[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 7 (Monday, January 12, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 1773-1774]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-701]
[[Page 1773]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 971107264-8001-02; I.D. 102297A]
RIN 0648-AK47
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel,
Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; 1998 Specifications
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Final 1998 initial specifications.
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SUMMARY: NMFS issues final initial specifications for the 1998 fishing
year for Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish. Regulations
governing these fisheries require NMFS to publish specifications for
the upcoming fishing year and provide an opportunity for the public to
comment.
DATES: The final initial specifications for 1998 are effective January
1, 1998, through December 31, 1998. Revised Sec. 648.23(a) is effective
January 12, 1998.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council's
quota paper and recommendations, the Environmental Assessment, and
Regulatory Impact Review, including analysis of impacts under the
Regulatory Flexibility Act, are available from David R. Keifer,
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115,
Federal Building, 300 South New Street, Dover, DE 19901.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myles Raizin, 508-281-9104.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulations implementing the Fishery
Management Plan for the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish
Fisheries (FMP) prepared by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
(Council) appear at 50 CFR part 648. These regulations require NMFS to
publish specifications for initial annual amounts of the initial
optimum yield (IOY) as well as the amounts for allowable biological
catch (ABC), domestic annual harvest (DAH), domestic annual processing
(DAP), joint venture processing (JVP), and total allowable levels of
foreign fishing (TALFF) for the species managed under the FMP. No
reserves are permitted under the FMP for any of these species. In
addition to commercial quotas, the Council, in consultation with its
Squid, Mackerel, and Butterfish Technical Monitoring Committee, may
recommend: Revisions to the amount of squid and butterfish that may be
retained, possessed, and landed by vessels issued the incidental catch
permit, commercial minimum fish sizes, commercial trip limits,
commercial seasonal quotas/closures for Loligo or Illex squid, minimum
mesh sizes, commercial gear restrictions, recreational harvest limits,
recreational minimum fish sizes, and recreational possession limits.
The proposed rule whose preamble contained proposed 1998 initial
specifications was published on November 26, 1997 (62 FR 63064). The
final initial specifications are unchanged from those that were
proposed. A complete discussion of the specifications was published in
the preamble to the proposed rule and is not repeated here.
The following table contains the final initial specifications for
the 1998 Atlantic mackerel, Loligo and Illex squids, and butterfish
fisheries as recommended by the Council.
Final Initial Annual Specifications for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish for the Fishing Year January 1
Through December 31, 1998. (mt)
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Squid
Specifications -------------------------- Atlantic Butterfish
Loligo Illex mackerel
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Max OY...................................................... 26,000 24,000 \1\ N/A 16,000
ABC......................................................... 21,000 19,000 382,000 7,200
IOY......................................................... 21,000 19,000 \2\ 80,000 5,900
DAH......................................................... 21,000 19,000 \3\ 80,000 5,900
DAP......................................................... 21,000 19,000 50,000 5,900
JVP......................................................... 0 0 15,000 0
TALFF....................................................... 0 0 0 0
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\1\ Not applicable.
\2\ OY may be increased during the year, but the total cannot exceed 382,000 mt.
\3\ Includes 15,000 mt of Atlantic mackerel recreational allocation.
Four special conditions imposed in previous years continue to be
imposed on the 1998 Atlantic mackerel fishery as follows: (1) Joint
ventures are allowed south of 37 deg.30' N. lat., but river herring
bycatch may not exceed 0.25 percent of the over-the-side transfers of
Atlantic mackerel; (2) the Administrator, Northeast Region, NMFS
(Regional Administrator), must ensure that impacts on marine mammals
are reduced in the prosecution of the Atlantic mackerel fishery; (3)
the mackerel OY may be increased during the year, but the total must
not exceed the ABC; and (4) applications from a nation for a joint
venture for 1998 cannot be acted upon until the Regional Administrator
determines, based on an evaluation of performance, that the nation's
purchase obligations from previous years have been fulfilled.
Framework Measure for Loligo Squid Nets
Amendment 5 to the FMP established a minimum mesh requirement of
1\7/8\ inches (48-mm) throughout the entire net for vessels possessing
Loligo squid. Amendment 5 also established a framework procedure
whereby the minimum mesh provision for Loligo squid could be
reconsidered by the Council on an annual basis.
