[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 231 (Wednesday, December 2, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 66522-66524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32038]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 111998A]


Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

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


[[Page 66523]]


ACTION: Notice of public hearings; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) will 
convene public hearings on a Draft Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) 
Amendment and on a draft regulatory amendment regarding gag and black 
grouper in Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the hearings 
in the Gulf region will be joint hearings to receive comments on both 
draft amendments.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft SFA Amendment and the draft 
regulatory amendment will be accepted by the Council through January 4, 
1999. The public hearings will be held in December 1998. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for specific dates, times, and locations of 
the public hearings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to, and copies of the Draft 
SFA Amendment and draft regulatory amendment are available from, the 
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S. Highway 301, 
North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne E. Swingle, Executive Director, 
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council; Telephone: (813) 228-2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1996, Congress passed the SFA, which 
contained new requirements for the management of marine fisheries in 
Federal waters. To meet these new requirements, the Council developed 
the Draft SFA Amendment that would amend all fishery management plans 
(FMPs) prepared by the Council. The Draft SFA Amendment includes 
alternative management measures for: (1) Reporting bycatch; (2) 
minimizing bycatch or bycatch mortality; (3) specifying higher 
standards for overfishing criteria that will restore fishery stocks to 
maximum sustainable yield (MSY); and (4) establishing rebuilding 
periods for overfished stocks, such as red snapper, king mackerel, and 
red drum. The Draft SFA Amendment also identifies communities 
economically dependent on fishing so that the impacts of fishery 
management measures on these communities can be assessed.
    The section on reporting bycatch discusses five alternatives 
related to the submission of data by fishermen and vessel observers. 
The Council recommends that NMFS collect bycatch information by the 
most appropriate methods, but use mandatory observers only when the 
Council recommends such an approach.
    In the section on measures to minimize bycatch or bycatch 
mortality, the Council recommends that stone crab traps used in Federal 
waters be constructed according to Florida law.
    In the section on overfishing criteria and stock rebuilding periods 
for finfish, the Council recommends that MSY, optimum yield (OY), and 
the overfishing thresholds be set at higher levels than in the existing 
FMPs. For red snapper, the Council recommends setting MSY and the 
overfishing threshold at 26-percent spawning potential ratio (SPR), and 
OY at 36-percent SPR. For red drum, all the coastal migratory species 
(including mackerels), and all reef fish species (except red snapper, 
gag, Nassau grouper, and jewfish), the Council recommends setting MSY, 
OY, and overfishing thresholds at 30-percent SPR. For Nassau grouper 
and jewfish, the Council recommends setting MSY, OY, and the 
overfishing threshold at 50-percent SPR. The Council has not selected a 
proposal for gag. The effect of specifying overfishing criteria at 
higher levels for the finfish stocks is that additional stocks may be 
classified as overfished if NMFS approves the final SFA amendment in 
1999.
    The Council proposes to modify the rebuilding periods for two 
overfished stocks. It proposes that red snapper be rebuilt by 2033, and 
king mackerel by 2009. No rebuilding periods are proposed for red drum, 
Nassau grouper, or jewfish because there was insufficient information 
to compute the rebuilding periods.
    Also, the Draft SFA Amendment does not contain proposed overfished 
thresholds in terms of biomass (weight) for any of the finfish stocks 
because there was insufficient information to compute these parameters. 
The Draft SFA Amendment includes alternatives for overfished thresholds 
that are expressed in terms of SPR.
    In the section on overfishing criteria and stock rebuilding periods 
for the crustacean fisheries, the Council has proposed setting MSY, OY, 
and the overfishing thresholds for penaeid shrimp at or above the 
parent stock numbers (as indexed from current virtual population 
analysis (VPA) procedures) for the three penaeid species of shrimp in 
the Gulf of Mexico: (1) Brown shrimp (125 million individuals, age 7+ 
months during the November through February period); (2) white shrimp 
(330 million individuals, age 7+ months during the May through August 
period); and (3) pink shrimp (100 million individuals, age 5+ months 
during the July through June year). For royal red shrimp, the Council 
proposes setting MSY, OY, and the overfishing threshold at 650,000 lb 
(294,840 kg).
    For spiny lobster, the Council proposes to set MSY and the 
overfishing threshold at 20-percent transitional SPR or spawning stock 
biomass per recruit, but OY would be set at 30-percent SPR. For stone 
crab, the Council recommends setting MSY, OY, and the overfishing 
threshold at the harvest level that results from a realized egg 
production per recruit at or above 70 percent of potential production. 
This harvest capacity is currently estimated to be between 3.0 and 3.5 
million lb (between 1.36 and 1.58 million kg) of claws (minimum 70 mm 
propodus length). Overfished thresholds are specified as one-half of 
MSY or slightly higher for the crustacean stocks, none of which is 
overfished.
    Ten public hearings will be held to obtain public comments on the 
Draft SFA Amendment (see Public Hearing Times and Locations). The 
public comment period for the Draft SFA Amendment ends on January 4, 
1999.
    The Council will also hold public hearings on possible regulatory 
changes to the management of gag and black grouper in Federal waters of 
the Gulf of Mexico. Issues addressed in the draft regulatory amendment 
for gag and black grouper include the following: (1) Specification of a 
total allowable catch (TAC) for gag; (2) discussion of the allocation 
of the gag TAC between recreational and commercial sectors; (3) a 
minimum size limit increase for gag and black grouper from 20 to 24 
inches (50.8 to 60.9 cm) total length; (4) a 2-fish recreational bag 
limit for gag as part of the existing 5-fish aggregate grouper bag 
limit; (5) a zero bag limit for gag for the captain and crew of 
recreational for-hire vessels; (6) a commercial trip limit for gag; (7) 
a closed season during peak gag spawning times; and (8) area closures 
at gag spawning aggregation locations.
    The Council currently has no preferred alternatives. However, in 
its ``1998 Report to Congress on the Status of Fisheries of the United 
States,'' NMFS identified gag in the Gulf of Mexico as a stock that, 
while not currently overfished, is approaching an overfished condition. 
Under the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, the Council is required to take action to prevent 
overfishing from occurring for stocks identified by NMFS as approaching 
an overfished condition. The Council will decide which measures to 
recommend to achieve that goal at its January 11 to 14, 1999, meeting 
to be held in Biloxi, MS. Comments on the draft regulatory

