[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 103 (Thursday, May 29, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29098-29099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14096]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 970520121-7121-01; I.D. 050997A]
RIN 0648-XX83


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Bluefish 
Fishery; Control Date

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that anyone entering the commercial Atlantic 
bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) fishery after May 29, 1997 (control 
date) will not be assured of future access to the bluefish resource in 
Federal waters if a management regime is developed and implemented 
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act) that limits the number of participants in the 
fishery. This announcement is intended to promote awareness of 
potential eligibility criteria for future access to the commercial 
Atlantic bluefish fishery and to discourage new entries into this 
fishery based on economic speculation while the Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (Council) contemplates whether and how access to the 
bluefish fishery in Federal waters should be controlled. The potential 
eligibility criteria may be based on historical participation, defined 
as any number of trips having any documented amount of Atlantic 
bluefish landings. This announcement, therefore, gives the public 
notice that they should locate and preserve records that substantiate 
and verify their participation in the commercial bluefish fishery in 
Federal waters.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by June 30, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to David R. Keifer, Executive 
Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 South New 
Street, Dover, DE 19904.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, Fishery Policy Analyst, 
508-281-9104.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic 
Bluefish (FMP) was developed by the Council and the Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission to address problems that would occur if the 
bluefish fishery were to expand significantly or if the bluefish 
resource were to decline. The FMP (55 FR 18729, May 4, 1990) noted that 
the stock had declined from peak abundance levels observed in the early 
1980s. Relative to the future condition of the stock, the FMP cautioned 
that ``without production of a strong year class in 1989, the 
population will likely continue to decline into the 1990s.''
    Bluefish was most recently assessed at the 23rd Northeast Regional 
Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW-23); results were published in January 
1997. The stock is at a low level of abundance and is over-exploited. 
Current annual recreational catches of 12,000 metric tons (mt) are 
about 20 percent of the level of the early 1980s. Fully-recruited 
fishing mortality (F) rates for bluefish increased from 0.12 (10 
percent exploitation) in 1988 to 0.51 (36 percent exploitation) in 
1992. F in 1995 was 0.40 (29 percent exploitation), twice the level of 
the current overfishing reference point estimated in 1994 
(FMSY = 0.20; 16 percent exploitation). Spawning stock 
biomass (SSB) declined from 293,000 mt in 1986 to 110,000 mt in 1995, a 
decrease of 63 percent and an historic low. Recruitment at age 0 varied 
from 68 to 82 million fish during 1982-84, but has since declined 
substantially with the strongest recent year class recruiting in 1989 
(65 million). Recruitment since 1989 has been below average and the 
1993 and 1995 year classes (13 and 14 million fish respectively) are 
the poorest of the time series. SAW-23 advised that if recruitment 
continues to be poor, the decline in SSB can only be halted by 
restricting catches to very low levels. SAW-23 advised reducing F to 
0.1 or below ( 8 percent exploitation) to halt the decline 
in SSB.
    The Council intends to address whether and how to limit entry of 
commercial vessels or participants into this fishery in a future 
amendment to

[[Page 29099]]

the FMP. The Council's intent in making this announcement is to notify 
the industry that management regimes to control access into the fishery 
may be discussed and developed by the Council. The control date will 
help to distinguish bona fide established fishermen from speculative 
entrants to the fishery. Although fishermen are notified that entering 
the fishery after the control date will not assure them of future 
access to the bluefish resource on the grounds of previous 
participation, additional and/or other qualifying criteria also may be 
applied. The Council may choose different and variably weighted methods 
to qualify fishermen, based on the type and length of participation in 
the fishery or on the quantity of landings.
    This action does not commit the Council to develop any particular 
management regime or to use any specific criteria for determining entry 
to the fishery. The Council may choose a different control date, or may 
choose a management program that does not make use of such a date. The 
Council may choose also to take no further action to control entry or 
access to the fishery. Any action by the Council will be taken pursuant 
to the requirement for FMP development established under the Magnuson- 
Stevens Act.

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

    Dated: May 22, 1997.
Rolland A. Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-14096 Filed 5-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F