associated Amendment 8. The scoping meetings were held in 
conjunction with the following Council meetings: June 21, 1994, in 
Marathon, FL, (59 FR 29420, June 7, 1994), August 24, 1994, in 
Charleston, SC (59 FR 41275, August 11, 1994), and October 25, 1994, in 
Wrightsville Beach, NC (59 FR 52136, October 14, 1994). Minutes of the 
scoping meetings are available from the Council office.
    As a result of the scoping process, the Council has decided to 
prepare FMP Amendment 8 to address more extensively the issues of 
overfishing, overcapitalization, excess harvesting capacity, and 
associated economic problems in the snapper-grouper fishery. In support 
of Amendment 8, the Council will prepare an SEIS.
    The Council's tentative schedule calls for completion of a draft 
Amendment 8, based in part on recommendations of its Snapper-Grouper 
Advisory Panel and Scientific and Statistical Committee, and of a draft 
SEIS this fall with release of both documents for public hearings some 
time during the period December 1996 through January 1997. The Council 
expects to make decisions regarding the contents of the draft amendment 
and draft SEIS at its meeting of November 18-22, 1996. As required by 
regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, the 
draft SEIS will be filed with the Environmental Protection Agency and 
made available for a 45-day public comment period. NMFS will issue a 
hearing notice on behalf of the Council with specific hearing 
locations, dates, and times. The Council intends to take final action 
on Amendment 8 by the end of February. Shortly thereafter, the Council 
will prepare a final Amendment 8 and final SEIS that will be submitted 
to NMFS for review, approval, and implementation.
    In preparing Amendment 8 and the SEIS, the Council is considering

[[Page 59077]]

