[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 124 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 34759-34760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-16521]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 060899B]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Spiny Dogfish 
Fishery

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a fishery management plan for spiny 
dogfish; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery 
Management Councils (Councils) have submitted the Fishery Management 
Plan for Spiny Dogfish (FMP) for Secretarial review and are requesting 
comments from the public. The FMP proposes management measures to 
control fishing mortality, a definition of overfishing, a 5-year 
rebuilding schedule, and an identification and description of essential 
fish habitat (EFH). The purpose of the FMP is to conserve spiny dogfish 
to achieve optimum yield from this resource. The FMP will achieve this 
overall goal primarily by eliminating overfishing and rebuilding the 
spiny dogfish stock to meet the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act).

DATES: Comments on the FMP must be received on or before August 30, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, 
National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Regional Office, One 
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-3799. Mark the outside of the 
envelope: ``Comments on Spiny Dogfish FMP.''
    Copies of the FMP including the final environmental impact 
statement, regulatory impact review, and supplement of May 1999, are 
available from Daniel Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council, Room 2115 Federal Building, 300 S. New Street, 
Dover, DE 19904-6790.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard A. Pearson, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, at 978-281-9279.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Domestic landings of spiny dogfish (Squalus 
acanthias) on the East Coast rapidly increased from 9.92 million lb 
(4,500 metric tons (mt)) in 1989 to 61.72 million lb (28,000 mt) in 
1996, then declined to approximately 41.89 million lb (19,000 mt) in 
1997. During this period, the fishing mortality rate (F) rose from 
below 0.1 during the 1980's to 0.3 in 1997. In addition to the overall 
increase in landings, the landings disproportionately contain females, 
because they grow to a larger size than males and are, therefore, 
preferred for processing. Because of the directed fishing effort on 
adult female spiny dogfish, including discard mortality, the spawning 
stock biomass (SSB) has severely declined.
    The spiny dogfish, a common small shark, inhabits the temperate and 
sub-Arctic latitudes of the North Atlantic Ocean. In the Northwest 
Atlantic, they range from Labrador to Florida, but are most abundant 
from Nova Scotia to Cape Hatteras. They migrate seasonally, moving 
north in spring and summer and south in fall and winter. Spiny dogfish 
are considered a unit stock in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. The 
management unit for this FMP is the entire spiny dogfish stock along 
the Atlantic coast of the United States.
    Spiny dogfish is a long-lived, slow growing species. Fifty percent 
of the female population is mature at 12 years of age. This species 
bears live young after a 2-year gestation period. Litter sizes range 
from 2 to 15 pups. Therefore, a small spawning stock produces 
correspondingly low recruitment, making spiny dogfish especially 
vulnerable to overfishing.
    The 26th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW 26) in 
March 1998 concluded that spiny dogfish are overexploited. SAW 26 
reported that minimum biomass estimates of mature females ( 
80 cm) have declined by over 50 percent since 1989 and that recruitment 
of juvenile dogfish was the lowest on record in 1997. The combination 
of increased fishing mortality, declining biomass of mature females, 
and low recruitment have contributed to the overfished condition of the 
stock.
    NMFS notified the Councils on April 3, 1998, that spiny dogfish was 
being added to the list of overfished stocks in the Report on the 
Status of the Fisheries of the United States, prepared pursuant to 
section 304 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The Magnuson-Stevens Act 
requires remedial action for stocks that are designated overfished, and 
requires the Regional Fishery Management Councils to prepare measures 
within 1 year of notification to end overfishing and to rebuild the 
overfished stock.
    The FMP proposes management measures to control fishing mortality, 
a definition of overfishing, a 5-year stock rebuilding schedule, and 
identification and description of EFH. The FMP was developed jointly by 
the Councils. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Mid-Atlantic 
Council) has the administrative lead on the FMP.
    The proposed management measures to control fishing mortality 
include: (1) Permit and reporting requirements for owners of commercial 
vessels, operators, and dealers; (2) the establishment of a Spiny 
Dogfish Monitoring Committee; (3) a framework adjustment process; (4) 
an annual commercial quota; (5) seasonal (semi-annual) allocation of 
the commercial quota; (6) a prohibition on finning; and (7) annual FMP 
review.
    The FMP would eliminate overfishing and rebuild the spiny dogfish 
stock through a two-step reduction in F. The first step would reduce F 
from current levels (approximately 0.3) to 0.2 beginning the second 
quota period of year one (November 1999-April 2000). F would be reduced 
to 0.03 for the remaining 4 years of the rebuilding schedule.
    The primary management measure in the FMP is an annual commercial 
quota that would be allocated semi-annually, based upon the percentage 
of commercial landings for each semi-annual period during the years 
1990-1997. The first period (May 1-Oct. 31) would receive 57.9 percent 
of the annual commercial quota; the second period (Nov. 1-April 30) 
would receive the remaining 42.1 percent of the annual commercial 
quota.
    The annual commercial quota would be based upon the recommendations 
of the Spiny Dogfish Monitoring Committee, the Joint Spiny Dogfish 
Committee, and the Councils. The annual quota would be established by 
the Regional Administrator at a level to assure that the target F 
specified in the FMP is not exceeded.
    Any owner of a vessel wanting to fish for spiny dogfish within the 
EEZ for sale, or wanting to transport and deliver for sale any spiny 
dogfish taken within

