[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 165 (Thursday, August 26, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 46634-46635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22215]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 080999E]
RIN 0648-AM15


Fisheries of the South Atlantic; Pelagic Sargassum Habitat in the 
South Atlantic; Fishery Management Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a fishery management plan for the 
pelagic Sargassum habitat of the South Atlantic Region; request for 
comments.

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

SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted a Fishery Management Plan for the Pelagic Sargassum Habitat 
Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) for review, approval, and 
implementation by NMFS. The FMP would establish the management unit for 
Sargassum; specify optimum yield (OY) for pelagic Sargassum as zero 
harvest; specify overfishing levels as occurring when the fishing 
mortality rate is greater than zero; identify essential fish habitat 
(EFH) for Sargassum; establish habitat areas of

[[Page 46635]]

particular concern (HAPC) for Sargassum; and phase out the harvest or 
possession of pelagic Sargassum in or from the exclusive economic zone 
off the southern Atlantic states starting January 1, 2001, or when 
50,000 lb (22,680 kg) wet weight is harvested, whichever occurs first.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before October 25, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be mailed to the Southeast Regional Office, 
NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
    Requests for copies of the FMP, which includes a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis, a Regulatory Impact Review, and a Social Impact Assessment/
Fishery Impact Statement, should be sent to the South Atlantic 
Management Council, One Southpark Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 
29407-4699. Phone: 843-571-4366; fax: 843-769-4520; e-mail: 
[email protected]. Additional information may be obtained from the 
Council's website at http://www.safmc.nmfs.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Sadler, 727-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires Regional Fishery 
Management Councils to submit any proposed fishery management plan or 
plan amendment to NMFS for review, approval, and implementation. The 
Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving such plan 
or plan amendment, immediately publish a document in the Federal 
Register stating that the plan or plan amendment is available for 
public review and comment.
    The FMP addresses conservation and management of pelagic Sargassum 
off the U.S. Atlantic coast from the North Carolina/Virginia border 
through the east coast of Florida, including the Atlantic side of the 
Florida Keys.

Need for Management

    Pelagic Sargassum is an abundant brown algae that occurs near the 
surface in warm waters of the western North Atlantic that supports a 
diverse assemblage of marine organisms, including over 100 species of 
fish, fungi, micro- and macro-epiphytes, at least 145 species of 
invertebrates, five species of sea turtles, and numerous marine birds. 
The Council has designated pelagic Sargassum as EFH and as an HAPC for 
snapper-grouper species and coastal migratory pelagic species.
    The FMP indicates that the standing crop of pelagic Sargassum in 
the North Atlantic Ocean may be 4 to 11 million metric tons (roughly 9 
to 24 billion lb). One company has harvested a total of 448,000 lb 
(203,213 kg) of pelagic Sargassum off the southern Atlantic states from 
1976 to the present. Section 303(a)(7) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
requires that the Councils minimize, to the extent practicable, adverse 
effects on EFH caused by fishing. Even though there is no indication 
that the harvest, to date, has had an adverse impact on Sargassum EFH, 
the Council concluded that any removal of pelagic Sargassum constitutes 
a net loss of EFH off the southern Atlantic states, and thus is 
contradictory to the goals and objectives of the Council's 
Comprehensive Habitat Plan for the South Atlantic Region.
    Data are insufficient to calculate a maximum sustainable yield 
(MSY) for pelagic Sargassum, and the Council chose not to specify an 
MSY in the FMP. Nevertheless, section 303(a)(3) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act requires that a fishery management plan ``assess and specify the 
present and probable future condition of, and the maximum sustainable 
yield and optimum yield from, the fishery, and include a summary of the 
information utilized in making such specification.'' MSY is a necessary 
fundamental FMP component, upon which such other FMP measures as an MSY 
control rule, as specified in NMFS guidelines (see 50 CFR 600.310), 
would depend.
    With the inability to estimate MSY for pelagic Sargassum with any 
certainty and to meet other provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 
concerning the requirements of an FMP, the Council may wish to pursue 
alternative management actions that would achieve its goals to conserve 
and maintain sustainable pelagic Sargassum habitat. Therefore, NMFS 
invites comments specifically on this aspect of the FMP and the 
propriety of control rule measures such as an OY specification of zero 
in the absence of any specification of MSY.

Endangered and Threatened Species Issues

    In compliance with requirements of the Endangered Species Act, NMFS 
evaluated the impact of harvesting Sargassum on endangered or 
threatened species. That consultation concluded that continued harvest 
of pelagic Sargassum until January 1, 2001, or until the 50,000 lb 
(22,680 kg) wet weight cap is reached, is not likely to jeopardize the 
continued existence of any listed species under NMFS purview, although 
the loggerhead, green, leatherback, Kemp's ridley, and hawksbill sea 
turtles are likely to be adversely affected by the action. As part of 
the consultation, NMFS developed an incidental take statement that 
included reasonable and prudent measures necessary to minimize the 
impacts of the takings.
    NMFS will consider comments received by October 25, 1999 in its 
decision to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the FMP. NMFS 
will not consider comments received after that date in this decision; 
NMFS will address all comments received on the FMP in the preamble of 
the final rule.

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

    Dated: August 20, 1999.
Gary C. Matlock,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-22215 Filed 8-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F