[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 17 (Monday, January 27, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 3853-3854]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-1786]



[[Page 3853]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[I.D. 010903D]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS); Issues and Options paper 
for Amendment 1 to the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, 
Swordfish and Sharks (HMS FMP); Shark Management Measures

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

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA) of an issues and options paper; 
notice of public scoping meetings; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of a paper on issues and 
options for Amendment 1 to the Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic 
Tunas, Swordfish and Sharks. The issues-and-options paper examines 
management options to rebuild or prevent overfishing of Atlantic 
sharks, consistent with the large coastal sharks (LCS) and the small 
coastal sharks (SCS) stock assessments, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act(Magnuson-Stevens Act), and other 
relevant Federal laws. NMFS is requesting comments on a wide range of 
commercial and recreational management measures including, but not 
limited to, quotas, minimum sizes, and prohibited species.

DATES: Comments on this action must be received no later than 5 p.m., 
local time, March 17, 2003.
    The public scoping meetings will be held in February and March. For 
specific dates and times, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on this action should be mailed to 
Christopher Rogers, Chief, NMFS Highly Migratory Species Management 
Division, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; or faxed to 
(301) 713-1917. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via email or 
Internet. Copies of the issues and options paper can be obtained from 
the HMS website at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hmspg.html, or by 
contacting Karyl Brewster-Geisz at (301) 713-2347.
    The public scoping meetings will be held in Silver Spring, MD; 
Montauk, NY; Ocean City MD; Manteo, NC; Cocoa Beach, FL; Madeira Beach, 
FL; and Port Aransas, TX. For specific locations, see SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karyl Brewster-Geisz at (301) 713-
2347.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic shark fisheries are managed 
under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The Fishery Management 
Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish, and Sharks is implemented by 
regulations at 50 CFR part 635.

Background

    On November 15, 2002, NMFS published a notice of intent to prepare 
an EIS (67 FR 69180). In this notice, NMFS also announced its intent to 
amend the HMS FMP. Based on the 2002 stock assessments, NMFS believes 
the implementation of new management measures via an amendment to the 
HMS FMP is necessary to rebuild or prevent overfishing of Atlantic 
sharks. NMFS anticipates completing this amendment and any related 
documents by January 1, 2004.

Large Coastal Sharks

    The LCS complex is composed of several species including, but not 
limited to, sandbar, blacktip, spinner, bull, and tiger sharks. Since 
the 1993 Shark Fishery Management Plan, LCS have been considered 
overfished. The latest stock assessment of LCS in the U.S. Atlantic and 
Gulf of Mexico, available in October 2002 (67 FR 64098), provides an 
update on the status of LCS stocks and projects their future abundance 
under a variety of catch levels in waters off the U.S. Atlantic and 
Gulf of Mexico coasts. The 2002 assessment includes catch estimates, 
new biological data, and a number of fishery-independent catch rate 
series, as well as extended fishery-dependent catch rate series.
    The results for the LCS complex indicate that overfishing could 
still be occurring and the resource may be overfished. However, for 
sandbar sharks, the stock assessment indicates that, while overfishing 
is occurring, the current biomass is near, or somewhat above, maximum 
sustainable yield (MSY). Additionally, the stock assessment indicates 
that no reduction in catch for blacktip sharks is needed to maintain 
the stock at current levels and that some increase may be sustainable 
in the long term. Under the term of a court-approved settlement 
agreement, this stock assessment was independently peer reviewed. The 
peer review process was completed on December 20, 2003. The peer 
reviews were generally positive.
    Copies of the LCS stock assessment and peer review are available 
for review (see ADDRESSES).

Management Options

Small Coastal Sharks

    The SCS complex comprises four species including Atlantic 
sharpnose, blacknose, bonnethead, and finetooth. The 1992 stock 
assessment classified SCS as being fully utilized. The 2002 stock 
assessment of SCS in the U.S. and Gulf of Mexico indicates that the 
current level of removals is sustainable for the SCS aggregate. 
Aggregate biomass levels for the SCS aggregate are estimated at or 
above those which could produce MSY, and are not considered to be 
overfished. However, recent fishing mortality of finetooth sharks 
exceeds the fishing mortality at MSY, indicating overfishing is 
occurring for this species.
    Copies of the SCS stock assessment and the peer review of the LCS 
stock assessment are available for review (see ADDRESSES).

Management Options

    NMFS requests comments on management options for this action.
    Specifically, NMFS requests comments on commercial management 
options including quota levels, regional and seasonal quotas, trip 
limits, minimum sizes, the application of dead discards and state 
landings after a Federal closure to the quota, the counting quota of 
over- and underages, and fishery closure and opening notices. 
Additionally, NMFS request comments on recreational management options 
including retention limits, minimum sizes, authorized gear, and landing 
requirements. NMFS also seeks comment regarding deep water and 
prohibited shark species, display quotas, time/area closures and the 
organization of species groupings. Comments received on this action 
will assist NMFS in determining the options for rulemaking to conserve 
and manage shark resources and shark fisheries.
    Within the comment period established in this action, NMFS will 
hold seven public scoping meetings to gather public comment on the 
implementation of new management measures for Atlantic sharks.

Schedule of Public Scoping Meetings

    The dates, times, and locations of the meetings are scheduled as 
follows:
1. Monday, February 10, 2003 - Silver Spring, MD, 1-6 p.m.
    Holiday Inn
    8777 Georgia Avenue
    Silver Spring, MD 20910
    Contact: Karyl Brewster-Geisz @ (301) 713-2347
2. Wednesday, February 19, 2003 - Montauk, NY,7-9 p.m.
    Montauk Fire House

[[Page 3854]]

    12 Flamingo Avenue
    Montauk, NY 11954
    Contact: Heather Stirratt @ (301) 713-2347
3. Tuesday, February 25, 2003 - Coco Beach, FL, 7-9 p.m.
    Cocoa Beach Public Library
    550 North Brevard Avenue
    Cocoa Beach, FL 32931
    Contact: Greg Fairclough @ (727) 570-5447
4. Thursday, February 27, 2003 - Madeira Beach, FL,7-9 p.m.
    City of Madeira Beach, City of Madeira Beach Auditorium
    300 Municipal Drive
    Madeira Beach, FL 33708
    Contact: Greg Fairclough @ (727) 570-5447
5. Wednesday, March 5, 2003 - Ocean City, MD, 7-9 p.m.
    Ocean City Council Chambers
    301 Baltimore Avenue
    Ocean City, MD 21842
    Contact: Karyl Brewster-Geisz @ (301) 713-2347
6. Thursday, March 6, 2003 - Manteo, NC, 7-9 p.m.
    North Carolina Aquarium
    Roanoke Island
    Airport Road
    Manteo, NC 27954
    Contact: Heather Stirratt @ (301) 713-2347
7. Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - Port Aransas, TX,7-9 p.m.
    University of Texas
    Marine Science Institute
    Visitor's Center (located on Cotter St. near beach)
    750 Channel View Drive
    Port Aransas, TX 78373
    Contact: Heather Stirratt @ (301) 713-2347

Special Accommodations

    These meetings are physically accessible to people with 
disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other 
auxiliary aids should be directed to Heather Stirratt, (301) 713-2347.

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

    Dated: January 22, 2003.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-1786 Filed 1-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S