[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 183 (Friday, September 21, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53978-53979]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-18589]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 697

[Docket No. 070717357-7399-01]
RIN 0648-AV77


Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; 
American Lobster Fishery

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

ACTION:  Advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR).

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SUMMARY:  NMFS announces that it is considering and seeking public 
comment on the potential implementation of management measures in the 
Federal American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery compatible with 
recommendations for Federal action as specified in the Atlantic States 
Marine Fisheries Commission's (Commission) Interstate Fishery 
Management Plan for American Lobster (ISFMP). These management measures 
may include: 100 percent mandatory dealer reporting requirements for 
Federal American lobster dealers; implementation of an American lobster 
maximum size limit (maximum carapace length restriction) in several 
Lobster Management Areas (LMA); and, revision to the definition of a V-
notch for protection of egg-bearing female American lobsters in several 
LMAs in the Federal American lobster fishery. NMFS is considering 
implementation of these management measures based on ISFMP actions 
taken by the Commission in response to recommendations provided in the 
most recent peer-reviewed lobster stock assessment, completed by the 
Commission in December 2005.

DATES:  Comments must be received by October 22, 2007.

ADDRESSES:  Written comments should be sent to Harold Mears, State, 
Federal and Constituent Programs Office, Northeast Region, NMFS, One 
Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Comments may also be sent via e-
mail to [email protected], via fax (978) 281-9117 or via the 
Federal e-Rulemaking portal at www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Robert Ross, Fishery Management 
Specialist, (978) 281-9234, fax (978) 281-9117, e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: American lobsters are managed within the 
framework of the Commission. In 1999, NMFS transferred its Federal 
lobster fishery regulations from the New England Fishery Management 
Council (Council) to the Commission (64 FR 68228, dated December 6, 
1999). The logic was straightforward, since 80 percent of the lobster 
fishery occurs in state waters, Federal action alone could no longer 
ensure that the Council process could prevent overfishing. The 
Commission is a deliberative body comprised of representatives both 
from the Atlantic coastal states and the Federal Government. The 
Commission serves to develop fishery conservation and management 
strategies for certain coastal species and coordinates the efforts of 
the states and Federal Government toward concerted sustainable ends. 
The Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (Atlantic 
Coastal Act) 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., directs the Federal Government to 
support the management efforts of the Commission. Additionally, to the 
extent the Federal Government seeks to regulate a Commission species, 
the regulations must be (1) compatible with the effective 
implementation of an ISFMP developed by the Commission, and (2) 
consistent with the national standards set forth in section 301 of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.). These Federal regulations are promulgated pursuant to 
the Atlantic Coastal Act and are codified at 50 CFR part 697.
    The Commission set forth the foundation of its American Lobster 
ISFMP in Amendment 3 to the ISFMP (Amendment 3), approved in December 
1997. However, the Commission's American lobster management strategy is 
neither predicated upon a single measure nor is it contained within a 
single document. Rather, the structure is based on facilitating ongoing 
adaptive management with necessary elements implemented over time. The 
intent of Amendment 3 is to achieve a healthy American lobster resource 
and to develop a management regime that provides for sustained harvest, 
maintains opportunities for participation, and provides for the 
cooperative development of conservation measures by all stakeholders. 
In short, Amendment 3 was envisioned to provide much of the framework 
upon which future lobster management to be set forth in later addenda 
would be based. In particular, Amendment 3 employed a participatory 
management approach by creating the seven lobster management areas, 
each with its own lobster conservation management team (LCMT) comprised 
of industry members. Amendment 3 tasked the LCMTs with providing 
recommendations for area-specific management measures to the Board to 
meet the lobster egg production and effort reduction goals of the 
ISFMP. Eleven addenda to Amendment 3 have been approved since 1999, 
including Addendum X to Amendment 3 (Addendum X), approved in February 
2007, and Addendum XI to Amendment 3 (Addendum XI), approved in May 
2007. The measures proposed in this ANPR, and the recommendation by the 
Commission for the Federal Government to implement complementary 
regulations to those measures, are contained in Addenda X and XI.
    The purpose of Addenda I through IX to Amendment 3 was summarized 
in a previous ANPR published in the Federal Register on December 18, 
2006 (71 FR75705). The actions specified in this document are based on 
actions taken by the Commission as a result of information contained in 
the most recent peer-reviewed lobster stock assessment completed by the 
Commission in December 2005. The 2005 lobster stock assessment reported 
that the American lobster resource presents a mixed picture for the 
three stocks of American lobster. The assessment indicated that there 
is stable abundance for the offshore Georges Bank (GBK) stock, and much 
of the Gulf of Maine (GOM) stock, and decreased abundance and 
recruitment, yet continued high fishing mortality rates, for the SNE 
stock and in Statistical Area 514 (Massachusetts Bay and Stellwagen 
Bank) in the GOM stock. In addition, echoing recommendations from the 
2000 stock assessment, the 2005 assessment report stated that the 
scientific and statistical data available for lobster assessments are 
woefully inadequate for the management needs of the fishery, and that 
the primary limitation on the ability to manage lobster is limited 
data. One of the key recommendations of the 2005 assessment report was 
the need for implementation of a standardized mandatory reporting 
system for American lobster.
    Based on the 2005 stock assessment recommendations, a standardized 
mandatory reporting system for American lobster was incorporated in 
Addendum X. Addendum X establishes a coast-wide reporting and data 
collection program that includes both dealer and harvester reporting 
requirements. Specifically, the addendum requires states to implement,

