[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]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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