[[Page 66524]]

amendment for gag and black grouper must be received by January 4, 
1999.

Public Hearing Times and Addresses

    Public hearings will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at all of 
the following locations, except Panama City, FL, Orange Beach, AL, and 
Larose, LA; where the hearings on the draft regulatory amendment for 
gag and black grouper will be from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the 
hearings on the Draft SFA Amendment will be from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 
p.m.
    Monday, December 7, 1998--Pier House, One Duval Street, Key West, 
FL--Draft gag and black grouper regulatory amendment;
    Monday, December 7, 1998--Holiday Inn-Fort Brown, 1900 E. Elizabeth 
Street, Brownsville, TX--Draft SFA Amendment;
    Tuesday, December 8, 1998--Steinhatchee Elementary School, 
1st Avenue South, Steinhatchee, FL--Draft gag and black 
grouper regulatory amendment;
    Tuesday, December 8, 1998--Pier House, One Duval Street, Key West, 
FL--Draft SFA Amendment;
    Tuesday, December 8, 1998--Port Aransas Civic Center Auditorium, 
710 West Avenue A, Port Aransas, TX--Draft SFA Amendment;
    Wednesday, December 9, 1998--City Hall Auditorium, 3001 Municipal 
Drive, Madeira Beach, FL--Draft gag and black grouper regulatory 
amendment;
    Wednesday, December 9, 1998--Texas A&M Auditorium, 200 Seawolf 
Parkway, Galveston, TX--Draft SFA Amendment;
    Thursday, December 10, 1998--Courtyard Marriott, 4455 Metro 
Parkway, Fort Myers, FL--Draft gag and black grouper regulatory 
amendment;
    Thursday, December 10, 1998--New Orleans Airport Hilton & 
Conference Center, 901 Airline Highway, Kenner, LA--Draft SFA 
Amendment;
    Thursday, December 10, 1998--Ramada Airport Inn & Conference 
Center, 5303 West Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL--Draft SFA Amendment;
    Monday, December 14, 1998--National Marine Fisheries Service Panama 
City Laboratory, 3500 Delwood Beach Road, Panama City, FL--both the 
Draft SFA Amendment and the draft gag and black grouper regulatory 
amendment;
    Tuesday, December 15, 1998--Orange Beach Community Center, 27235 
Canal Road, Orange Beach, AL--both the Draft SFA Amendment and the 
draft gag and black grouper regulatory amendment;
    Wednesday, December 16, 1998--J. L. Scott Marine Education Center & 
Aquarium, 115 East Beach Boulevard, US Highway 90, Biloxi, MS--Draft 
SFA Amendment; and
    Thursday, December 17, 1998--Larose Regional Park, 2001 East 5th 
Street, Larose, LA--both the Draft SFA Amendment and the draft gag and 
black grouper regulatory amendment.
    Copies of the Draft SFA Amendment and the draft regulatory 
amendment on gag and black grouper may be obtained by calling the 
Council at 813-228-2815.

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Anne Alford at the Council (see 
ADDRESSES) by December 7, 1998.

    Dated: November 24, 1998.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 98-32038 Filed 12-1-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F