[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 1278-1279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-379]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[I.D. 122303G]
RIN 0648-AP95


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Rebuilding Plan for Red 
Grouper 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, acting through the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management 
Council (Council), has prepared Secretarial Amendment 1 to the Reef 
Fish Fishery Management Plan (Secretarial Amendment 1) that would 
establish a 10-year stock rebuilding plan for red grouper in the Gulf 
of Mexico. Secretarial Amendment 1 would also establish biological 
reference points and stock status determination criteria for red 
grouper consistent with the requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). In 
addition, Secretarial Amendment 1 would establish measures designed to 
protect other shallow-water grouper, deep-water grouper, and tilefishes 
from any potential shifts in fishing mortality that might occur as a 
result of the red grouper rebuilding plan. The intended effect of 
Secretarial Amendment 1 is to end overfishing and rebuild the red 
grouper resource consistent with the requirements of the Magnuson-
Stevens Act.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 4:30 p.m., eastern time, 
on March 8, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on Secretarial Amendment 1 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.
    Copies of Secretarial Amendment 1, which includes an environmental 
assessment, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis, and a 
regulatory impact review are available from NMFS at the address above.

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

    In October 2000, NMFS declared that the Gulf stock of red grouper 
had been overfished and was undergoing overfishing. This determination 
was based on the results of a 1999 red grouper stock assessment and 
subsequent analysis by the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center and 
the Council's Reef Fish Stock Assessment Panel. Subsequently, a 2002 
stock assessment found that, although overfishing is still occurring, 
the stock is in an improved condition and is no longer overfished. 
However, the stock has not yet reached the biomass level that is 
capable of producing MSY on a continuing basis (BMSY). 
Therefore, measures to end overfishing and a rebuilding plan to restore 
the stock to the BMSY level in 10 years or less are still 
necessary.

Provisions of Secretarial Amendment 1

    Secretarial Amendment 1 proposes to establish a 10-year red grouper 
rebuilding plan, structured in 3-year intervals, that would end 
overfishing

[[Page 1279]]

and rebuild the stock to MSY. The rebuilding plan seeks to achieve a 
9.4-percent reduction in the recreational and commercial harvest of red 
grouper, relative to the average landings for 1999-2001, during the 
first 3 years of the 10-year rebuilding plan. Measures to accomplish 
this reduction equitably for the commercial and recreational sectors of 
the fishery include (1) establishing a red grouper commercial quota of 
5.31 million lb (2.38 million kg), gutted weight; (2) establishing a 2-
fish red grouper recreational bag limit (within the aggregate 5-fish 
grouper bag limit); and (3) including a provision that would close the 
entire shallow-water grouper commercial fishery when either the red 
grouper quota or the shallow-water grouper quota is reached. The 
appropriate measures for the subsequent 3-year intervals, consistent 
with the overall provisions of the rebuilding plan, would be determined 
based on the latest stock assessments available at that time.
    Secretarial Amendment 1 also includes measures designed to protect 
other shallow-water grouper, deep-water grouper, and tilefishes from 
any potential shift in fishing mortality that might result from 
implementation of the red grouper rebuilding plan. These measures 
include (1) a reduction of the shallow-water grouper commercial quota 
from 9.35 million lb (4.24 million kg) to 8.80 million lb (4.0 million 
kg), gutted weight; (2) a reduction of the deep-water grouper 
commercial quota from 1.35 million lb (0.61 million kg) to 1.02 million 
lb (0.46 million kg), dressed weight; and (3) establishment of a 
commercial quota of 0.44 million lb (0.20 million kg), gutted weight, 
for all tilefishes in the management unit, combined.
    In addition, Secretarial Amendment 1 would establish biological 
reference points and stock status determination criteria for red 
grouper (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 Magnuson-
Stevens Act.
    NMFS has submitted Secretarial Amendment 1 for agency review, 
approval, and implementation. NMFS is also evaluating the proposed rule 
that would implement Secretarial Amendment 1 to determine whether it is 
consistent with the amendment, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and any other 
applicable law. If that determination is affirmative, NMFS will publish 
the proposed rule in the Federal Register for public review and 
comment.
    NMFS' decision regarding approval of Secretarial Amendment 1 will 
be based on consideration of comments received on this notice of 
availability by 4:30 p.m., eastern time, on March 8, 2004. All comments 
received by NMFS on the amendment or the proposed rule during the 
respective comment periods will be addressed in the final rule.

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

    Dated: January 2, 2004.
Bruce C. Morehead,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-379 Filed 1-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S