[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 38 (Friday, February 26, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9449-9451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4852]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 697

[Docket No. 990119023-9023-01; I.D. 111898B]
RIN 0648-AL38


Atlantic Sturgeon Fishery; Moratorium in Exclusive Economic Zone

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

ACTION: Direct final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS issues this direct final rule prohibiting the possession 
in, or harvest from, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Atlantic 
sturgeon from Maine through Florida. The intent of the rule is to 
provide protection for the overfished stock of Atlantic sturgeon, to 
ensure the effectiveness of state regulations, and to aid in the 
rebuilding of the stock.

DATES: This rule is effective May 27, 1999 without further action, 
unless an adverse comment or a notice of intent to submit an adverse 
comment is received by March 29, 1999. If an adverse comment or a 
notice of intent is received, the NMFS will publish a timely withdrawal 
of the rule in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the direct final rule should be sent to, and 
copies of supporting documents, including an Environmental Assessment/
Regulatory Impact Review, are available from Richard H. Schaefer, 
Chief, Staff Office for Intergovernmental and Recreational Fisheries, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, 8484 Georgia Avenue, Suite 425, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Perra, 301-427-2014.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 804(b) of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative 
Management Act (ACFCMA), 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., states that, in the 
absence of an approved and implemented Fishery Management Plan under 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and after consultation with the 
appropriate Fishery Management Council(s), the Secretary of Commerce 
(Secretary) may implement regulations to govern fishing in the EEZ, 
i.e., from 3 to 200 nautical miles. These regulations must be (1) 
necessary to support the effective implementation of an Interstate 
Fishery Management Plan (ISFMP) developed by the Atlantic States Marine 
Fisheries Commission (Commission) and (2) consistent with the national 
standards set forth in section 301 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 
U.S.C. 1851).
    Historically, Atlantic sturgeon were managed by individual states 
until 1989 when the Commission adopted an Atlantic Sturgeon ISFMP 
(Atlantic Sturgeon Plan) in response to low levels of Atlantic 
sturgeon. The Commission approved and implemented Amendment 1 to its 
Atlantic Sturgeon Plan on June 11, 1998. Amendment 1 proposed to 
restore Atlantic sturgeon spawning stocks to population levels that 
will provide for sustainable fisheries. Its primary objective is to 
establish 20 protected year classes in each and every spawning stock, 
which should eventually allow for controlled commercial harvests on 
self-sustaining spawning stocks. Amendment 1 mandates that all Atlantic 
coastal jurisdictions close their Atlantic sturgeon fisheries, 
implement a stock monitoring program, adhere to stocking and 
aquaculture guidelines, and establish a means for tracking importation 
of foreign Atlantic sturgeon products.
    All Atlantic coastal marine fisheries jurisdictions closed their 
Atlantic sturgeon fisheries prior to the passage of Amendment 1. 
Amendment 1 mandates that these closures remain in place until the 
Commission determines that the stocks have recovered. Because of the 
species' life history (7 to 30 years for females to reach maturity) and 
depletion of Atlantic sturgeon stocks, the Commission believes the 
Atlantic sturgeon recovery will take about 41 years. Jurisdictions that 
do not comply with Amendment 1 could face federally imposed closures on 
their fisheries under section 807(c) of the ACFCMA. In addition, 
Amendment 1 requests that the Secretary prohibit the possession of 
Atlantic sturgeon in the EEZ, and monitor bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon 
in the dogfish and monkfish fisheries and, if such bycatch is 
excessive, implement measures to reduce the bycatch.
    To support the Commission's Atlantic sturgeon conservation efforts 
under Amendment 1, Federal regulations are needed in the EEZ to provide 
protection for Atlantic sturgeon in Federal waters, and to close 
loopholes in state landing laws that would exist without the Federal 
regulations. No Federal regulations currently exist to control Atlantic 
sturgeon fishing in the EEZ. Therefore, while no landing of the species 
would be allowed in Atlantic coastal jurisdictions, it can be taken in 
the EEZ, where it can be legally killed, consumed, or shipped to a non-
Atlantic coastal jurisdiction for sale. Atlantic sturgeon products, 
especially eggs sold as caviar, bring a high price, i.e., about $50 per 
pound, to fishermen. Therefore, law enforcement efforts to maintain 
closed fisheries are a very important part of the management for this 
species. A Federal regulation in the EEZ to prohibit possession of 
Atlantic sturgeon will improve the ability of state law enforcement 
agencies to enforce their own Atlantic sturgeon state closures. 
Furthermore, a Federal prohibition on possession should close any 
``loopholes'' in state laws if persons take Atlantic sturgeon in the 
EEZ and attempt to land them in states. This rule should deter poaching 
of Atlantic sturgeon in the EEZ by imposing Federal penalties, which 
are generally stricter than state penalties, on individuals who do not 
comply with the EEZ closure.
    The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Marine Fisheries Service 
and U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service have 
recently conducted an Endangered Species Status Review (Status Review) 
of the

