[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 110 (Friday, June 6, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32281-32282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12745]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

RIN 0648-AU28


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 14

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability of an amendment to a fishery management 
plan; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 14 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-
Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (FMP) for review, 
approval, and implementation by NMFS. The amendment would establish 
eight Type 2 marine protected areas (MPAs) in which fishing for or 
possession of snapper-grouper species would be prohibited, but other 
types of legal fishing would be allowed. The MPAs would be located in 
the following areas: one off southern North Carolina, three off South 
Carolina, one off Georgia, and three off Florida, and range from 5 by 
10 nautical miles to 22 by 23 nautical miles in area. Amendment 14 also 
proposes to prohibit the use of shark bottom longlines within the MPAs, 
however, NMFS is proposing to implement the prohibition of shark bottom 
longlines through separate rulemaking. If implemented, these measures 
are expected to enhance the optimum size, age and genetic structure of 
slow growing long-lived deepwater grouper species.

DATES: Written comments will be accepted through August 5, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by 0648-AU28, by any one 
of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Fax: 727-824-5308, Attn: Kate Michie.
     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.Copies of Amendment 14 may be obtained from 
the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 4055 Faber Place, Suite 
201, North Charleston, South Carolina 29405; phone: 843-571-4366 or 
toll free at 1-866-SAFMC-10; fax: 843-769-4520; e-mail: 
[email protected]. Amendment 14 includes a Final Environmental Impact 
Statement, a Biological Assessment, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis, a Regulatory Impact Review, and Social Impact Assessment/
Fishery Impact Statement.

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: The snapper-grouper fishery off the southern 
Atlantic states is managed under the FMP. The FMP was prepared by the 
Council and is implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) by 
regulations at 50 CFR part 622.
    The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires a regional fishery management 
council to submit an amendment to a fishery management plan to NMFS for 
review, approval, disapproval, or partial approval. The Magnuson-
Stevens Act also requires that NMFS, upon receiving an amendment, 
publish a notice in the Federal Register stating that the amendment is 
available for public review and comments.

Background

    Many snapper-grouper species are vulnerable to overfishing because 
they are long-lived (e.g., snowy grouper, golden tilefish, red snapper, 
gag, scamp, red grouper, and red porgy); they are protogynous, i.e., 
they may change sex from females to males as they grow older/larger 
(e.g., snowy grouper, speckled hind, Warsaw grouper, yellowedge 
grouper, gag, scamp, red porgy, and black sea bass); they form spawning 
aggregations (e.g., snowy grouper, gag, scamp, and red snapper); and 
they suffer high release mortality when taken from deep water. 
Deepwater snapper-grouper species (speckled hind, snowy grouper, Warsaw 
grouper, yellowedge grouper, misty grouper, golden tilefish, and 
blueline tilefish) are most vulnerable to overfishing because they live 
longer than 50 years, do not survive the trauma of capture, and are 
protogynous (groupers) or exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., males and 
females grow at different rates (tilefishes).
    Stock assessments indicate that black sea bass, red porgy, and 
snowy grouper are overfished, i.e., spawning stock biomass is not 
sufficient to reproduce and support continued productivity. In 
addition, black sea bass, golden tilefish, snowy grouper, and vermilion 
snapper are experiencing overfishing, i.e., the current rate of fishing 
mortality jeopardizes the capacity of the fishery to produce its 
maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis. Reductions in catch 
and protection of habitat are needed.

Proposed Measures

    This amendment and its implementing rule would establish eight MPAs 
in which a portion of the population and habitat of long-lived, slow 
growing, deepwater snapper-grouper species would be protected from 
directed fishing pressure. Fishing for or possession of South Atlantic 
snapper-grouper would be prohibited in the MPAs. However, the 
prohibition on possession would not apply to a person aboard a vessel 
that is in transit with fishing gear appropriately stowed. MPAs are 
considered to be an effective fishery management tool that would allow 
deepwater snapper-grouper to reach a more natural sex ratio, age, and 
size structure. They are also expected to protect spawning locations, 
and provide a refuge for early developmental stages of fish species.
    The prohibition of use of shark bottom longlines in the MPAs is 
considered necessary for habitat protection and to prevent the 
mortality of incidentally caught snapper-grouper. The Council voted to 
include this measure in an effort to address enforcement concerns 
regarding the similarity between snapper-grouper

