[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13692-13694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5557]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Parts 622 and 635

[I.D. 020801A]
RIN 0648-AN83


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Amendment to the Fishery Management Plans of the Gulf of Mexico

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a generic amendment to the Gulf of 
Mexico Fishery Management Council's fishery management plans for the 
Gulf of Mexico regarding the Tortugas Marine Reserves; request for 
comments.

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[[Page 13693]]

SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council (Council) has submitted the Generic Amendment Addressing the 
Establishment of the Tortugas Marine Reserves in the Fishery Management 
Plans of the Gulf of Mexico (Tortugas Amendment) for review, approval, 
and implementation by NMFS. The Tortugas Amendment proposes to 
establish two marine reserves in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in 
the vicinity of the Dry Tortugas, FL. Within the marine reserves, 
fishing for any species and anchoring by fishing vessels would be 
prohibited. The intended effect is to protect and conserve important 
marine resources.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 7, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Tortugas Amendment must be sent to 
Michael Barnette, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 9721 Executive 
Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702. Comments may also be sent 
via fax to 727-570-5583. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via 
e-mail or the Internet.
    Requests for copies of the Tortugas Amendment, which includes a 
regulatory impact review (RIR), an initial regulatory flexibility 
analysis (IRFA), and a final supplemental environmental impact 
statement (FSEIS), should be sent to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council, 3018 U.S. Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 
33619-2266; phone: 813-228-2815; fax: 813-225-7015; e-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Barnette, NMFS; phone: 727-
570-5305; fax: 727-570-5583; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each Regional 
Fishery Management Council to submit any fishery management plan (FMP) 
or amendment to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval. NMFS implements approved FMP or amendment measures by issuing 
a final rule. 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 FMP or amendment is available for 
public review and comment.
    The Gulf of Mexico fisheries for coastal migratory pelagics, coral 
and coral reefs, red drum, reef fish, shrimp, spiny lobster, and stone 
crab are managed under FMPs prepared by the Council and approved and 
implemented by NMFS. These FMPs were prepared solely by the Council, 
with the exception of the FMPs for coastal migratory pelagics and spiny 
lobster that were prepared jointly by the Council and the South 
Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
    The Tortugas Amendment would amend the following FMPs: Fishery 
Management Plan for Coral and Coral Reefs of the Gulf of Mexico; 
Fishery Management Plan for the Red Drum Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 
Fishery Management Plan for the Stone Crab Fishery of the Gulf of 
Mexico; Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the Gulf of 
Mexico; Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf 
of Mexico; Fishery Management Plan for Coastal Migratory Pelagic 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; and Fishery 
Management Plan for the Spiny Lobster Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and 
South Atlantic. All of these FMPs, except the FMPs for spiny lobster 
and stone crab, are implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act by regulations at 50 CFR part 622. The FMP for spiny 
lobster is implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 640; the FMP for 
stone crab is implemented by regulations at 50 CFR part 654.
    The Dry Tortugas are located approximately 70 miles (112 km) west 
of Key West, a very strategic location for a marine reserve. The Dry 
Tortugas contain the healthiest coral reefs found in the Florida Keys. 
Coral pinnacles as high as 40 feet (12 m), with the highest coral cover 
(over 30 percent) found in the Florida Keys, rise up from the ocean 
floor. These coral formations are bathed by some of the cleanest waters 
found in the Florida Keys and occur where the tropical waters of the 
Caribbean mingle with the more temperate waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
    The Tortugas region is unique in its location and in the extent to 
which oceanographic processes affect the area. The Dry Tortugas play a 
dynamic role in supporting marine ecosystems throughout south Florida 
and the Florida Keys. Marine organisms that spawn in the Tortugas area 
produce larvae that are spread throughout the Keys by a persistent 
system of ocean eddies and currents. As the larval stages of various 
species range in duration from hours, e.g., for some coral species, to 
as much as a year, e.g., for spiny lobster, these eddies and currents 
provide the retention time in the water column and current pathways 
necessary for successful recruitment for numerous species (generally, 
recruitment is the survival of juvenile stages through the period where 
they mature sufficiently to join the adult population). In addition, 
the upwelling and convergence of the ocean currents in the Dry Tortugas 
area act to concentrate food supplies for the larval stages of numerous 
animal species.
    The Tortugas region, relative to the rest of the Florida Keys, 
appears to have a greater population abundance and larger average 
individual size of many key species, e.g., groupers, snappers, and 
lobster. However, throughout the Florida Keys, including the Tortugas 
region, there appears to be an overfishing problem. Furthermore, the 
coral resources of the Florida Keys are under significant ecological 
stress resulting from coastal development impacts, e.g., sedimentation 
and pollution, and fishing activities, e.g., gear impacts and 
overfishing effects on fish stocks.
    There is a considerable amount of literature on the benefits of 
marine reserves, such as the proposed Tortugas Marine Reserves. They 
are designed to protect older, larger fish and, thereby, protect 
critical spawning stock biomass, intra-specific genetic diversity, 
population age structure, recruitment supply, and ecosystem balance. 
Marine reserves are expected to supply adults and larvae to adjacent 
areas and will probably be most effective in addressing the problem of 
recruitment overfishing, especially in sedentary species. Marine 
reserves are believed to be important in maintaining the high abundance 
of many species of reef fish in certain protected areas worldwide. 
Existing reserves in the Netherlands Antilles and Barbados show 
increasing fish stock biomass and individual sizes of sampled reef 
fish. Expected benefits of the Tortugas Marine Reserves include the 
following: Establishment of a refuge and replenishment area to ensure 
continued abundance and diversity of coral reef resources; protection 
of critical fish spawning stock biomass and recruits from overfishing; 
physical protection of the coral reef structures; and ``spillover'' 
effects wherein organisms, such as fish, move from within to outside 
the reserve area, thereby providing improved fishing opportunities in 
the vicinity of the reserve.
    The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) is managed under 
NOAA's National Ocean Services. FKNMS managers initiated a 
collaborative effort with the State of Florida, the Dry Tortugas 
National Park (managed by the U.S. National Park Service), and NMFS to 
establish the boundaries for two proposed inter-jurisdictional marine 
reserves known as Tortugas North ecological reserve and Tortugas South 
ecological reserve. The