[[Page 9450]]

species in response to a Listing Petition received in 1997. The results 
of that review have determined that the species does not warrant 
listing as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act at 
this time.

Purpose

    Atlantic sturgeon have been directly harvested utilizing various 
gears including gill nets, traps, pound nets, otter trawls, harpoons, 
trammel nets, weirs, stake row nets, and seines. The Commission's 
Atlantic Sturgeon Plan stated that recreational hook-and-line fishing 
in the United States is insignificant, but noted an emerging directed 
sport fishery for Atlantic sturgeon in the Canadian Maritimes. However, 
there is no evidence that a recreational fishery ever developed in the 
United States for Atlantic sturgeon. Many authors have cited over-
harvesting as the single major cause of the precipitous decline in 
abundance of Atlantic sturgeon.

Directed Harvest

    At one time, fisheries for sturgeon were concentrated during the 
spawning migration in every major coastal river along the Atlantic 
Coast. By 1860, commercial fisheries were established coastwide in 
Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, 
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. Records of landings were 
first kept in 1880, when the U.S. Fisheries Commission started 
compiling statistical information on commercial fishing landings. 
Harvest in these early years was heavy, and approximately 3,350 mt (7.4 
million lb) were landed in 1890. The majority of the fishery for a 50-
year time period (from 1870 to 1920) was conducted on the Delaware 
River and in the Chesapeake Bay System, with New Jersey and Delaware 
reporting the greatest landings. Landings reported until 1967 likely 
included both Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon. Shortnose sturgeon were 
granted Federal protection in 1967, and, therefore, harvest became 
illegal in subsequent years. During the 1970's, the average catch was 
approximately 68 mt (150,000 lb) per year, and, in the 1980's, the 
average catch was approximately 56.7 mt (125,000 lb) per year. By the 
1980's, the focus of fishing effort shifted to South Carolina, North 
Carolina, and Georgia, which accounted for nearly 80 percent of the 
total U.S. landings. Catch between 1990 and 1996 was centered in the 
Hudson River and coastal New York and New Jersey. In 1990 and 1991, the 
average catch was approximately 90.7 mt (200,000 lb) per year. Since 
1991, the catch has declined yearly to a low of 0.38 mt (843 lb) in 
1997.
    In a March, 1998, Stock Status Review, the Commission indicated 
that the Atlantic sturgeon spawning stocks of the entire Atlantic Coast 
are severely overfished, that, in some cases, they may have been 
extirpated (Connecticut River in New England and St. Johns River in 
Florida), and that fishing mortality had significantly contributed to 
the decline of the stocks. Little coast-wide information is available 
on the populations and survival of young Atlantic sturgeon. However, 
there are some spawning stocks in which reproduction appears to be 
occurring (Hudson River, NY; Delaware River, DE and NJ; James and 
possibly York Rivers, VA; Roanoke and Cape Fear Rivers, NC; Waccamaw, 
Santee, Ashepoo, Combahee, Edisto, Savannah and possibly Cooper Rivers, 
SC; and Savannah and Altamaha Rivers, GA). Also, a few south Atlantic 
river systems, which have had closed Atlantic sturgeon fisheries for a 
number of years, appear to be experiencing some rebuilding of juvenile 
populations.

