[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 50 (Monday, March 16, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12687-12688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6711]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 630
[I.D. 021998C]
North and South Atlantic Swordfish Fishery; Directed Fishery
Closure
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Closure.
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SUMMARY: NMFS has projected that the directed fishery quota for the
second semiannual 1997 North and South Atlantic swordfish season
(December 1, 1997, to May 31, 1998) will be reached on or before March
31 and April 15, 1998, respectively. Consequently, NMFS closes the
directed fishery for the North Atlantic swordfish fishery effective
March 31, 1998, and for the South Atlantic swordfish fishery effective
April 15, 1998. The intent of this closure is to prevent overharvest of
the quotas established by the International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) for the directed North and South
Atlantic Swordfish Fishery.
DATES: The closure is effective at 6 p.m., local time, on March 31
through May 31, 1998, for the North Atlantic swordfish fishery, and at
6 p.m., local time, on April 15 through May 31, 1998, for the South
Atlantic swordfish fishery.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Stevenson, 301-713-2347, or Buck
Sutter, 813-570-5447.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. 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 ICCAT.
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 announce the closure by publication in the Federal Register. ICCAT
delineates Atlantic swordfish stocks north and south of 5 deg. N. lat.
On October 24, 1997 (62 FR 55357), consistent with ICCAT's
recommendations, NMFS established a U.S. quota for the North Atlantic
swordfish fishery of 2,464 metric tons dressed weight (mt dw),
established a U.S. quota for the South Atlantic swordfish fishery of
188 mt dw, and implemented the same management measures for the South
Atlantic swordfish fishery as were in place for the North Atlantic
swordfish fishery (i.e., logbook reporting, permitting, minimum size,
transfer-at-sea, etc.).
New ICCAT Compliance Measures
In 1996, ICCAT recommended compliance measures in which member
nations could be subject to restrictive trade measures and reduced
quotas equal to a minimum of 125 percent of the excess harvest if North
Atlantic swordfish quotas are repeatedly exceeded. These measures were
recommended to be extended to the South Atlantic by ICCAT in 1997.
Closure of the North Atlantic Swordfish Fishery
The 1997 quota for the North Atlantic swordfish fishery of 2,464 mt
dw is divided between the directed fishery (2,164 mt dw) and the
incidental fishery (300 mt dw). The annual quota for the directed
fishery is subdivided into longline/harpoon and drift gillnet quotas,
with allocations of 2,121.2 and 42.8 mt dw, respectively. A final rule
issued under the Endangered Species Act closed the drift gillnet sector
of the swordfish fishery until August 1, 1998, to avoid jeopardizing
the continued existence of the North Atlantic right whale (62 FR 63467,
December 1, 1997). The longline/harpoon quota is further divided into
two equal semiannual quotas (1,060.6 mt dw) for the periods June 1
through November 30, and December 1 through May 31. Based on actual
landings for December 1997 (169.5 mt dw) and January 1998 (208 mt dw),
and using the highest reported landings during the period between 1995
to 1997 for February (365.8 mt dw) and March (250.8 mt dw), this would
give a total of 994.2 mt dw projected through the end of March, 1998,
or 90.73 percent of the quota. Based on logbook and tally sheet data
from previous years, it is expected that the second semiannual North
Atlantic harvest quota will be reached in mid-April, 1998. However,
NMFS must account for delayed reporting and unpredictable catch levels
and fishing effort to reduce the risk of exceeding U.S. swordfish
quotas, which could invoke ICCAT penalties. Due to late reporting,
which may take up to 6 months to correct, an additional factor of 65 mt
dw is added to this estimate, giving a total of 1,059.2, or 99.86
percent of the quota. Therefore, NMFS announces that the directed North
Atlantic swordfish fishery will close at 6 p.m., local time, on March
31, 1998. All swordfish in excess of the incidental catch limit must be
offloaded by the time of the closure.
Closure of the South Atlantic Swordfish Fishery
The 1997 quota for the South Atlantic swordfish fishery is
allocated solely to the directed longline fishery quota and is divided
into two equal semiannual quotas of 94 mt, one for the period June 1
through November 30, and the other for the period December 1 through
May 31, with no incidental harvest allowed following a closure of the
fishery. Landings of swordfish in the South Atlantic swordfish fishery
in the second semiannual season totaled 20.12 mt dw as of January,
1998. Reporting of swordfish landings by U.S.-flagged vessels in
Atlantic waters south of 5 deg. N
[[Page 12688]]
lat. was not required until the 1997 fishing year; therefore, past
fishing effort is difficult to estimate. However, limited logbook data
from 1996 and 1997 indicate that a significant increase in landings may
be expected during February and March. Accounting for delayed reporting
(based on experience in closures of the North Atlantic swordfish
fishery) and the anticipated levels of harvest due to the closure of
the North Atlantic swordfish fishery and previous harvest levels, it is
expected that the second semiannual South Atlantic harvest quota will
be reached on or about April 15, 1998. The estimate is conservative to
reduce the risk of exceeding U.S. swordfish quotas, which could invoke
ICCAT penalties. Therefore, NMFS announces that the directed South
Atlantic swordfish fishery will close at 6 p.m., local time, on April
15, 1998. All swordfish must be offloaded by the time of the closure.
Incidental Catch Limits
The annual quota for the North Atlantic incidental swordfish
fishery is 300 mt dw. The incidental quota is needed to allow for
incidental landings of swordfish with commercial fishing gears during
the closure of the North Atlantic swordfish fishery. After the closure,
only up to 15 swordfish can be possessed if taken incidentally when
fishing with longline gear for other pelagic fish species, until the
incidental quota is reached.
Delayed Offloading Pilot Program
On January 23, 1998, NMFS issued a letter to all permit holders and
sent a notice via the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) fax network
announcing a pilot program to allow for delayed offloading. Vessel
owners who wish to participate in the NMFS delayed offloading pilot
program must contact NMFS (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) at
least 7 days prior to the directed fishery closure to obtain an
exempted fishing permit (EFP). Vessels maintaining a Vessel Monitoring
System (VMS) on board and complying with the terms of the EFP may
offload swordfish at any time after the closure, provided they do not
fish for any species during that time.
This closure announcement provides more than the minimum 14-day
advance notice of closure required by regulation. To provide advance
notice of the closure as early as possible, NMFS issued a notice to the
industry on January 23, 1998, that, based on the landings at that time,
a closure was anticipated about mid-March, 1998. This advance notice
period will allow swordfish vessel owners to plan their fishing,
offloading, and sale of swordfish catch prior to the date of closure.
It will also allow swordfish vessel owners to obtain a VMS and apply
for an EFP to be eligible for delayed offloading.
All fishery management actions are announced by publication in the
Federal Register. In addition, announcements are made on the HMS FAX
Network, on the HMS Information Line (301-713-1279), and over NOAA
Weather and Coast Guard radio channels.
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. and 1801 et seq.
Dated: March 10, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-6711 Filed 3-11-98; 4:56 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F