[[Page 32282]]

bottom longline gear and shark bottom longline gear, which is also 
currently used in the subject areas. However, because the Atlantic 
shark fishery is managed under the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) 
fishery management plan (HMS FMP), NMFS has requested the HMS Division 
promulgate the prohibition of use of shark bottom longlines within the 
proposed MPAs. With an effort to implement compatible regulations on a 
similar timeline, the HMS Division published a proposed rule on July 
27, 2007 (72 FR 41392), to prohibit shark bottom longlining in the MPAs 
through Amendment 2 to the consolidated HMS FMP. Public comment on 
Amendment 2 was requested through October 10, 2007. In a notice 
published October 23, 2007 (72 FR 56330), NMFS extended public comment 
on Amendment 2 through November 2, 2007. The public comment period for 
Amendment 2 was extended an additional 30 days on November 15, 2007 (72 
FR 64186). The final Environmental Imapct Statement (EIS) was published 
on April 18, 2008, with the prohibition on the use of shark bottom 
longlines as the preferred alternative. If Amendment 2 is approved, 
implementation of the shark bottom longline prohibition would occur 
after a final rule is published by the HMS Division.
    The Council defines MPAs within its jurisdiction as a network of 
specific areas of marine environments reserved and managed for the 
primary purpose of aiding in the recovery of overfished stocks and to 
insure the persistence of healthy fish stocks, fisheries, and habitats. 
Such areas may be over natural or artificial bottom and may include 
prohibition of harvest indefinitely to accomplish needed conservation 
goals. The Council recognizes that there may be a positive impact from 
the designation of the proposed sites to non-deepwater species, which 
may co-occur, such as vermilion snapper, red porgy, and gag.

MPA Locations

    Using input received from the fishing industry; scientific, 
academic, and environmental communities; and law enforcement personnel, 
the Council selected specific sites for MPAs on the basis of maximizing 
the biological benefits and enhancing enforceability and monitoring 
while minimizing the adverse social and economic effects. Sizes of the 
MPAs would range from approximately 5 by 10 nautical miles (nm) to 
approximately 22 by 23 nm. One would be off North Carolina, three off 
South Carolina, one off Georgia, and three off the east coast of 
Florida. An artificial reef may be established at one of the South 
Carolina sites. The two most southern MPAs would be approximately 9 and 
13 nm offshore, respectively, and the others at least 38 nm offshore.

MPA Types Considered

    The following types of actions are available to the Council for 
designating MPAs, and the complete suite of alternatives considered are 
discussed in the Environmental Impact Statement for Amendment 14.
    Type 1 - Permanent closure/no-take
    Type 2 - Permanent closure/some take allowed
    Type 3 - Limited duration closure/no-take
    Type 4 - Limited duration closure/some take allowed
    Based on input received from the fishing industry; scientific, 
academic, and environmental communities; and law enforcement personnel, 
the Council has determined that Type 2 management actions would be 
effective in meeting the conservation goal of protecting deepwater 
snapper-grouper species, while limiting adverse social and economic 
impact on the fishing community.

Availability of Amendment 14

    Additional background and rational for the measures discussed above 
are contained in Amendment 14.

Proposed Rule

    A proposed rule that would implement the measures in Amendment 14 
has been received from the Council. In accordance with the Manguson-
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 August 5, 2008, will be considered by NMFS in 
its decision to approve, disapprove, or partially approve Amendment 14. 
Comments received after that date will not be considered by NMFS in 
this decision. To be considered, comments must be received by 5 p.m. on 
the last day of the comment period; that does not mean postmarked or 
otherwise transmitted by that date. All comments received by NMFS on 
Amendment 14 or the proposed rule during their respective comment 
periods will be addressed in the preamble of the final rule.

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

    Dated: June 2, 2008
Emily H. Menashes
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-12745 Filed 6-5-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S