[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 50 (Friday, March 14, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12344-12345]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6197]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[I.D. 021903B]
RIN 0648-AQ24


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Rebuilding Plan for Greater 
Amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Secretarial amendment; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary), 
acting through the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council), 
has prepared Secretarial Amendment 2 to the Reef Fish Fishery 
Management Plan (Secretarial Amendment 2) that would establish a 10-
year stock rebuilding plan for greater amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico. 
The rebuilding plan consists of a series of 3-year management goals and 
the associated management measures and actions necessary to achieve 
those goals, as determined by the status of the stock during each of 
the 3-year intervals. Secretarial Amendment 2 also establishes biomass-
based stock rebuilding targets and thresholds (i.e., maximum 
sustainable yield (MSY), optimum yield (OY), maximum fishing mortality 
threshold (MFMT), and minimum stock size threshold (MSST)), consistent 
with the requirements of the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996 (SFA). 
The intended effect of Secretarial Amendment 2 is to prevent 
overfishing and rebuild the greater amberjack resource consistent with 
the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) while minimizing, to the extent 
practicable, adverse economic impacts on all users of the resource and 
the affected fishing communities.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 4:30 p.m., eastern time, 
on May 13, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on Secretarial Amendment 2 must be sent to 
Phil Steele, 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 Internet.
    Requests for copies of Secretarial Amendment 2, which includes an 
environmental assessment and a regulatory impact review (RIR) should be 
sent to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S. 
Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa, FL 33619-2266; telephone: 813-
228-2815; fax: 813-225-7015; e-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Phil Steele, telephone: 727-570-5305, 
fax: 727-570-5583, e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The reef fish fishery in the exclusive 
economic zone of the Gulf of Mexico is managed under the Fishery 
Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico 
(FMP). The FMP was prepared by the Council, and is implemented under 
the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act by regulations at 50 CFR part 
622.

Background

    The greater amberjack resource in the Gulf of Mexico was declared 
overfished by NMFS on February 9, 2001. This determination was based on 
the 2000 greater amberjack stock assessment (using data through 1998) 
conducted by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center and the 
December 2000 Report of the Reef Fish Stock Assessment Panel (RFSAP). 
The results of several analyses indicated that the stock biomass was 
below the level needed to sustain harvest at MSY, with the best 
estimate indicating that the stock biomass was at less than half the 
biomass needed to sustain MSY, which is below the minimum level allowed 
under the 1998 NMFS National Standard Guidelines.
    Further, the RFSAP concluded in its December 2000 report that the 
greater amberjack stock may not be experiencing overfishing if 
regulations previously implemented by the Council, but not factored 
into the 2000 stock assessment, have reduced fishing mortality. These 
regulations include: (1) an annual Gulf-wide closed season for greater 
amberjack from March through May (implemented in 1998); (2) a reduced 
bag limit for greater amberjack, from three to one fish per person 
(implemented in 1997); and (3) bag and size limits for lesser amberjack 
and for banded rudderfish, which are often mistaken for greater 
amberjack (implemented in 1999). NMFS concurred with this conclusion, 
stating in the February 9, 2001, letter to the Council that ``the Gulf 
of Mexico greater amberjack stock is overfished, but is not 
experiencing overfishing.'' A 2002 analysis, which incorporated recent 
landings data through the year 2000, indicated that overfishing had 
indeed been halted. Because overfishing has been halted, and because 
recent landings have been below levels required to rebuild the stock 
within a 10-year time frame, the rebuilding plan alternatives 
considered in this document do not contain additional management 
measures to further reduce fishing mortality.
    Currently, the FMP requires that overfished stocks be restored to a 
level of 20 percent transitional spawning potential ratio within a time 
period equal to one and one-half times the average time it would take a 
year class in an unfished population to replace itself, also known as 
the generation time. However, in order to comply with the requirements 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, as amended by the Sustainable Fisheries 
Act, new biomass-based targets and recovery time frame parameters need 
to be implemented.
    This Secretarial Amendment proposes to establish these new biomass-
based targets and thresholds for greater amberjack, as well as a 
schedule to rebuild the stock to a non-overfished level within 10 
years. Proposed actions in the amendment include setting total 
allowable catch (TAC) for 3-year intervals with TAC being set at the 
yield associated with year one of the 3-year interval from the constant 
F40% rebuilding stream. Proposed TAC will be 2.9 million lb (1.3 
million kg) for the years 2003-2005, 5.2 million lb (2.4 million kg) 
for years 2006-2008, 7.0 million lb (3.2 million kg) for years 2009-
2011, and 7.9 million lb (3.6 million kg) for 2012. Additionally, the 
amendment contains definitions of MSY and OY and adds new stock status 
determination criteria regarding definitions of ``overfished'' (minimum 
stock size threshold) and ``overfishing'' (maximum fishing mortality 
threshold). The amendment proposes no changes to the current fishing 
regulations for greater amberjack.

Procedural Aspects of Secretarial Amendment 2

    The Council has proposed Secretarial Amendment 2 for NMFS' review, 
approval, and implementation. However, neither the proposed biomass-
based stock rebuilding targets and thresholds nor the initial phase 
(2003-2005) of the greater amberjack rebuilding plan involve changes to 
the regulations; therefore, no proposed or final rule is required at 
this time. NMFS' decision to adopt Secretarial Amendment 2 will be 
based on

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consideration of comments, recommendations, views, and information 
received during the comment period on this notice of availability. 
After consideration of these factors, NMFS will publish a notice of 
agency action in the Federal Register announcing the agency's decision 
to approve, partially approve, or disapprove Secretarial Amendment 2 
and the associated rationale. If approved, the provisions of 
Secretarial Amendment 2 would not be specified in regulations but would 
be considered to be amendments to the FMP. To the extent that 
management measures resulting from the rebuilding plan after 2005, or 
any that might result from routine monitoring prior to 2005, require 
changes to the regulations, such changes would be implemented via plan 
amendment or regulatory amendment with associated proposed rules, 
public comment, and final rules.

Consideration of Public Comments

    Public comments received by 4:30 p.m. eastern time, on May 13, 2003 
will be considered by NMFS in the approval/disapproval decision 
regarding Secretarial Amendment 2.

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

    Dated: March 10, 2003.
Richard W. Surdi,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-6197 Filed 3-13-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S