[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 6, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52521-52522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-14662]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

[I.D. 082406C]
RIN 0648-AQ87


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic 
Herring Fishery; Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management 
Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a fishery management plan amendment; 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that the New England Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery 
Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 1), incorporating the draft Final 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS), Regulatory Impact 
Review (RIR), and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), 
for Secretarial review and is requesting comments from the public. The 
proposed measures include: A limited access program; an open access 
incidental catch permit; a change in the management area boundaries; 
establishment of a purse seine/fixed gear-only area; establishment of a 
Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) proxy; an approach to determining the 
distribution of area-specific total allowable catches (TACs); a multi-
year specifications process; a research quota set-aside for herring-
related research; set-asides for fixed gear fisheries; a change in the 
midwater trawl gear definition; and additional measures that could be 
implemented through the framework adjustment process. The intent of 
this action is to provide efficient management of the Atlantic herring 
fishery and to meet conservation objectives.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 6, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the proposed rule may be sent by any of 
the following methods:
    Mail to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, Northeast 
Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Mark the 
outside of the envelope ``Comments Herring Amendment 1'';
    Fax to Patricia A. Kurkul (978) 281-9135;
    E-mail to the following address: [email protected]. Include in 
the subject line of the e-mail comment the following document 
identifier: ``Comments Herring Amendment 1.
    Electronically through the Federal e-Rulemaking portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
    Copies of Amendment 1, the draft FSEIS, RIR, and the IRFA are 
available from Paul J. Howard, Executive Director, New England Fishery 
Management Council, 50 Water Street, Newburyport, MA 01950. These 
documents are also available online at http://www.nefmc.org.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The notice of availability for the Draft 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS), which analyzed the 
impacts of all of the measures under consideration in Amendment 1 and 
Framework 43 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan 
(Northeast Multispecies FMP), was published on September 9, 2005 (70 FR 
53657), with public comment accepted through October 24, 2005. Public 
hearings were held in October 2005, in six locations from Maine to New 
Jersey.

[[Page 52522]]

At its January 31-February 2, 2006, meeting, the Council voted to adopt 
Amendment 1 for submission to NMFS, and submitted the document and 
associated analyses on May 3, 2006.
    The primary purpose of Amendment 1 is to modify the management 
program for the Atlantic herring fishery by implementing a limited 
access program to better match the capacity of the fleet to the 
resource. The Amendment is also intended to modify other management 
measures so that the Atlantic herring resource is managed more 
efficiently and sustainably.
    In July 1999, the Council voted to develop a limited or controlled 
access program for the herring fishery, and NMFS, at the request of the 
Council, established September 16, 1999 (FR 64 50266), as a control 
date for the Atlantic herring fishery in Federal waters. Scoping 
meetings for an amendment to the FMP were conducted in February 2000, 
shortly after completion of the FMP, with public hearings taking place 
during that month in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New 
Jersey. In April 2003, the Council re-initiated scoping, holding public 
hearings in April and May of that year in Maine, Massachusetts, and New 
Jersey.
    During the development of Amendment 1, both as a result of issues 
raised by the Council and by the public during scoping, a variety of 
elements were added to Amendment 1, all of which are intended to 
improve the management of the fishery and contribute to the 
sustainability of the stock. These include an open access incidental 
catch permit; a change in the management area boundaries; establishment 
of a purse seine/fixed gear-only area; establishment of an MSY proxy; 
an approach to determining the distribution of area-specific TACs; a 
multi-year specifications process; a research quota set-aside for 
herring-related research; a set-aside for fixed gear fisheries; 
measures to address bycatch of multispecies in the herring fishery; a 
change in the midwater trawl gear definition; and additional measures 
that could be implemented through the framework adjustment process.
    At its final meeting for Amendment 1, the Council separated the 
measures to address bycatch in the herring fishery from Amendment 1, 
and agreed to submit these measures separately as Framework 43 to the 
NE Multispecies FMP. The measures contained in Framework 43 were 
included in the DSEIS and public hearing document for Amendment 1 to 
the Atlantic Herring FMP (Amendment 1). The Council voted on February 
2, 2006, to adopt the measures in Amendment 1 and Framework 43, but to 
submit Framework 43 in advance of Amendment 1 in order to establish 
measures for the fishery as soon as possible during the 2006 summer 
fishing season. The final rule for Framework 43 was published in the 
Federal Register on August 15, 2006 (71 FR 46871).
    Public comments are being solicited on Amendment 1 and its 
incorporated documents through the end of the comment period stated in 
this notice of availability. A proposed rule that would implement 
Amendment 1 may be published in the Federal Register for public 
comment, following NMFS's evaluation of the proposed rule under the 
procedures of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Public comments on the proposed 
rule must be received by the end of the comment period provided in this 
notice of availability of Amendment 1 to be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on the amendment. All comments received by 
November 6, 2006, whether specifically directed to Amendment 1 or the 
proposed rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision 
on Amendment 1. To be considered, comments must be received by close of 
business on the last day of the comment period; that does not mean 
postmarked or otherwise transmitted by that date.

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

    Dated: August 30, 2006.
James P. Burgess,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-14662 Filed 9-5-06; 8:45 am]
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