[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 207 (Friday, October 26, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60794-60795]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21099]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 070906497-7584-01]
RIN 0648-AW03


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
For-Hire Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Control Date

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

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

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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 South 
Atlantic for-hire fishery. If a management regime is developed and 
implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), the control date would limit the 
number of participants in the fishery. This announcement is intended, 
in part, to promote awareness of the potential eligibility criteria for 
future access so as to discourage speculative entry into the fishery 
while the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and NMFS 
consider whether and how access to the for-hire fishery should be 
controlled.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before 5 p.m., local 
time, November 26, 2007.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 0648-AW03, by any one 
of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov 
by clicking on ``Search For Dockets'' at the top of the screen, then 
enter the following identifier: 0648-AW03 in the ``RIN'' field and 
click the ``Submit'' button.
     Fax: Attn: Kate Michie 727-824-5308.
     Mail: Kate Michie, NMFS Southeast Regional Office, 
Sustainable Fisheries Division, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, 
FL 33701.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to http://www.regulations.gov without 
change. All Personal Identifying Information (for example, name, 
address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly 
accessible. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or 
otherwise sensitive or protected information.
    NMFS will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic 
comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or 
Adobe PDF file formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Iverson, Public Information 
Officer, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council; toll free 1-866-
SAFMC-10 or 843-571-4366; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: At the June 2007 Council meeting, the 
Council recommended a control date of March 8, 2007, applicable to 
persons who are contemplating entering any for-hire fishery (charter 
and headboats) in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South 
Atlantic region. The Council requested that this control date be 
published in the Federal Register to notify fishermen that if they 
enter such a fishery after March 8, 2007, they may not be assured of 
future access if the Council and/or NMFS decide to limit entry or 
impose other measures to manage these fisheries.
    Establishment of the control date responds to the Council's 
concerns that for-hire fisheries are expanding quite rapidly and the 
perception that many of

[[Page 60795]]

those new entrants lack experience and professional expertise in the 
subject fishery.
    Control dates are intended to discourage speculative entry into a 
fishery, as new entrants entering the fishery after the control date 
are forewarned that they are not guaranteed future participation in the 
fishery.
    Establishment of this control date does not commit the Council or 
NMFS to any particular management regime or criteria for entry into the 
for-hire fishery. Fishermen are not guaranteed future participation in 
the fishery regardless of their level of participation before or after 
the control date. The Council may recommend a different control date or 
it may recommend a management regime that does not involve a control 
date. Other criteria, such as documentation of landings or fishing 
effort, may be used to determine eligibility for participation in a 
limited access fishery. The Council and/or NMFS also may choose to take 
no further action to control entry or access to the fisheries, in which 
case the control date may be rescinded. Any action by the Council will 
be taken pursuant to the requirements for fishery management plan and 
amendment development 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 any for-hire fishery in the South 
Atlantic EEZ.

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

    Dated: October 22, 2007.
Samuel D. Rauch III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator For Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-21099 Filed 10-25-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S