[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 61 (Thursday, March 30, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16111-16112]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4665]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[Docket No. 060320078-6078-01; I.D. 031506B ]
RIN 0648-AU40


Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Northeast 
Multispecies Fishery; Notice of a Control Date for the Purpose of 
Limiting Entry to the Charter and Party Fishery; Northeast (NE) 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP)

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

ACTION: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

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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 charter and party boat (charter/party) fishery in the NE 
multispecies 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 NE multispecies fishery. This sector 
of the fishery includes vessels with open access charter/party permits, 
as well as limited access NE multispecies permits, while not on a NE 
multispecies 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 charter/party fishery should be controlled.

DATES: The date of publication of this document, March 30, 2006, shall 
be known as the ``control date'' and may be used for establishing 
eligibility criteria for determining levels of future access to the 
charter/party fishery subject to Federal authority. Written comments 
must be received on or before 5 p.m., local time, May 1, 2006.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     Written comments (paper, disk, or CD-ROM) should be sent 
to Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery Management 
Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950. Mark the 
outside of the envelope, ``Comments on Charter/Party Multispecies 
Control Date.''
     Comments also may be sent via facsimile (fax) to (978) 
465-3116.
     E-mail: [email protected]. 
Include in the subject line the following ``Comments on Charter/Party 
Multispecies Control Date.'' Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Moira C. Kelly, Fishery Management 
Specialist, 978-281-9218; fax 978-281-9135; e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The recreational fishery historically has 
landed a significant percentage of the cod caught in the GOM. As a 
result of the overfished condition of both Georges Bank (GB) and Gulf 
of Maine (GOM) stocks of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), the Council has 
implemented measures to regulate recreational cod fishing since 1994. 
These measures include minimum fish sizes, limits on the number of 
hooks per line, and restrictions on the number of cod permitted to be 
landed (bag limits). More recently, Framework Adjustment 42 to the NE 
Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which, if approved, is 
expected to be effective during the summer of 2006, would prohibit the 
possession of Atlantic cod in the recreational fishery from November 1 
through March 31, and increase the minimum size for recreationally 
caught cod from 22 inches (55.88 cm) to 24 inches (60.96 cm). These 
measures would apply to both charter/party and private recreational 
vessels and would reduce fishing mortality on GOM cod by approximately 
32 percent in order to help achieve the necessary fishing mortality 
reduction levels required by the FMP. A Secretarial proposed emergency 
rule was published on March 3, 2006 (71 FR 11060), that would implement 
these measures at the start of the fishing year, May 1, 2006. In 
addition to cod, the following NE multispecies are also commonly caught 
by the charter/party industry: Pollock (Pollachius virens); haddock 
(Melanogrammus aeglefinus); and winter flounder (Pleuronectes 
americanus); and, to a lesser extent, white hake (Urophycis tenuis), 
and non-regulated species such as cusk (Brosme brosme) and wolffish 
(Anarhichas lupus).
    In light of these new proposed restrictions and their impacts, 
members of the charter/party industry and the Council's Recreational 
Advisory Panel recommended that the Council restrict new entrants to 
the charter/party fishery to reduce the need for further restrictions 
on the recreational catch of cod and other groundfish.
    Based on information developed by the Marine Recreational Fishery 
Statistical Survey (MRFSS) and the Council's Groundfish Plan 
Development Team, while the number of charter/party open access permits 
in 2005 (approximately 673) was 5 percent below that in 2002, the 
highest number of charter/party permits issued in 1 year, the number of 
charter/party trips landing GOM cod remained relatively constant from 
1990 through 2001. However, despite the fact that the number of trips 
has remained constant, the recreational catch of GOM cod has declined 
since 1982. The percent decrease in the amount of GOM cod caught by the 
recreational fishery is similar to the percent change in GOM cod caught 
by the commercial fishery throughout much of the same time period.
    The control date is intended to discourage speculative entry into 
the charter/party NE multispecies 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 NE multispecies 
resource on the grounds of previous participation, additional and/or 
other qualifying criteria may be applied. The Council may choose 
different and variably weighted measures to qualify participants based 
on the type and length of participation in the charter/party NE 
multispecies fishery.
    This notification establishes March 30, 2006 as the control date 
for potential use in determining historical or traditional 
participation in the NE multispecies charter/party fishery. 
Consideration of a control date does not commit the Council or NMFS to 
develop

[[Page 16112]]

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 NE multispecies charter/party fishery 
in Federal waters.

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

    Dated: March 24, 2006.
John Oliver,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-4665 Filed 3-29-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P