[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 1, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29257-29258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13828]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 050399A]
RIN 0648-AL27


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Amendment 12 to the 
Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan; Measures to Address the 
Sustainable Fisheries Act Requirements

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of an amendment to a fishery management 
plan; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendment 12 to the Northeast Multispecies 
Fishery Management Plan (Amendment 12) for Secretarial review and is 
requesting comments from the public. Amendment 12 proposes to address 
the management of silver hake (whiting), red hake, offshore hake, and 
ocean pout through management measures, including a moratorium on 
commercial permits to fish for these species, Cultivator Shoal Whiting 
Fishery restrictions, differential whiting possession limits based on 
the mesh size with which a vessel chooses to fish in areas outside of 
the Cultivator Shoal Whiting Fishery, limitations on transfers at sea, 
and a year 4 default measure to ensure that overfishing is ended. The 
intended effect of this action is to reduce fishing mortality rates on 
whiting and red hake to eliminate overfishing and rebuild the biomass 
in order to meet the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), as amended by 
the Sustainable Fisheries Act of October 1996 (SFA).

DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 2, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this amendment should be sent to Jon C. 
Rittgers, Acting Regional Administrator, 1 Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, 
MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, ``Comments on Amendment 
12.''
    Copies of Amendment 12, its regulatory impact review, initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis, the final supplemental environmental 
impact statement, and the supporting documents for Amendment 12 are 
available from Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery 
Management Council, 5 Broadway, Saugus, MA 01906-1036.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Christopher, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9288.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In September 1997, NMFS' report to Congress 
on the ``Status of Fisheries of the United States'' concluded that red 
hake and the southern stock of whiting are overfished and the northern 
stock of whiting is approaching an overfished condition. In response, 
the Council began the development of the Whiting Amendment (now 
Amendment 12) to specifically address overfishing.
    Amendment 12 proposes to do the following: (1) Establish new 
overfishing definitions for two stocks of silver hake, two stocks of 
red hake, and offshore hake (Merluccius albidus); (2) specify optimum 
yield (OY) for silver hake, offshore hake, and red hake; (3) identify 
whiting, red hake, and offshore hake as small-mesh multispecies; (4) 
identify geographic areas for potential use in management of different 
stocks of whiting; (5) implement a moratorium on commercial permits to 
fish for small-mesh multispecies; (6) implement an open access permit 
category to allow an incidental catch for 100 lb (45.36 kg) combined of 
small-mesh multispecies (whiting, red hake, offshore hake), and 
unlimited amounts of ocean pout; (7) implement a 30,000 lb (13,608 kg) 
whiting/offshore hake possession limit for vessels fishing in the 
Cultivator Shoal Whiting Fishery (the current 3-inch (76 mm) minimum 
mesh requirement will remain the same); (8) initiate management 
measures for all areas excluding the Cultivator Shoal Whiting Fishery 
based on mesh size/possession limit categories (vessels electing to use 
mesh smaller than 2.5-inches (64 mm) are allowed to possess/land 
combined whiting and offshore hake up to 3,500 lb (1,588 kg); vessels 
electing to use a minimum 2.5-inch (64 mm) mesh are allowed to possess/
land combined whiting and offshore hake up to 7,500 lb (3402 kg); and 
vessels electing to use a minimum 3-inch (76 mm) mesh are allowed to 
possess/land combined whiting and offshore hake up to 35,000 lb (13,608 
kg); (9) add measures that may be implemented by a framework 
adjustment, including essential fish habitat (EFH) designation measures 
(these new framework measures would include a whiting quota for vessels 
fishing in the northern management area with mesh smaller than the 
minimum mesh in combination with a separator trawl/grate; modifications 
or adjustments to whiting grate/mesh configuration requirements; 
adjustments to whiting stock boundaries for management purposes; 
modifications to requirements for fisheries exempt from the minimum 
mesh requirements for small-mesh multispecies; and seasonal 
adjustments, declarations, and participating requirements for the 
Cultivator Shoal Whiting fishery); (10) implement codend specifications 
and restrictions on net strengtheners (a net strengthener may not be 
used to fish for small-mesh multispecies with either a minimum 2.5-inch 
(64 mm) or 3-inch (76 mm) mesh, but a vessel that chooses to fish for 
small-mesh multispecies with a mesh less than 2.5-inches (64 mm) may 
use a net strengthener, provided the vessel complies with the net 
strengthener provisions specified in other small-mesh fisheries); (11) 
restrict the transfer at sea of small-mesh multispecies; (12) provide a 
default measure to be applied on a stock specific basis, beginning in 
year 4 of the amendment if other measures have not been implemented to 
meet the fishing mortality objectives (this default measure would 
establish a Regulated Mesh Area with a 3-inch (76 mm) minimum mesh 
requirement for all fishing activities); (13) designate EFH for 
offshore hake; and (14) establish a Whiting Monitoring Committee (WMC). 
Ocean pout will remain an open access multispecies; none of the 
management measures proposed in this amendment address fishing for 
ocean pout.
    The most recent estimates indicate that fishing mortality in 
whiting is approximately 1.79 for the northern

