[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 164 (Monday, August 25, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50998-50999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21609]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[ID 081403B]
RIN 0648-AP57


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Surf 
Clam and Ocean Quahog Fishery; Amendment 13 to the Surf Clam and Ocean 
Quahog Fishery Management Plan

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

[[Page 50999]]


ACTION: Notice of availability of a fishery management plan amendment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 13 to the Atlantic Surf Clam and Ocean Quahog 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Secretarial review and is requesting 
comments from the public. Amendment 13 to the FMP (Amendment 13) would 
establish: A new surf clam overfishing definition; multi-year fishing 
quotas; a mandatory vessel monitoring system (VMS), when such a system 
is economically viable; the ability to suspend or adjust the surf clam 
minimum size limit through a framework adjustment; and an analysis of 
fishing gear impacts on Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for surf clams and 
ocean quahogs. The primary purpose of this proposed action is to 
rectify the disapproved surf clam overfishing definition and the EFH 
analysis and rationale contained in Amendment 12 to the FMP in order to 
comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), and to simplify the regulatory requirements 
of the FMP.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before October 23, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the FMP should be sent to Patricia A. Kurkul, 
Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn 
Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of the envelope, 
``Comments on Surf Clam Amendment 13.'' Comments may also be sent via 
facsimile (fax) to (978) 281-9135. Comments will not be accepted if 
submitted via e-mail or the Internet.
    Copies of the Amendment, the Final Supplementary Environmental 
Impact Statement (FSEIS), Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) are available from 
Daniel Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council, Room 2115 Federal Building, 300 S. New Street, Dover, DE 
19904-6790.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan A. Murphy, Senior Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9252, fax 978-281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Amendment 12 to the FMP was prepared by the 
Council to bring the FMP into compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act, 
as amended by the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996. On April 28, 1999, 
the Council was notified that NMFS partially approved Amendment 12. 
Specifically, two Amendment 12 measures were disapproved, the surf clam 
overfishing definition and the analysis and rationale for the status 
quo alternative for addressing fishing gear impacts to EFH. To rectify 
these diapprovals, the Council prepared, and NMFS published, a Notice 
of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the 
Federal Register, officially beginning the Council's scoping process 
for Amendment 13 (66 FR 13694, March 7, 2001). The Council held a 
scoping hearing on March 21, 2001, and accepted scoping comments on the 
amendment during the period March 7 through April 6, 2001. In addition 
to the surf clam overfishing definition and EFH alternatives, other 
issues identified for inclusion in the FSEIS were multi-year quotas, a 
mandatory VMS requirement and a permanent suspension of the surf clam 
minimum size limit. The Council identified a range of alternatives for 
each of these five issues and approved the alternatives in a public 
hearing document at its May, 2002 meeting. A Notice of Availability 
(NOA) on the DSEIS was published in the Federal Register on August 30, 
2002 (67 FR 55838), with a comment period ending October 15, 2002. 
There were a series of three public hearings held (one each in the 
states of Maine, New Jersey and Delaware). After consideration of all 
public comments, the Council chose the following alternatives at its 
January, 2003 meeting and voted to submit the Amendment 13 document, 
including the draft final supplemental environmental impact statement 
to NMFS. Amendment 13 would establish: A new surf clam overfishing 
definition; multi-year fishing quotas; a mandatory vessel monitoring 
system (VMS), when such a system is economically viable; the ability to 
suspend or adjust the surf clam minimum size limit through a framework 
adjustment; and an analysis of fishing gear impacts on Essential Fish 
Habitat (EFH) for surf clams and ocean quahogs.
    Public comments are being solicited on Amendment 13 through the end 
of the comment period stated in this notice of availability. A proposed 
rule that would implement Amendment 13 may be published in the Federal 
Register for public comment, following NMFS' evaluation of the proposed 
rule under the procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Public comments 
on the proposed rule must be received by the end of the comment period 
on the Amendment 13 to be considered in the approval/disapproval 
decision on the Amendment 13. All comments received by the end of the 
comment period on Amendment 13, whether specifically directed to 
Amendment 13 or the proposed rule, will be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on Amendment 13. Any comments received after that 
date will not be considered in the decision to approve or disapprove 
Amendment 13.

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

    Dated: August 18, 2003.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 03-21609 Filed 8-22-03; 8:45 am]
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