[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 25, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15716-15717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6001]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 648

RIN 0648-AP60


Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic 
Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Amendment 9

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 Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 9 to the Atlantic Mackerel, 
Squid, and Butterfish (MSB) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 
9), incorporating the public hearing document and the Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), for review by the Secretary of 
Commerce and is requesting comments from the public. The goal of 
Amendment 9 is to remedy deficiencies in the FMP and to address other 
issues that have arisen since Amendment 8 to the FMP became effective 
in 1999. Amendment 9 would establish multi-year specifications for all 
four species managed under the FMP (mackerel, butterfish, Illex squid 
(Illex), and Loligo squid (Loligo)) for up to 3 years; extend the 
moratorium on entry into the Illex fishery, without a sunset provision; 
adopt biological reference points recommended by the Stock Assessment 
Review Committee (SARC) for Loligo; designate essential fish habitat 
(EFH) for Loligo eggs based on best available scientific information; 
and prohibit bottom trawling by MSB-permitted vessels in Lydonia and 
Oceanographer Canyons.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 27, 2008.

ADDRESSES: A final supplemental environmental impact statement (FSEIS) 
was prepared for Amendment 9 that describes the proposed action and 
other considered alternatives and provides a thorough analysis of the 
impacts of the proposed measures and alternatives. Copies of Amendment 
9, including the FSEIS, the Regulatory Impact Review (RIR), and the 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), are available from: 
Daniel Furlong, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 
Council, Room 2115, Federal Building, 300 South New Street, Dover, DE 
19904-6790. The FSEIS/RIR/IRFA is accessible via the Internet at http://www.nero.nmfs.gov.
    Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via 
the Federal e-Rulemaking portalhttp://www.regulations.gov;
     Fax: (978) 281-9135, Attn: Carrie Nordeen;
     Mail to Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator, NMFS, 
Northeast Regional Office, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. 
Mark the outside of the envelope ``Comments on MSB Amendment 9.''
    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 (e.g., 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 formats only.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This amendment is needed to remedy deficiencies in the FMP and to 
address other issues that have arisen since Amendment 8 to the FMP (64 
FR 57587, October 26, 1999) became effective in 1999. Although 
Amendment 8 was partially approved in 1999, NMFS noted that the 
amendment inadequately addressed some Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requirements for 
Federal FMPs. Specifically, the amendment was considered deficient with 
respect to: Consideration of fishing gear impacts on EFH as they relate 
to MSB fisheries; designation of EFH for Loligo eggs; and the reduction 
of bycatch and discarding of target and non-target species in the MSB 
fisheries.
    An earlier draft of Amendment 9, adopted by the Council on February 
15, 2007, contained several management measures intended to address 
deficiencies in the MSB FMP that relate to discarding, especially as 
they affect butterfish. Specifically, these management measures would 
have attempted to reduce finfish discards by MSB small-mesh fisheries 
through mesh size increases in the directed Loligo fishery, removal of 
mesh size exemptions for the directed Illex fishery, and establishment 
of seasonal Gear Restricted Areas (GRAs). However, these specific 
management alternatives were developed in 2004, prior to the butterfish 
stock being declared overfished.
    In February 2005, NMFS notified the Council that the butterfish 
stock was overfished and this triggered Magnuson-Stevens Act 
requirements to implement rebuilding measures for the stock. In 
response, Amendment 10 to the FMP was initiated by the Council in 
October 2005. Amendment 10 contains a rebuilding program for butterfish 
with management measures designed to reduce the fishing mortality on 
butterfish that occurs through discarding. Management measures that 
reduce the discarding of butterfish are expected to also reduce the 
bycatch of other finfish species in MSB fisheries. On June 13, 2007, 
the Council recommended that all management measures developed as part 
of Amendment 9 to correct deficiencies in the FMP related to bycatch of 
finfish, especially butterfish, be considered in Amendment 10. 
Accordingly, no action is proposed in Amendment 9 to address these 
issues. Through the development and implementation of Amendment 10, 
each of the measures to reduce the bycatch of finfish will be given 
full consideration. Additionally, Amendment 10 will include updated 
analyses on the effects of the alternatives and, as Amendment 10 is 
expected to be implemented soon after Amendment 9, no meaningful delay 
in addressing the bycatch deficiencies in the FMP should occur.
    The final version of Amendment 9 contains alternatives that 
consider allowing for multi-year specifications and management 
measures, extending or eliminating the moratorium on entry to the 
directed Illex fishery, revising the biological reference points for 
Loligo, designating EFH for Loligo eggs, implementing area closures to 
reduce gear impacts from MSB fisheries on EFH of other federally-
managed species, increasing the incidental possession limit for Illex 
vessels during a closure of the Loligo fishery, and requiring real-time 
electronic reporting via vessel monitoring systems in the Illex 
fishery. The Council held four public meetings on Amendment 9 during 
May 2007. Following the public comment period that ended on May 21, 
2007, the Council

[[Page 15717]]

adopted Amendment 9 on August 6, 2007.
    In Amendment 9, measures recommended by the Council would: Allow 
for multi-year specifications for all four managed species (mackerel, 
butterfish, Illex, and Loligo) for up to 3 years; extend the moratorium 
on entry into the Illex fishery, without a sunset provision; adopt 
biological reference points for Loligo recommended by the SARC; 
designate EFH for Loligo eggs based on best available scientific 
information; and prohibit bottom trawling by MSB-permitted vessels in 
Lydonia and Oceanographer Canyons.
    Public comments are being solicited on Amendment 9 and its 
incorporated documents through the end of the comment period stated in 
this notice of availability. A proposed rule that would implement 
Amendment 9 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 9 to be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on the amendment. All comments received by May 27, 
2008, whether specifically directed to Amendment 9 or the proposed 
rule, will be considered in the approval/disapproval decision on 
Amendment 9. Comments received after that date will not be considered 
in the decision to approve or disapprove Amendment 9. 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: March 19, 2008.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E8-6001 Filed 3-24-08; 8:45 am]
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