[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 32 (Thursday, February 18, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 8052-8053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3999]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 020899A]
RIN 0648-AL42


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Compliance with Sustainable Fisheries Act Provisions for Management 
Plans in the South Atlantic; Comprehensive Amendment to the Fishery 
Management Plans of the South Atlantic Region

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a comprehensive amendment to fishery 
management plans (FMPs) for the South Atlantic Region addressing 
certain requirements of the Sustainable Fisheries Act; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the South Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council (Council) has submitted to NMFS for review, approval, and 
implementation a comprehensive amendment to its FMPs that addresses the 
requirements of the Sustainable Fisheries Act other than those 
regarding essential fish habitat. Among several SFA requirements, this 
amendment would set criteria for determining when a fish stock is 
overfished and, in the case of a fishery approaching an overfished 
condition or that is overfished, establish measures to prevent or end 
overfishing and rebuild the fishery. Written comments are requested 
from the public.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 19, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be mailed to the Southeast Regional Office, 
NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.

[[Page 8053]]

    Requests for copies of the comprehensive amendment, which includes 
an Environmental Assessment, a Regulatory Impact Review, and a Social 
Impact Assessment/Fishery Impact Assessment, should be sent to the 
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 
306, Charleston, SC 29407-4699; Phone: 843-571-4366; Fax: 843-769-4520.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Branstetter, NMFS, 727-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq., 
requires each Regional Fishery Management Council to submit FMPs or 
amendments to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon 
receiving an amendment, immediately publish a document in the Federal 
Register stating that the amendment is available for public review and 
comment.
    Section 303 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that the Regional 
Fishery Management Councils submit, by October 11, 1998, amendments to 
their FMPs to comply with provisions set forth in the SFA regarding the 
required provisions of FMPs (P. L. 104-297). These required FMP 
provisions include defining overfishing (and related terms such as 
maximum sustainable yield (MSY) and optimum yield (OY)); preventing 
overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks; assessing and minimzing 
bycatch; assessing the effects of conservation and management measures 
on fishing communities, specifying data requirements for commercial, 
recreational, and charter fishing; assessing and minimizing fish 
mortality in catch-and-release recreational fisheries; and fairly and 
equitably allocating harvest restrictions and stock recovery benefits 
among commercial, recreational, and charter fisheries.
    NMFS published revised national standard guidelines (63 FR 24212, 
May 1, 1998) to assist the Regional Fishery Management Councils in 
amending their FMPs to address these SFA requirements. NMFS also 
provided the Councils (August 1998) with technical guidance in 
addressing the new definition requirements of the SFA, as more 
generally explained in the revised national standard guidelines, for 
MSY, OY, overfishing, and overfished. Based on the statutory 
requirements of the SFA and NMFS' guidelines/guidance, the Council 
developed its comprehensive amendment.
    The Council concluded that the definitions and word usage currently 
in its FMPs and implementing regulations were already consistent with 
SFA section 102 requirements regarding definitions. It also concluded 
that no action to amend existing bycatch management measures in its 
FMPs was required to meet the SFA requirements regarding bycatch.
    Descriptions of each fishing sector and recent trends in landings 
are already provided in each of the Council's FMPs, and the Council 
determined that those descriptions and data are consistent with SFA 
section 108 provisions.
    The comprehensive amendment contains a measure amending the 
existing framework procedures of the Council's FMPs. These procedures 
are used for making annual or periodic regulatory adjustments without 
requiring FMP amendments and allow the Council and NMFS to add or 
modify management measures in a timely manner through a streamlined 
rulemaking process. The proposed action would allow the Council to 
incorporate biomass-based stock estimates of MSY into FMPs as 
replacements for spawning potential ratio proxies for MSY as data 
become available to calculate such estimates. The comprehensive 
amendment's measure amending the framework procedures of the FMPs would 
be implemented, if approved, through regulations. In accordance with 
the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating a proposed rule for this 
measure to determine whether it is consistent with the comprehensive 
amendment, the FMPs, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable 
law. If that determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish the 
proposed rule in the Federal Register for public review and comment.
    NMFS will consider comments received by April 19, 1999, whether 
specifically directed to the comprehensive amendment or to the proposed 
rule, in its decision to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the 
comprehensive amendment. Comments received after that date will not be 
considered by NMFS in this decision. All comments received by NMFS on 
the comprehensive amendment and on the proposed rule during their 
respective comment periods will be addressed in the final rule.

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

    Dated: February 11, 1999.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-3999 Filed 2-17-99; 8:45 am]
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