[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 148 (Monday, August 3, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 41205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20538]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 630

[I.D. 072398A]


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: NMFS has projected that the driftnet directed fishery quota of 
41.6 metric tons (mt) dressed weight (dw) for the 1998 North Atlantic 
swordfish season (opens August 1, 1998) will be reached on or before 
August 12, 1998. Consequently, NMFS closes the driftnet directed 
fishery for the North Atlantic swordfish management unit, effective 
11:30 p.m. on August 14, 1998. All swordfish must be offloaded by 
driftnet vessels by the time of the closure.

DATES: The closure is effective at 11:30 p.m. local time on August 14, 
1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Stevenson, (301) 713-2347.

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 International Commission for the Conservation of 
Atlantic Tunas.
    The regulations governing the Atlantic swordfish fisheries at 50 
CFR 630.24 provide for a specified annual quota to be landed by the 
driftnet directed fishery. 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 at least 
14 days in advance.
    The North Atlantic swordfish driftnet fishery was closed on 
December 5, 1996, under an emergency rule to protect the endangered 
northern right whale. That fishery remained closed through November 26, 
1997, while NMFS considered fishery management alternatives to reduce 
bycatch in the fishery and to address other fishery management issues. 
On December 1, 1997 (62 FR 63467), NMFS implemented a temporary time/
area closure under the authority of the Endangered Species Act to avoid 
the likelihood that this fishery would jeopardize the continued 
existence of the northern right whale. As a result of these 
rulemakings, the driftnet fishery has not operated in the North 
Atlantic Ocean for swordfish since the summer of 1996.

Closure of the Fishery

    The average daily landings of swordfish in the driftnet fishery in 
the first semiannual season of 1996 were greater than 14,000 lb dw (6.4 
mt dw). However, NMFS considered a number of factors that are likely to 
slow the daily catch rates in the 1998 fishery. Based on previous 
landings and other factors, it is expected that the driftnet directed 
harvest quota of 41.6 mt dw for the entire directed fishery (which 
opens on August 1, 1998) would be reached on or about August 12, 1998. 
To allow for travel time from the fishing grounds and time for 
offloading, NMFS announces that the directed fishery for swordfish is 
closed at 11:30 p.m. on August 14, 1998. All vessels must be in port 
and offloaded on or before this closing date. This notice provides more 
than a 14 day period during which swordfish vessel owners can plan 
their fishing and sale of landings prior to the closure deadline.
    During the closure of the directed swordfish driftnet fishery, on 
board a vessel using or having on board a driftnet, a person may not 
fish for swordfish from the north Atlantic stock, and no more than 2 
swordfish, caught incidentally while fishing for other species, may be 
possessed in the North Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and 
Caribbean Sea, north of 5 deg. N. latitude, or landed in an Atlantic, 
Gulf of Mexico, or Caribbean state. Driftnets are not permitted for use 
in the South Atlantic swordfish fishery.

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: July 28, 1998.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-20538 Filed 7-28-98; 4:33 pm]
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