[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 139 (Monday, July 21, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 43074-43075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18491]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 697

[Docket No. 030714172-3172-01; I.D. 063003A]
RIN 0648-AR33


Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act; Atlantic Striped Bass 
Fishery

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

ACTION: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR); request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces that it is considering potential revisions to 
the Federal Atlantic striped bass regulations for the U.S. Exclusive 
Economic Zone (EEZ) in response to recommendations from the Atlantic 
States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) to the Secretary of 
Commerce (Secretary). The Commission recommended that the Secretary 
remove the moratorium on the harvest of Atlantic striped bass in the 
EEZ after a 13-year closure; implement a 28-inch (71.1-cm) minimum size 
limit for the recreational and commercial Atlantic striped bass 
fisheries in the EEZ; and allow states the ability to adopt more 
restrictive rules for fishermen and vessels licensed in their 
jurisdiction. NMFS is soliciting comments with this notice regarding 
possible management measures and issues that NMFS should consider 
relative to these recommendations.

DATES:  Written comments must be received at the appropriate address or 
facsimile (fax) number (see ADDRESSES) no later than 5 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time on or before August 20, 2003.

ADDRESSES:  Written comments must be sent to: Anne Lange, Chief, State-
Federal Fisheries Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, 1315 
East West Highway, Room 13317, Silver Spring, MD 20910. Comments may 
also be sent via fax to (301) 713-0596. Comments submitted via e-mail 
or Internet will not be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Meyer, Fishery Management 
Biologist, (301) 713-2334, fax (301) 713-0596.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This ANPR is promulgated under the Atlantic Striped Bass 
Conservation Act (Act), Public Law 100-589, reproduced at 16 U.S.C. 
1851 note. Section 9 of the Act requires the Secretary to promulgate 
regulations governing fishing for Atlantic striped bass in the EEZ that 
the Secretary determines: (1) are consistent with the national 
standards in Section 301 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 1851); (2) are 
compatible with the fishery management plan for managing Atlantic 
striped bass and each Federal moratorium in effect on fishing for 
Atlantic striped bass within the coastal waters of a coastal state; (3) 
ensure the effectiveness of State regulations on fishing for Atlantic 
striped bass within the coastal waters of a coastal state; and (4) are 
sufficient to assure the long-term conservation of Atlantic striped 
bass populations. In developing the regulations, the Secretary is to 
consult with the Commission, the appropriate Regional Fishery 
Management Councils (Councils), and each affected Federal, state and 
local government entity.
    Atlantic Striped Bass management is based on the Commission's 
Atlantic Striped Bass Interstate Fishery Management Plan (ISFMP), first 
adopted in 1981. From 1981 - 1994, four ISFMP Amendments were developed 
that provided a series of management measures that led to the 
rebuilding of the stocks. In 1995, the Commission declared the Atlantic 
striped bass population fully restored and implemented Amendment 5 to 
the ISFMP to perpetuate the stock so as to allow a commercial and 
recreational harvest consistent with the long-term maintenance of the 
striped bass stock. Since then the population has expanded to record 
levels of abundance. To maintain this recovered population, the 
Commission approved Amendment 6 to the ISFMP (Amendment 6) in February 
2003 (copies of Amendment 6 are available via the Commission's website 
at www.asmfc.org). The Commission believes that the measures contained 
in Amendment 6 are necessary to prevent the overfishing of the Atlantic 
striped bass resource while allowing growth in both the commercial and 
recreational fishery. Development of Amendment 6 took almost four years 
and involved extensive input from technical and industry advisors, and 
provided numerous opportunities for the public to comment on the future 
management of the species.
    Amendment 6 incorporates results of the most recent Atlantic 
striped bass stock assessment, developed by the Atlantic Coast States, 
the Commission, NMFS, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (see 
section 1.2.2 of Amendment 6). In summary, the 2001 stock assessment 
concluded that the overall abundance of the stock is very high and 
fishing mortality remains below the target rate. The stock's abundance 
increased steadily between 1982 and 1997 and since then has remained 
stable. The fishing mortality rate increased steadily until 1999, but 
decreased slightly in 2000. Amendment 6 also includes recommendations 
to the Secretary on the development of complementary measures in the 
EEZ. Management of Atlantic striped bass in the EEZ was one of the 
issues that was considered throughout development of Amendment 6.

Recommendation to the Secretary

    On April 24, 2003, the Secretary received a letter from the 
Commission with the following three recommendations for implementation 
of regulations in the EEZ: (1) Remove the moratorium on the harvest of 
Atlantic striped bass in the EEZ; (2) implement a 28-inch (71.1 cm) 
minimum size limit for recreational and commercial Atlantic striped 
bass fisheries in the EEZ; and (3) allow states the ability to adopt 
more restrictive rules for fishermen and vessels licensed in their 
jurisdictions.
    In support of its request, the Commission provided a number of 
reasons to justify opening the EEZ to striped bass fishing. These 
reasons include:
    (1) In 1995, due in part to a closure of the EEZ in 1990 to striped 
bass harvest, the population of this species was declared fully 
restored by the Commission. The purpose of closing the EEZ was to 
protect strong year classes entering the population and to promote 
rebuilding of the overfished population.
    (2) The commercial harvest is controlled by hard quotas; when they 
are reached the fishery is closed; and overages are taken out of next 
year's quotas. The Commercial quota will be landed regardless of 
whether or not the EEZ is opened.
    (3) Currently, recreational and commercial catches are occurring in 
the EEZ and these fish are required to be discarded. Opening the EEZ 
will convert discarded bycatch of striped bass to landings.
    (4) Because of management measures implemented since 1990, the 
striped

[[Page 43075]]

bass population has recovered to a point where further examination of 
whether this fishery should occur in the EEZ is appropriate. There are 
expectations among a number of fishing industry stakeholders that their 
past sacrifices would result in future opportunities to harvest striped 
bass, and therefore, there are potential credibility issues associated 
with keeping the EEZ closed, especially in light of the current status 
of the Atlantic striped bass stock.
    (5) The recommendation to open the EEZ is part of Amendment 6 which 
incorporates new management standards to ensure stock conservation 
including targets and thresholds for both mortality and spawning stock 
biomass. Fishing mortality is currently below the target level, and 
spawning stock biomass is 1.5 times the target level.
    (6) Amendment 6 includes monitoring requirements and triggers that 
will allow the Commission to respond quickly to increased mortality.
    (7) The bulk of the public comment (greater than 75 percent) 
received in opposition cited expansion of the commercial fishery as 
rationale not to open the EEZ. The Commission believes the rationale is 
incorrect because the commercial fishery is controlled by a hard quota.
    The Commission stated that its Atlantic Striped Bass Technical 
Committee would monitor annually the Atlantic striped bass population, 
and, if at some point in the future the Commission determines that the 
Atlantic striped bass population is overfished or that overfishing is 
occurring, it may recommend further management measures for the EEZ.
    NMFS is considering proposed rulemaking to revise the Federal 
Atlantic striped bass regulations to be compatible with Amendment 6 and 
is seeking comments on implementation of the Commission's 
recommendations in the EEZ. After review of comments received from this 
notice, NMFS will decide whether to initiate a lengthy review and 
decision-making process, which would include preparation of either an 
Environmental Impact Statement or an Environmental Assessment, and the 
development of management measures to revise current Federal 
regulations for Atlantic striped bass in the EEZ.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1851 note.

    Dated: July 15, 2003.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-18491 Filed 7-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S