[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 5, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 70492-70493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-20588]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 061124308-6308-01; I.D. 101906C]
RIN 0648-AV02


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources of the Atlantic; Commercial King 
Mackerel Fishery of the Atlantic; Consideration of a Control Date

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the South Atlantic Fishery 
Management Council (SAFMC) is considering additional management 
measures to further limit the number of participants or levels of 
participation in the commercial fishery for Atlantic group king 
mackerel in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic and 
Mid-Atlantic region. If such management measures are implemented, the 
SAFMC is considering June 15, 2004, as a possible control date where 
anyone who entered the fishery after that date would not be assured of 
future access.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 4, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: [email protected]. Include in the subject 
line of the e-mail comment the following document identifier: ``0648-
AV02''.
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Steve Branstetter, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 
263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

[[Page 70493]]

     Fax: 727-824-5308.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Branstetter, 727-824-5305.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The commercial fishery for Atlantic group 
king mackerel in the South Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic EEZ is managed 
under the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagic 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Region (FMP). The 
SAFMC has approval from the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council 
(MAFMC) to manage Atlantic group king mackerel in the Mid-Atlantic 
region. The FMP was prepared jointly by the SAFMC and the Gulf of 
Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC), with the approval of the 
MAFMC, and implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
    The SAFMC anticipates that future action may be necessary to 
further control effort or participation in the Atlantic group king 
mackerel fishery through additional management actions. The SAFMC has 
concerns about future shifts in fishing effort that would increase 
catches of Atlantic group king mackerel in the South Atlantic and Mid-
Atlantic EEZ, and wants to prevent the possibility of excess harvesting 
capacity developing for the Atlantic group king mackerel fishery. 
Should the SAFMC and GMFMC take future action to restrict participation 
in the fishery for Atlantic group king mackerel, they may use June 15, 
2004, as a possible control date. This control date replaces an 
existing control date of October 16, 1995 (60 FR 53567, October 16, 
1995). Implementation of any program to restrict access in the Atlantic 
group king mackerel 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 SAFMC, the 
GMFMC, or NMFS to any particular management regime or criteria for 
entry into the commercial Atlantic group king mackerel 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. Use of 
the June 15, 2004 control date in future management actions would mean 
anyone entering the fishery after that date would not be assured of 
future access. Nevertheless, even fishermen who are permitted prior to 
the June 15, 2004 control date are not guaranteed future participation 
in the fishery. The SAFMC may choose to give variably weighted 
consideration to fishermen active in the fishery before and after the 
control date. Other qualifying criteria, such as documentation of 
landings and sales, may be applied for entry into the fishery. The 
SAFMC subsequently may choose a different control date or they may 
choose a management regime without using a control date. The SAFMC also 
may choose to take no further action to control entry or access to the 
fishery, in which case the control date may be rescinded.

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

    Dated: November 29, 2006.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E6-20588 Filed 12-4-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S