[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 222 (Monday, November 18, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69502-69503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-29215]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[I.D. 110102J]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fisheries; Atlantic Bluefin 
Tuna; Petition for Rulemaking

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

ACTION: Notice of receipt of a petition for rulemaking; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces receipt of, and requests public comment on, a 
petition from the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries 
(Petitioner)

[[Page 69503]]

to initiate rulemaking to amend the current Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) 
allocation criteria and to create a winter time-period subquota. The 
Petitioner has requested that NMFS commence the rulemaking process as 
soon as possible.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., Eastern Standard 
Time, on December 18, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the petition should be sent to Brad 
McHale, Highly Migratory Species Management Division, National Marine 
Fisheries Service, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930-2298. Mark 
on the outside of the envelope: ``Comments on Petition for 
Rulemaking.'' Comments may also be sent via a facsimile (fax) to (978) 
281-9340. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the 
Internet. Copies of the letter constituting the petition are available 
upon request at the address mentioned above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brad McHale, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9260.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Petition for Rulemaking

    On October 16, 2002, the Petitioner submitted a request to NMFS to 
initiate rulemaking for a regulatory amendment to 50 CFR 635.27 that 
would allocate 23 percent of the General category BFT quota to a new 
December 1 through January 31 time-period subquota. In 2002, the 
initial General Category quota equaled 647 mt, thus 23 percent would 
equal 150 mt. The Petitioner states that the quota allocated to the 
late season General category fishery does not provide reasonable 
opportunity to harvest BFT when they appear off the South Atlantic 
coast. The Petitioner believes that there is inequity in the current 
General category BFT management scheme and that it is necessary to 
create a General category December through January subquota to ensure 
fair and equitable treatment to all General category permit holders. 
The Petitioner explains that the current allocation of General category 
quota disadvantages General category permit holders who wish to 
commercially pursue BFT in the South Atlantic, confounds the collection 
of fishery data, and confounds management for optimum yield.
    The Petitioner notes that the proposed amendment could remedy the 
above inequities, address concerns over National Standard 4, benefit 
all U.S. BFT fishermen, and have significant economic benefits to South 
Atlantic fishing communities. The Petitioner also recognizes the 
proposed amendment could have some negative effects on participants who 
exploit available quota during earlier time-period subquotas. However, 
the Petitioner believes that the negative impacts could be mitigated if 
New England fishermen elect to pursue the BFT as they move south of the 
South Atlantic states.
    The Petitioner acknowledges that operating under the National 
Standards set forth in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act is a NOAA priority and policy. To that end, the 
Petitioner believes that the proposed amendment addresses serious 
issues related to several National Standards. The Petitioner also 
believes that the proposed amendment is consistent with specific 
objectives contained in the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, 
Swordfish and Sharks (HMS FMP), including improved coordination of 
domestic conservation and management of the highly migratory species 
fisheries, considering the multi-species nature of these fisheries, 
overlapping regional and individual participation, international 
management concerns, and other relevant factors, as well as maintaining 
the fishing season and geographic range of the fishery within its 
historic context to improve scientific monitoring and enhance fishing 
opportunities. In addition, the Petitioner notes that the 2002 quota 
specifications and General category effort controls acknowledge that 
the BFT fishery has changed in recent years with higher catch rates in 
the fall/winter. According to Petitioner, the proposed amendment would 
allow more time to harvest the General category subquota and minimize 
the need to increase harvest limits to levels that could negatively 
affect prices to U.S. fishermen in international markets.

Issue Background

    The request made by the Petitioner has been recently discussed in 
several public forums. During the development of the issue of opening a 
southern commercial handgear BFT fishery, the HMS Advisory Panel and 
public extensively discussed establishing a set-aside quota for a North 
Carolina General category fishery. However, the HMS AP did not reach 
consensus on whether or not to allow a new southern commercial fishery. 
At that time, NMFS maintained its position that allowing new gear types 
and large scale fisheries for BFT would not be consistent with 
rebuilding overfished stocks and preventing overfishing. In analyzing a 
variety of long-term effort controls in the BFT fishery, the HMS FMP 
concluded that the status quo management regime for the General 
category would assist attainment of optimum yield and address 
allocation issues by lengthening the season over time and space in a 
category with high participation and catch rates.
    During the 2002 HMS AP meeting, representatives from North Carolina 
presented a proposal to allocate General category BFT quota during a 
time and/or in an area so that North Carolina fishermen would have 
local access to the commercial handgear fishery. The HMS AP again 
extensively discussed the issue but did not reach consensus.
    During the comment period for the 2002 BFT Quota Specifications and 
General Category Effort controls, NMFS received numerous comments, 
stating that North Carolina should have its own winter General category 
set-aside quota. These comments also stated that the current General 
category allocation scheme discriminates between residents of different 
states and fails to provide equitable fishing opportunities across 
different geographical areas. Commenters also requested that there be a 
December through January time-period subquota established for southern 
states.
    At that time, NMFS maintained the current quota allocation scheme 
and did not implement a specific set-aside quota for North Carolina. 
NMFS stated it would continue to assess the order of magnitude and 
scope of the fishing activities that would be associated with a North 
Carolina General category BFT fishery and would continue to work with 
the HMS AP to address potential solutions.

Request for Comments

    This document solicits comments from the public regarding the need 
to proceed with rulemaking to amend the current General category BFT 
quota allocation schedule and the provision that closes the General 
category BFT fishery on December 31 of each year. NMFS is specifically 
requesting that the public provide comments on the social, economic, 
and biological impacts this regulatory amendment would have on the 
General category BFT Fishery. NMFS will consider this information in 
determining whether to proceed with the development of amended 
regulations requested by the petition.

    Dated: November 12, 2002.
John H. Dunnigan,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 02-29215 Filed 11-15-02; 8:45 am]
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