[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 16, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67106-67107]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25429]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 041105308-4308-01; I.D. 110304B]
RIN 0648-AS88


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico; Commercial Reef Fish Fishery 
of the Gulf of Mexico; Control Date

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; control date for Gulf of 
Mexico grouper landings.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council (GMFMC) is considering the establishment of an 
individual fishing quota (IFQ) to control participation or effort in 
the commercial grouper fishery of the Gulf of Mexico. If an IFQ is 
established, the GMFMC is considering October 15, 2004, as a possible 
control date regarding the eligibility of catch histories in the 
commercial grouper fishery.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by December 16, 2004.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this notice of control date by 
any of the following methods:

[[Page 67107]]

     E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the 
subject line the following document identifier: 0648-AS88.Proposed.
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Steve Branstetter, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 
9721 Executive Center Drive N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702.
     Fax: 727-570-5583, Attention: Steve Branstetter.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Branstetter, 727-570-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The commercial fishery for grouper in 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 GMFMC, and implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. A moratorium on the 
issuance of new commercial reef fish permits was established by 
Amendment 4 to the FMP in May 1992. The moratorium has been maintained 
since that time with the implementation of Amendments 9, 11, and 17, 
and is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2005. The GMFMC is currently 
finalizing Amendment 24 to the FMP that would again extend the 
moratorium.
    The GMFMC anticipates that additional future action may be 
necessary to control effort in the Gulf of Mexico grouper fishery by 
further restricting the number of participants. The GMFMC has been 
advised by NMFS that the grouper resources of the Gulf EEZ are fully 
exploited, especially red grouper and the aggregate of deep-water 
groupers, and the fisheries currently operate under restrictive quotas. 
As such, the GMFMC is concerned that the current level of participation 
and effort in the grouper fishery of the Gulf of Mexico may not be 
maximizing the economic benefits that could be derived from the 
resource and that future increases in participation or effort could 
further reduce economic benefits. In anticipation of future action to 
establish an IFQ for the grouper fishery of the Gulf of Mexico, at its 
October 2004 meeting, the GMFMC approved a motion stating:
    In order to discourage acceleration in the grouper fishery to 
develop a catch history, the Council records its intent to only use 
catch histories prior to October 15, 2004, when developing a grouper 
IFQ. The Council requests NOAA Fisheries to publish this as a 
control date.
    Should the GMFMC take future action to further restrict 
participation in the fishery, it may use October 15, 2004, as a 
possible control date regarding the eligibility of catch histories. 
Implementation of any program to restrict access in the grouper fishery 
would require preparation of an amendment to the FMP and publication of 
a notice of availability of the amendment with a comment period, 
publication of a proposed rule with a public comment period, approval 
of the amendment, and issuance of a final implementing rule.
    Consideration of a control date does not commit the GMFMC or NMFS 
to any particular management regime or criteria for eligibility in the 
commercial grouper fishery. The GMFMC may or may not make use of this 
control date as part of the qualifying criteria for participation in 
any future IFQ or other management program for the Gulf of Mexico 
grouper fishery. Fishermen are not guaranteed future participation in a 
fishery regardless of their entry date or intensity of participation in 
the fishery before or after the control date under consideration. The 
GMFMC subsequently may choose a different control date or a management 
regime that does not make use of a control date. The GMFMC also may 
choose to take no further action to control entry or access to the 
fisheries, in which case the control date may be rescinded.

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

    Dated: November 10, 2004.
Rebecca Lent,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 04-25429 Filed 11-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S