proposed management actions and their respective alternatives as 
indicated below. Note that under each action, the Council will consider 
a no-action (status quo) management option in addition to other options 
indicated.
    Action 1--Permit qualification. This action would limit permit 
holders to those who can demonstrate landings of at least 1,000 lb (454 
kg) of snapper-grouper species in 2 of the 3 years (1993 through 1995). 
The Council will consider a wide variety of management options, each 
involving different specific criteria for permit qualification.
    Action 2--Trip limits. This action would control fishing effort by 
establishing trip limits for identified ``sub-unit'' groups of species 
within the FMP's management unit. The sub-unit trip limits would be 
implemented and enforced by requiring fishermen to have a sub-unit 
endorsement on their fishing permit; without such an endorsement for a 
specific sub-unit group, fishermen would be limited to 100 pounds of 
fish per trip for the subject species. Qualification for a given sub-
unit group permit endorsement would require meeting the Council's 
specific criteria related to demonstration of landings within recent 
years (e.g., so many pounds annually in two out of three recent years). 
The Council is considering the following sub-unit groups: (1) Deep 
Shelf Complex consisting of snowy grouper, warsaw grouper, yellowedge 
grouper, and golden tilefish and other deep water snapper-grouper 
species. Greater amberjack would continued to be managed as a separate 
unit and qualifying fishermen would receive a greater amberjack permit 
endorsement allowing landings in excess of 100 lb per trip. Wreckfish 
would continue being managed under the current individual transferable 
quota system; (2) Temperate Mid-Shelf Complex consisting of red porgy, 
vermilion snapper, red snapper, speckled hind, gag, scamp, black sea 
bass, gray triggerfish, and white grunt; and (3) Tropical Complex 
consisting of yellowtail snapper, mutton snapper, gray snapper, lane 
snapper, black grouper, and red grouper.
    The Council is considering limits on the transferability of the 
sub-unit permit endorsements to immediate family members and to new 
fishery entrants based on specific criteria. The Council is considering 
an Application Oversight Committee whose members would make 
recommendations to the NMFS Regional Administrator in resolving 
fishermen's disputes over eligibility for permits and endorsements. The 
Committee would be composed of the principal State officials with 
marine fishery management responsibility who sit as voting members of 
the Council as well as the NMFS Regional Administrator. The Committee 
members would make recommendations on permit/endorsement disputes 
regarding whether the criteria established by Amendment 8 for permit 
eligibility and initial resource allocations were being applied 
correctly. The Council is considering a number of management options 
for controlling fishing effort, including a no-action alternative as 
well as a variety of alternatives based on different categories and 
levels of trip limits, different qualification criteria for fishery 
participation, and different permit transferability restrictions.
    Action 3--Refine the FMP's definitions of overfishing and optimum 
yield (OY). This action would: (1) Define a snapper-grouper species 
(including jewfish) as overfished when the transitional spawning 
potential ratio (SPR) is below 20%; (2) establish a target level for 
stock rebuilding (to the OY level) at 40% static SPR; (3) require 
implementation of a stock rebuilding program for an overfished species 
that makes consistent progress toward restoring the stock, within an 
acceptable time frame, to the target or OY level; (4) define the act of 
overfishing of a non-overfished stock (transitional SPR equal to or 
greater than 20%) as a static SPR that exceeds 20% (F20%); if 
overfishing is occurring, fishing mortality rates will be reduced to 
allow the stock size to increase so as to reach the target or OY level; 
(5) establish a threshold level for snapper-grouper species as 10% 
transitional SPR; if an overfished stock falls below the threshold 
level, the Council will recommend appropriate regulatory action through 
the FMP's framework rulemaking procedure, including eliminating 
directed fishing and bycatch mortality; (6) if there is insufficient 
information to determine whether a stock is overfished, define 
overfishing as a fishing mortality rate in excess of the fishing 
mortality rate corresponding to a default static SPR of 30%; by this 
criteria, if overfishing is occurring, a program will be instituted to 
reduce fishing mortality rate to a level allowing stock recovery to the 
target or OY level; and (7) retain the current time frame for recovery 
of overfished stocks; for stocks not documented by Amendment 3 as 
overfished, year 1 is the year in which the species is documented as 
overfished. The Council is considering several management alternatives 
in revising definitions of overfishing and OY, including a no-action 
alternative as well as optional definitions of overfishing and target 
and threshold levels.
    Action 4--Red porgy minimum size and bag limits. This action would 
increase the red porgy minimum size limit from 12 inches (30.5 cm) 
total length (TL) to 14 inches (36 cm) TL for recreational and 
commercial fishermen and establish a recreational bag limit of 2 red 
porgy. Management alternatives include no action, a bag limit between 1 
and 5 fish, and an increase of the recreational minimum size limit to 
14 inches (36 cm) TL in conjunction with a bag limit of 3-5 porgy.
    Action 5--Black sea bass minimum size. This action would increase 
the black sea bass minimum size limit from 8 inches (20.3 cm) TL to 10 
inches (25.4 cm) TL. Management alternatives include no-action and a 
size increase to 9 inches (22.86 cm) TL.
    Action 6--Black sea bass Special Management Zone (SMZ). The Council 
has not identified a preferred action but is considering several 
alternatives including prohibiting the use of black sea bass pots 
within a range 3-18 or 3-30 miles offshore in the areas bounded by a 
line due east from Frying Pan Shoals, NC (or a line following the 
shoals) to a line south, extending due east of Cape Romain, SC.
    Action 7--Black sea bass recreational bag limit. This action would 
establish a bag limit of between 5 and 20 fish; a no-action alternative 
will be considered.
    Action 8--Black sea bass pot escape vents. This action would 
require between 1 and 4 escape vents on black sea bass pots with vent 
size meeting one of several alternatives (e.g., for rectangular vents, 
the allowable size would be established between 1 inch and 1.75 inches 
(2.5 - 6 cm) wide and between 5 and 6 inches (12.7 cm - 15.24 cm) long; 
and for ring vents, the allowable vent opening diameter would be 
established between 1.75 and 2.5 inches (4.4 cm - 5 cm)). A no-action 
option will be considered.
    Action 9--Degradable fasteners in sea bass pots. This action would 
require the use of escape panels with degradable fasteners in sea bass 
pots. A black sea bass pot that is used or possessed in the South 
Atlantic EEZ north of 28 deg. 35.1 N. lat. is required to have on at 
least one side, excluding top and bottom, a panel or door with an 
opening equal to, or larger than, the interior end of the trap's throat 
(funnel). The hinges and fasteners of each panel or door must be made 
of specified degradable materials. A no-action option will be 
considered.
    Action 10--Amber jack sale prohibition. This action would prohibit 
the sale of greater amberjack caught under the bag limit during the 
greater

