[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 2, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 90-92]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-33452]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 122200C]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast Skate 
Fishery; Scoping Process

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

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Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) 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 a Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the northeast 
region skate complex and to prepare an EIS to analyze the impacts of 
any proposed management measures. The FMP would be developed pursuant 
to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
(Magnuson-Stevens Act). The Council also formally announces the 
initiation of a public process to determine the scope of issues to be 
addressed in the environmental impact analysis. The purpose of this 
notice is to alert the interested public of the scoping process and to 
provide for public participation in compliance with environmental 
documentation requirements.

DATES: The Council will discuss and take scoping comments at public 
meetings in January and February 2001. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
for specific dates and times. Written scoping comments must be received 
at the appropriate address or fax number, (See ADDRESSES), on or before 
5:00 p.m. local time, February 21, 2001.

ADDRESSES: 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, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950, Telephone (978) 465-0492. 
Comments may also be sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 465-3116.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, 
(978) 465-0492.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The seven species in the northeast region skate complex currently 
include: winter skate (Leucoraja ocellata), barndoor skate (Dipturis 
laevis), thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata), smooth skate (Malacoraja 
senta), little skate (Leucoraja erinacea), clearnose skate (Raja 
eglanteria), and rosette skate (Leucoraja garmani). The northeast skate 
complex is generally distributed along the coast of the eastern United 
States from near the tide line to depths exceeding 700 m (383 fathoms). 
In the northeast region, the center of distribution for the little and 
winter skates is Georges Bank and Southern New England. The barndoor 
skate is most common in the Gulf of Maine, on Georges Bank, and in 
Southern New England. The thorny and smooth skates are commonly found 
in the Gulf of Maine. The clearnose and rosette skates have a more 
southern distribution, and are found primarily in the Chesapeake Bight.

Status of the Stocks

    A benchmark assessment of the northeast skate complex was completed 
at the 30th Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW 30) in November 1999. 
Conclusions about the status of the seven species in the northeast 
region skate complex are based mainly on standardized research trawl 
survey data collected by the U.S. and Canada during 1963-1999. Taken as 
a group, the skate biomass for the seven species in the northeast 
region is at a medium level. The large increase in skate biomass in the 
mid to late 1980s was dominated by winter and little skate. The biomass 
of large-sized skates (>100 cm maximum length; barndoor, winter, and 
thorny) has steadily declined since the mid-1980s. The recent increase 
in aggregate skate biomass has been due to an increase in small-sized 
skates (100 cm maximum length; little, clearnose, rosette, and smooth), 
mainly little skate.
    At SAW 30, each species in the northeast skate complex was 
individually assessed. SAW scientists developed status determination 
criteria to evaluate whether overfishing was occurring and whether or 
not a species is in an overfished condition. Based on the SAW 30 
criteria, overfishing was found to be occurring on one species of skate 
(winter skate), and four species were found to be in an overfished 
condition (winter skate, thorny skate, barndoor skate, and smooth 
skate).
    On June 21, 1999, a notice regarding barndoor skate was published 
by NMFS in the Federal Register. This notice indicated that NMFS had 
received a petition to add the barndoor skate to the list of threatened 
and endangered wildlife and to designate critical habitat for barndoor 
skate, and was seeking information and comments. At the SAW 30 in 
November 1999, assessment scientists reviewed each of the ESA listing 
criteria relative to barndoor skate and provided an assessment with 
recommendations and comments regarding the potential ESA listing. The 
Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC) found that there was no 
evidence that the barndoor skate is in danger of extinction or likely 
to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a 
significant portion of its range. As of the date of publication of this 
notice, NMFS has not published a decision.
    In March 2000, NMFS informed the Council of its decision to 
designate the Council as the responsible body for the development and 
management of the seven species included in the northeast region skate 
complex. Based on work completed at SAW 30, NMFS identified four 
species of skates as overfished: barndoor, smooth, thorny, and winter 
skate. The overfished status of these species necessitates development 
of an FMP to end overfishing and rebuild these stocks in accordance 
with Section 304(e) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Purpose

    The purpose of the proposed Skate FMP is to establish conservation 
and management measures to end overfishing and rebuild overfished 
stocks in the northeast skate complex.

Management Options

    The Skate FMP may establish mechanisms to obtain better information 
about individual skate species and directed and incidental skate 
fisheries. With the implementation of the Skate FMP, vessels may be 
required to obtain a Federal permit to fish for skates. Vessels with 
skate permits may be required to submit Vessel Trip Reports (VTRs or 
logbooks) for all trips. To collect better information about the skate 
fisheries, the Council may also require that vessels report landings 
and discards of skates by species and/or by fishery (wings/bait).
    The low abundance level and current overfished status of barndoor 
skate will likely require a significant reduction in fishing mortality. 
Because the barndoor skate is not a primary component of either the 
bait fishery or the wing fishery, the Council may consider prohibiting 
its possession.
    Clearnose and rosette skate are distributed considerably further 
south than the other five skates in the northeast complex, the northern 
extent of their ranges reaching only to waters off the New Jersey 
coastline. These two species are not overfished and are not known to be 
a component of either the bait or wing fishery in the northeast region. 
Including these two species as part of the northeast skate complex for 
management purposes could complicate the development of management 
measures and could pose unnecessary burdens on fisheries that do not 
interact with the other five species of skates. Therefore, the Council 
is considering eliminating clearnose and rosette skate from the 
northeast complex for management purposes.

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    The Council may consider developing a limited access program for 
directed and/or incidental skate fishing. This could include the 
establishment of a control date for skate fishing. The Council will 
consider other management measures (e.g., minimum sizes, gear 
restrictions, area closures, quotas, trip limits, fishing seasons, 
Skate days-at-sea, etc.) as appropriate, based on comments received 
through the scoping process.

Scoping Process

    Scoping meetings for the Skate FMP are as follows:
    1. January 23, 2001, 6 p.m., Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel, 50 Ferncroft 
Road, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 777-2500; fax (978) 750-7991;
    2. February 2, 2001, 10 a.m., Provincetown Town Hall, 260 
Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA 02657, (508) 487-7013; fax (508) 
487-9560;
    3. February 6, 2001, 7 p.m., Wyndham Hotel, 700 King Street, 
Wilmington, DE 19801, (302) 655-0400; fax (302) 429-5979; and
    4. February 12, 2001, 6 p.m., Tiverton Community Center, 346 Judson 
Street, Tiverton, RI 02878, (401) 625-6704; fax (401) 625-6705.
    Additional meetings of the Council, Skate Committee, or Advisory 
Panel during the scoping period will provide opportunities for public 
comment on specific issues identified in the respective agendas.
    All persons affected by or otherwise interested in skate fisheries 
management are invited to participate in determining the scope and 
significance of issues to be analyzed by submitting written comments 
(see ADDRESSES). Alternatives include not developing a management plan, 
developing amendments to existing plans, or other reasonable courses of 
action. Impacts of this proposed action to be considered in this 
process may be direct, indirect, individual, or cumulative. The scoping 
process will also identify and eliminate from detailed study issues 
that are not significant. Once a draft FMP and an Environmental 
Assessment or an EIS is developed, the Council will hold public 
hearings to receive comments.

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

    Dated: December 26, 2000.
Valerie Chambers,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 00-33452 Filed 12-29-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S