[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 1, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11028-11029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-4911]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 021500A]
RIN 0648-AM75


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment 12 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the Coastal 
Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic 
(Amendment 12)

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of Amendment 12; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic 
Fishery Management Councils (Councils) have submitted Amendment 12 for 
review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 12 contains a 
single action that would extend the expiration date of the commercial 
king mackerel vessel permit moratorium through October 15, 2005. 
Written comments are requested from the public.

DATES: Comments must received at the appropriate address or fax number, 
(see ADDRESSES), no later than 5:00 p.m., eastern standard time, on May 
1, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Steve Branstetter, 
Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. 
Petersburg, FL 33702. Comments also may be sent via fax to 727-570-
5583. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or 
Internet.
    Requests for copies of Amendment 12, which includes an 
environmental assessment and a regulatory impact review, may be 
obtained from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Suite 
1000, 3018 U.S. Highway 301 North, Tampa, FL 33619; telephone: 813-228-
2815; fax: 813-225-7015; e-mail: [email protected]; or from the 
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Southpark Building, One 
Southpark Circle, Suite 306, Charleston, SC 29407-4699; telephone: 843-
571-4366; fax: 843-769-4520; e-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Branstetter, 727-570-5305; fax 
727-570-5583; e-mail: [email protected].

[[Page 11029]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each Regional 
Fishery Management Council to submit an FMP or amendment to NMFS for 
review and approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-
Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an FMP or 
amendment, immediately publish a document in the Federal Register 
stating that the amendment is available for public review and comment.
    Amendment 8 to the FMP for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources 
of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic established the commercial 
king mackerel vessel permit moratorium in March 1998. Amendment 12 
would extend the moratorium from its current expiration date of October 
15, 2000, to October 15, 2005, or until the moratorium can be replaced 
with a license limitation, limited access, and/or individual fishing 
quota or individual transferrable quota system, whichever occurs 
earlier. The intended effects of extending the permit moratorium 
through the proposed action are to prevent increases in fishing effort, 
to possibly reduce the number of permittees in the king mackerel 
fishery, and to stabilize the economic performance of current 
participants while protecting king mackerel from overfishing.
    Currently, various hook-and-line and run-around gillnet fisheries 
for king mackerel in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic region 
are subject to closures when the quotas are filled before the end of 
their respective fishing years. Such closures in recent years indicate 
that fleet size and fishery effort still exceed that needed to harvest 
the allowable quotas. The Councils are concerned that allowing the 
current moratorium to expire would increase the number of participants 
in the king mackerel fishery, thereby negating any reductions in effort 
that have been achieved as a result of the current moratorium. An 
increase in participants would exacerbate the current derby fisheries 
that occur in the western Gulf zone and in the Florida west coast 
gillnet fishery, would lead to even earlier closures, and would have an 
adverse impact on the economic returns to the current participants. 
Increased participation would also compound the complexity of the 
Councils' future task in developing a controlled access system for this 
fishery. For example, if the future assignment of fishing privileges 
under a new limited access system is weighted more toward historical 
rather than current participation, new fishery entrants may lose a good 
part of their new investments.
    In accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the 
proposed rule to implement Amendment 12 to determine if it is 
consistent with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other applicable 
law. If that determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish the 
proposed rule in the Federal Register for public review and comment.
    NMFS will consider comments received by May 1, 2000, whether 
specifically directed to Amendment 12 or its proposed rule, in its 
decision to approve, disapprove, or partially disapprove the amendment. 
NMFS will address all the comments received during the respective 
comment periods for Amendment 12 and its proposed rule in the preamble 
of the final rule.

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

    Dated: February 24, 2000.
Bruce Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-4911 Filed 2-29-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-F