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by January 1, 2008, 100 percent mandatory dealer reporting consistent 
with protocols under the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics 
Program (ACCSP) found at http://www.accsp.org/cfstandards.htm, and a 
reporting requirement for at least 10 percent of harvesters. Addendum X 
also includes recommendations for complementary Federal action. A 
review of 3,217 American lobster vessel permits indicates that an 
estimated 2,000 Federal lobster permit holders (62 percent of all 
Federal lobster fishing vessels) are subject to mandatory reporting 
requirements by virtue of regulations pertinent to other Federally 
managed fisheries. Thus, NMFS is already achieving the 10 percent 
target for the harvesting sector specified in Addendum X, and intends 
no further requirements for vessel reporting at this time. Conversely, 
review of reporting requirements for 505 Federally permitted lobster 
dealers indicates that of these, 356 Federal lobster dealers or 
approximately 70 percent, are currently obligated to report lobster 
sales by virtue of regulations for other Federally managed fisheries. 
Therefore, NMFS announces that it is considering and seeking public 
comment on implementation of Federal regulations that would extend full 
mandatory reporting coverage to the remaining 30 percent of Federal 
lobster dealer permit holders not already encompassed by existing 
Federal regulations.
    Of particular concern in the 2005 assessment report is the SNE 
stock, where depleted stock abundance and poor recruitment of juvenile 
lobsters, coupled with high fishing mortality rates, led the stock 
assessment and peer review panel to recommend additional harvest 
restrictions for SNE. The SNE stock extends from the waters south of 
Cape Cod, Massachusetts to the waters off North Carolina, and 
encompasses all of Lobster Conservation Management Areas (Area) 4, 5, 
and 6, and part of Area 2 and 3. According to the assessment, in SNE, 
61-72 percent of the fishable stock is made up of new entrants into the 
legal fishery, and the 2005 stock assessment report noted concern that 
the fishery is too dependent on these new recruits. Based on 
recommendations in the 2005 assessment report, the Commission, in May 
2007, approved Addendum XI that specifies additional lobster management 
measures for the SNE stock. Addendum XI also includes recommendations 
for complementary Federal action. Specific to this regulatory action, 
Addendum XI requires impacted states to implement a maximum legal 
carapace size limit of 5-1/4 inches (13.34 centimeters (cm)) in all SNE 
nearshore Areas (Area 2, 4, 5, and 6) by July 1, 2008, and implement a 
maximum legal carapace size limit of 7 inches (17.78 cm) in the 
offshore Area 3, and subsequently decreasing over a two year period to 
6-3/4 inches (17.15 cm) by July 1, 2010. In addition to the maximum 
size limit, Addendum XI modifies the current V-notch definition in SNE. 
Current Federal regulations prohibit possession of a female lobster 
bearing a V-shaped notch on its tail. The current Federal standard V-
notch definition in SNE is defined to be any female lobster that bears 
a straight sided triangular cut, without setal hairs, a least 1/4 inch 
(0.64 cm) deep, and tapering to a point. This standard V-notch 
definition is likely to protect notched lobsters until they molt or 
shed their exoskeleton for the first time after notching. Addendum XI 
modifies the V-notch definition to be any female lobster that bears a 
notch or indentation at least 1/8th inch (0.32 cm) deep, with or 
without setal hairs. This modified V-notch definition may protect 
notched lobsters for up to two molt cycles, a period that may span 
three or more years. This Notice announces and seeks public comment on 
NMFS' intention to implement a lobster maximum legal carapace size 
limits and modified V-notch definition compatible with those specified 
in Addendum XI.

Classification

    This ANPR has been determined to be not significant for the 
purposes of Executive Order 12866.

    Authority: 16 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.

    Dated: September 14, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-18589 Filed 9-20-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S