[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 206 (Monday, October 26, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 57093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28602]



[[Page 57093]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 285, 630, and 678

[I.D. 071698B(2)]
RIN 0648-AJ67


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fisheries

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft fishery management plan 
(FMP); request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the submission of the draft Fishery Management 
Plan for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) for Secretarial 
review. The draft HMS FMP integrates existing management for the 
Atlantic tunas, swordfish, and shark fisheries, defines overfishing 
criteria, develops rebuilding management strategies, describes and 
identifies essential fish habitat (EFH), and establishes framework 
procedures for regulatory changes.

DATES: Written comments on the draft HMS FMP must be received on or 
before January 25, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the draft HMS FMP should be sent to, and 
copies of the document are available from, Rebecca Lent, Chief, Highly 
Migratory Species Management Division, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD, 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah McLaughlin at (301) 713-2347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning January 1, 1992, the Secretary of 
Commerce (Secretary) was granted the authority to manage Atlantic tunas 
under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act, 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). To date, no FMP has 
been implemented for tunas, and Atlantic tunas have been managed under 
the authority of the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA, 16 U.S.C. 971 
et seq.). Atlantic tunas regulations are found at 50 CFR part 285. The 
Atlantic swordfish fishery is managed under an FMP implemented on 
September 18, 1985, and its implementing regulations at 50 CFR part 
630, under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. Atlantic 
sharks are managed under an FMP, implemented on February 25, 1993, 
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, with regulations 
published at 50 CFR part 678.
    Upon implementation of the HMS FMP, the Secretary will issue 
Atlantic tunas and North Atlantic swordfish regulations under the 
authority of both the Magnuson-Stevens Act and ATCA. Regulations issued 
under the authority of ATCA carry out the recommendations of the 
International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas 
(ICCAT). The South Atlantic swordfish stock is not included in this 
draft FMP because its range does not extend into the Exclusive Economic 
Zone of the United States. Therefore, the South Atlantic swordfish will 
be managed solely under ATCA. Because Atlantic sharks are not subject 
to ICCAT management recommendations, they will continue to be managed 
solely under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    If approved, the HMS FMP will integrate management for Atlantic 
tunas, swordfish, and sharks, replacing the existing FMPs. This draft 
FMP was developed in coordination with the development of Amendment 1 
to the Atlantic Billfish FMP. The HMS FMP will define overfishing 
status determination criteria, which designate western Atlantic bluefin 
tuna, North Atlantic swordfish, and large coastal sharks of the 
Atlantic as overfished. NMFS has developed a domestic rebuilding 
strategy that identifies biomass and fishing mortality targets, and 
proposes a suite of management alternatives designed to reduce fishing 
mortality, bycatch, and bycatch mortality. Preferred alternatives 
include measures to rebuild overfished fisheries in timeframes 
consistent with guidelines for implementation of national standard 1 of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to control fishing effort and allocate 
domestic landing quotas, and to address issues of safety at sea, 
enforcement, permitting, reporting, and catch monitoring. NMFS does not 
identify a preferred alternative for bluefin tuna stock rebuilding in 
the draft FMP because new information on stock status and/or recovery 
trajectories from the recent 1998 assessment, as well as negotiations 
at the 1998 ICCAT meeting, could result in development of new 
rebuilding alternatives for the bluefin tuna stock. The preferred 
alternative for bluefin tuna rebuilding will be identified following 
the November 1998 ICCAT meeting. NMFS will publish the preferred 
alternative and associated analyses as an addendum to the draft FMP, 
and will propose measures to implement the preferred alternative in a 
separate rulemaking. In addition, EFH is described and identified for 
Atlantic tunas, sharks, and swordfish.
    All existing management measures are retained under the draft FMP. 
Modifications to measures are proposed as preferred alternatives. 
Should NMFS determine that further changes are necessary once the FMP 
is final, they will be made through the FMP amendment process or 
through rulemaking as described in the FMP framework provisions.
    In a separate document to be published in the Federal Register, 
NMFS will propose regulations to implement the preferred alternatives 
specified in the draft HMS FMP. During the comment period on the 
proposed rule, NMFS will hold public hearings on the draft FMP and on 
the proposed implementing regulations. The dates and locations of these 
public hearings will be published in the Federal Register at a later 
date. In addition to the other measures, NMFS specifically requests 
comments on the designation of Sargassum as EFH for Atlantic HMS, and 
on the effect of spotter plane use on bluefin tuna catch rates. The 
draft FMP does not propose measures relating to spotter planes; 
however, NMFS is conducting further analyses and is collecting 
information on the issue. NMFS also seeks determinations from coastal 
states on whether the preferred management measures would be consistent 
with the existing or planned state regulations and should be applicable 
in state waters. All comments on the FMP or on the proposed rule during 
their respective comment periods will be addressed in the final rule.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq. and 16 U.S.C. 971 et seq.

    Dated: October 21, 1998.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries,National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 98-28602 Filed 10-21-98; 1:16 pm]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F