[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 230 (Friday, November 30, 2007)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67691-67692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-23266]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

RIN 0648-AU32


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Sea 
Scallop Fishery; Amendment 11 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop 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 11 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop 
Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 11), incorporating the Final 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) and the Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), for review by the Secretary of 
Commerce. NMFS is requesting comments from the public on Amendment 11. 
Amendment 11 was developed by the Council to control the capacity of 
the open access general category fleet. Amendment 11 would establish a 
new management program for the general category fishery, including a 
limited access program with individual fishing quotas (IFQs) for 
qualified general category vessels, a specific allocation for general 
category fisheries, and other measures to improve management of the 
general category scallop fishery.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 29, 2008.

ADDRESSES: An FSEIS was prepared for Amendment 11 that describes the 
proposed action and its alternatives and provides a thorough analysis 
of the impacts of proposed measures and their alternatives. Copies of 
Amendment 11, including the FSEIS 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.
    You may submit comments, identified by 0648-AU32, by any one of the 
following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Peter Christopher.
     Mail: Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 
Mark the outside of the envelope, ``Comments on Scallop Amendment 11.''
    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: Peter Christopher, Fishery Policy 
Analyst, phone 978-281-9288, fax 978-281-9135.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The general category scallop fishery is currently an open access 
fishery that allows any vessel to fish for up to 400 lb (181.44 kg) of 
scallops, provided the vessel has been issued a general category or 
limited access scallop permit. This open access fishery was established 
in 1994 by Amendment 4 to the FMP to allow vessels fishing in non-
scallop fisheries to catch scallops as incidental catch, and to allow a 
small-scale scallop fishery to continue outside of the limited access 
and effort control programs aimed at the large-scale scallop fishery. 
Over time, the overall participation in the general category fishery 
has increased. In 1994, there were 1,992 general category permits 
issued. By 2005 that number had increased to 2,950. In 1994, there were 
181 general category vessels that landed scallops, while in 2005 there 
were over 600.
    Out of concern about the level of fishing effort and harvest from 
the general category scallop fleet, the Council recommended that a 
Federal Register notice should be published to notify the public that 
the Council would consider limiting entry to the general category 
scallop fishery as of a specified control date. NMFS subsequently 
established the control date of November 1, 2004 (69 FR 63341, November 
1, 2004). In January of 2006, the Council began the development of 
Amendment 11 to evaluate alternatives for a limited access program and 
other measures for general category vessels. The Council held 35 
meetings open to the public on Amendment 11 between January 2006 and 
June 2007. After considering a wide range of issues, alternatives, and 
public input, the Council adopted a draft supplemental environmental 
impact statement (DSEIS) for Amendment 11 on April 11, 2007. Following 
the public comment period that ended on June 18, 2007, the Council 
adopted Amendment 11 on June 20, 2007.
    Amendment 11 includes the following: A limited access program for 
the general category fishery establishing three new limited access 
general category (LAGC) scallop permits (IFQ scallop permit, Northern 
Gulf of Maine (NGOM) scallop permit, and Incidental scallop permit); 
initial application procedures for an LAGC scallop permit; LAGC scallop 
permit provisions (initial eligibility, landings history, confirmation 
of permit history (CPH), permit transfers, permit splitting, 
qualification restriction, appeal of LAGC scallop permit denial, vessel 
replacements, ownership cap, voluntary relinquishment of eligibility, 
and permit renewals and CPH issuance); provisions for limited access 
scallop vessels fishing under general category rules; allocation of the 
total annual projected scallop catch to the general category fishery 
under the IFQ program; IFQs for IFQ scallop vessels; measures for the 
transition period to IFQ; a mechanism to allow voluntary sectors in the 
general category fishery; separate management measures for a NGOM 
scallop management area; monitoring provisions, including a requirement 
for all LAGC scallop vessels to operate vessel monitoring systems (VMS) 
with catch reporting requirements; a change issuance date of general 
category permit; a measure to clarify the maximum trawl sweep size 
restriction under the scallop regulations; and an allowance for LAGC 
scallop vessels to possess up to 100 bu (35.24 hL) of in-shell scallops 
seaward of the VMS demarcation line.
    Amendment 11 would establish the percentage of scallop catch 
allocated to the general category fleet and would

[[Page 67692]]

establish the IFQ program. These percentages would be applied to 
specific total allowable catch (TAC) amounts that were developed by the 
Council as part of Framework 19 to the FMP, which will establish 
scallop fishery management measures for the 2008 and 2009 fishing 
years. After determining the allowable levels of fishing based on 
updated survey information and fishing mortality targets, the TAC that 
would be allocated to the current limited access fleet and the IFQ 
scallop vessels, as well as the NGOM TAC and estimated landings under 
the Incidental catch LAGC scallop permit, would be specified through a 
separate rulemaking for Framework 19. Framework 19 also will specify 
management measures for the 2008 and 2009 fishing years that would be 
recommended if Amendment 11 is not approved.
    Public comments are being solicited on Amendment 11 and its 
incorporated documents through the end of the comment period stated in 
this notice of availability. A proposed rule that would implement 
Amendment 11 will be published in the Federal Register for public 
comment. Public comments on the proposed rule must be received by the 
end of the comment period provided in this notice of availability of 
Amendment 11 to be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on 
the amendment. All comments received by January 29, 2008, whether 
specifically directed to Amendment 11 or the proposed rule for 
Amendment 11, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision 
on Amendment 11. Comments received after that date will not be 
considered in the decision to approve or disapprove Amendment 11. 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: November 26, 2007.
Emily H. Menashes,
Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E7-23266 Filed 11-29-07; 8:45 am]
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