[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 199 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 55355-55357]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27582]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 100598D]


Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and New England Fishery 
Management Council; Public Hearings

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Public hearings, request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic and the New England Fishery Management 
Councils (Councils) will hold public hearings to allow for input on 
development of the Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP).

DATES: Written comments on the FMP will be accepted until November 23, 
1998. The public hearings are scheduled to be held from October 26 to 
November 4, 1998. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates and 
times.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Acting 
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Room 2115 
Federal Building, 300 South New Street, Dover, DE 19904 or Paul Howard, 
Executive Director, New England Fishery Management Council, 5 Broadway, 
Saugus, MA 01906-1036.
    The hearings will be held in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for locations of the hearings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Acting 
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 302-674-
2331, or Paul Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery 
Management Council, 781-231-0422.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The purpose of the proposed action is to initiate management of 
spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias), pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) of 1976 
as amended by the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA). For most of the 
first two decades of extended jurisdiction under the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, the spiny dogfish was considered to be an

[[Page 55356]]

``underutilized'' species of relatively minor value to the domestic 
fisheries of the U.S. East Coast. With the decline of more traditional 
groundfish resources in recent years, an increase in directed fishing 
for spiny dogfish has resulted in a nearly sixfold increase in landings 
in the last 7 years. Recent rapid expansion of the fishery has resulted 
in a dramatic increase in fishing mortality. Particularly troublesome 
is the fact that the fishery targets mature females because of their 
large size. The recent fishery expansion, in combination with the 
removal of a large portion of the adult female stock, has resulted in 
the species being designated as overfished by NMFS. The SFA requires 
remedial action by the Councils for stocks designated as overfished and 
requires that a management program be developed within 1 year of the 
date of notification that a species is overfished. The lack of any 
regulations pertaining to the harvest of spiny dogfish in the exclusive 
economic zone, combined with the recent rapid expansion of the domestic 
fishery, led the Councils to jointly develop a management plan for the 
species.
    The management unit for this FMP is defined as the entire spiny 
dogfish population along the Atlantic coast of the United States. The 
overall goal of this FMP is to conserve spiny dogfish in order to 
achieve optimum yield from this resource in the western Atlantic Ocean.
    To meet the overall goal, the following objectives have been 
adopted:
    1. Reduce fishing mortality to ensure that overfishing does not 
occur;
    2. Promote compatible management regulations between state and 
Council jurisdictions and the United States and Canada;
    3. Promote uniform and effective enforcement of regulations;
    4. Minimize regulations while achieving the management objectives 
stated above; and
    5. Manage the spiny dogfish fishery so as to minimize the impact of 
the regulations on the prosecution of other fisheries, to the extent 
practicable.
    The fishing year for spiny dogfish is the 12-month period beginning 
May 1.

