[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 242 (Monday, December 19, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 75114-75115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-24206]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 022505B]


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel, 
Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Amendment 11 Atlantic Mackerel Limited 
Access Program

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

ACTION: Supplemental notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: On March 4, 2005, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 
(Council), in cooperation with NMFS, announced its intent to prepare a 
programmatic supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) and 
Amendment 9 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP). As a result of that notice, the Council received 
public comment on the issue of whether or not to consider measures to 
control or limit future access to the Atlantic mackerel fishery in 
Amendment 9. Based on public comment received during that scoping 
comment period, the Council notified the public in a subsequent notice 
on June 9, 2005, of its intention to move the consideration of the 
development of a limited access program for mackerel to Amendment 10 to 
the FMP. Since then, the Council has been notified that it must develop 
a stock rebuilding program for butterfish as a result of that stock 
being designated as overfished. Consequently, Amendment 10 will now 
include a plan to rebuild the overfished butterfish stock. As a result, 
the Council hereby notifies the public that the mackerel limited access 
program will now be developed in Amendment 11 to the FMP. While the 
Council believes that this action will result in a slight delay in the 
development of a limited access program for Atlantic mackerel, no other 
changes are anticipated.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Jay Dolin, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, 978-281-9259; fax 978-281-9135. e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) is a 
migratory species that supports important recreational and commercial 
fisheries along the Atlantic coast of the United States and Canada. The 
Council has considered the possibility of limiting entry to the 
Atlantic mackerel fishery for more than a decade. In April 2002, 
because the Council was concerned about rapid expansion of harvesting 
capacity in the fishery, possible overcapitalization, and the fact that 
nearly 5 years had passed since the most recent control date for the 
fishery was established, the Council requested that a new control date 
for the Atlantic mackerel fishery be established. As a result, NMFS 
published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on July 5, 
2002 (67 FR 44792), which established that date as the new control date 
for the Atlantic mackerel fishery. The ANPR was intended to discourage 
speculative entry into the fishery while potential management regimes 
to control access into the fishery were considered by the Council, and 
to help the Council distinguish established participants from 
speculative entrants to the fishery, should such a program be 
developed.
    On March 4, 2005 (70 FR 10605), the Council published a notice of 
intent to prepare an SEIS to consider impacts of alternatives for 
limiting access to the Atlantic mackerel fishery. The Council 
subsequently conducted scoping meetings on the development of a limited 
access program for Atlantic mackerel, which the Council planned to 
include in Amendment 9 to the FMP. The first scoping meeting was held 
on March 17, 2005, in Kill Devil Hills, NC, and the second meeting was 
held on March 28, 2005, in Newport, RI. However, because the Council 
decided to complete and submit for review by the Secretary of Commerce 
several other measures in Amendment 9 that were further along in their 
development than the mackerel limited access program, the Council voted 
on May 4, 2005, to complete Amendment 9 without a limited access 
program for the Atlantic mackerel fishery, and to pursue the

[[Page 75115]]

Atlantic mackerel limited access program in Amendment 10 to the FMP. 
NMFS informed the public of the Council's decision in a subsequent 
notice on June 9, 2005 (70 FR 33728).
    Since then, the Council has been notified that it must develop a 
stock rebuilding program for butterfish as a result of that stock being 
designated as overfished. The Council was also informed that the stock 
rebuilding program for butterfish must be developed in an amendment to 
the FMP rather than in a framework adjustment as the Council had 
originally intended. Consequently, Amendment 10 will now include a plan 
to rebuild the overfished butterfish stock. The Council has concluded 
that Amendment 10 will require only an Environmental Assessment under 
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). As a 
result, the Council hereby notifies the public that the mackerel 
limited access program will now be developed in Amendment 11 to the 
FMP. Other than the sequencing of the amendments to this FMP and a 
slight time delay, the Council anticipates that the development of the 
limited access program for mackerel will proceed as described in 
previous notices to the public. The public will have the opportunity to 
comment on the measures and alternatives being considered by the 
Council for Amendment 11 through public meetings and public comment 
periods required by NEPA, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act. This notification 
also reminds the public that interested participants should locate and 
preserve records that substantiate and verify their participation in 
the Atlantic mackerel fishery in Federal waters.

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

    Dated: December 13, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05-24206 Filed 12-16-05; 8:45 am]
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