[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 152 (Monday, August 9, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 43138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20434]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

(I.D. 073099E)


Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council; Public Hearings

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

ACTION: Public hearings, request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold public 
hearings to allow for input on its Draft Tilefish Fishery Management 
Plan (FMP) and the Draft Environmental Assessment and Draft Regulatory 
Impact Review for this FMP. This FMP is designed to eliminate 
overfishing and rebuild the tilefish resource to the biomass that would 
support maximum sustainable yield (MSY) through a constant harvest 
strategy within a 10-year rebuilding period.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted through September 7, 1999. See 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for dates and times.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-
Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 
19904.
    The hearings will be held in Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. 
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for locations of the hearings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel T. Furlong, Executive Director 
of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management, 302-674-2331, ext. 19.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This FMP is proposed to eliminate overfishing and rebuild the 
tilefish resource to the biomass that would support the MSY through a 
constant harvest strategy within a 10-year rebuilding period. The 
projection associated with the preferred alternative would allow for 
total allowable landings of 1.76 million lb (798 mt) with a 50 percent 
probability of achieving the biomass target at the end of 10 years. The 
default alternative assumes a total allowable level of catch of 1.412 
million lb (640 mt) with a 75 percent probability of reaching the 
target biomass at the end of 10 years. Commercial quotas and a time 
period closure are included as options in the FMP. The commercial quota 
would be divided into full-time, part-time, and incidental categories. 
A limited access program would be applied to the full-time and part-
time quota categories.
    The Council established a control date for the possible limitations 
of entrants into this fishery of June 15, 1993, published at 58 FR 
33081, June 15, 1993. The Council's preferred alternative for the full-
time category would require that a vessel had landed more than 50,000 
lb (22.68 mt) in any 1 year between 1988 and 1993 as well as landed at 
least 25,000 lb (11.34 mt) per year for any 2 years between 1994 and 
1998. To qualify as a part-time participant, the preferred option 
indicates that a vessel had to land at least 10,000 lb (4.536 mt) in 
any year between 1988 and June 15, 1993. The preferred alternative 
would add a closure to the directed (part-time and full-time vessels) 
tilefish fishery for a 1 calendar month period from May through 
September.
    Recreational fisheries management measures are addressed in the FMP 
as framework measures, so that no specific measures are proposed for 
implementation immediately upon approval of the FMP. Identification and 
description of essential tilefish habitat are included in the FMP as 
are management measures to minimize adverse gear impacts to that 
habitat. The preferred alternative to minimize adverse gear impacts is 
to prohibit directed tilefish fishing with bottom tending mobile gear 
and require that gear fishing in statistical areas 616 and 537 between 
bottom depths of 300 and 850 ft (91 and 259 m) must be modified to 
reduce impacts on bottom habitat.

Hearings

    The dates, times and locations of the hearings are scheduled as 
follows:
    1. Monday, August 23, 1999, 7:00-10:00 p.m. - Crown Plaza at the 
Crossings (old Holiday Inn), 801 Greenwich Avenue, Warwick, RI, 
telephone 401-732-6000.
    2. Tuesday, August 24, 1999, 7:00-10:00 p.m. - Ramada Inn, Exit 72, 
Long Island Espressway & Route 25, Riverhead, NY, telephone 516-369-
2200.
    3. Wednesday, August 25, 1999, 7:00-10:00 p.m. - Sheraton Atlantic 
City West, 6841 Black Horse Pike (Route 40), Atlantic City West, NJ, 
telephone 609-272-0200.
    The hearings will be tape recorded with the tapes filed as the 
official transcript of the hearings.

Special Accommodations

    These hearings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Joanna Davis at the Mid-Atlantic 
Council at least 5 days prior to the hearing date.

    Dated: August 3, 1999.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 99-20434 Filed 8-6-99; 8:45 am]
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