[[Page 13694]]

Tortugas Amendment would amend the aforementioned FMPs to establish the 
portion of the Tortugas North ecological reserve that falls within the 
Gulf of Mexico EEZ and to establish the Tortugas South ecological 
reserve, which resides entirely within the EEZ. The Tortugas North 
reserve encompasses an area of 120 square nautical miles (nm\2\); the 
Tortugas Amendment would establish a 13 nm\2\ portion of this reserve 
in the EEZ. The Tortugas South reserve encompasses 60 nm\2\ , which 
includes the Riley's Hump mutton snapper spawning aggregation site 
proposed by the Council and approved and implemented by NMFS in 1994.
    The Tortugas Amendment proposes that fishing for any species, 
including Atlantic highly migratory species (Atlantic HMS), be 
prohibited within these marine reserves. Additionally, anchoring by all 
fishing vessels would be prohibited within the marine reserves. These 
fishing and anchoring prohibitions are intended to achieve the maximum 
benefits (see discussion above) from the two marine reserves over their 
initially anticipated duration of 10 years.
    Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS, acting on behalf of the 
Secretary of Commerce, has full management responsibility for Atlantic 
HMS. In its Tortugas Amendment, the Council proposed that its fishing 
and anchoring prohibitions within the reserves apply to Atlantic HMS 
for several reasons, including significant enforcement considerations 
as well as overall biological benefits to the marine reserve ecosystem. 
The U.S. Coast Guard and NMFS advised the Council that unless fishing 
for all species and anchoring of all fishing vessels was prohibited 
within the Tortugas Reserves, there was no way to enforce adequately 
such prohibitions for just those species managed under the Council's 
FMPs. Regarding the biological benefits of protecting Atlantic HMS 
species within the reserves, the region serves as a spawning ground for 
a variety of Atlantic HMS, including bluefin tuna. The Tortugas region 
has also been identified under the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic 
Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks as constituting a portion of the essential 
fish habitat for several tuna species and a variety of shark species. 
After considering the public comment received on the Tortugas Amendment 
and on its proposed rule, if NMFS adopts the proposed fishing and 
anchoring prohibition measures as applied to Atlantic HMS, it would 
implement such measures through its rulemaking authority for these 
species pursuant to section 304(g) of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the 
regulatory adjustment framework provisions of the Fishery Management 
Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks.
    The Council proposes that the marine reserves be established for a 
period of at least 10 years, during which the ecological benefits of 
the reserves will be evaluated. The prohibition on fishing and 
anchoring of fishing vessels should minimize human disturbances in the 
Tortugas reserves and help to restore and maintain their ecological 
integrity, including a full assemblage of fish, coral, and other 
benthic invertebrates. The reserves will also create a reference or 
baseline area for studying human impacts on coral reef ecosystems.
    In accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the 
proposed rule to determine whether it is consistent with the Tortugas 
Amendment, 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.
    Comments received by May 7, 2001, whether specifically directed to 
the Tortugas Amendment or to the proposed rule, will be considered by 
NMFS in its decision to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the 
Tortugas Amendment. Comments received after that date will not be 
considered by NMFS in this decision. All comments received by NMFS on 
the Tortugas Amendment or the proposed rule during their respective 
comment periods will be addressed in the final rule.

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

    Dated: March 1, 2001.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 01-5557 Filed 3-6-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S