[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 26, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60074-60076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30074]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 961114317-6317-01; I.D. 102596B]
RIN 0648-XX70


Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog Fisheries

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

ACTION: Proposed 1997 fishing quotas for surf clams and ocean quahogs; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues proposed quotas for the Atlantic surf clam and 
ocean quahog fisheries for 1997. These quotas were selected from a 
range defined as optimum yield (OY) for each fishery. The intent of 
this action is to establish

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allowable harvests of surf clams and ocean quahogs from the exclusive 
economic zone in 1997.

DATES: Public comments must be received on or before December 26, 1996.

.ADDRESSES: Copies of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's 
analysis and recommendations are available from David R. Keifer, 
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115, 
Federal Building, 300 South New Street, Dover, DE 19901-6790.
    Send comments to: Dr. Andrew A. Rosenberg, Regional Administrator, 
Northeast Region, NMFS, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. 
Mark on the outside of the envelope, ``Comments--1996 Surf Clam and 
Ocean Quahog Quotas.''

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fishery Management Plan for the Atlantic 
Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog Fisheries (FMP) directs the Secretary of 
Commerce (Secretary), in consultation with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (Council), to specify quotas for surf clams and 
ocean quahogs on an annual basis from a range that represents the OY 
for each species. For surf clams, the quota must fall within the OY 
range of 1.85 million bushels to 3.40 million bushels. For ocean 
quahogs, the quota must fall within the OY range of 4.00 million 
bushels to 6.00 million bushels. Further, it is the policy of the 
Council that the harvest levels selected should allow fishing to 
continue at that level for at least 10 years for surf clams and 30 
years for ocean quahogs. While staying within these constraints, the 
quotas are also to be set at a level that would meet the estimated 
annual demand.
    During its discussions of the 1996 quota recommendations, the 
Council was advised by NMFS to revise the overfishing definitions 
specified in the FMP. Subsequently, the Council revised the definitions 
and submitted them to NMFS as Amendment 9 to the FMP. Overfishing was 
previously defined for both species in terms of actual yield levels. 
That is, overfishing was defined as harvests in excess of the quota 
levels specified. However, that definition did not incorporate 
biological considerations to protect against overfishing. The 
overfishing definitions contained in Amendment 9 (61 FR 50807, 
September 27, 1996), which were recently approved by NMFS on behalf of 
the Secretary, are fishing mortality rates of F20% (20 percent of 
Maximum Spawning Potential (MSP)) for surf clams and F25% (25 
percent of MSP) for ocean quahogs. These levels equate to annual 
exploitation rates of 15.3 percent for surf clams and 4.3 percent for 
ocean quahogs.
    In proposing the quotas set forth herein, the Council considered 
the available stock assessments, data reported by harvesters and 
processors, and other relevant information concerning exploitable 
biomass and spawning biomass, fishing mortality rates, stock 
recruitment, projected effort and catches, and areas closed to fishing. 
This information was presented in a written report prepared by the 
Council. The proposed quotas for the 1997 Atlantic surf clam and ocean 
quahog fisheries are shown below. The surf clam quota would be 
unchanged from the 1996 level, and the ocean quahog quota would be 
reduced by approximately 3 percent.

               Proposed 1997 Surf Clam/Ocean Quahog Quotas              
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 1997 final   1997 final
                    Fishery                     quotas (bu)  quotas (hL)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Surf clam.....................................    2,565,000    1,362,000
Ocean quahog..................................    4,317,000    2,292,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surf Clams

    Amendment 9 defines overfishing for surf clams as F20%. This 
translates roughly to F = 0.18 for surf clams. The proposed 1997 quota 
for surf clams of 2.565 million bushels was recommended by the Science 
and Statistical Committee (SSC) of the Council and adopted by the 
Council at its September 1996 meeting. This quota yields an approximate 
F = 0.12 for all areas. Therefore, the proposed quota is below the 
threshold definition for overfishing.
    This proposed quota meets the 1996 Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW)-
22 Advisory Report recommendation ``that the current (i.e., 1996) surf 
clam quota be maintained until a new stock assessment is available with 
abundance estimates based on fishery catch rate and research survey 
data.'' A research survey is scheduled to be conducted in 1997. This 
quota is within the OY range of 1.85 to 3.4 million bushels required by 
the FMP. The Council assumed that none of the Georges Bank resource 
(approximately one quarter of the total resource) would be available 
during the next 10 years for harvesting, because implementation of a 
protocol for testing paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is unlikely to 
happen within 10 years. Both the SSC and the Council Surf Clam and 
Ocean Quahog Committee believed that the reopening of the Georges Bank 
area was uncertain and too speculative to base quota recommendations 
upon. The Industry Advisory Group concurred.

Ocean Quahogs

    Amendment 9 defines overfishing for ocean quahogs as F25%. 
This translates to F = 0.04 for ocean quahogs. The proposed 1997 quota 
for ocean quahogs of 4.317 million bushels, a reduction of 3 percent 
from 1996, was recommended by the Council staff and adopted by the 
Council at its September meeting. The proposed quota yields an F = 
0.032. Therefore, the proposed quota is below the threshold definition 
for overfishing. The proposed quota still assumes that all of the 
Georges Bank biomass may become available to the fishery over the 
course of the 30-year harvest period. The Council assumes that the PSP 
testing protocol will be implemented within 30 years. However, the 
Council stated that additional quota reductions would be necessary in 
the future, if demonstrable progress is not made toward implementing 
the protocol and reopening Georges Bank in the near future. In 
addition, the 1996 SAW-22 Advisory Report did not provide any forecast 
for ocean quahogs and only provided the management advice that a 30-
year supply is possible only if areas off southern New England and Long 
Island, generally too deep to be harvested with current technology, and 
PSP-contaminated biomass on Georges Bank become available for harvest.

Classification

    The Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulation, 
Department of Commerce, certified to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration that

these proposed specifications issued under authority of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, if adopted 
as proposed, will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. These proposed specifications 
would establish the same annual quota for surf clams in 1997 (2.565 
million bushels), as in 1996, and an annual quota for ocean quahogs 
of 4.317 million bushels in 1997, which is only a 3-percent 
reduction in the quota for that species in 1996.
    It is not expected that any vessels would cease operations if 
the proposed specifications for 1997 are implemented, and compliance 
costs should not increase by 10 percent or more for 20 percent of 
the vessels or processors in any of these fisheries. Also, 20 
percent or more of the vessels or processors in the fishery should 
not experience a gain or loss of revenues of 5 percent or more.

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


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    Dated: November 19, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 96-30074 Filed 11-25-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-W