Numerous members of the commercial fishing industry testified
before the Council that the minimum mesh size requirement, because it
applied throughout the entire net, was creating a compliance problem
for the squid industry. Testimony was given that after continuous use,
meshes forward of the codend become distorted and shrink. Because the
body of the net forward of the codend lasts significantly longer than
the codend, this problem becomes more acute with time. Industry is
concerned that nets, which were legal when new, could violate the
minimum mesh size requirement after extended use. Since selection
occurs in the
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codend of the net, industry argues that the requirement for a minimum
mesh size throughout the entire net is creating an unnecessary burden
on it.
In response to these concerns the Council decided to change the
minimum mesh size requirement for Loligo squid nets to make it
applicable to the codend of the net only. The minimum mesh size of 1\7/
8\ inches (48 mm) remains unchanged. Accordingly, this final rule
requires that Loligo squid nets for 1998 have a minimum mesh size of
1\7/8\ inches (48 mm) diamond, inside stretch measure, applied
throughout the codend for at least 150 continuous meshes forward of the
terminus of the net, or if the net is not long enough for such a
measurement, the terminal one-third of the net, measured from the
terminus of the net to the head rope. This should relieve the industry
of the costs associated with replacing the body of the net before its
useful service life has been realized. The effects on the fishery
should be minimal since the selection process, which occurs in the
codend, will be unchanged. The Council concluded that the benefits to
the industry in terms of cost savings far outweighed any negative
effects of applying the mesh requirement to the codend only. Additional
savings in terms of enforcement of the mesh regulations should be
realized since enforcement officers will only be required to check mesh
sizes in the codend instead of the entire net, which in most cases is
quite large and can consume a significant amount of time during the
boarding process.
Comments and Responses
One comment from a U.S. Congressman was received opposing the
proposed 1998 JVP Atlantic mackerel specification of 15,000 mt. No
comments were received on the other annual specifications or on the
Loligo squid net minimum mesh size requirement.
Comment: The commenter stated that competition from foreign
processors engaged in joint ventures with American fishermen is now
reducing the markets available to shore-based American processors. This
commenter recommends that the JVP specification for 1998 be reduced to
zero.
Response: The 1998 JVP specification of 15,000 mt is 10,000 mt less
than the 1997 JVP specification to reflect the Council's concern that
JVPs could have a negative effect on the further development of the
U.S. export market. The potential for future North Sea mackerel TAC
reductions may provide an opportunity for U.S. producers to sell
additional mackerel in the international market. The reduction is
consistent with the Council's stated policy to proceed on a course that
recognizes the need for JVP in the short term to allow U.S. harvesters
to take mackerel at levels in excess of current U.S. processing
capacity. However, in the longer term the Council intends to reduce the
JVP specification to zero as U.S. processing and export capacity
increases.
Classification
These final specifications are authorized by 50 CFR part 648,
comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, and are exempt from
review under E.O. 12866. The revision to Sec. 648.23(a) has been
determined to be not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
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 when this rule was proposed that it
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of
small entities. No comments were received regarding this certification.
As a result, a regulatory flexibility analysis was not prepared.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3), the Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA, finds for good cause that a delay in the effective
date of the final initial specifications for the 1998 fishing year for
Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish is unnecessary because they do
not establish any requirement for which a regulated entity must come
into compliance. The specifications are year-long quotas and are used
for the sole purpose of closing the fishery when the amounts specified
have been taken. The change in the minimum mesh size requirement for
Loligo squid nets relieves a restriction on the industry. Accordingly,
under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1) it is not subject to a 30-day delay in
effectiveness.
List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 648
Fisheries, Fishing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: January 6, 1998.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR part 648, Subpart
B, is amended as follows:
PART 648--FISHERIES OF NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES
1. The authority citation for part 648 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
2. In Sec. 648.23, paragraph (a) introductory text is revised to
read as follows:
Sec. 648.23 Gear restrictions.
(a) Mesh restrictions and exemptions. Owners or operators of otter
trawl vessels possessing Loligo harvested in or from the EEZ may only
fish with nets having a minimum mesh size of 1\7/8\ inches (48 mm)
diamond mesh, inside stretch measure, applied throughout the codend for
at least 150 continuous meshes forward of the terminus of the net, or
for codends with less than 150 meshes, the minimum mesh size codend
shall be a minimum of one-third of the net measured from the terminus
of the codend to the head rope, unless they are fishing during the
months of June, July, August, and September for Illex seaward of the
following coordinates (copies of a map depicting this area are
available from the Regional Administrator upon request):
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 98-701 Filed 1-9-98; 8:45 am]
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