[[Page 59078]]

amberjack spawning season, south of Cape Canaveral, FL. The Council is 
considering a wide variety of options for this action, including 
expanding the 3-fish bag limit for both commercial and recreational 
fisheries to extend through the month of May. The Council is also 
proposing to prohibit the sale of greater amberjack during April and 
May, establish special oceans areas of protection (e.g., EEZ adjacent 
to Monroe County, FL) prohibit coring (removal of head and tail), 
establish a commercial quota and trip limits, and reduce the 
recreational bag limit.
    Action 11--Vermilion snapper annual commercial quota. This action 
would establish, effective January 1, 1998, an annual commercial quota 
for vermilion snapper of 600,000 lb (272,155 kg) and a recreational 
fishery bag limit of 5 fish and a recreational minimum size limit of 12 
inches (61 cm) TL. Management options to be considered include reducing 
the recreational and commercial catch 45 percent by imposing a bag 
limit and quota (no size limit), or reducing the recreational and 
commercial catch 43 percent by imposing a bag limit and quota (or 
effort reduction) along with a minimum size limit of 10 inches (25.4 
cm) TL.
    Action 12--Gag harvesting restrictions. This action would increase 
the gag minimum size limit from 20 inches (50.8 cm) TL to 24 inches (61 
cm) TL for the commercial and recreational fisheries, and prohibit all 
harvest January through March. The Council will consider a considerable 
variety of management options for this action including different 
combinations of seasonal harvest prohibitions, bag limits, trip limits, 
total allowable catch limits, and minimum size limit changes.
    Action 13--Logbooks. This action would require logbook reporting by 
the 10th of the month following the month of activity. Options under 
consideration include requiring that all reports submitted more than 2 
months late be accompanied by landings receipts or other such 
supporting documentation and allowing 30 days for submission of report 
after the sale of fish.
    Action 14--Transit zone. This action would establish a zone in the 
South Atlantic EEZ through which vessels carrying fish traps could 
transit if they have valid Gulf reef fish permits and fish trap 
endorsements. Except for the transit zone, possession of fish traps in 
the South Atlantic EEZ would be prohibited.
    Action 15--Bottom longline restrictions. This action would restrict 
vessels with bottom longline gear aboard to possessing only snowy 
grouper, tilefish, yellowedge grouper and other deepwater species. A 
no-action option will be considered.
    Action 16--Bait net restrictions. This action would allow the use 
of one bait net up to 50 ft (1,524 cm) long by 10 ft (305 cm) high with 
a stretched mesh size of 1.5 inch (5.0 cm) or smaller and allow one net 
per boat. Allowing possession of cast nets is an option under 
consideration.
    Action 17--Fishery closures. The Council is considering options for 
closures of the EEZ to fishing for species in the snapper-grouper 
complex, including closures during the January-April period as well as 
other times, to achieve significant reductions in landings. The Council 
has not identified a preferred option.
    Action 18--Trip limits for temperate mid-shelf snapper grouper 
species. The Council is considering options for establishing trip 
limits for all temperate mid-shelf snapper grouper species, but has not 
identified a preferred option. Options include a 1,000-2,500 lb trip 
limit and a 200-2,000 lb trip limit depending upon vessel operating 
characteristics.
    Action 19--Aggregate Temperate mid-shelf species quota. The Council 
is considering options for establishing an aggregate quota for 
temperate mid-shelf species to achieve a 30% to 40% reduction in 
landings (over the average annual landings during 1986-1995 period), 
but has not identified a preferred option.
    Action 20--Bahamian caught fish. This action would allow species 
within the snapper-grouper complex (whether whole or fillets) caught in 
Bahamian waters in accordance with Bahamian law to be possessed aboard 
a vessel in the EEZ and landed in the U.S., provided the vessel is in 
transit from the Bahamas and valid Bahamian fishing and cruising 
permits are on board. A no-action options will be considered.
    Action 21--Aggregate Recreational Bag Limit. The Council is 
considering options for establishing an aggregate recreational bag 
limit inclusive of all snapper-grouper species (excluding other species 
and existing bag limits). The Council has not identified a preferred 
option. Options include a 20-25 fish aggregate bag limit and a no-
action option.

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

    Dated: November 13, 1996.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 96-29604 Filed 11-15-96; 12:13 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F