Bycatch

    The Stock Status Review also found that the known bycatch of 
Atlantic sturgeon is not a significant threat to the stocks. However, 
because any mortality may slow the recovery period for the species, 
each Atlantic coast state should carry out monitoring programs for 
Atlantic sturgeon bycatch to insure that the magnitude and effects of 
bycatch can be determined.
    The direct final rule would prohibit the harvest (catch and 
retention) of Atlantic sturgeon from the Atlantic coast EEZ. The rule 
provides the strongest possible conservation measure under the ACFCMA, 
is easy to understand and enforce, and is in the best long-term 
economic interests of both commercial and recreational fishermen. It 
eliminates any claim that Atlantic sturgeon were caught in the EEZ, 
when fishermen might otherwise have caught fish illegally in state 
waters. Enforcement of the prohibition is straightforward because 
possession of Atlantic sturgeon on board a vessel in the EEZ would be a 
violation of the regulation. The prohibition also includes possession 
of Atlantic sturgeon taken as incidental catch (bycatch) while fishing 
for other species, since such bycatch must be released to the water as 
soon as possible. It allows for the development of a stock rebuilding 
program and, therefore, for the resumption of the fishery in the 
future.
    NMFS believes that this direct final rule is compatible with the 
Commission's efforts to protect Atlantic sturgeon in state waters. 
Under Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Sturgeon Plan, Atlantic sturgeon may 
not be landed in any of the Atlantic Coastal states, and the Commission 
anticipates a 41-year rebuilding program. This direct final rule would 
prohibit the possession in or the harvest from the EEZ of Atlantic 
sturgeon from Maine through Florida.

Classification

    This rule is consistent with section 5103b of the Atlantic Coastal 
Fisheries Cooperative Management Act.
    Under the authority of 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B), NMFS is waiving the 
requirement to provide prior notice and an opportunity for public 
comment as these procedures are unnecessary. All Atlantic Coastal 
states through the Commission's Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Sturgeon 
Plan have closed their Atlantic sturgeon fisheries as of June 11, 1998, 
and anticipate a 41-year closure. Therefore, the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, finds good cause for waiving prior 
notice and an opportunity for public comment. NMFS believes this action 
is non-controversial and does not expect to receive any comments. 
However, should NMFS receive an adverse comment or a notice of intent 
to submit an adverse comment, NMFS will withdraw this rule and issue a 
proposed rule with an opportunity for public comment.
    Because prior notice and opportunity for public comment are not 
required for this rule by 5 U.S.C. 553, or any other law, the 
analytical requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 
et seq., are inapplicable.
    The direct final rule has been determined to be not significant for 
purposes of E.O. 12866.

List of Subjects in 50 CFR Part 697

    Fisheries, Fishing, Intergovernmental relations.

    Dated: February 22, 1998.
Andrew A. Rosenberg, Ph.D.,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
    For the reasons set out in the preamble, 50 CFR Chapter VI, part 
697, is amended as follows:

PART 697--ATLANTIC COASTAL FISHERIES COOPERATIVE MANAGEMENT

    1. The authority citation for 50 CFR part 697 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1851 note; 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq. 2. In 
Sec. 697.2, the definition for ``Directed fishery'' is removed, the 
definition for ``Retain'' is revised, and the definitions

[[Page 9451]]

for ``Atlantic sturgeon,'' ``Natural Atlantic sturgeon,'' and 
``Stocked Atlantic sturgeon,'' are added in alphabetical order to 
read as follows:


Sec. 697.2  Definitions.

* * * * *
    Atlantic sturgeon means members of stocks or populations of the 
species Acipenser oxyrhynchus.
* * * * *
    Natural Atlantic sturgeon means any Atlantic sturgeon that is not 
the result of a commercial aquaculture operation, and includes any 
naturally occurring Atlantic sturgeon (those Atlantic sturgeon 
naturally spawned and grown in rivers and ocean waters of the Atlantic 
Coast).
* * * * *
    Retain means to fail to return any species specified under 
Sec. 697.7 of this chapter to the sea immediately after the hook has 
been removed or after the species has otherwise been released from the 
capture gear.
* * * * *
    Stocked Atlantic sturgeon means any Atlantic sturgeon cultured in a 
hatchery that is placed in rivers and ocean waters of the Atlantic 
Coast to enhance the Atlantic sturgeon spawning stocks.
* * * * *
    3. In Sec. 697.7, paragraph (d) is added to read as follows:


Sec. 697.7  Prohibitions.

* * * * *
    (d) Atlantic sturgeon fishery. In addition to the prohibitions set 
forth in Sec. 600.725, the following prohibitions apply. It is unlawful 
for any person to do any of the following:
    (1) Fish for Atlantic sturgeon in the EEZ.
    (2) Harvest any Atlantic sturgeon from the EEZ.
    (3) Possess any natural or stocked Atlantic sturgeon in or from the 
EEZ.
    (4) Retain any Atlantic sturgeon taken in or from the EEZ.
    (5) Possess any natural Atlantic sturgeon parts, including Atlantic 
sturgeon eggs, in the EEZ.
[FR Doc. 99-4852 Filed 2-25-99; 8:45 am]
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