[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 6575-6577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3005]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 020200A]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Herring 
Fishery; Scoping Process

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a supplemental environmental impact 
statement (SEIS) and notice of scoping process; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) announces 
its intent to prepare an amendment to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) 
for Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) and to prepare an SEIS, if 
necessary, to analyze the impacts of any proposed management measures. 
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission), under the 
authority of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, 
may also prepare an amendment to its Interstate Fishery Management Plan 
for Atlantic Sea Herring. The Council and the Commission also formally 
announce a public process to determine the scope of alternatives to be 
addressed in the SEIS. The purpose of this notification is to alert the 
interested public of the commencement of the scoping process

[[Page 6576]]

and to provide for public participation in compliance with 
environmental documentation requirements.

DATES: The Council and the Commission will discuss and take scoping 
comments at public meetings in February 2000. For specific dates and 
times, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Written scoping comments must be 
received on or before 5:00 pm., local time, March 13, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The Council and the Commission will take scoping comments at 
public meetings in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. 
For specific locations, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Written comments 
and requests for copies of the scoping document and other information 
should be directed to Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England 
Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950, 
telephone (978) 465-0492, or to Jack Dunnigan, Executive Director, 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, 1444 Eye Street NW., Sixth 
Floor, Washington, DC 20005, telephone (202) 289-6400. The scoping 
document is accessible electronically via the Internet at http://www.nefmc.org (Council) and http://www.afmsc.org (Commission). Comments 
may also be sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 465-3116. Comments will 
not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, 
New England Fishery Management Council (978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The U.S. Atlantic herring fishery is managed as one stock complex 
along the east coast from Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, 
although evidence suggests that at least two separate biological stocks 
exist. Generally, the resource has been divided into an inshore Gulf of 
Maine and an offshore Georges Bank/Nantucket Shoals component. 
Individual spawning aggregations have been identified, such as the 
Jeffreys Ledge component of the Gulf of Maine stock, but quantitative 
data on the relative size of the aggregations are lacking. A peer-
reviewed assessment of the Atlantic herring coastal stock complex was 
last conducted in 1998. This assessment indicated that the stock 
complex was at a high biomass level but was underexploited in 1997. An 
update of the assessment based on 1998 landings suggests that these 
conditions still exist in the fishery.
    The Council and the Commission adopted management measures for the 
herring fishery in state and Federal waters in 1999 and NMFS approved 
most of the management measures contained in the Federal FMP on October 
27, 1999. While the Commission's measures have been adopted by the 
states, the proposed rule to implement the Federal Atlantic Herring FMP 
will be published in the Federal Register for public comment in the 
near future. A final rule to implement the Federal FMP will be 
published shortly after the close of the comment period on the proposed 
rule. The two management plans contain similar management measures. The 
plans establish total allowable catches (TACs) levels in each of four 
management areas. In state waters there are spawning area restrictions 
(under the Commission plan). Both plans include limits on the size of 
vessels that can take, catch, or harvest herring. Each plan includes 
administrative elements such as requirements for vessel, dealer, and 
processor permits and reporting requirements. A control date of 
September 16, 1999, was established for the Atlantic herring fishery in 
Federal waters (64 FR 50266, September 16, 1999). The potential impacts 
of the control date are discussed in the control date announcement.
    While the overall TAC level for herring is more than twice the 
recent landing levels, the proposed TAC for the inshore Gulf of Maine 
component is about 60 percent of the landings from this area in 1996 
and 1997. Some fishermen believe that harvesting capacity in this area 
should be restricted to avoid problems that result from excess fishing 
capacity. One of these problems could be an inefficient ``race to 
fish'' as increasing numbers of vessels try to catch herring before the 
TAC is reached. Additionally, the available TAC in this area will 
likely be taken before the 2000 fishing year is over. This could 
disrupt the supply of herring for various markets. As more vessels 
enter the fishery, more fishermen would likely fish for shorter periods 
of time in this area. In other management areas, recent catches have 
not approached the proposed TACs. One objective of the management plan 
is to distribute fishing effort to all management areas. Catches in 
Management Area 2 (Cape Cod and south) have been relatively stable over 
recent years. Catches in Management Area 3 (Georges Bank) increased 
rapidly to 40 percent of the proposed TAC from 1997 to 1998. These 
areas could absorb more fishing effort.
    Management of many fisheries in the Northeast is complicated by 
excess fishing capacity, which makes it difficult to reduce fishing 
mortality to levels necessary for stock rebuilding. The development of 
a controlled access system for the Atlantic herring fishery that would 
allow new harvesting capacity to target the offshore areas but would 
prevent (and for one area slow) the development of excess capacity 
might solve the problems experienced in these fisheries.

