[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 10, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 24494-24495]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9332]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 635

[I.D. 040605D]


Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Commercial Shark Management 
Measures

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

ACTION: Receipt of a petition for rulemaking; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of, and requests public comment on, 
a petition from the North Carolina Department of Environment and 
Natural Resources, Division of Marine Fisheries (Petitioner) to 
initiate rulemaking to amend the extent of the current time/area 
closure for Atlantic sharks off the Mid-Atlantic region.

DATES: Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern 
standard time, on July 11, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the petition should be sent to Jackie 
Wilson, Highly Migratory Species Management Division:
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Mail: 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 
Please mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on Petition for 
Rulemaking for Sharks.''
     Fax: 301-713-1917.

[[Page 24495]]

     Federal e-Rulemaing Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Include in the subject line the following identifier: I.D. 040605D.
    Copies of the petition are available upon request at the address 
specified above and are also available on the internet at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jackie Wilson or Karyl Brewster-Geisz 
by phone: 301-713-2347 or by fax: 301-713-1917.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Petition for Rulemaking

    On March 7, 2005, NMFS received a request from the Petitioner to 
initiate rulemaking for a regulatory amendment to 50 CFR 635.2 in the 
definition of the ``Mid-Atlantic shark closed area.'' The proposal 
would reduce the current closed area by changing the boundary from 55 
fathoms to only include waters out to 15 fathoms coastwide for North 
Carolina. The Petitioner has stated that this action would allow North 
Carolina fishermen access to the larger sharks in deeper waters from 15 
to 55 fathoms and minimize discards of juvenile and protected sharks to 
a reasonable extent. The Petitioner states that the available data 
suggest that juvenile sharks occur predominately near shore. Thus, the 
Petitioner proposes that closing out to 15 fathoms along the entire 
North Carolina coastline instead of out to 55 fathoms for the northern 
part of North Carolina will still attain the management goal of 
protecting juvenile sandbar and prohibited dusky sharks. The Petitioner 
believes that the offshore extent of the current closed area 
encompasses the primary shark fishing grounds off North Carolina and 
severely restricts access to the shark quota off North Carolina, 
particularly during the first trimester.
    The Petitioner asserts that the current time/area closure off of 
North Carolina is not justified based on available data, and has been 
implemented in violation of at least three National Standards (e.g., 
4, 8, and 10) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act. The Petitioner notes that the proposed change could 
address the above concerns and have positive significant economic 
benefits to fishermen, dealers, and fishing communities in the South 
Atlantic.
    During the proposed rule stage of Amendment 1 (August 1, 2003, 68 
FR 45196) of the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan, NMFS 
took comment on a much larger time/area closure (31,387 square nautical 
miles from VA to SC) than the current time/area closure. Based on 
comments from fishermen, NMFS conducted additional analyses and 
adjusted the time/area closure's seaward boundary to follow the 60 to 
80 fathom contour (4,490 square nautical miles). This area was selected 
to include all observed catches of dusky and sandbar sharks while 
mitigating social and economic impacts on fishing communities in North 
Carolina compared to the originally proposed closed area. The analyses 
conducted in Amendment 1 indicated that the current time/area closure 
should reduce dusky shark catch by 79 percent, and neonate and juvenile 
sandbar shark catch by 55 percent. Because the rebuilding plan for 
large coastal sharks (LCS) incorporated the mortality reductions 
anticipated for the existing time/area closure, it is possible that 
changes to the closure of the magnitude suggested by the Petitioner 
would require an amendment to the rebuilding plan.
    In the final rule, NMFS also delayed implementation of the time/
area closure for a year to allow fishermen time to adjust to the new 
regulations (December 24, 2003, 68 FR 74746). Thus, this closure has 
not yet been in place for a full year.
    The Petitioner notes that North Carolina's interest in changing the 
time/area closure is on record. In addition, on March 23, 2005, the 
Petitioner presented this issue to the HMS Advisory Panel (AP), stating 
that the time/area closure disproportionately affects fishermen 
operating from home ports in the State of North Carolina. AP members 
noted that the LCS stock assessments determined that sandbar and dusky 
sharks have been overfished and are not currently rebuilt, thus 
warranting further management actions to rebuild these stocks. AP 
members also stated that any amendment to the current time/area closure 
must not increase mortality on large juvenile sandbar or dusky sharks 
because rebuilding these stocks requires lowering the mortality rate of 
large juveniles. AP members also discussed alternatives, such as the 
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission working with other East 
Coast states for more statewide compliance with regulations at least as 
restrictive as Federal regulations.

Request for Comments

    NMFS solicits comments from the public regarding the need to 
proceed with rulemaking to amend the current Mid-Atlantic shark closed 
area. NMFS is specifically requesting that the public provide comments 
on the social, economic, and biological impacts that a potential 
regulatory amendment to the closure would have on the LCS rebuilding 
plan. NMFS will consider this public input in determining the need to 
amend regulations.

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

    Dated: May 3, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-9332 Filed 5-9-05; 8:45 am]
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