[[Page 29258]]

stock and 1.50 for the southern stock. The goal of the Amendment 12, 
with respect to whiting, is to reduce fishing mortality to 0.36 and 
0.34 for the northern and southern stocks, respectively, based on 
existing overfishing definitions, translating into a 63-percent 
reduction of exploitation on both stocks of whiting. While there would 
be no proposed possession limits for red hake, it is expected that 
reductions of fishing mortality on whiting and offshore hake will have 
a corresponding reduction in fishing mortality on red hake. The 
establishment of a WMC has been proposed to monitor annually the 
progress of the management program and to recommend adjustments, as 
necessary, to ensure that Amendment 12 meets its objectives.
    This amendment is intended to bring the whiting fisheries of the 
Northeast Multispecies FMP into compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act, as amended by the SFA. The provisions in section 108(a) of the SFA 
require that fishery management councils either add to or revise the 
required provisions of any fishery management plan prepared by a 
council or the Secretary of Commerce to include the following 
provisions: (1) Bycatch reports (standardize reporting methods to 
assess the type and amount of bycatch in a fishery); (2) bycatch 
measures (develop management measures to minimize bycatch and mortality 
of bycatch); (3) commercial, recreational, and charter fishing sectors 
(specify data for each sector); (4) EFH (describe and identify EFH, 
minimize to the extent practicable adverse impacts from fishing, and 
identify other actions to encourage the conservation of such habitat); 
(5) fishing communities (assess in a fishery impact statement the 
likely effects of measures on fishing communities); and (6) overfishing 
definitions (specify objective and measurable criteria for identifying 
whether a fishery is overfished, and include measures to prevent 
overfishing). Public comment is invited on the adequacy of Amendment 12 
in meeting the requirements of section 108(a) of the SFA.

Measure Considered for Disapproval

    While Amendment 12 includes a limited access permit program to 
control effort on small-mesh multispecies, NMFS is concerned that the 
provision may be inconsistent with national standard 4 and section 
304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Vessels that participated in either 
the Gulf of Maine whiting raised footrope or separator trawl 
experimental fisheries would qualify for the limited access program 
with 1,000 lb (453.6 kg) of landings over 3 years, whereas other 
vessels would qualify with 50,000 lb (22,680 kg) of landings over 18 
years. Vessels would be subject to the same restrictions regardless of 
how they qualified for the permit. Further, vessels may have been 
excluded from participation in experimental fisheries because NMFS 
imposed participation restrictions, and fishermen may have been 
reluctant to participate in the experimental fisheries because of the 
restrictive participation requirements. This portion of the proposed 
limited access program may be inconsistent with national standard 4 
because different sectors of the industry could qualify for access to 
the fishery with different landings requirements. These issues raise 
concerns about fairness and equity that are the subject of national 
standard 4.
    The limited access program also proposes that 5 years from the 
implementation date of this amendment (at the beginning of year 6), 
unless otherwise extended, vessels would be eligible for limited access 
small-mesh multispecies permits without having to meet the landings 
criteria, provided the vessels possessed a valid limited access 
multispecies permit on the date the final rule for this amendment is 
published, as well as 5 years from the effective date for this rule. 
There has been no analysis of the potential effects of increased effort 
on the rebuilding schedule. Amendment 12 proposes to end overfishing in 
year 4 and to rebuild the stocks of whiting and red hake within 10 
years. It is not certain that the fishery could sustain additional 
vessel participation just 1 year beyond the target date to end 
overfishing; rebuilding goals may be compromised. This measure may be 
inconsistent with section 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which 
specifies that overfished fisheries must be rebuilt as soon as possible 
and within a period not to exceed 10 years, unless limited exceptions 
apply.

Overfishing Definition

    Fishing mortality and exploitation reduction targets and the 
management measures proposed in Amendment 12 to achieve them would be 
based on the existing overfishing definitions, rather than on the 
overfishing definitions proposed in the amendment. Future evaluations 
of the status of the fishery would be based on the proposed 
definitions, should Amendment 12 be approved.
    This amendment would introduce an overfishing definition for 
offshore hake and would revise the overfishing definitions for northern 
and southern stocks of whiting and red hake to bring them into accord 
with the new national standard guidelines of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
as amended by the SFA. Under the revised guidelines, overfishing 
definitions must be composed of two reference points, one for fishing 
mortality rate and one for stock biomass. ``Overfishing'' occurs 
whenever a stock or stock complex is subjected to a rate or level of 
fishing mortality that jeopardizes the capacity of a stock or stock 
complex to produce maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis. 
``Overfished'' describes a stock or stock complex with a sufficiently 
low biomass to require a change in management practices to achieve the 
appropriate level and rate of stock rebuilding.

Essential Fish Habitat

    The Council's omnibus EFH amendment, which included Amendment 11 to 
the Multispecies FMP, was approved in its entirety on March 3, 1999, 
and contained EFH designations for whiting and red hake. Offshore hake 
would be a newly managed species under Amendment 12; therefore, 
Amendment 12 includes an EFH designation for offshore hake. Under the 
SFA, these designations are part of the Council's on-going work to 
identify and describe EFH, describe non-fishing and fishing threats, 
and suggest conservation and enhancement measures.
    A proposed rule that would implement Amendment 12 may be published 
in the Federal Register for public comment following NMFS' evaluation 
of the proposed rule under the procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. 
Public comments on the proposed rule must be received by the end of the 
comment period on Amendment 12 to be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on Amendment 12. All comments received by August 
2, 1999, whether specifically directed to the FMP amendment or to the 
proposed rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision. 
Comments received after that date will not be considered in the 
approval/disapproval decision on Amendment 12.

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

    Dated: May 26, 1999.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-13828 Filed 5-28-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F