[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 98 (Friday, May 21, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 27750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-12886]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
50 CFR Part 622
[Docket No. 99051126-9126-01; I.D. 042999A]
RIN 0648-AM67
Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic;
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South
Atlantic States; Dolphin and Wahoo Commercial Fisheries; Control Date
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; consideration of a
control date.
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SUMMARY: This document announces that the South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council (South Atlantic Council) is considering additional
management measures to limit entry into the commercial fisheries for
dolphin (Coryphaena hippurus) and wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) in the
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the South Atlantic states. Possible
measures include the establishment of a limited entry program to
control participation or effort in the commercial fisheries for dolphin
and wahoo. If a limited entry program is established, the South
Atlantic Council is considering May 21, 1999, as a possible control
date. Consideration of a control date is intended to discourage new
entry into the fisheries based on economic speculation during the South
Atlantic Council's deliberation on the issues.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by June 21, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be directed to the South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306,
Charleston, South Carolina 29407; Fax: 843-769-4520.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Branstetter, 727-570-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Dolphin are managed under the Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of
the Gulf and South Atlantic (Coastal Pelagics FMP). The Coastal
Pelagics FMP was prepared jointly by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council and the South Atlantic Council, and is implemented
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act.
The South Atlantic Council is concerned about the adverse effects
of increased harvest of dolphin and wahoo off the South Atlantic
states. Available landings estimates indicate that the pelagic longline
fleet is now targeting dolphin throughout the South Atlantic EEZ.
Commercial landings of South Atlantic wahoo have also recently
increased. Consequently, an increasing opportunity exists for localized
depletion of the two species, leading to an overfished stock condition
and user group conflicts.
Recent constraints on participation in the South Atlantic snapper-
grouper and king mackerel commercial fisheries may result in additional
entrants into the dolphin and wahoo commercial fisheries. In addition,
fishermen displaced from inshore state waters by recent state gear
restrictions may wish to enter the dolphin and wahoo commercial
fisheries to regain lost income. New entry into these fisheries may be
discouraged by establishment of a control date.
Anyone entering the dolphin and wahoo commercial fisheries after
May 21, 1999, will not be assured of future access, should a management
regime that limits the number of participants in those fisheries be
prepared and implemented. Implementation of an effort limitation
program would require preparation of a Dolphin-Wahoo FMP and/or an
amendment to the Coastal Pelagics FMP, publication of notice of
availability of the FMP/amendment with a comment period, publication of
a proposed rule with a public comment period, approval of the FMP/
amendment, and issuance of a final implementing rule.
Consideration of a control date does not commit the South Atlantic
Council or NMFS to any particular management regime or criteria for
entry into the dolphin and wahoo commercial fisheries. Fishermen are
not guaranteed future participation in these fisheries regardless of
their entry date or intensity of participation in the fisheries before
or after the control date under consideration. The South Atlantic
Council subsequently may choose a different control date or may choose
a management regime that does not make use of a control date. The South
Atlantic Council may choose to give variably weighted consideration to
fishermen active in the fisheries before and after the control date.
Other qualifying criteria, such as documentation of landings and sales,
may be applied for entry. The South Atlantic Council also may choose to
take no further action to control entry or access to the fisheries, in
which case the control date may be rescinded.
This advance notice of proposed rulemaking has been determined to
be not significant for purposes of E.O. 12866.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: May 14, 1999.
Penelope D. Dalton,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Services.
[FR Doc. 99-12886 Filed 5-20-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F