[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 95 (Monday, May 18, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27256-27257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13051]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[Docket No. 980508122-8122-01; I.D. 042498A]
Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Spiny Dogfish
Fishery; Control Date for Spiny Dogfish
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; notice of control date
for spiny dogfish fishery.
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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that anyone entering the spiny dogfish (Squalus
acanthias) (dogfish) fishery after May 18, 1998 (control date) will not
be assured of future access to the dogfish resource in Federal waters
if a management regime is developed and implemented under the 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 that portion of the dogfish fishery and
to discourage new entries into this fishery based on economic
speculation while the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management
Councils (Councils) contemplate whether and how access to that portion
of the dogfish fishery in Federal waters should be controlled. The
potential eligibility criteria may be based on historical
participation. This announcement, therefore, gives the public notice
that interested participants should locate and preserve records that
substantiate and verify their participation in the dogfish fishery in
Federal waters.
DATES: Comments must be received by June 17, 1998.
[[Page 27257]]
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Dr. Christopher M. Moore,
Acting Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300
South New Street, Dover DE 19904.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Pearson, Fishery Policy Analyst,
978-281-9324.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
For most of the first two decades of extended jurisdiction under
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, dogfish was considered to be underutilized
and of minor economic importance. With the decline of more traditional
groundfish resources in recent years, an increase in directed fishing
for dogfish has resulted in a nearly sixfold increase in landings in
the last 7 years. The lack of any regulations pertaining to the harvest
of dogfish in the exclusive economic zone, combined with the recent
expansion of the fishery led the Councils to initiate development of a
management plan for the species.
The most recent stock assessment conducted by NMFS for dogfish
(SAW-26, 1998) indicates that the stock in the Northwest Atlantic has
begun to decline and the spawning stock has declined significantly
since 1989 as a result of an increase in exploitation. Expansion of the
fishery has resulted in a dramatic increase in fishing mortality (F).
This increased F has been focused primarily on mature females due to
their larger size. The increased F, in combination with the removal of
a large portion of the adult female stock, has resulted in the species'
being designated overfished. The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
NMFS, on April 3, 1998, notified the Councils of this designation, thus
initiating the 1-year time frame for development of a fishery
management plan as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
SAW-26 recommended that a management program be developed promptly
for this species and that targets for stock biomass and F be
established. In addition, the recent prominence of this species in the
Northwest Atlantic ecosystem and evidence of the effects of F on stock
abundance, including decreased indices of large fish, resulted in the
Councils' decision to implement a fishery management plan for dogfish.
The Councils held scoping hearings in the New England and Mid-
Atlantic regions during the fall of 1997 to begin the process of
developing a fishery management plan for the dogfish fishery (FMP). The
purpose of the scoping hearings was to determine the scope of issues to
be addressed and to identify the significant issues and problems
relating to the management of dogfish.
Foremost among the problems and issues that were identified during
the dogfish scoping hearings was the status of the resource. The
assessment conducted in 1994 indicated that the stock was stable, but
possibly beginning to decline. Landings have increased since that
assessment, prompting concerns that the stock may be overfished. Since
current levels of fishing effort may exceed the level required to
achieve optimum yield for dogfish, the Councils will be considering
limiting access to the dogfish fishery during FMP development.
The Councils intend to address whether and how to limit entry of
commercial vessels into this fishery in the dogfish FMP. The Councils'
publication of this control date is to discourage speculative entry
into the dogfish fishery while potential management regimes to control
access into the fishery are discussed and possibly developed by the
Councils. The control date will help to distinguish established
participants from speculative entrants to the fishery. Although
participants are notified that entering the fishery after the control
date will not assure them of future access to the dogfish resource on
the grounds of previous participation, additional and/or other
qualifying criteria may be applied. The Councils may choose different
and variably weighted methods to qualify participants based on the type
and length of participation in the fishery or on the quantity of
landings.
This notification hereby establishes May 18, 1998 for potential use
in determining historical or traditional participation in the Federal
waters dogfish fishery. This action does not commit the Councils to
develop any particular management regime or to use any specific
criteria for determining entry to the fishery. The Councils may choose
a different control date or a management program that does not make use
of such a date. The Councils may also choose to take no further action
to control entry or access to the fishery. Any action by the Councils
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 11, 1998.
David L. Evans,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-13051 Filed 5-15-98; 8:45 am]
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