[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 186 (Thursday, September 25, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50257-50258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-25400]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 630

[I.D. 091797B]


North Atlantic Swordfish Fishery; Closure

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

ACTION: Closure.

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SUMMARY: Based on landings to date, NMFS has projected that the 
directed fishery quota for the first semiannual 1997 north Atlantic 
swordfish season (June 1, 1997, to November 30, 1997)

[[Page 50258]]

will be reached on or before October 12, 1997. Consequently, NMFS 
closes the directed fishery for the north Atlantic swordfish management 
unit effective October 12, 1997.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The closure is effective at 12 noon, local time, on 
October 12, 1997, through November 30, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Stevenson, 301-713-2347, or Buck 
Sutter, 813-570-5447.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The north Atlantic swordfish fishery is 
managed under the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Swordfish and 
its implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 630 under the authority of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.) and the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA; 16 U.S.C. 
971 et seq.). Regulations issued under the authority of ATCA carry out 
the recommendations of the International Commission for the 
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
    The regulations governing the Atlantic swordfish fisheries at 
Sec. 630.24 provide for a specified annual quota to be landed by the 
directed fishery. The annual quota is divided into two semiannual 
quotas for each of the 6-month periods, June 1 through November 30, and 
December 1 through May 31. NMFS is required, under Sec. 630.25(a)(1), 
to monitor the catch and landings statistics and, on the basis of these 
statistics, to project a date when the catch will equal the quota, and 
to publish a Federal Register document announcing the closure.

Closure of the Fishery

    Reported landings of swordfish in the directed fishery in the first 
semiannual season totaled 594.7 metric tons dressed weight (mt dw) as 
of September 1, 1997. Average landings of swordfish during September 
and October from 1994 to 1996 were 306 mt and 334 mt, respectively. 
However, current landings are higher than during similar periods during 
the past 3 years. Accounting for anticipated delayed reporting (based 
on experience in the last semiannual season from December 1, 1996, 
through May 31, 1997) and the current higher than average rate of 
landings, it is expected that the first semiannual directed harvest 
quota of 1,064.4 mt dw for the directed fishery would be reached on or 
about October 12, 1997.
    Therefore, NMFS announces that the directed fishery for swordfish 
will close at 12 noon, local time on October 12, 1997. All vessels must 
be in port and offloaded on or before this closing date. This notice 
provides considerably more than the 14-day advance notice of closure 
required by regulation. To provide advance notice as early as possible, 
NMFS issued a notice to the industry on August 20, 1997, that, based on 
then current landings, a closure was anticipated about mid-October, 
1997. This advance notice period will allow swordfish vessel owners to 
plan their fishing, offloading and sale of swordfish catch prior to the 
closure deadline.
    During closure of the directed fishery, a person may not fish for 
swordfish from the north Atlantic stock, and no more than 15 swordfish, 
caught incidentally while fishing with longline gear for other species, 
may be possessed in the North Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of 
Mexico and Caribbean Sea, north of 5 deg. N. lat., or landed in an 
Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, or Caribbean state. During this directed 
fishery closure, no swordfish may be retained or possessed on board a 
vessel using harpoon gear. Established swordfish bycatch limits for the 
non-directed fisheries remain unchanged (Sec. 630.25(d)).
    The drift gillnet fishery is currently closed under emergency 
authority through November 26, 1997 (62 FR 30775, June 5, 1997). 
Pursuant to this emergency closure: (1) No one aboard a vessel using or 
having on board a drift gillnet may fish for swordfish from the north 
Atlantic swordfish stock; and (2) no more than two swordfish per trip 
may be possessed on board a vessel using or having on board a drift 
gillnet in the North Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and 
Caribbean Sea, north of 5 deg. N. lat., or landed in an Atlantic, Gulf 
of Mexico, or Caribbean coastal state.

Classification

    This action is taken under 50 CFR 630.24 and 50 CFR 630.25(a) and 
is exempt from review under E.O. 12866.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.

    Dated: September 19, 1997.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-25400 Filed 9-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F