[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 24, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 79037-79038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30714]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

RIN 0648-AW64


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery off the Southern Atlantic States; Amendment 16

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

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Amendment 16 to the South Atlantic 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery Management Plan; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has 
submitted Amendment 16 to the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for the 
Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 16) for 
review, approval, and implementation by NMFS. Amendment 16 was 
developed to address overfishing and other management issues in the 
snapper-grouper fishery. Amendment 16 would establish management 
reference points and specify interim allocations for the commercial and 
recreational sectors for gag and vermilion snapper, as well as 
implement management measures which would be applied to the commercial 
and recreational sectors of the snapper-grouper fishery. These 
management measures include: a four-month spawning season closure of 
the recreational and commercial shallow water grouper fisheries; a 
five-month closure of the recreational vermilion snapper fishery; 
commercial quotas for gag and vermilion snapper; a reduced recreational 
grouper aggregate bag limit (including tilefish) and vermilion snapper 
bag limit; and a requirement to use dehooking and venting tools to 
reduce bycatch mortality of snapper-grouper species.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern time, on 
February 23, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Comments on Amendment 16, identified by 0648-AW64, may be 
sent to either of the following addresses:
     Electronic submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal rule-making portal: www.regulations.gov
     Mail: John McGovern, NMFS, Southeast Regional Office, 263 
13th Ave. South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
     Fax: (727) 824-8308 Attn: John McGovern
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to 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 16, which includes a 
final environmental impact statement, a regulatory impact review, a 
regulatory flexibility analysis, and a fishery impact statement are 
available from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 4055 
Faber Place, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC 29405; telephone 843-571-
4366; fax 843-769-4520; e-mail [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John McGovern, telephone: 727-824-
5305;

[[Page 79038]]

fax: 727-824-5308; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The South Atlantic snapper-grouper fishery 
is managed under the Snapper-Grouper FMP of the South Atlantic Region 
(Snapper-Grouper FMP). The Snapper-Grouper FMP was prepared by the 
Council and implemented by NMFS under the authority of the Magnuson-
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) 
by regulations at 50 CFR part 622.

Background

    South Atlantic stocks of gag, vermilion snapper, red grouper and 
black grouper are classified as experiencing overfishing, and gag is 
classified as approaching an overfished condition. The proposed 
amendment would implement new management measures designed to address 
overfishing of these species and to protect all shallow-water grouper 
species (gag, black grouper, red grouper, scamp, rock hind, red hind, 
coney, graysby, yellowfin grouper, red grouper, yellowmouth grouper, 
and tiger grouper) during their spawning season. Also, the amendment 
would authorize NMFS' Southeast Regional Administrator to adjust 
vermilion snapper management measures to achieve optimum yield (OY) in 
the fishery based on the results of the recently completed stock 
assessment.
    The amendment includes alternatives that specify interim 
allocations between the commercial and recreational sectors for the gag 
and vermilion snapper fisheries. This amendment also would implement 
new management reference points for gag and vermilion snapper, 
including maximum sustainable yield and OY, which reflect current 
scientific information as provided by the assessments and approved by 
the Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee. In addition, 
Amendment 16 includes alternatives that would establish a four-month 
spawning season closure of the recreational and commercial shallow-
water grouper fisheries, a five-month closure of the recreational 
vermilion snapper fishery, specify commercial quotas for gag and 
vermilion snapper, reduce the recreational grouper aggregate bag limit 
(including tilefish) and the vermilion snapper bag limit, and require 
the use of venting tools and dehooking devices to reduce bycatch 
mortality of incidentally caught snapper-grouper species.

Procedural Aspects of Amendment 16

    The Council has submitted Amendment 16 for Secretarial review, 
approval and implementation. NMFS' decision to approve, partially 
approve or disapprove Amendment 16 will be based, in part, on 
consideration of comments, recommendations, and information received 
during the comment period on this notice of availability (NOA). A 
proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register for public 
comment. After considering public comment on the NOA, and consistency 
with Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws, NMFS will publish 
a notice of agency action in the Federal Register announcing the 
Agency's decision to approve, partially approve or disapprove Amendment 
16, and the associated rationale. If approved, the provisions of 
Amendment 16 would be specified in a final rule published in the 
Federal Register.

Consideration of Public Comments

    Public comments received by 5 p.m. eastern time on February 23, 
2009 will be considered by NMFS in the approval/disapproval decision 
regarding Amendment 16.

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

    Dated: December 19, 2008.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Office Director, Office of Sustainable Fisheries, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8-30714 Filed 12-23-08; 8:45 am]
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