[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 31 (Friday, February 14, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 7492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3758]



[[Page 7492]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 600

[Docket No. 030128024-3024-01; I.D. 121002A]
RIN 0648-AQ63


Fisheries of the United States; National Standard 1

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; consideration of 
revision to national standard 1 guidelines.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the agency is considering revisions to the 
national standard guidelines for national standard 1 that specify 
criteria for determining overfishing and establishing rebuilding 
schedules. There have been concerns expressed by the scientific 
community, fisheries managers, the fishing industry, and environmental 
groups regarding the appropriateness of some aspects of these 
guidelines, particularly in light of new issues arising from rebuilding 
programs that have been underway for several years. This action 
solicits public input on the effectiveness and appropriateness of the 
national standard 1 guidelines in complying with the requirements of 
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act).

DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing by March 17, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Mr. John H. Dunnigan, Director, 
Office of Sustainable Fisheries, Room 13362, 1315 East-West Highway, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910; or faxed to 301-713-1193. Comments will not be 
accepted if submitted via e-mail or Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark R. Millikin, at 301-713-2341 or 
via e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: National standard 1 reads, ``Conservation 
and management measures shall prevent overfishing while achieving, on a 
continuing basis, the optimum yield from each fishery for the United 
States fishing industry.'' In 1996, the Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA) 
amended the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1801, et seq.) to, among 
other things, provide definitions for ``overfishing'' and modify the 
definition of ``optimum yield.'' The Magnuson-Stevens Act, in section 
303(a)(10), now requires each fishery management plan (FMP) to 
``specify objective and measurable criteria for identifying when the 
fishery to which the FMP applies is overfished.'' In addition, section 
304(e) specifies requirements for rebuilding overfished fisheries. The 
revised national standard guidelines, including national standard 1, 
were proposed at 62 FR 41907, August 4, 1997, and published as final 
guidelines at 63 FR 24212, May 1, 1998.
    As they currently exist, the national standard 1 guidelines provide 
definitions and require determination, to the extent possible, of 
maximum sustainable yield (MSY), or an acceptable surrogate; 
specification of status determination criteria including a maximum 
fishing mortality threshold and a minimum stock size threshold; ending 
overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks; and specification of 
optimum yield (OY) in fisheries.
    In response to the SFA, these national standard guidelines were 
implemented in 1998, over 5 years ago. Since that time, we have 
developed new perspectives, new issues, and new problems regarding 
their application. Concerns that have been identified for possible 
revision include, but are not limited to, the following:
    1. The definition and use of the minimum stock size threshold 
(MSST) for determining when a stock is overfished. There has been 
considerable discussion about the utility of the concept of MSST, the 
definition of MSST contained in the guidelines, difficulties in 
estimating the MSST (especially in data-poor situations), and 
identifying appropriate proxies for MSST.
    2. Calculation of rebuilding targets appropriate to the prevailing 
environmental regime. Currently, the guidelines do not address how 
rebuilding targets should accommodate changing environmental 
conditions. Rebuilding rates based upon current stock productivity may 
be inconsistent with rebuilding targets based upon historical stock 
productivity when there are persistent, long-term changes in 
environmental conditions.
    3. Calculation of maximum permissible rebuilding times for 
overfished fisheries. The SFA established a maximum allowable 10-year 
rebuilding time for a fishery, except where the biology of the fish 
will not allow it or the fishery is managed under an international 
agreement. If the minimum time for a fishery to rebuild is 10 years or 
greater, the maximum allowable rebuilding time under the guidelines 
becomes the time to rebuild in the absence of any fishing mortality, 
plus one mean generation time. This has created a discontinuity where 
the difference in allowable rebuilding times between a stock with a 
minimum rebuilding time of 9 years and another stock with a minimum 
rebuilding time of 11 years, may be several decades in the case of 
long-lived species. This results in the need for much more restrictive 
management measures in the first case compared to the second, even 
though there is not much difference between them in terms of rebuilding 
potential.
    4. The definitions of overfishing as they relate to a fishery as a 
whole or a stock of fish within that fishery. There are currently over 
900 fish stocks identified for the purpose of determining their status 
with regard to overfishing, many of which are caught in small amounts 
and whose status is unknown. Combining assessments and status 
determination criteria for assemblages of minor stocks may make more 
sense biologically and economically than attempting to assess and 
manage them one by one. Further guidance is needed on the most 
ecologically sound and economically expedient ways to manage these 
fisheries.
    5. Procedures to follow when rebuilding plans require revision 
after initiation, especially with regard to modification of the 
rebuilding time frame. The guidelines do not currently address what to 
do when observed rebuilding rates are greater or lower than expected or 
when new assessments change estimates of rebuilding targets or other 
parameters.
    NMFS solicits input from the public regarding: (1) whether or not 
the national standard 1 guidelines should be revised and (2) if 
revisions are desired, what parts of the national standard 1 guidelines 
should be revised, how they should be revised, and why. NMFS will use 
the information in determining whether to proceed with a revision to 
the existing guidelines, and if so, the issues to be addressed.
    This advance notice of proposed rulemaking has been determined to 
be significant for the purposes of Executive Order 12866.

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

    Dated: February 10, 2003.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-3758 Filed 2-13-03; 8:45 am]
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