[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 62 (Monday, March 31, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 16829-16830]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6523]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

RIN 0648-AV34


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Amendment 30A

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of Amendment 30A to the Reef Fish 
Fishery Management Plan; request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council 
(Council) has submitted Amendment 30A to the Fishery Management Plan 
(FMP) for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico for review, 
approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 30A proposes actions to 
end overfishing of greater amberjack and gray triggerfish and to 
rebuild these stocks to sustainable levels.

DATES: Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern 
time, on May 30, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by ``0648-AV34'' by any 
of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: 727-824-5308; Attention: Peter Hood.
     Mail: Peter Hood, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 
13\th\ 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.
    Copies of Amendment 30A, which include a supplemental environmental 
impact statement, an initial regulatory flexibility analysis, and a 
regulatory impact review may be obtained from the Gulf of Mexico 
Fishery Management Council, 2203 North Lois Avenue, Suite 1100, Tampa, 
FL 33607; telephone 813-348-1630; fax 813-348-1711; e-mail 
[email protected]; or may be downloaded from the Council's 
website at http://www.gulfcouncil.org/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Hood, telephone 727-824-5305; 
fax 727-824-5308; e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) requires each Regional 
Fishery Management Council to submit any fishery management plan or 
amendment to NMFS for review and approval, disapproval, or partial 
approval. The Magnuson-Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon 
receiving a plan or amendment, publish an announcement in the Federal 
Register notifying the public that the plan or amendment is available 
for review and comment.

Background

    The reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act of 2006 requires regional 
fishery management councils to establish annual catch limits (ACLs) for 
each stock or stock complex and accountability measures (AMs) to ensure 
these ACLs are not exceeded. Amendment 30A addresses these requirements 
for greater amberjack and gray triggerfish.
    Greater amberjack have been under a rebuilding plan since 2003. 
However, a new stock assessment completed in 2006 concluded that the 
stock is not recovering as projected. It remains overfished and NMFS 
recently determined overfishing is recurring. Amendment 30A is 
necessary to end overfishing and adjust total allowable catch (TAC) and 
management measures to bring the greater amberjack rebuilding

[[Page 16830]]

plan back on course for stock recovery within the original 10-year time 
frame. To achieve this goal, TAC must be reduced by 32 percent to 
rebuild the stock by 2012.
    For greater amberjack, Amendment 30A considers actions to constrain 
harvest to a TAC of 1.9 million lb (863,636 kg). Measures to constrain 
recreational harvest include a quota (which would also function as an 
ACL) of 1,368,000 lb (620,514 kg), increasing the minimum size limit to 
30 inches (76 cm) fork length (FL), and prohibiting the bag limit for 
captain and crew of for-hire vessels. These measures are expected to 
reduce recreational landings by 26 percent. For the commercial fishery, 
Amendment 30A would establish a commercial quota (which would function 
as an ACL) of 503,000 lb (228,157 kg), thus reducing the commercial 
harvest by 38 percent.
    The amendment proposes an allocation for greater amberjack of 73 
percent for the recreational sector and 27 percent for the commercial 
sector. These allocations were derived from long-term average landings 
from 1981-2004.
    To ensure the greater amberjack stock recovers, AMs are proposed. 
These AMs are intended to ensure landings do not exceed the TAC allowed 
by the rebuilding plan. The amendment authorizes the Assistant 
Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA, (AA) to shorten fishing seasons by 
sector within the current fishing year, or in the subsequent year, if 
landings are exceeded or are projected to be exceeded.
    NMFS has determined gray triggerfish are undergoing overfishing 
based on the 2006 stock assessment. Based on status determination 
criteria proposed by the Council in Amendment 30A, the gray triggerfish 
stock would be considered overfished. Amendment 30A is necessary to 
establish management measures to end overfishing of gray triggerfish 
and would establish a rebuilding plan.
    The proposed gray triggerfish rebuilding plan in Amendment 30A uses 
a constant fishing mortality strategy that optimizes yield while 
allowing the stock to rebuild by the end of 2012. Under the proposed 
rebuilding plan, TAC would be set at 500,000 lb (226,796 kg). In lieu 
of a recreational quota, Amendment 30A proposes to establish ACLs for 
the recreational sector of 394,000 lb (178,715 kg) for 2008, 426,000 lb 
(193,230 kg) for 2009, and 457,000 lb (207,291 kg) for 2010 and 
subsequent fishing years, until revised based on a subsequent stock 
assessment and appropriate rulemaking. Increasing the recreational 
minimum size limit for gray triggerfish to 14 inches (36 cm) FL is 
intended to constrain harvest to a level less than the ACL. This action 
is expected to reduce recreational landings by 60 percent, and achieve 
a 45 percent reduction in recreational harvest, necessary to rebuild 
the gray triggerfish stock. For the commercial fishery, actions in 
Amendment 30A would increase the commercial size limit to 14 inches (36 
cm) FL and establish a commercial quota, which is less than the 
proposed commercial ACL. For 2008, the quota would be 80,000 lb (36,287 
kg), 93,000 lb (42,184 kg) for 2009, and 106,000 lb (48,081 kg) for 
2010. The commercial quota would remain at the 2010 level until revised 
based on a subsequent stock assessment and appropriate rulemaking. 
These measures are expected to reduce the commercial harvest by 61 
percent in 2008, and improve the probability of achieving the 49 
percent reduction in commercial harvest necessary for the stock to 
rebuild.
    To ensure the stock recovers, AMs are proposed in Amendment 30A 
which give the AA the authority to shorten recreational and commercial 
fishing seasons. For the recreational fishery, AMs would provide the AA 
authority to shorten the fishing year in the following year if multi-
year running average landings exceed the recreational ACL, with the 
exception of 2008, the first year of the rebuilding plan. The first 
year would use only 2008 landings as the basis of whether the following 
year would need to be shortened. For the commercial fishery, the 
proposed AMs would give the AA the authority to shorten the fishing 
season within the fishing year, or in the following year, if multi-year 
running average landings exceed, or are projected to exceed, the 
commercial ACLs. The exception to this would be for 2008, the first 
year of the rebuilding plan, which would use only 2008 landings. For 
both the recreational and commercial fisheries, ACLs are based on the 
yield from the fishing mortality rate associated with optimum yield. 
These yield levels are higher than the harvest allowed under the 
proposed management actions.
    Amendment 30A would also define status determination criteria for 
gray triggerfish, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Currently, 
only a maximum fishing mortality threshold has been defined for gray 
triggerfish equal to the fishing mortality rate associated with 
harvesting the maximum sustainable yield (FMSY). Amendment 
30A would define the minimum stock size threshold as (1-M)*BMSY 
where M is the natural mortality rate and BMSY is the stock 
size capable of supporting maximum sustainable yield on a continuing 
basis. The optimum yield would be defined as the yield associated with 
0.75*FMSY.
    A proposed rule that would implement measures outlined in Amendment 
30A has been received from the Council. In accordance with the 
Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS is evaluating the proposed rule to determine 
whether it is consistent with the FMP, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and 
other applicable law. If that determination is affirmative, NMFS will 
publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register for public review and 
comment.

Consideration of Public Comments

    Comments received by May 30, 2008, whether specifically directed to 
the amendment or the proposed rule, will be considered by NMFS in its 
decision to approve, disapprove, or partially approve the amendment. 
Comments received after that date will not be considered by NMFS in 
this decision. All comments received by NMFS on the amendment or the 
proposed rule during their respective comment periods will be addressed 
in the final rule.

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

    Dated: March 25, 2008.
Alan D. Risenhoover
Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E8-6523 Filed 3-28-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S