[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 210 (Monday, November 1, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 63341-63342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-24344]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 041021287-4287-01; I.D. 101804E]
RIN 0648-AS82


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea Scallop 
Fishery; Control Date

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; notice of a control date 
for the purposes of controlling entry in the general category Atlantic 
sea scallop fishery.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it is considering, and is seeking public 
comment on, proposed rulemaking to control future access to the open 
access vessel permit category (general category) Atlantic sea scallop 
fishery if a management regime is developed and implemented under the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-
Stevens Act) to limit the number of participants in this sector of the 
scallop fishery. This sector of the fishery includes vessels with 
general category permits, as well as vessels with limited access 
scallop permits that land scallops while not on a scallop day-at-sea 
(DAS). This announcement is intended, in part, to promote awareness of 
potential eligibility criteria for future access so as to discourage 
speculative entry into the fishery while the New England Fishery 
Management Council (Council) considers whether and how access to the 
general category sea scallop fishery should be controlled. The date of 
publication of this notice, November 1, 2004, shall be known as the 
``control date'' and may be used for establishing eligibility criteria 
for determining levels of future access to the sea scallop fishery 
subject to Federal authority.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 5:00 p.m., local 
time, December 1, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the subject 
line the following: ``Comments on the Atlantic Sea Scallop Control Date 
Notice.''
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Paper, disk, or CD-ROM comments should be sent to 
Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the outside of 
the envelope, ``Comments on the Atlantic Sea Scallop Control Date 
Notice.''
     Fax: (978) 281-9135.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter W. Christopher, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9288; fax 978-281-9135. email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Atlantic sea scallop is a benthic 
bivalve shellfish that supports a major commercial fishery on the 
Atlantic coast. Its distribution in Federal waters ranges from the 
international boundary with Canada, west to Georges Bank and southern 
New England, and then south to near the North Carolina/Virginia border. 
Sporadic concentrations of scallops are also found in the Gulf of Maine 
and south to areas off North Carolina. As scallop populations have 
rebuilt from being overfished, inshore areas have become more important 
to smaller commercial scallop fishing vessels. Notable areas where this 
inshore fishery takes place include the Gulf of Maine; the Great South 
Channel near Cape Cod, Massachusetts; the Nantucket Lightship Area; off 
Long Island, New York; off the central New Jersey coast; and off the 
Delmarva Peninsula.
    Landings of scallop meats were 54.9 million lb (24.9 million kg) in 
2003 (an increase of 8.1 percent compared to 2002), with a dockside 
value of $224.3 million. Of this amount, 1.9 million lb (861,826 kg) 
(3.5 percent) of scallop meats were landed by 335 vessels with general 
category scallop permits. Of this general category fishing activity, 
175 vessels with general category permits used scallop dredges to land 
1.3 million lb (589,670 kg) of scallops, according to Federal dealer 
reports. In addition to the 660,000 lb (299,371 kg) that vessels with 
general category permits were reported to have landed during March 1 to 
December 31, 2002, limited access vessels landed an additional 96,000 
lb (43,545 kg)(12.7 percent of the general category landings) while 
fishing under general category rules, according to the analysis in the 
Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) Amendment 10 
document.
    Further, the number of general category scallop permits issued 
between 2000 and 2004 is higher than the number of permits issued 
between 1994 and 1999. During the years 1994 to 1999 the number of 
permits issued ranged from 1,960 (in 1994) to 2,074 (in 1999). During 
the years 2000 to 2004 the number of permits issued ranged from 2,247 
(in 2000) to 2,536 (in 2003). Since March 1, 2004, general category 
permits issued during the 2004 fishing year stand at 2,367.
    According to the stock projections in the Framework 16 to the 
Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP and Framework 39 to the Northeast Multispecies 
FMP analysis, the current sea scallop Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) 
estimate is about 55 million lb (25 million kg) of meats. Annual 
landings are expected to vary considerably from this amount at times, 
due to natural variability in scallop recruitment. The Council notes 
that current capacity in the scallop fishery is sufficient to harvest 
or exceed MSY, and additional fishing by vessels that fish under 
general category rules has the potential to cause overfishing. The 
Council is also concerned that such fishing may change the historic 
distribution of landings among vessels, reduce the number of fishing 
days allocated to limited access vessels, and allow vessels that are 
not traditional participants in the scallop fishery to enter the 
fishery in response to improving scallop resource conditions coupled 
with increasing restrictions and declining prices in other fisheries.
    The Council's original intent in establishing the general category 
scallop permit implemented in 1994 through Amendment 4 to the Atlantic 
Sea Scallop FMP, was to accommodate customary scallop bycatch in other 
fisheries and allow a flexible program for seasonal or opportunistic 
fisheries targeting inshore scallops. In response to recent concerns 
raised to the Council about expansion of directed scallop fishing under 
general category rules, the Council may consider development of an 
amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop FMP or framework action that 
could restrict access in the general category scallop fishery to 
control harvest capacity. Future entry into the general category 
fishery may be based on levels of participation (e.g., permit 
categories based on historic harvest levels of a vessel) or other 
criteria related to overall harvest capacity.

[[Page 63342]]

    The control date is intended to discourage speculative entry into 
the general category scallop fishery while controlled access 
restrictions are considered by the Council. The control date will help 
to distinguish established participants from speculative entrants to 
the fishery. Although entering the fishery after the control date will 
not ensure fishing vessels of future access to the sea scallop resource 
on the grounds of previous participation, additional and/or other 
qualifying criteria may also be applied. The Council may choose 
different and variably weighted methods to qualify participants based 
on the type and length of participation in the general category scallop 
fishery.
    This notification established November 1, 2004, as the control date 
for potential use in determining historical or traditional 
participation in the general category scallop fishery. Consideration of 
a control date does not commit the Council or NMFS to develop any 
particular management system or criteria for participation in this 
fishery. The Council may choose a different control date, or may choose 
a management program that does not make use of such a date.
    Fishers are not guaranteed future participation in the fishery, 
regardless of their entry dates or level of participation in this 
fishery before or after the control date. The Council may choose to 
give variably weighted consideration to fishers active in the fishery 
before and after the control date. The Council may also choose to take 
no further action to control entry or access to the fishery, in which 
case the control date may be rescinded. Any action by the Council will 
be taken pursuant to the requirements for the development of FMP 
amendments established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
    This notification also gives the public notice that interested 
participants should locate and preserve records that substantiate and 
verify their participation in the general category scallop fishery in 
Federal waters.

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

    Dated: October 27, 2004.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-24344 Filed 10-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S