Management Strategy

    The SFA, which reauthorized and amended the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
made a number of changes to the existing national standards. With 
respect to national standard 1, the SFA imposed new requirements 
concerning definitions of overfishing in fishery management plans. To 
comply with national standard 1, the SFA requires that each Council FMP 
define overfishing as a rate or level of fishing mortality that 
jeopardizes a fishery's capacity to produce maximum sustainable yield 
(MSY) on a continuing basis.
    Each FMP must specify objective and measurable status determination 
criteria for identifying when stocks or stock complexes covered by the 
FMP are overfished. To fulfill the requirements of the SFA, status 
determination criteria for spiny dogfish comprise two components: (1) A 
maximum fishing mortality threshold and (2) a minimum stock size 
threshold. The maximum F threshold for spiny dogfish is specified as 
FMSY. The minimum biomass threshold is specified as one-half 
BMSY. For spiny dogfish, the stock size that would maximize 
average recruitment is known as the SSBmax and is 
recommended as a proxy value for BMSY. This target value is 
currently estimated to be 440 million lb (200,000 mt).
    An additional requirement of the SFA is that stocks that are 
identified as overfished (i.e., stock biomass is less than minimum 
biomass threshold) must be rebuilt to the level that will produce 
maximum sustainable yield (BMSY). The SFA guidelines advise 
that, in most cases, the stock rebuilding period may not exceed 10 
years. The most recent stock assessment data indicate that total adult 
spiny dogfish stock biomass is currently about 280 million lb (127,000 
mt), which is well below the stock biomass target of 440 million lb 
(200,000 mt). As a result, the Councils propose to rebuild the spiny 
dogfish stock to the BMSY level (as represented by the proxy 
of SSBmax) over a 10-year rebuilding period through the 
implementation of this FMP.
    The preferred alternative will eliminate overfishing and rebuild 
the spiny dogfish stock through a two-step reduction in the fishing 
mortality rate. The first step allows for a 1-year exit fishery of 22 
million lb (10,000 mt) to allow a phaseout of the directed fishery. 
This approach was chosen to minimize the impact of the rebuilding 
program on both the harvest and processing sectors of the industry. For 
the first year of the rebuilding plan (1999-2000), F will be reduced to 
0.2 and then will be reduced to F = 0.03 in the remaining 9 years of 
the rebuilding plan (2000-2009). This schedule allows for stock 
rebuilding to the level that will support harvests at or near the 
SSBmax level in the year 2009.
    The Councils are seeking public comment on the following management 
program adopted by the Councils for public hearings:

Preferred Management Measures

    The Councils are proposing a number of preferred management 
measures to meet the objectives of the FMP. These preferred 
alternatives are as follows:
    1. Permit and reporting requirements for commercial vessels, 
operators, and dealers.
    2. The establishment of a Spiny Dogfish FMP Monitoring Committee.
    3. The implementation of a framework adjustment process.
    4. A 10-year stock rebuilding schedule.
    5. A commercial quota.
    6. Seasonal (semi-annual) allocation of the quota.
    7. A prohibition on finning.
    8. A limit of 80 nets (50 fathoms each) in the spiny dogfish 
gillnet fishery.

Alternatives to the Preferred Management Actions

    A number of alternatives to the proposed management measures have 
been identified by the Councils for consideration by the public. These 
non-preferred alternatives include:
    1. A no-action at this time.
    2. Alternative rebuilding schedules.
    3. A commercial quota with trip limits.
    4. A commercial quota with alternative seasonal allocations.
    5. A commercial quota with alternative size limits including a slot 
size limit.
    6. A limited entry program for the spiny dogfish commercial 
fishery.
    7. A target commercial quota.

Public Hearings

    The hearings will begin at 7 p.m., with the exception of the New 
York hearing, which begins at 7:30 p.m. The dates and locations are as 
follows:
    1. October 26, 1998--Seaport Inn and Marina, 110 Middle Street, 
Fairhaven, MA; 2. October 27, 1998--Four Points Sheraton Hyannis, Route 
132, Hyannis, MA;
    3. October 27, 1998--Hampton Inn, 402 Halstead Boulevard, Elizabeth 
City, NC;
    4. October 28, 1998--Ramada East End, 1830 Route 25, Riverhead, NY;
    5. October 28, 1998--Virginia Marine Resources Commission, 2600 
Washington Avenue, Newport News, VA;
    6. November 2, 1998--Cape May County Extension Office, Dennisville 
Road, Route 657, Cape May Courthouse, NJ;
    7. November 3, 1998--Dunes Manor, 2800 Baltimore Avenue, Ocean 
City, MD;
    8. November 3, 1998--Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 Spring Street, 
Portland, ME; and

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    9. November 4, 1998--Sheraton, 250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH.
    The hearings will be tape recorded with the tapes filed as the 
official transcript of the hearings.

Special Accommodations

    These hearings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Joanna Davis at the Mid-Atlantic 
Council office at least 5 days prior to the hearing date.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.

    Dated: October 7, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-27582 Filed 10-14-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F