Options Under Consideration

    The Council and the Commission are considering a wide range of 
options for the fishery, from--
    (1) Continuing open access in each of the four areas in which the 
fishery takes place and continuing with the area- specific TACs as the 
primary control on fishing mortality (the No Action Alternative); to
    (2) Introducing one of a variety of controlled access systems in 
one or more of these areas, coupled with related controls on fishing 
mortality.
    The capacity controls under consideration may work in the following 
ways: The number of vessels permitted to fish in one or more or all of 
the Atlantic herring fishery zones could be limited. This may occur 
gradually as the number of vessels fishing in each area and their 
catches in that area approach its TAC. Other options that will be 
examined include closing one or more or all areas to new participants 
before fishing harvest capacity develops that exceeds the TAC for a 
given area.
    The elements that make up a controlled access system will also be 
open for comment. One or more kinds of permits may be issued to one or 
more of the management areas. Qualification criteria will be 
established to determine who gets a permit to fish in one or more 
areas. The criteria can take many different forms. For example, it 
could be based on catches over a period of time, on possession of 
another permit, or on future performance.
    A controlled access system may also contain other means of managing 
fishing mortality, for example, implementing such limits on fishing 
effort as the number of days vessels can fish, catch limits, or gear 
restrictions, each with or without the TACs now in place. Another 
alternative is to establish an individual quota system. Under this 
system, a specific share of the TAC is assigned to a vessel, person, or 
community; in some systems, these shares can be purchased or traded. 
Because of possible different objectives for each management area, some 
elements of a controlled access system

[[Page 6577]]

for one area might be different from those in another area.

Comments Requested

    The Council and the Commission are particularly interested in 
answers to the following questions:
    (1) Should there be a limited entry or controlled access system in 
the Atlantic herring fishery?
    (2) If there is a limited entry or controlled access system, should 
it be adopted for the entire fishery or only for certain management 
areas?
    (3) When should the limited entry or controlled access system 
become effective? Should it become effective on different dates in 
different areas?
    (4) In a limited entry or controlled access system, what type of 
qualification criteria should be used to determine who receives a 
limited entry permit? For example, should permits be issued based on 
past landings or on a vessel holding another permit?
    (5) If past landings are used to determine who qualifies for a 
permit, what should the level of landings be to qualify? What is the 
appropriate time period to be examined?
    (6) What types of permit categories should be considered? For 
example, should there be directed fishery permits and incidental catch 
permits, or different permits for different gear types?
    (7) Should permits be freely transferable, or should they be 
subject to limits?
    (8) Should there be upgrading restrictions on permits?
    (9) What other management measures, if any, should be included in 
the limited entry or controlled access system? For example, should 
days-at-sea limits, trip limits, or gear restrictions be used to 
further control effort?
    (10) Should an individual quota system be part of the controlled 
access program? (Under current law, an individual quota system may not 
be submitted to the Secretary for approval and implementation before 
October 1, 2000.) If an individual quota system is considered,--
    (a) How should individual fishing quotas be allocated?
    (b) Should they be allocated to vessels, individuals, or 
communities?
    (c) Should there be limits on the transferability of individual 
fishing quotas?
    (d) Should there be limits on how much quota can be obtained by one 
permit holder?
    (e) How should present and historical participation in the fishery 
be considered?
    (f) If an individual fishing quota program is developed, how should 
effective enforcement, management, and observer coverage be provided, 
and how should fees to recover actual enforcement and management costs 
be structured?
    (g) If an individual fishing quota is developed, how should a 
portion of the annual harvest be allocated to entry level fishermen, 
small vessel owners, and crew members who do not qualify for individual 
quotas?
    (11) What communities do you think would be most affected by a 
limited entry program for Atlantic herring? How would they be affected?
    (12) What social and/or cultural factors within these communities 
should the Council consider when developing a limited access program 
for Atlantic herring?
    (13) What do you think are the potential social impacts (negative 
and/or positive) of a limited access program for Atlantic herring?

Scoping Process

    All persons affected by or otherwise interested in herring 
fisheries management are invited to participate in determining the 
scope and significance of issues to be analyzed by submitting written 
comments (see ADDRESSES) or by attending one of the scoping hearings. 
Scope consists of the range of actions, alternatives, and impacts to be 
considered. Alternatives include the following: Not amending the 
management plan (taking no action), developing an amendment that 
contains such management measures as the ones previously mentioned in 
this notice, or other reasonable courses of action. Impacts may be 
direct, individual, or cumulative. The scoping process will also 
identify and eliminate from detailed study issues that are not 
significant. If, after the scoping process is completed, the Council 
proceeds with the development of an amendment to the FMP, the Council 
will prepare an SEIS or Environmental Assessment, as appropriate, 
depending on the nature of the amendment to be developed. The Council 
and the Commission will hold public hearings to receive comments on the 
draft amendment and on the analysis of its impacts on the human 
environment.

Public Hearing Schedule

    The Council and the Commission will discuss and take scoping 
comments at public meetings as follows:
    Tuesday, February 22, 2000, 7 p.m., Cape May County Extension 
Office, 355 Courthouse-South Dennis road, Cape May Courthouse, New 
Jersey. Telephone (609) 465-5115.
    Wednesday, February 23, 2000, 1 p.m., Trade Winds Hotel, 2 Park 
Drive, Rockland, ME 04841. Telephone (207) 596-6661.
    Thursday, February 24, 2000, 3 p.m., Radisson Airport Hotel, 2081 
Post Road, Warwick, RI 02886. Telephone (401) 739-3000.
    Tuesday, February 29, 2000, 3 p.m. King's Grant Inn, Trask Road, 
Route 128, Exit 21N, Danvers, MA 01923. Telephone (978) 774-6800.

Special Accommodations

    The meetings are physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Paul J. Howard (see ADDRESSES) at least 5 days 
prior to this meeting date.

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

    Dated: February 4, 2000.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-3005 Filed 2-9-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F