[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 18, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7749-7750]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3845]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 020503A]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Spiny Dogfish 
Fishery; Scoping Process

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS); notice of scoping meetings; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils 
(Councils) announce their intention to jointly prepare, in cooperation 
with NMFS, an EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act to assess potential effects on the human environment of alternative 
measures for managing the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) fishery 
pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (MSFCMA). The Councils are developing Amendment 1 to the Spiny 
Dogfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to address rebuilding targets and 
timeframes, methods to estimate discard mortality and reduce 
discarding, the quota allocation scheme, and potentially other 
management measures as well. This notification announces a public 
process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for 
identifying the significant issues relating to management of spiny 
dogfish. The intended effect of this notification is to alert the 
interested public of the scoping process and to provide for public 
participation.

DATES: Written comments on the intent to prepare an EIS must be 
received on or before 5 p.m., local time, April 4, 2003. A public 
scoping meeting will be held on Monday, March 17, 2003, at 7:00 PM.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the intent to prepare the EIS and 
requests for the scoping document or other information should be 
directed to Mr. Daniel T. Furlong, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council, Room 2115 Federal Building, 300 S. New St., Dover, DE 19904, 
(Phone 302-674-2331). Comments may also be sent via facsimile (FAX) to 
(302) 674-5399. Comments will not be accepted if submitted by e-mail or 
Internet.
    A scoping hearing will be held at 7:00 PM on March 17, 2003 at the 
Sheraton Oceanfront Hotel (36th Street & Atlantic Ave.), in Virginia 
Beach, VA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Daniel T. Furlong, Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, telephone (302) 674-2331.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Fishery Management Unit

    The management unit is all Atlantic spiny dogfish (Squalus 
acanthias) in U.S. waters in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Problems Discussed For this Amendment

1. Define a rebuilding biomass target and agecomposition
    Currently, there is no rebuilding target for the spiny dogfish 
stock because the rebuilding target established in the original FMP was 
disapproved. It will be necessary to establish a new target that will 
identify the stock size that corresponds to a recovered spiny dogfish 
stock as defined under the MSFCMA. Examples of rebuilding targets are 
BMSY (population biomass (B) that supports Maximum Sustainable Yield 
(MSY)) and SSBmax (female Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) that maximizes 
recruitment). Additionally, identification of a target age structure 
for the rebuilt stock has been suggested. Target age compositions 
proposed thus far include those corresponding to (1) the average from 
1980-88 and (2) the average from 1989-93.
2. Choose a rebuilding timeframe consistent with National Standards 
Guidelines
    The National Standards Guidelines of the MSFCMA provide minimum and 
maximum time limits for rebuilding fish stocks that are classified as 
overfished. The lower limit of the specified time period for rebuilding 
is the amount of time that would be required for rebuilding if fishing 
mortality were

[[Page 7750]]

eliminated (50 CFR 600.310(e)(4)(ii)(B)(3)). The longest amount of time 
allowed for rebuilding is the amount of time required to rebuild the 
stock with no fishing mortality plus one mean generation time. Other 
potential rebuilding time frames include those consistent with a 
constant fishing mortality rate of F = 0.03, a constant harvest 
strategy of 8.8 million pounds, and one mean generation time.
3. Evaluate new methods to estimate discards and discard mortality as 
well as develop management options to reduce discards in other 
fisheries
    The Dogfish Monitoring Committee concluded at its September 2002 
meeting that discard mortality may be compromising the fishery's 
ability to achieve the FMP objective of rebuilding female spawning 
stock biomass. The Committee strongly recommended increased observer 
coverage to allow reliable estimation of discards and additional 
studies to estimate discard mortality rate by gear type. The mortality 
of dogfish discarded in other fisheries could be greater than that 
which will allow stock rebuilding. If this is the case, additional 
constraints on the fisheries which land and discard dogfish should be 
considered (e.g., time-area closures).
4. Establish a new quota allocation scheme
    The current quota allocation scheme designates 57.9 percent of the 
annual quota to period 1 (May-October) and 42.1 percent to period 2 
(November-April). This scheme may be modified in order to simplify the 
allocation process and/or distribute harvest more evenly over the 
course of the year. Alternatives to the current scheme include but are 
not limited to a 50:50 split between quota periods 1 and 2, alternative 
seasons (i.e., monthly, bimonthly, quarters), changing the fishing year 
to be consistent with the calendar year, and adding a provision for 
overages.
5. Other management concerns
    A number of additional management measure changes could be 
considered in the development of Amendment 1. These modifications could 
include changing the specification of management measures from an 
annual to a multiple year approach, adding quota set-asides for 
biological supply and/or biomedical research, limited access options, 
establishing a percentage of the quota for research set-asides, 
allocating the quota regionally or state-by-state, establishing a 
maximum size or slot sizes, and managing the Northwest Atlantic spiny 
dogfish resource in cooperation with Canada.

Possible Management Measures

Commercial Fishery Management Measures
    Possible management measures for the commercial fishery include:

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Discard Monitoring Program.....................................        X
Closed seasons.................................................        X
Closed areas...................................................        X
Regional Quota Allocation......................................        X
Minimum/Maximum Size Limits....................................        X
Trip limits....................................................        X
Limited Access.................................................        X
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Recreational Fishery Management Measures
    Possible management measures for the spiny dogfish recreational 
fishery include:

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Discard Monitoring Program.....................................        X
Closed seasons.................................................        X
Closed areas...................................................        X
Minimum/Maximum Size Limits....................................        X
Trip limits....................................................        X
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Public Scoping Meeting Schedule
    A scoping meeting will be held as follows:
    7:00 PM March 17, 2003 at Sheraton Oceanfront Hotel, 36th Street & 
Atlantic Ave. Virginia Beach, VA 23451 Tel: 757-425-9000

Special Accommodations

    This meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. 
Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids 
should be directed to Joanna Davis at the Mid-Atlantic Council, 
telephone (302) 674-2331, at least 5 days prior to the scoping meeting.

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

    Dated: February 11, 2003.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-3845 Filed 2-14-03; 8:45 am]
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