[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 18, 2009)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 11517-11518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-5864]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 622

[Docket No. 090220217-9226-01]
RIN 0648-AX66


Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and South Atlantic; 
Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico; Commercial Sector of the 
Reef Fish Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; Control Date

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

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; consideration of a 
control date.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces that it is establishing a revised control date 
that may be used to control future access to the commercial sector of 
the reef fish fishery operating in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 
the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf). If changes to the management regime are 
developed and implemented under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), a control date 
could be used to limit the number of participants in the fishery. This 
announcement is intended, in part, to promote awareness of the 
potential eligibility criteria for future access so as to discourage 
speculative entry into the fishery while the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 
Management Council (Council) and NMFS consider whether and how access 
to the commercial sector of the reef fish fishery should be controlled.

DATES: Comments must be received on of before 5 p.m., eastern time, 
April 17, 2009.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by RIN 0648-AX66, by any 
one of the following methods:
     Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal http://www.regulations.gov.
     Mail: Cynthia Meyer, 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.
    To submit comments through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov, enter ``NOAA-NMFS-2009-0039'' in the keyword 
search, then select ``Send a Comment or Submission.'' NMFS will accept 
anonymous comments (enter N/A in the required fields, if you wish to 
remain anonymous). You may submit attachments to electronic comments in 
Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The commercial sector of the Gulf reef fish 
fishery is managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish 
Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP). The FMP was prepared by the 
Council, and implemented under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Act. A moratorium on the issuance of new commercial reef fish permits 
was established by Amendment 4 to the FMP in May 1992. The moratorium 
has been maintained since that time with the implementation of 
Amendments 9, 11, and 17. The Council implemented Amendment 24 on 
August 17, 2005, to replace the commercial reef fish permit moratorium 
that was set to expire on December 31, 2005, with a permanent limited 
access system.
    This notice would inform participants in the Gulf reef fish fishery 
of the Council's intention to consider further limiting access within 
the commercial sector of the Gulf reef fish fishery. Specifically, the 
Council may consider creating additional restrictions including 
limiting participation by gear type or by specific species to only 
those vessels or participants that have catch histories in excess of 
some minimum landings threshold. Should the Council take such future 
action to further restrict participation in the commercial sector of 
the Gulf reef fish fishery, it intends to use December 31, 2008, as a 
possible control date regarding the eligibility of

[[Page 11518]]

catch histories. This date was announced at the Council's January 2009 
meeting, and was chosen because it coincides with the end of the 
immediately preceding fishing year in which landings would be 
documented. Publication of the control date in the Federal Register 
informs participants of the Council's considerations, and gives notice 
to anyone entering the fishery after the control date they would not be 
assured of future access should a management regime be implemented 
using the control date as a means to restrict participation. 
Implementation of any such program would require preparation of an 
amendment to the FMP and subsequent rulemaking with appropriate public 
comment periods.
    Consideration of a control date does not commit the Council or NMFS 
to any particular management regime or criteria for eligibility in the 
commercial sector of the Gulf reef fish fishery. The Council may or may 
not make use of this control date as part of the qualifying criteria 
for participation in that sector of the fishery. Fishermen are not 
guaranteed future participation in a fishery regardless of their entry 
date or intensity of participation in the fishery before or after the 
control date under consideration. The Council subsequently may choose a 
different control date or a management regime that does not make use of 
a control date. The Council also may choose to take no further action 
to control entry or access to the fishery, in which case the control 
date may be rescinded.

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

    Dated: March 12, 2009.
James W. Balsiger,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. E9-5864 Filed 3-17-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S