[[Page 34760]]

the EEZ, would be required to obtain a Federal commercial vessel permit 
for that purpose. Any dealer of spiny dogfish would be required to 
obtain a Federal dealer permit. Anyone who operates a vessel for the 
purpose of fishing commercially for spiny dogfish would be required to 
obtain an operator's permit. Specific requirements regarding permitting 
requirements are discussed in the FMP and proposed rule.

Overfishing Definition

    The FMP's overfishing definition consists of two components: (1) A 
maximum F threshold and a target F, and (2) a minimum SSB threshold and 
an SSB target. The overfishing definition specifies an F threshold 
level, whereby F in excess of this level would be defined as 
overfishing. The definition also specifies a target F that would allow 
stock rebuilding. Overfishing for spiny dogfish occurs when F exceeds 
the level associated with a pup-per-recruit ratio of 1.0, designated as 
Frep. Frep represents the level that allows for 
the production of 1.0 female pup per female recruit to the adult stock; 
that is, the level that allows the adult female portion of the stock to 
replace itself. Frep is currently estimated to be 0.11. The 
current F level of 0.3 exceeds Frep. The target F 
(Ftarget) specified in the FMP represents the mortality rate 
that would produce an average of 1.5 pups-per-recruit and is estimated 
to be 0.08.
    The SSB component of the overfishing definition is based upon the 
level of adult female SSB that maximizes average recruitment, referred 
to as SSBmax. SSBmax was selected as a proxy 
value for Bmsy (the biomass level that would produce maximum 
sustainable yield). SSBmax was determined to be 440 million 
lb (200,000 mt) SSB. Spiny dogfish is defined as overfished when adult 
female SSB falls below the threshold level of \1/2\ SSBmax, 
which is 220 million lb (100,000 mt) SSB. The Councils have chosen a 
biomass rebuilding target of 397 million lb (180,000), which is 90 
percent of SSBmax.
    The most recent stock assessment data presented by the NMFS 
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)(1998) and the Dogfish 
Technical Committee indicate that, based upon a 3-year moving average 
of NEFSC survey data, the total adult female spiny dogfish SSB is 
currently about 280 million lb (127,000 mt). This is below the SSB 
rebuilding target specified in the FMP. The FMP proposes to rebuild the 
adult female spiny dogfish stock to 396 million lb (180,000 mt) over a 
5-year rebuilding period, whereby F is reduced from 0.3 to 0.2 
beginning the second quota period of year one (November 1999-April 
2000) and then further reduced to 0.03 for the remaining 4 years of the 
rebuilding schedule.

Essential Fish Habitat

    The FMP includes the Councils' identification and description of 
EFH for juvenile and adult spiny dogfish, and evaluation of fishing 
activities and non-fishing activities that may adversely affect EFH. 
The FMP does not propose any specific management measures to address 
adverse effects from fishing, but it makes conservation, enhancement, 
and research recommendations to address non-fishing activities. The FMP 
states that the Councils intend to review and, if necessary, amend the 
EFH designations for spiny dogfish at least every 5 years. The FMP also 
authorizes the revision of EFH components using the framework process.

Supplement to the FMP

    Following initial review of the Council's FMP submission, NMFS 
identified several areas that required clarification or additional 
information. These areas included discussion of sections addressing the 
Paperwork Reduction Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered 
Species Act, EFH, the overfishing definition, and national standard 9. 
As a result, the Councils submitted a Supplement to the FMP on May 12, 
1999.
    This NOA requests comments on the FMP, including comments on the 
amended biomass rebuilding target and the associated 5-year rebuilding 
schedule. A proposed rule that would implement the FMP will be 
published in the Federal Register for public comment after NMFS has 
evaluated it under the procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Public 
comments on the proposed rule must be received by August 30, 1999, the 
end of the comment period on the FMP, to be considered in the decision 
concerning approval or disapproval of the FMP. All comments received by 
August 30, 1999, whether specifically directed to the FMP or to the 
proposed rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision 
on the FMP. Comments received after that date will not be considered in 
the approval/disapproval decision on the FMP. All comments received on 
the FMP or on the proposed rule will be responded to in the preamble to 
the final rule.

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

    Dated: June 24, 1999.
George H. Darcy,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-16521 Filed 6-28-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-22-F